Sydney Reviews

When the name Tom Green pops up in conversation - it is usually in conversations had by those who have seen the 2001 film Freddy Got Fingered. Some loved its rant laced plotline of a loser which combined gore and skating. Some hated the childish sausage song, the violent stunts, or the wearing of a dead deer carcass. Some may know him for his rapping or his MTV show The Tom Green Show. Some know him as the Canadian that was married to Drew Barrymore for a short stint - or perhaps the comic with only one testicle. And now, since the beginning of the year, some will know him as a stand up comic as he makes his way around the world, on tour.

On tour, Tom Green is supported by comedian Shawn Hal-pin - a comedian from Texas whose comedic currency is hitting all points on a teenage boy’s funny bone: sex, drinking, vomiting (and occasionally combining all three). Hal-pin has built his career on this comedic triumvirate and delivers it confidently to a room full of Tom Green fans/hecklers. He is the embodiment of this teenage preoccupation. He is “fat, broke and single” and it’s fairly clear who he thinks his audience is – and it certainly isn’t a sober woman. Outside the Enmore theatre it’s pretty clear who his fan base is - guys in black hoodies and skater shoes. And inside the Enmore - you can hear them too - they don’t hold back and they have no problem asking for what they want. And what they want is Tom Green - Tom Green impersonating himself in Freddy Got Fingered… ad nauseum.

At one stage during the show Green indulges them in some sound bites from the film - and a collage of his works until now are replayed like a jukebox of his former successes (or failures depending on who you are.) And he caps them off with a song called Crack Baby - and in response to further heckling - he says “we could do this all night, but I have some other things I want to talk about.”

And what he has to talk about is pretty fascinating. It talks of a frustration with the world which is obsessed with developing technology. It talks about a nostalgia for a childhood without Facebook, without mobile phones, without texting, without 400 TV channels (399 of which are crap). It talks of how it feels to be divorced after five months of marriage to Drew Barrymore… and feeling like the world hates you for it. It talks of the joy of being alone - and of a simple world that has been abandoned in favour of instant gratification and banality. Tom Green’s observations are funny because of their tragedy. It’s stinging social commentary - and it’s funny coz it’s true.

Unfortunately some in the audience, won’t be able to reach beyond the toilet humour. Some won’t want Tom Green to be anything more than a bouffant clown, a gawky, hot tempered, bug-eyed ranting maniac - they aren’t ready for it. They want backflips, smashed guitars, slobbering mimicry and wince worthy stunts where the loser wins because he’s fearless to society. They want to see the video game playing, masturbating nerd to get the girl. They want the stunts to continue because it means their youth, and youth culture continues.

My hope is that Tom Green fans grow with him… they will listen to the lessons amid the larrikinism.


World Stand Up Comedy Tour
Tom Green

Venue: The Enmore Theatre | 118-132 Enmore Road, Newtown
Date/Time: Fri 16 Apr @ 9:30pm
Price: Full $44.90 / Conc. $39.90 (Licensed All Ages)
Bookings: (02) 9550 3666 | Ticketek