‘Manitowoc Minute’ guy a hoot der at Milwaukee show
REVIEW
Oh my gosh, “Da Manitowoc Minute” sure is a knee-slapper, ain't it?
But could the weekly two-minute online video series work as an hourlong comedy show?
Well sure guy. Comedian and “Minute” creator and star Charlie Berens kept the laughs movin’ at the first of a sold-out, two-night run at Turner Hall Ballroom Wednesday.
First, a primer for any Wisconsinites who somehow overlooked “Minute” in their Facebook feeds.
Elm Grove-born, Los Angelesbased Berens struggled with his Wisconsin accent as a broadcaster before doubling down for “Minute.” Launched in June and posted each Monday, each episode of the satirical news segment — stuffed with ridiculous Wisconsin-inspired phrases and an obligatory "(Expletive) the Bears” sign-off — has been streamed between 400,000 and 1.1 million times.
That's made Berens a kind of viral sensation in his home state, complete with shirts featuring signature sayings like "Keep 'Er Movin" and "Geez Louise!" selling for $25 a pop on his website (manitowocminute.com).
Wednesday was actually only Berens’ third stand-up show since creating “Minute.” Admittedly, it showed, with Berens tripping up during a few of his punchlines, and the show as a whole feeling patchy.
A strangely surreal imaginary conversation with a buck — complete with Berens as the deer singing a variation of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" that name-checked Lambeau Field and Mars Cheese Castle — didn't jell in the same show with more downto-earth, tried-and-true "Minute"style bits.
That formula translated well live — no easy feat, considering how concisely edited and punchy each video is.
Following a funny fake E! News segment that suggested Beyoncé was adopting Berens' trademark camouflage jacket style, and that he'd become a Perrier-sipping egomaniac partying hard with the Milwaukee Brewers racing sausages, Berens did an extended "Minute" on stage, riffing on headlines and holding a live "Craigslist Kicker" auction for musky bait. (Sold for $125, with the proceeds going to The Wounded Warrior Project.)
Feigning the show's finish after just eight minutes, Berens ran back on stage with new winning ways to rib Wisconsin life, and stereotypes, without a whiff of disdain.
The affection behind the humor is the real reason "Minute" is so popular. Sure, the thick accent and only-in-Wisconsin punchlines get a lot of mileage, but it's Berens' good-natured, eager-to-please personality that makes the schtick stick. In one video screened Wednesday, Berens showed his admiration for the men and women in the military by comically failing a physical endurance test.
That was a sweet bit, and so was a segment where he came out as "the real Charlie," and spoke in his normal voice (which, he joked, sounded like a Cubs fan). He talked for a few minutes about being one of 12 kids, and how his mother was a saint because she performed 12 miracles — by not trying to kill any them.
Soon after, Berens was back to being a cartoonish caricature. For now, his comic instinct is to "keep 'er movin" with lots of fast-moving punchlines, and that makes sense, because that approach has done well for him.
But as he gets more confident, as a performer and a writer, I trust his fans will enjoy getting to know "the guy" behind "da guy."