Leanne Morgan: I’m Every Woman ~ The Jester’s Privilege
Anyone from the age of 48 to 63 born and raised in the south or a farming community, I need a huge favor. I need you to go to Google, type in “youtube.com,” click on the first link that pops up, then search Leanne Morgan’s name, and click on any video of her. Once you’ve done that, maybe you can help me answer a question that has been bugging me for days now: does Leanne Morgan tell jokes?
Let’s start with the positive: her story is fantastic. Wife and mother of three, made her living selling jewelry at house parties, but people fell for Morgan’s stories and humor. Enough people convinced her to try stand-up that in 2001, in her early 40s, she began performing at comedy clubs in Texas. With the help of her kind spirit and a popular YouTube special, she finds herself today getting done with a 100-city tour and her first Netflix special today. That deserves all kinds of love, regardless of… well we’ll get to it.
Because it wasn’t all bad. She made me laugh a couple times, and more consistently and importantly, she made the room feel so light and comfortable. In this beautiful theatre in Kentucky, she made it seem like she sat everyone down individually and shared a glass of sweet tea and a nice conversation about her life. If I was invited to a Morgan household cookout or potluck or whatever they call it in Tennessee, I’d be honored and I’m sure it would be a hoot and a half (although I might have to pass on a Jell-O salad. Is that seriously a big thing?).
I suppose, however, that ties into my biggest gripe of the whole show. There was a clear desire to be funny, but in terms of actual jokes, they were scarce to come by. Instead of setups and punchlines, she had stories, some of which incomplete, that she thought were funny enough to warrant telling, much like someone trying to have a gossip session or just shooting the shit with friends. I can see why she was a hit among her friends and customers, but to a general audience, the performance aspect was lacking tremendously.
I can’t tell you how many times I was completely lost in her material, or the point of the things she was saying. Lots of work on her husband, her kids, her underwear, the 80’s but not really the 80’s because every time she mentioned the 80’s she mimed smoking a cigarette and did a weird head spasm so I have no idea what that was. It was just all over the place, and she would often start somewhere and then never finish what she was talking about before circling back about how dull her husband is or how crazy raising children can be. Meanwhile, I’m sitting on my couch, feeling like I’m going crazy because nothing is reaching a point, no punchline is being said, and she is still killing it in Lexington. What the hell am I missing??
Maybe I’m in the wrong demographic for this comedian, because I really did try to understand and enjoy her material, but I found myself dumbfounded at the level of uproar she was causing from her audience. Even for those looking for a slightly clean, family-oriented comedian, I can’t say for sure if this is something for you. Take my review with a grain of salt if you have to, but when it’s all said and done, I think Morgan is way outside my wheelhouse of likability when it comes to comedy.
3/10
