"I guess I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass is always half empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth." Janeane Garofalo In a world that seems increasingly full of giggly, cooing blondes and pantyless, camera hungry, dyed blonds - Janeane Garofalo’s black hair, tattooed arms, funky eyeglasses and whip smart humor are as refreshing to me as a cool breeze on a 110 degree summer day.
Looking fitter than ever (albeit a little tired from a “meat belt and cheese plate” that she ate prior to the sold out late show) with Patton Oswalt at The Lakeshore Theatre, Janeane proceeded to endear the crowd to her own brand of personal and political humor. She was hesitant to leave the stage and we didn’t want to let her go.
Listening to Janeane casually riff on her own life and on what’s going on in our country is like chatting with your best friend (or inner demons) while riding an old wooden roller coaster. There aren’t many comedians who can make me laugh, and fewer women who can make me laugh so hard I have to run to the ladies room but Janeane is one of them.
She was unable to do an interview that day because she was tired but as she spoke I realized I was woefully underprepared to conduct an interview with her anyway, so intimidating is her vast and incisive knowledge of current events and their effects politically. In fact she is so smart and so fast in her thinking I began to see why men are a little afraid of her. I had the feeling that she could chew up a right wing Republican and spit him out without even needing to floss her teeth.
While researching her career I was amazed to read that she had turned down the part of Monica on “Friends”. I think Courtney Cox has been great too as the token “smart brunette” but I wonder how different the effect of that massive sit com success would have been on my generation with Janeane as the olive in the martini - instead of Courtney’s cherry in the rum and coke, so to speak.
Janeane is currently promoting her work on the animated film “Ratatouille”, you can also look for her on four episodes of the Henry Rollins Show on IFC. She said she is working less as she gets older in part because of resistance to cast her unique looks and tatoos, etc. in anything but the bitter sidekick. But I sincerely hope studio execs realize that there are millions of us “thinking brunettes” out here choking on the fumes of the Paris/Britney/Lohan type insipidness who will gladly pay to see one of our own as a leading lady.
Don’t be afraid boys, open your minds and you’ll find that a little knowledge won’t kill you. In fact comedic brilliance in a quirky woman is as sexy as that cool breeze on a hot summer day.
