Review: Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz skewer Robin Leach — and he doesn’t know why!
At first glance, it would appear that Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz can do no wrong. The “Saturday Night Live” alumni look as innocent as the driven snow. Dana is the college preppie you could take home to Mom and Jon the honest banker who has a stern hand on the family fortune of finances, estates and wills.
Do not let looks deceive you. They launch into a filthy but fabulously funny comedy routine about Bob Saget’s sexual habits and follow with “The Church Lady” clip that forced Sean Penn to deliver a knockout punch for Dana’s sordid scenario on Madonna’s body parts.
They even took me apart — separately — on the opening night of their 20-show residency at The Foundry at SLS Las Vegas on Friday night. I didn’t mind the skewering because it was hilarious. I laughed at its outrageousness and was able to fire back with a couple of shots of my own.
If I do really sound like Dana’s brilliant impression — “I’m Robin Leach, I’m yelling — and I don’t know why!” — then I deserve the ridicule. Fortunately, that’s only behind a mic and not in everyday life!
Hometown rocker Vince Neil of Motley Crue fame, who was in the audience, escaped with not even a zap, but Mike Tyson fared as badly as me. He will never live down that Evander Holyfield ear-biting incident.
Neither Dana nor Jon pulled any punches with their separate standups. They were brilliantly hilarious to the point of many people in the premiere crowd doubling over in hysterics. It was a fabulous start to their 10-weekend limited engagement that runs through November. I have no doubt that they will be booked for many more gigs there for the remainder of the year.
The unlikely duo became solid friends after meeting on “SNL” 30 years ago. Their show format is surprisingly simple. They open with a musical set with Dana on synthesizer keyboard and Jon on drums. It is funny, albeit unexpected.
Dana follows with a 30-minute solo standup packed with rapid-fire jokes, impressions and outlandish stories, some kept secret until now as behind-the-scenes showbiz giggles. Dana is still masterful with his Church Lady, Ross Perot, George W. Bush, Liam Neeson, Johnny Carson and Garth of “Wayne’s World” impressions. And then there was me!
Jon didn’t let up, either, telling extraordinary exaggerations of a charity sports event we attended in The Dominican Republic. But it was his analysis of one male TV star’s private body parts that really brought down the house. Poor Bob Saget didn’t fare well at all, either. It’s far too sexually graphic for me to even hint at here.
But it was their music that proved the big surprise of the night. They are accomplished piano players and switched out on drums and keyboard for great and humorous renditions of “Hey Jude,” “Heaven” and an original composition titled “It’s Not Complicated.”
After an audience Q+A where a Jimmy Stewart soundalike was cut down in his audition, the night was topped with a duet of Dana’s “Choppin’ Broccoli” with a final zap at Bob. I have a feeling that the Q+A will disappear and be replaced in another format so audience members don’t think that it’s a platform to audition for “SNL.”
Before the sold-out show — people were hanging from the rafters — the dynamic duo appeared on the red carpet alongside Mike, Vince, Al B. Sure and Damon Elliott. You’d have to use the word “unforgettable” to describe their “night of naughty” act.
Before they departed to host a post-show party to toast their success, Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick presented the two with a “Key to the Strip” proclaiming it “Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey Day.”
I must be a glutton for punishment because I’ve agreed to return to the show for The Church Lady to interview me. I cannot win, but these two certainly have big time. They are the first resident comedians at The Foundry, and not only are they here to stay, but they also will be the vanguard of others to prove that laughter is the best medicine for whatever ails you.
Well, maybe not for Bob Saget in this case, but certainly for everyone else!
