| Comics must hate having their performances
described as a “routine”—after all, if they’re good at what
they do, the result should be anything but. Certainly, Margaret
Cho cannot be called routine, a woman who takes the
most unspeakable taboos and makes us laugh at their ridiculousness,
even if our “good breeding” begs us not to.
Cho’s first concert film was I’m The One That I Want,
released more than two years ago to solid reviews. The film
allowed her to reach an audience that may have missed—or never
even heard of—her tour of the same name. It was a move that
undoubtedly won her more fans—at least among people willing
to admit they relish her raunchy antics. Notorious C.H.O.
is in the same vein, nothing more than her latest tour
on film; the catch is, it’s more entertaining than any of
the visual hocus pocus or narrative trickery you’ll find on
display at a theater near you.
Preceding the film is an uproariously funny cartoon, in which
Cho implores Koreans and African Americans to work out their
difficulties—that way, she says, they can focus on hating
white people. It plays like Do The Right Thing in therapy,
or better yet, Spike Lee meets Sesame Street.
Either way, it’s a fitting introduction to Cho’s unique brand
of comedy.
While I’m The One That I Want focused on Cho’s body
image following her disastrous attempt at mainstream television,
Notorious C.H.O. is more content to focus on bodily
functions. Perhaps that makes it seem slightly dumbed-down,
but in typical Cho fashion, crude jokes about sex transform
into monologues about female empowerment. She’s not so much
notorious as notoriously sly: much like Richard Pryor,
she lures you in with coarse tirades, and holds your attention
with her unabashedly intellectual spin on the material. Her
opening monologue—in which she discusses the effects of the
Sept. 11 attacks and the acts of self-sacrifice so many have
made—serves as a prime example.
Cho discusses everything from blow jobs to camels (don’t
ask) in the film, although the funniest bit is her pontificating
about what life would be like if straight men had periods
(she justifies the inclusion of the riff by saying, “If Richard
Pryor had a period, I bet he’d talk about it, too”). It’s
not that what she says is so shocking, but the knowledge that
her parents are sitting in the audience, beaming at their
confidently chubby, infinitely indelicate offspring. It’s
hard to believe anyone could casually mention such topics
in front of their family, especially when most of us can’t
even tell our parents a dirty joke without blushing.
Ironically, it’s her father who puts the importance of Cho’s
show in perspective. It’s great, he says, that she can live
in a country where her voice can be heard. It helps, of course,
that Cho’s is a uniquely talented voice. There are those who
will undoubtedly disagree, but like any good comedy show,
Notorious C.H.O. proves that beauty is in the ear of
the beholder.
—Erin Steele
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