Comedian T.J. Miller brings down the house
Special to Okanagan Weekend
Just for Laughs promised off-beat and quirky comedy for The Alternative Comedy Tour. T.J. Miller delivered much more than that.
Almost 700 fans at Kelowna Community Theatre on Wednesday roared as he: sucked back mini-liquor bottles of Banff Ice Vodka, emptied a plastic mug of beer and toked on a joint, all gleefully thrown on stage or donated by those in front rows.
Expectations were high since the stand-up comedian, Hollywood and TV actor, producer, writer and voice in animated movies is known for his absurdist observational stand-up act of more than 10 years.
“I said to my wife that I don't think this is going to be a great show. (But) this is about to be the best show of your life. This is one of those shows you will never see again,” the 36-year-old promised cheering fans, followed by what became his signature line at the two-hour performance: “Kelowna: it doesn't get any better than this.”
As soon as Miller walked on stage, his three-piece bright blue suit was in sharp contrast to the six-pack of beer bottles in one hand. His first comment: “Kelowna, it is so beautiful here. It looks like Telluride, Colorado.”
Like more than two dozen states, Colorado has licenced medical marijuana which the self-described “enthusiastic marijuana user” admitted he smokes for anxiety — “the fear of getting arrested for possession of marijuana.”
Moments later, a small plastic bottle of Banff Ice Vodka cascaded onto the stage, prompting the derision: “Only in Kelowna would you throw the cheapest, shitiest liquor on stage. Do you work for Banff Ice Vodka?”
The screw top came off and the mini-bottle went vertical over his mouth, emptied in seconds. A second mini-bottle crashed on stage, then a young man with long hair in the front row who identified himself as Scott handed Miller a plastic mug full of beer.
“Kelowna: it's as good as you get,” Miller exclaimed, and started to laugh as a joint was tossed on stage.
A cigarette lighter was pulled from a pocket, the joint lit and the young woman who allegedly tossed it invited on stage to share a puff. At Miller's suggestion, she passed it to Scott.
And as further thanks to the young man, whose hair “is longer than hers,” Miller dug a mickey of whiskey from a back pocket and handed it to Scott.
The shenanigans continued when Miller broke the top off the microphone stand and Scott was unable to repair it. A stagehand finally brought out a new mike stand to audience cheers while Miller sipped on his beer.
“I'll never come back here again,” Miller announced. “You can say anything you want when you're never coming back. Have you ever worked in a place where you know you're never going back? That's what's happening here, right now.”
The cynic in me wondered, of course, if this was all a set-up: someone planted in the audience was tossing up mini-liquor bottles filled with non-alcoholic beverages, a hand-rolled cigarette that looked like a joint, and a fan handing Miller de-alcoholized beer.
And then, the spotlight operator at the rear of the theatre started moving the circle of light away from Miller. “Spotlight, are you on heroin?” he asked. “You keep wandering off. I always ask the spotlight operator not to be funnier than the comedian.”
A third mini-bottle of Banff Ice Vodka which landed on the stage was handed to a female fan with instructions to give it to the woman aiming the spotlight. It was.
Miller also brought a trombone which he recently bought at a pawn shop. He claimed he practised at his Kelowna hotel until a security employee knocked on his door, saying there was a noise complaint. “He said: ‘Somebody said it sounded like you were playing the trombone.' And I'm standing there holding a trombone,” Miller said to laughter. “I told him: ‘I’ll take care of that.’”
So Miller said he walked downtown practising until an RCMP patrol car pulled up and police told him: “'We got a complaint about someone playing a trombone’ and I’m holding one. I said ‘I was trying to play it quietly. I won’t play it any more. You guys are welcome to come to my show for free.’ But they weren’t interested.’”
Then, out came a slide whistle which Miller encouraged Scott to play as he delivered a series of one-liners. When Scott failed to produce the required up-and-down sound, Miller joked that he shouldn’t have given Scott the whiskey and a half-hour later, expected him to play a new instrument.
The Just for Laughs show also featured host Nick Vatterott, who decried a Staples Office Supply announcer who interrupted Phil Collins’ signature drum solo on the iconic pop song, “In the Air Tonight.” New Zealander Rhys Darby added to the frivolity with his physical comedy and sound effects, accompanied by more than a few F-bombs. His cowboy robot, from an audition for the Hollywood movie, Westworld, brought down the house.