Kiss the little red-horned green goblin goodbye, folks, at least for another year. The 27th Annual Just For Laughs Fest has packed up its carnival of delights and vacated the corner of St Denis and De Maisonneuve after another season of slapstick shows and serious star power. Acts both local and legendary drew record numbers, in spite of an economic crisis and unbelievably lousy weather. At the wrap up news conference, JFL organizers reflected on the highlights of this latest edition, and hinted at what’s to come.
“We just finished a marathon,” said a visibly relieved Éric Belley who, along with Daniella Roy, Yves Desjardins-Siciliano and JFL Chief Operating Officer Bruce Hills, addressed the Montreal media from the terrasse of the swanky Koko restaurant and bar. One could hardly blame them for savouring the moment. Days earlier, they had been thrown for a loop when John Cleese unexpectedly fell ill, leaving organizers without a host for the Britcom Gala. Though comedy veteran and Daily Show correspondent Lewis Black generously stepped in and delighted audiences, Cleese made a point of returning for two shows Sunday night in what Hills referred to as “a pretty amazing statement of loyalty. This man worked very hard and is still not 100%.”
Clearly, even for seasoned professionals, being involved with Just For Laughs is no joke, a fact not lost on fast-rising Mark Little. Winner of JFL’s “Homegrown Comic” award, the Halifax native was overwhelmed by his second win this year. In May, Little beat out 64 other Canadian comics to take home the Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off Competition’s $25,000 prize. Now, as he sets out to conquer the Big Apple, he can’t help but wonder if the odds are stacked against him, joking “this is my year, next year is going to be empty.”
The future is never certain when it comes to the career of a comedian. Consider Judy Gold, who rose up in the ‘90s as a writer and producer on The Rosie O’Donnell Show and recently completed a five-night stint at Centaur Theatre, performing a one-woman biographical/musical stand-up show entitled Mommy Queerest. Despite clearly possessing the abilities needed to charm an audience and having enough experience to write a decent joke, Gold mistook her status as a Jewish lesbian mother as a punch-line, repeatedly hammering out chords on her piano and shouting out to an audience amazed she would assume this material would fly. The power-point presentation of family photos and misplaced musical plea for equality in America aside, it largely felt like watching your intoxicated aunt spiral out of control while telling you her life story: stale and borderline insulting. A sample gag from her set: “Tumors should come in three sizes – tall, venti and grande!”
Such stinkers were generally in short supply, thankfully, from the other comedians participating in the fest. During the Whoopi Goldberg gala, Frank Spadone elicited more than a chuckle from the crowd when sharing his grandmother’s advice about the modern woman: “… they like olive oil – they say they virgin, but they’ve been pressed a few times.” Probably the only person not to hit at least one memorable note was Goldberg herself. Still, in the eyes of the organizers, her presence was a serious coup.
Though celebrities do bring in the big bucks, probably the most memorable of all the fest’s entries this year was magical Le Projet Scala, a six-story choral performance piece staged at the new Quartier du Spectacle. It was awarded the Prix Coup Du Coeur by JFL organizers, and will be brought back when the fest returns in July of 2010. Though little else was confirmed for next year’s line-up, they did also offer one tantalizing tidbit. During the screening of Robin Williams’ latest flick World’s Greatest Dad at the JFL Film Fest, Williams was said to be furiously texting to see how Montreal audiences were reacting. Perhaps, then, he’ll drop by next year to experience a Montreal reception for himself.
