Review: Jennifer Coolidge – “Yours For The Night”
Venue: The Tivoli (15 June 2011)
It was a night of uncertainty for the audience. Paying $45 to see a stand-up set by a woman who was billed on her promotional poster as “Stifflers Mom” was a risky proposition for most in the crowd. We all knew that Jennifer Coolidge is a funny lady. Her many film and TV appearances had proven this to be true, but how would she fare on-stage doing her one-woman comedy show “Yours For The Night”? Would we learn who exactly Jennifer Coolidge is?
Coolidge attracted laughs on stage. The audience were with her. She was every bit as big and brash as the audience were hoping that she might be and the crowd ate it up. Through stories about her desperation to play J-Lo’s best friend on screen with a big flappy vagina, to why she now loathes American Idol, to impersonations of Sophia Loren, Coolidge proved repeatedly that she knew how to work the crowd.
“Yours For The Night” was ultimately an unsatisfying, unmemorable experience. Despite the fact that Coolidge delivered some funny material, for much of the evening it felt like she was keeping a distance from the audience. Coolidge simply didn’t go far enough, offering insights and opinions that were no more personal than any drinking companion may offer on a Friday night. Coolidge complained about celebrities that are “full of shit”, but offered no personal anecdotes. Instead she simply cited some celebrities that she’d seen on Oprah. As a frank and outspoken D-list celebrity, some candour regarding people she’d worked with in the past would have gone gangbusters with the crowd.
There is so much BS that surrounds Hollywood actors that it’s always welcome to see an actor drop that veil and offer some genuine insight into the day to day realities of their lives. Coolidge so frequently almost went there, but rarely delivered.
When Coolidge did get personal, the anecdotes were often brushed aside so as not to really reveal too much on stage. Stories made reference to drug rehab and a partners infidelity, yet neither was really elaborated on in a satisfactory manner. The best stand-up material can take the audience down some dark, unfunny roads at times. Coolidge would benefit strongly from allowing her material to breathe in such a manner.
When the show opened, Coolidge acknowledged that many in the crowd likely didn’t know who she was. By the end of the 90 minute show, little had really changed. We found out little about her work, her home life, or her general sense of self.