Contributed Photo
When a comedian whose professional credits include a long running stint on Saturday Night Live, a starring role in stoner comedy film “Half-Baked,” and a published book titled “I’m Not High,” comes to Fairfield University for a show, you just have to go.
Using his former (maybe?) marijuana usage experiences and role as a dad of three young girls as the butt of his jokes, Jim Breuer has a natural presence on stage and never fails to induce laughter from the audience. Even from a distance, Breuer looked like a likable guy. Sweater, jeans and sneakers, you could tell he was comfortable and in his zone.
Nearly all of Breuer’s act is based on storytelling, and it’s a style that suits him well. Breuer was charismatic in his performances, and all of his stories were accompanied by noises and physical comedy.
The jokes he told were R-rated at the least. He talked about the time he decided to smoke a joint and hosted 50,000 people in his trailer on the “Half-Baked” set, and how he proceeded to film an additional scene for the movie while completely out of his mind.
He gave the Fairfield University students advice about their sex lives and wisely told them, “If you do it right, [sex] should sound like whales…it’s never meant to sound like a construction site.”
The comedian wasn’t afraid to use his microphone stand as a prop for his story-telling either. Breuer vacuumed the stage, sword-slashed and stabbed, and even helped give birth to his child with the stand.
Breuer didn’t rely only on practiced jokes; he improvised too—especially when it came to connecting with the audience. When heckled by an audience member because of his own unique laugh, which never failed to follow each of his jokes, Breuer wasn’t afraid to fire back with another witty joke.
“His contagious laugh kept my interest throughout the show,” said Eric Lynch ’14.
One of the most prominent jokes was his own appearance. “Most people say I look high, and honestly, I don’t deny it,” said Breuer, to which the audience clapped heartily in response. He went on to say that, unfortunately, his 7-year-old daughter seemed to have inherited his looks.
The best quality of his performance had to do with the honesty and clichés that the audience just knew were true. When comedians tell jokes, they use imaginary characters or common stereotypes. But unlike most comedians, Breuer seemed to be able to tell the truth with his jokes.
He does have three daughters. He made jokes about his 86-year-old father crapping in his pants, and it turns out that he does have an 86-year-old father, who once joined him on tour.
And, as he kept on telling the audience, and from the looks of his headshot, Breuer really does look high.
Leave a Reply