By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
August 30, 2002
Over the past few years, Margaret Cho has grown comfortable with herself–a funny, whip-smart comic who doesn’t fit any of the glorified stereotypes of what an Asian American woman should be. She doesn’t play the violin. She doesn’t figure skate. She’s not good at math. She never wanted to be an anchorwoman. And if she knows how to make sushi or give a good back rub, she’s not telling.
What Cho does do is take everyday elements of her life, write about them and then interpret them onstage in a way that leaves the viewer laughing hysterically and, sometimes, fighting back a little lump in the throat.
OK, so maybe a trip to a S&M club isn’t an everyday thing for her. But the way Cho explains her outing is so matter of fact she may as well be talking about a workout at the health club.
“These S&M people … they are bossy!” Cho says. “There’s also a creepy connection between leather sex, ‘Star Trek’ and the Renaissance Faire.”
Unlike “I’m the One That I Want,” which was filmed in her hometown of San Francisco, “Notorious” was shot in Seattle. It begins with an interview with her Korean-born parents. Her father admits it’s embarrassing listening to some of her raunchy sex jokes, but then he says, “On the other hand, this is a matter which is close to all of us. … Right? Right?”
Her mother, who is the fodder for many of Cho’s best bits, doesn’t say much on camera. But Cho notes her proud mom was in the ladies room thanking everyone for coming out to see her daughter.
Directed by Lorene Machado, the film moves at a quick pace that’s actually better than the live show that inspired the film. At her one-woman show last year at the Chicago Theatre, Cho was funny, but seemed to lag in the middle. Not so here. Cut to a breezy 95 minutes, the segments whip by fast.
Well, most of the segments do. Just as her vagina cleansing bit in “I’m the One That I Want” went on a few minutes too long, so, too, does the colon cleansing bit here.
The camera work is simple and at times sloppy. Perhaps it was the cinematographer’s intention to leave other cameras in the frame, but it’s distracting. When the only subject onstage is Cho, she should be the only thing on which we are focused.
Luckily, Cho’s humor makes up for any technical goofs.
Speaking about the Sept. 11 tragedy, Cho says, “I went to Ground Zero and gave all the relief workers [oral sex] … because we all have to do our part.”
And talking about a recent trip to Scotland, Cho recollects about a bar she visited called CC Bloom–which was named after Bette Midler’s character in “Beaches.” “That is the gayest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Pausing, the gay-friendly comic suggests they rename it, “F— Me in the A– … Bar and Grill.”
Cho’s Asianness definitely is a part of her shows, but it isn’t the element that sets her apart. She has a wry way of looking at the world that is universal and true. Who else would point out that if men had periods, their apartments would look like murder scenes?
And we all know she’s right.
