UCLA jokes are most often told by USC folk, but last Friday they
abounded at our very own Royce Hall.
Host Tom Kenny began the night with accolades of Royce, saying,
“This place is fancy schmancy. I don’t know who this
Royce guy is, but I’m pretty sure his first name is
Rolls.”
Wendy Liebman, the first act and only woman comic in the show,
did an entire bit on UCLA and academia in general.
“My brother went to UCLA in 1979,” said Liebman, to
a sustained applause. “He’s going to become a senior
next year. He’s in gradual school.”
Ray Romano, headliner and star of “Everybody Loves
Raymond,” tried hard to come up with student-related laughs.
All he could come up with, however, was “I went to Queensboro
Community College.”
The laughs were created for the benefit of children with cancer,
who are participants in a study concerning how laughter can help
heal. Founded by network executive Sherry Hilber, Rx Laughter
brought the comics, via support from TV’s Comedy Central, to
Royce for the fundraiser.
A short video on Rx Laughter came between acts and introduced
patrons to the charity their ticket proceeds were going toward.
(UCLA receives only a 5% percent administrative fee.) However,
seats were not nearly filled to capacity as ticket prices probably
deterred more student admissions. A limited number of $15 tickets
sold out early and many were faced with purchasing $30 tickets on a
student budget.
The comic material reflected this as well. Most of the jokes
were aimed at married life, with UCLA alumnus Steve Mittleman doing
a standard marriage-disillusionment bit.
Kevin James of the sitcom “Queen of Kings” seemed
the most student-oriented, using material focused on gross-out
jokes, mostly at the expense of his own obesity. He talked about
how his swimwear often gets lost in his fat folds and about his
misadventures in water-skiing.
Fresh off his Emmy win, Ray Romano was hilarious. Unlike the
other comics, Romano seemed intent mostly on being spontaneous or
at least giving the audience the feeling of spontaneity. He enjoyed
getting to know the audience and deriving material from what was
naturally available.
One couple admitted to having three children after only three
years of marriage. Their youngest child was nine years old.
“That must be some weird California math,” Romano
said.
A father of four, Romano also found ample material in his
children. He joked that being the father of identical twins, he
benefits from saving money on photographs.
He even ended his act with a home-made video of his toddler
twins slapping each other, spitting food, and giving the camera the
finger as Romano sang an off-key “Silent Night”
sarcastically.
Romano was the funniest act because he seemed to be talking
about something real. He even insisted that a gross-out bathroom
encounter between his twins was a true story. Nevertheless, his
stories sounded real, because they were based on common
experiences.
Each comic thanked the audience for donating to a good cause,
but often times they would save this for the end of their act, when
the applause would drown out any positive statement they made about
Rx Laughter.
In addition, apparently the comics promptly shipped themselves
in and out. Kevin James didn’t stick around long enough to
receive his humanitarian award, a glass block with etchings. None
of the comics made it to the after-party, which was strictly for
people with $125 VIP seats.
Perhaps next time the event could be more tailored for students,
who are indeed hungering for good comedy on a Friday night but
often restricted to student-ticket-priced outings and not so
interested in jokes about dull marriages.