Let’s hope the big lights at the Comedy Connection aren’t too bright this weekend, unless they provide some complimentary SPF 50. Jim Gaffigan, the funniest man in pale, is set to hit the stage Feb. 10 and 11 as he gears up for his first national tour in support of the CD and DVD of his new standup special, Beyond the Pale.
It isn’t just a colorful title. Gaffigan’s humor is as light as his skin tone. He pokes fun at everyday life by putting a spin on the obvious through a variety of quirky characters, and much of Gaffigan’s material is derived from the absurdity of consumer life, like one of his best bits about Hot Pockets. (“After eating a Hot Pocket, I don’t think I’ve ever thought to myself, ‘Well, I’m really glad I ate that,'” Gaffigan quips).
Gaffigan says he uses wit and expression to find humor, resisting the temptation to bait a laugh through vulgarity.
“I don’t want a joke to rely on a curse word to get a laugh.,” he says. “I want a joke to stand on its own. This album I don’t think I curse at all.”
Gaffigan may not curse, but he does rely heavily on his voice talents. Gaffigan’s voice repertoire includes caricatures of weird, awkward and eccentric everyday people, along with the critical commentary of disapproving onlookers.
“I guess I just have so many voices in my head,” he says, on choosing the right voice for a joke. “It depends on whoever talks the loudest.”
“Different characters can have different attitudes,” he adds. “A joke I feel is always evolving. Hopefully you’re always improving it a little bit.”
When not on the comedy circuit, Gaffigan works as a character actor, having had roles in sitcoms, dramatic movies (look for him as the pool guy in M. Night Shamalan’s A Lady in the Water) and as an animated character in the Pale Force series of internet shorts. His most recent stint is the current Sierra Mist campaign, whose last spot appeared at the beginning of the Super Bowl.
“A lot of times you just get to improvise,” Gaffigan says of the appealing creative flexibility of the spots. “You just get to go in there and be as weird as you want to be. And if they hire you, you get to go in there and just keep doing it.”
As a comedian and an actor, Gaffigan is coming to define exactly what his “it” is.
“It’s really exciting and rewarding to see even where I was six months ago. I think my act is a lot better,” he says. “I want to be able to sell out theaters, but it’s not like I’m dying to be in People Magazine or anything like that. I’d rather keep the comedy nerds happy. The real comedy fans are the ones that get some of the nuances of the act anyway.
Gaffigan says it doesn’t matter what direction comedy takes him, as long as he keeps improving.
“The irony in stand-up is there are some really funny people when you start off,” he says. “I might have sucked at the beginning, but I feel like I’m getting better. I don’t know if that’s an endorsement.”