HOTZ’S HOMECOMING
Comedian headlines Crackup festival
“We’re all Canadian and we’re bonding together against the common enemy — the United States! What a horrible country. I live there, and they’re the most un-Canadian people you will ever meet. They look like us, and that’s the end of it right there … They’re the closest thing to us and they’re crazy.” — Jeremy Hotz, What a Miserable DVD This Is, 2010 Ottawa-born funnyman Jeremy Hotz says his signature standup bit — his neurotic chiselling at the not-so-subtle differences between his native land and his adopted one — is due for an update.
“Yeah, I may have to go back and tweak that a bit, elaborate a bit more,” says Hotz, 53, on a recent visit to his hometown, where he’ll be a headliner at the weeklong Alterna Savings Crackup comedy festival.
The festival started in 2004 as a benefit for mental health. That’s a charity Hotz can get behind as someone who has long suffered from general anxiety disorder. Hotz tops the bill for the Comedy Night in Canada showcase at TD Place Feb. 18, while Ron James performs there Feb. 17.
“On my last tour I did revisit (the Canada-U. S. contrast) a bit, because it’s changed, and now I’m going to talk about how it’s changed again.
“And I never knew when I wrote that bit that it would be so significant, but it’s become something that really hits home.”
Hotz says the recent sea of change in the political landscape — and everything that comes with it — is prompting an equally forceful response from the world of comedy.
“We’re at a very important time for comedy with people like Donald Trump. People are laughing at politicians and taking the comedians seriously, so we really have to be on our game, because there’s gonna be a lot to talk about.
“For the next year-and-a-half while he’s in power — before he’s thrown out for doing something extremely stupid — we’re going to be there talking about it. It’s a very important time for standup.”
Q As a Canadian comic living in the U.S., what’s your take on the election results?
A I had a sinking feeling — never underestimate the stupidity of the average American. The bottom line is, I live in the States and I’m Canadian, so the last thing I would ever want to do is buy a gun, but now I’m going to buy a gun because I’m afraid. I’m afraid of the president. I never thought I’d be alive long enough to buy a gun to protect myself from the president. It’s hilarious. Q You often make fun of the differences between Canadians and Americans. Are we really that different?
A They look like us, they sound like us — that’s the end of the similarity. They’re the most unCanadian people in the world, and they just happen to live right next to us. And they got the better climate — how wrong is that? Q Do you ever worry about hecklers, or offending a Trump fan in your audience?
A Bring it on. It’s exactly what you want. You’re there to express your opinion, and if someone doesn’t like it, they have the right to yell back at you. But then you have the right to cut the living sh-- out of them. So that’s OK. Q What was it about the Canadian circuit in the ’90s that produced such great standup?
A At that time in America, everyone was trying to get on TV to do standup, and (the networks) all wanted a certain kind of act, so all the acts became extremely similar, whereas in Canada you were encouraged to be completely unique and different. And that spawned a bunch of people who were. So when all the TV comics got stale in the States, they said, ‘Oh, look at all these Canadians, they’re completely different, and they’re really funny.’ That’s how it happened. Q How do you feel about this Ottawa show? A It is a homecoming. I was brought up in Ottawa and those were the first people who embraced me in my career, so it’s always good to come back. I grew up in what was the west end, but it isn’t any more. I grew up a stone’s throw away from the Royal Ottawa Hospital. (Laughs) I guess that was foreshadowing. Q Your act is all about misery. What is it about misery that makes people laugh? A The world is sh-- and getting sh---ier. So I’m becoming more in vogue. The people who walk down the street and have happy days all the time, it’s for one of two reasons: they’re either on drugs, or they’re mentally challenged. That’s the way I look at it. Q The Crackup festival is all about mental health, and that’s a cause that’s dear to you, and often features in your act.
A What you’re trying to say is, it’s not an act. It isn’t. (The festival) is all for a good cause, and lately there’s been a lot of buzz about mental health. I’ve spoken about it, because I suffer from generalized anxiety disorder, so I travel now with a companion dog wherever I go. It was supposed to be a German shepherd but it turns out he’s a long-haired chihuahua, so that’s giving me anxiety. It’s supposed to help my anxiety, but when you pick him up he shakes, so he’s got anxiety. My anxiety dog has anxiety. So I guess that whole thing backfired.
I live in the States and I’m Canadian ... I never thought I’d be alive long enough to buy a gun to protect myself from the president. It’s hilarious.