Jim Breuer’s Extreme Makeover For His New Special

jim breuer new special

The great comics have the ability to turn tragedy into comedy. On paper, a set that touches upon a mother’s descent into dementia and an elderly father’s inability to control his bowels doesn’t seem to be a laugh-a-minute affair, but Jim Breuer owns it and makes it work.

Breuer’s new one-hour stand-up special, Jim Breuer: Comic Frenzy, premieres at 10 p.m. EST, Friday, May 29 on EPIX. Breuer tackles some heavy topics and delivers a high-energy, genuinely funny performance, talking about family, aging, and life in suburbia. The result is a cathartic and honest look inside the mind of a family man, and it’s hysterical.

Once I accepted that I didn’t really want to be a part of that world and that I wanted to get back to where I wanted to be, that is when the material changed. There was a huge extreme makeover.

Breuer has matured since his days on Saturday Night Live where catchphrases and impressions were what the audiences tuned in to see. “During those years, I found myself trying to appease to a fan base that was showing up,” he said in an interview with The Interrobang. “The Goat Boy stuff, stuff like that, I had to create to make it work in that world. That wasn’t my natural funny world. Once I accepted that I didn’t really want to be a part of that world and that I wanted to get back to where I wanted to be, that is when the material changed. There was a huge extreme makeover. I have been really happy and confident with how that has gone.”

In 2008, Breuer embarked on a university tour. He made a conscious attempt to be himself and see if he could find relatable material that connected to the audience. “I am this guy – I am a guy that’s married. I’m not Brian from Half-Baked walking around in a tie-dyed shirt. I’m not the guy from SNL walking around, doing impressions of (Joe) Pesci and Goat Boy 24/7,” he said. “I’m going to talk about my dad, my mom, having kids, family. I got 29 straight standing ovations. That launched me into such confidence, because I knew that if college audiences are going to accept me, parents and people my age who can relate to this are really going to accept it.”

My dad passed, you know. I’m trying to put out there some great healing death material. It’s going to take a little time before certain people can relate to it and feel OK to laugh at it.

Some of the funniest moments of Jim Breuer: Comic Frenzy involve Breuer’s father and his failing health as he grew older. It’s a stark subject matter, but Breuer approaches it with compassion, drawing attention to the absurdities of life and growing older. Breuer said the key to finding comedy in sadness lies in making the situation universal. “I look for the relatable touch that anyone can feel,” Breuer said. “When you can find that people can relate with the ridiculous and the things that are hard to laugh at, I know it’s fine. I know it’s working. There are certain areas I’m working on now where I’m feeling, “Hmm, maybe this is a little too much.’ My dad passed, you know. I’m trying to put out there some great healing death material. It’s going to take a little time before certain people can relate to it and feel OK to laugh at it. I know, when it’s first brought up, people are really uncomfortable. It’s too uncomfortable. You just keep looking at it and trying and switching, you look to see what everyone can relate to. It’s trial and error.”

But Comic Frenzy isn’t all pathos and homespun family anecdotes. Breuer delivers some of his most beloved impressions (including Ozzy Osbourne and AC/DC’s Brian Johnson), physical comedy, and his takes on cruise ships, African safaris, and gun ownership. It is a fast-paced set that hits with the rhythm and syncopation of a rock show. Breuer said he is excited about Comic Frenzy, his second standup special with the EPIX network. The special was filmed in February at The Paramount in Huntington, New York, which brought Breuer back to his Long Island roots.

“I’m confident in how it portrays me and what I want people to think,” Breuer said. “I know my fans are going to love it. I think that people who aren’t necessarily Jim Breuer fans but like comedy, I think they’re going to watch it and think, ‘This guy’s a great comic.’ I feel very confident that this portrays who I am and what it’s like to see me live. I bring a very rock star, beat-you-to-death, full-throttle energy attitude every time I’m on stage. I want to exhaust you when the show is over.

“Other comics are really good at what they do. Some are clever or this-and-that. I just want to destroy you. And I think that’s what this special does. You finally see that side of me.”

Breuer will be releasing a hard rock album in January 2016 which will feature an appearance by Brian Johnson of AC/DC. “It’s pretty exciting and I think it’s going to do very well,” Breuer said. Join the conversation about Jim Breuer: Comic Frenzy on Twitter with #ComicFrenzy. For more information, visit http://www.epix.com/movie/jim-breuer-comic-frenzy.

 

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Dan Murphy is a freelance writer in Buffalo. Pre-order his new book documenting the rise of women’s wrestling from sideshow to WWE main event on Amazon.com, "Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women’s Wrestling"
Dan Murphy
Dan Murphy
Dan Murphy is a freelance writer in Buffalo. Pre-order his new book documenting the rise of women’s wrestling from sideshow to WWE main event on Amazon.com, "Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women’s Wrestling"