Comedian Jim Breuer, best known for his roles in the sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” and films like “Half Baked,” will be performing at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue on Thursday, Sept. 24.
Breuer has been on a comedy tour since last November, but is now in the home stretch.
“Honestly, I get bored doing the tours,” Breuer said in an interview with The Eagle. “I have to do the same material over and over again, but I’m excited this time around.”
Breuer has added new material to his show and his upcoming performance in D.C. will be his first in eight years. However, stand-up comedy is nothing new to the New York native, who said he has wanted to be a comedian since he was a kid.
Breuer made the decision to become a comedian as soon as he saw Richard Pryor on HBO. In addition, he cites Steve Martin and Bill Cosby as some of his great influences. Breuer said he was also influenced by his surroundings.
“Growing up in a low-income house, you learn to have a good sense of humor; all you can do is make jokes,” Breuer reflects, describing his family as one of his comedic influences.
Despite all this, Breuer still maintains originality, which helped get him onto the ever-popular “Saturday Night Live.”
“I didn’t want to do it at first,” Breuer said. “I heard so much about the thievery that goes on; writers stealing ideas from the actors and then playing favorites.”
Breuer said he looked back on that time as a wild experience and was still often star-struck, especially when it came to meeting people like Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, whom he imitated on the show.
“Saturday Night Live” was also where “Goat Boy” was born, one of Breuer’s most memorable characters from “SNL.” It took months for the writers to grasp the concept of a boy with Tourette Syndrome who made goat noises rather than cursing or twitching, Breuer said.
One of Breuer’s fondest memories over the course of his career is “Half Baked,” the classic Dave Chappelle stoner film of 1998. “It was a dream, man — an amazing experience,” Breuer said. “Picture your best friends coming up to you and saying, ‘Hey, want to go travel and shoot a movie? And get paid?’ That was the best.”
In the film, Breuer played a quintessential stoner named Brian, complete with tie-dye garb and a Jerry Garcia fixation. Considering Breuer’s sleepy eyes and easygoing nature, one would assume this was an easy character for Breuer to play, but that was not the case.
“I absolutely hate listening to the Grateful Dead, so I had no idea how to play this character,” Breuer said. “One day, I’m watching a Grateful Dead documentary for research, and I see this one banana, standing there with this goofy grin on his face, and a flower in his hair. He was so happy, just determined to have a good time, and I knew — ‘That’s Brian!’”
In the years since “Half Baked,” Breuer has had a pretty sweet career. He has had stand-up specials for Comedy Central and runs his own radio show on Sirius XM radio. He’s interviewed people like Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, all the members of Metallica and Brian Johnson of AC/DC.
“Now, I’m not the fan-boy,” Breuer said. “I treat them like my neighbors or something.”
With his show coming up in a few days, Breuer has a message for his new audience.
“I just hate the American culture that we’re all wrapped up in — ‘Go, be successful, don’t help others.’ I just want my audience to broaden their sense of humor and stop being so selfish,” Breuer said. “Just learn to laugh at things!”
Lucky for Breuer, one can assume that if he is the one telling the jokes, the audience will definitely be laughing.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
