Saturday night my girls and I went to see a live performance of Chelsea Handler. If you're not familiar with Chelsea, she is a stand-up comic, author, and TV personality with her own show on the E Channel called Chelsea Lately. Before Saturday, I had seen no more than highlights of few episodes of Chelsea Lately, (way past my bedtime) and had not read her best selling book, "Are you there Vodka? It's me Chelsea", (although it has been highly recommended) so I was not quite up on Chelsea's comedic "schtick". I just knew that she was funny.
What I was not prepared for was her demeanor on Saturday night. She was loaded. And I don't mean "flush with cash". No, she was full on smashed and outright nasty, but none-the-less hilarious. Drunk must be her "thing" because the fresh-faced, crude but bright and bubbly, 35 year old Chelsea on TV is not the same Chelsea uncensored on stage. No way.
The show started with a stand-up by Heather McDonald, a regular on Chelsea Lately, who was almost funnier than Chelsea. Handler then came on and it was apparent immediately that we were in for a ride. She came on carrying a drink, which we can only assume is some kind of vodka concoction. Brash, rough, crude and inappropriately hilarious, Handler almost relishes the fact that she has a drinking problem, to which a few minutes of comedy is dedicated. She also lets us know immediately that she is single and damn happy to be. And it's funny, yes.
What wasn't funny was how dark her beloved "drunk" seemed to make her. She was just plain nasty and I got the feeling that she was not entirely enjoying this. Maybe she was having a bad day, maybe they ran out of vodka, but this Chelsea looked tired, worn, irritated and way more than her 35 years should look. Beside a momentary giggle, the only bright point of the entire stand-up was when she told a heckler to, "shut the F**K up".
Look at this woman. She's beautiful, smart, funny, talented and making it in Hollywood. Kudos baby! Drop the nasty drunk and you've got the Chelsea we see on TV every night. But add in some alcohol and what you get just might shock you. If the dark, nasty drunk thing is a schtick, I'm here to tell her it's not working to her advantage. If it's not, than it just may be a cry for help. Whatever the case may be, Chelsea Handler has a fan in me. And I'm sure she could care less what I think.......
If she were here, I know she'd just tell me to "shut the f**k up" anyway.
9 comments:
Hard to tell with comics, sometimes they ride that edge too hard and it burns them up. It's the tragedy that's at the base of all humor I guess. But a defense mechanism is a defense mechanism and it doesn't matter what you look like.
I've seen the book in the bookstores but had no clue. Guess I oughta' check it out.
I actually DON'T think she's funny AT ALL on her "television" show, although her stand-up guests usually are.
Perhaps If I saw her live schtick I'd enjoy her more.
I will give her Props for getting in shape this year, though. She was gettin a little "floppy" last year.
Yep, I'd hit it....
Criminy! I thought at first glance you meant that that was Chelsea Clinton and I was about to change my oppinion on plastic surgery! But, y'know, nevermind now.
Now I thought you meant Chelsea :-)... i.e. www.chelseafc.com
I once gave my father a T-Shirt that read, "Instant Asshole, just add Alcohol". I may have to go and find an appropriate one for Chelsea, especially after this review.
I don't know. I have always had the hots for Chelsea and have always wondered who hurt her in the past where she absolutely shuns relationships.
I wonder how much more Vodka she could have bought for the price of the enhancements?
I have seen this train wreck happen before, and not matter how blonde, no matter how well endowed, I really don't want to invest in watching it again.
Maybe that's cold, but if she doesn't care about herself, why should I? Hollywood will churn out another next week that I will care even less about.
Damn, I miss the great stand up clubs that I used to go to in Pgh.
I was always in love with my alky shtick as well. I used to tell people that I was a functional alcoholic from birth, and I pretty much was. I was always funny sober but even funnier drunk, maybe because I got a little mean. As I got older though and my entire family died off, and I saw way too much of the dark side of life, I started to get darker and darker myself when I drank. Eventually, people would say I wasn’t even the same person when I was drunk.
So after moving here, I just quit. That shit killed my dad and his dad and his dad, why would I keep up the pattern. What I didn’t expect was how easy it was for me, and how much happier I am. I mean ridiculously happier. I thought about writing a book to make it easier for other people to quit so they don’t think they have to spend their life going to cult-type meetings.
When you’re a heavy drinker and quit for good, and know you quit for good on your own, it’s like the clouds part and the sun shines on your soul. To stay fucked up, you just end up getting uglier and uglier inside and out.
Post a Comment