I'm
the One that I Want (2000)
Girlfriend, I laughed so hard Raisinettes were coming
out my nose.
I saw this Margaret Cho stand-up comedy film in a
theater with about 4 people and continually laughed
my ass off. At the end of the film I had candy and soda
left because I was laughing so damn hard I couldn't
eat or drink. That has absolutely never happened before.
Cho has captured her stand-up act on film, with the
help of director Lionel Coleman, in a pure, simple and
straight- forward way. There are no fancy shots, no
backstage interviews or dialogues or "bits." This is
just Cho being Cho on stage. This stand-up comedy film
isn't revolutionary, it's evolutionary... the next logical
step for comedy film. Because Cho is so damn hilarious,
there is no need for anything but her and her act. Only
a cursory introductory segment, lasting less than a
minute, is needed.
Cho performs for the film in front of a hometown crowd
at a theater in San Francisco. Referencing her childhood
filled with gay male figures, Cho brings forth loving
comedy routines about gay sexuality. This isn't sweet,
PC comedy, but rather biting, funny and honest jabs
at gay men and the "faghags" who orbit around them.
Cho includes herself in this later category. Sure, some
of this might be lost on a straight crowd, but only
the most redneck, bucolic of them.
And then Cho imitates her mother, one of the most
beautiful and hilarious tributes to permeate a comedian's
career ever. Cho could not do a show without these bits.
When we see her face contort to begin the imitation,
it already sends us howling. The heavily accented dialogue
that follows is nothing short of gutbusting. Cho has
a gift here and sharing it with the world is the greatest
part of it. Her bit about her mother looking at a gay
porno magazine called "Assmaster" is now the stuff of
legend, and Cho, never one to disappoint, returns to
it in her encore to let us revel in it once again. It's
delicious.
Cho's main reason for the film, however, is to talk
about her recovery from drugs and alcohol. Oh, this
isn't movie of the week material or melodramatic comedy
with a punch. Rather, it's one woman's story that is
amazing in it's scope. Cho talks of her days doing "All
American Girl" (1994), the horribly maligned and mishandled
ABC sitcom that was once her career highpoint. Dealing
with TV executives and media people who had no idea
how to present an Asian-American face to the American
throng, Cho was forced to lose weight and pretend to
be something she was not. When the show was cancelled,
Cho almost lost her entire identity, drowning in a pool
of drugs, alcohol and promiscuity. But like a phoenix
rising from the ashes, her one woman comedy routine
seen here provides voice and empowerment to Cho. And
with this authority, she also ordains gay men, lesbians,
Asian Americans, and women with power as well. Her story
isn't some maudlin life lesson that reminds us of a
TV movie of the week, but rather of a inner struggle
of novelesque proportions. This would make a great book
or movie or play. But Cho negates any need for storytelling
trappings and simply appears on stage, looking healthy
and swell and full of love and simply talks. Her beautiful
facade may be a bit heavy, but the light of life that
shines out of her eyes blinds us with her beauty. And
the story she tells us, simply, honestly and hilariously,
wins us over easily. When we walk away, we love her
more than we ever did, which is pretty hard to imagine.
Cho is a gifted and wonderful human being. That fact
that she's a smiling, loquacious, friendly, Asian faghag
with an astounding sense of humor is just icing on the
cake. I can't imagine anyone more capable of speaking
for her generation, my generation.
Cho dedicates the show to 4 people, one of them Matthew
Sheppard. This reminds us that there is still a long
way to go in the struggles for acceptance, the struggle
Cho speaks of so eloquently - and humorously. With Cho,
our loving neo Dorothy Gale taking our hand, however,
that yellow brick road seems oh so much easier to travel.
Wicked witches be damned!
With "I'm the One that I Want," Margaret Cho solidifies
her position as an American gay icon to rival Madonna,
Sandra Bernhard, Bette and yes, even Judy Garland!
Notes:
The film is bookended by two Joan Jett songs.
Cho speaks of a film script she has written in the
piece. The Internet Movie Database lists this film as
her only writing credit, however.
Cho also mentions the fact that she dated Quentin Tarantino
around the time her sitcom aired.
http://www.margaretcho.net
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