Mar 14, 2008

Insults with a smile

Lampanelli's comedic barb-slinging an act of love, not hate

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

Her language is raw enough to make George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce sound like choirboys. She turns political incorrectness into an art form. She hurls insults at her audience and challenges them with shocking subject matter. Fortunately, Lisa Lampanelli is hilarious, so she not only gets away with it, she gets standing ovations.

Her outrageousness was captured on the "Dirty Girl" comedy album and the "Dirty Girl ... No Protection" DVD. You can experience Lampanelli live at Redwood City's Fox Theatre on Saturday.

This bold, brassy woman isn't afraid to poke fun at the physical challenges, sexual persuasion or ethnic background of her fans.

When it comes to edgy comedy, how far is too far? "There's no line and there's no too far. Except, if it's not funny, it's gone too far," Lampanelli said. "If you can make it funny, you're allowed to joke about anything - AIDS, rape, cancer, Sept. 11."

Lampanelli didn't see a live comedy set until age 30, when she began doing open mic nights in clubs. "I guess I got a trial by fire," she said.

Previously, she had been a journalist. "I had to cover sewer commission meetings and s---, so I just copied somebody else's stories and got myself fired on purpose."

Then she became a disc jockey. "I did like high school parties. I don't think I ever did a full-fledged wedding. I wasn't meant to do that kind of stuff and pretend I'm happy at someone else's happiness, because I'm not," she said. "I f---in' love people's misery."

Lampanelli practiced her sarcastic humor on friends and family. "They never seemed to get mad at me or hate me for it. So I thought I'd give it a try on the comedic stage," she said.

"The DJ-ing had prepared me to be in front of a mike. And I had gone to Weight Watchers, started losing some weight, so I wouldn't be embarrassed standing up there, being all like really fat or anything. So I thought, 'OK, I have no excuse not to try this now. There's nothing else in the way.' And there was nothing else I wanted to do."

Onstage, it was time to vent. "It was like, 'OK, now everybody gets it - all the anger from the 30 years of hell. All the anger from growing up and college and all the bulls--- you go through, people you observe, ... like these soccer moms and these judgmental bitches - they're all going to get it now!"

Actually, Lampanelli said viciousness is not part of her personality. "You can't do this type of comedy, if you're really angry. So I work on myself a lot, go to the shrink a lot. If you're an insult comic, you have to have a lot of love and warmth for the people you make fun of or else you're going to fail. The audience will be like, 'Wow, that's a truly hateful person.' They're not going to pay good money to go to see somebody they're not drawn to."

Audiences immediately embraced the comedienne. "It amazed me that I didn't get beat up or get in trouble," she said. "As I got more secure and funnier, I took more and more chances, to the point where I can say almost anything and nobody's going to get mad. I get tons of e-mails saying, 'At your shows, we're all on equal footing.' It's the great equalizer."

Men in particular welcome a comically liberated female. "They're happy to finally hear a woman who'll talk some manly type of comedy instead of these f---in' awful bitches with their dating and shopping and PMS and all that crap," Lampanelli said. "What guy wants to pay to hear some bitch whine? He might as well stay home with his awful wife.

"Men go, 'Thank God, finally a woman that's funny.' I agree. I would never pay to go see a woman comic other than Sarah Silverman or Kathy Griffin."

The Comedy Central roasts of Chevy Chase, William Shatner, Pam Anderson and Flavor Flav launched Lampanelli into stardom, providing the ideal vehicle for her unbridled barbs.

Her "Dirty Girl" disc earned a Grammy nomination for best comedy album. "That was fab," she said. "You always hear like, 'Academy Award nominee Holly Hunter' or whatever. From now on in my life, I'm always going to be 'Grammy-nominated artist.' That's so f---in' cool."

She's now pitching a series, designed for Showtime or HBO, in which she would play herself. Lampanelli will soon be seen in the Owen Wilson comedy "Drillbit Taylor."

But standup remains her passion. She's only really happy onstage. "The worst time I have onstage is better than the best time I have offstage," Lampanelli said. "You're in the moment, doing exactly what you want to do in life.

"I was just meeting with my financial guy about retirement funds and I'm cracking up. I'm thinking, 'This f---in' a--hole actually thinks I'm going to retire? Is he nuts?' (Don) Rickles still works. He's 83 years old. Why can't I go that long?"