By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
August 19, 2003
Had it not already been associated with the 1950s series, Margaret Cho would’ve dubbed her latest one-woman show, “Leave it to Beaver.”
Yes, the dirty double entendre is intentional, but not particularly shocking to anyone familiar with her work. Naughty bits, S&M and enemas have all made their way into Cho’s past shows and she promises her current “Revolution” tour–which kicks off Saturday at the Chicago Theatre–is her most outrageous yet.
“This tour is more political than sexual, but it’s the sexual comments that everyone remembers,” says Cho. “I talk about women, body image, race and gay and lesbian issues. It’s a better show and funnier overall than anything I’ve ever done. I’m at a place where I think I really am the best at what I do.”
And, as always, her show will include her dead-on imitations of her now famous mother, which often incite the loudest ovations from her fans. But she has received flack from some members of the Korean-American community who believe she is mocking immigrants who don’t speak perfect English.
“That has been a big problem with the politically correct community,” says Cho. “They say, ‘Don’t you think it’s wrong to use this Asian accent when you portray your mother?’ But the thing is, she has this accent. There’s nothing wrong with that, and why do I have to censor my ethnicity when I feel I’m serving a larger political community? Do I have to lie about the realness of my life because it’s somehow offensive now to be real?
“If you attend one of my shows, you know I’m doing things out of a sense of love and honor. I’m not out there to make anyone look stupid.”
Pausing, she adds, “Well, I am trying to make some people look stupid. But they deserve it.”
That would include racists, homophobes and members of Hollywood who judge a woman’s worth by her size. While Cho doesn’t fit the stereotypical image of the slight, Asian female, she’s hardly overweight either.
“I sympathize with the Afghan women who have to wear burkas,” says Cho, 34. “We’ve got the Delta Burke-as in the United States. I love clothes, but I hate the fashion industry. They just make clothes way too small. Most people regard the dressing room in a department store as a torture chamber because buying clothes is often a horrible experience. The Forgotten Woman [chain] should just be called Big Fat Bitch because that’s basically how normal women are regarded.”
Cho, who has been featured on a number of “worst dressed” lists says, “I was voted by some magazine as the 10th worst dressed woman in the world. I need to work my way up to No. 1. Honestly, I don’t really ever agree with Mr. Blackwell’s choices. He always picks the same, unadventurous people. We should be redefining fashion. Kelly Osbourne is great at that. She does amazing stuff with clothes and is really fearless.”
Cho is doing her part to fight the fashion system. She has started her own line of clothing called High Class Cho.
“I know a lot about how to flatter a woman’s body because I’ve had to flatter my own for so long,” says Cho, who sews a lot of her own clothes. “I’m doing different sizing, too. A small will be an Audrey. A medium will be a Marilyn. And a large will be an Anita [as in Ekberg].”
But back to sizing. For extra large, might we suggest an Anna Nicole?
“I really like her,” says Cho. “She likes pickles and chocolate milk and all the things I like. She’s a good kisser.”
Say what?
“I went to [Smith’s] Christmas party and pretty much walked in and then walked out,” she says. “For me, the only reason to go to that party was to make out with her. I had a party a couple weeks after that and she didn’t show up, so I was very crushed.”
Cho, whose high-profile ex-boyfriends include Quentin Tarantino, Chris Isaak and Garrett Wang (“Star Trek: Voyager”), doesn’t consider herself a bisexual as much as a slut. (She’s half joking about the latter.)
“I never really define myself sexually,” she says. “I don’t feel the need to.”
