Dane settles for good, not great
On a Sunset Strip balcony, sitting beside an azure pool, Dane Cook makes the confession that America has been waiting to hear.
“Can I just admit to you, you’re right,” the 37-year-old says. “Look … I’m not funny. I’m OK with that. I’m cool with that.”
Cook is, of course, joking about his lack of humor, which, if you think about it, is kind of funny – or maybe it’s not funny at all.
This is the sort of paradox that swirls around the wildly successful touring comic who, more than anyone else on the comedy scene today, can polarize a cocktail party conversation.
His new Comedy Central stand-up special, “ISolated INcident,” will be released as an audio album today and a DVD later this year.
With half-a-million hits per month on his Web site, a popular blog and 2.5 million friends on his MySpace page, Cook is wired for the digital age in a way no other comic can rival.
That’s a major reason he sells out arenas with startling ease and racks up box-office numbers that are more like Bruce Springsteen than Lenny Bruce.
“I’ve embraced this technology; it’s the thing that built my career, but it’s also going to be the thing that capsizes me every once in a while,” says Cook, who’s attacked across the Internet as a joke thief whom only frat boys could love.
He’s coming off a foray into Hollywood films that didn’t go as planned. He starred in a romantic comedy called “Good Luck Chuck” that was neither good nor lucky, and while he held his own as a wannabe serial killer in “Mr. Brooks” (with Oscar winners Kevin Costner and William Hurt), the movie earned more respect than money.
Cook has decided to go back to the stage, where he has been telling jokes since he was 17.
“ISolated INcident,” which debuted Sunday night on Comedy Central (repeating tonight at 10 and midnight), used a lone camera and a no-frills approach.
“When I did the ‘Vicious Circle’ special, it was so huge,” he said referring to the 2006 HBO special that was a career peak.
“As much fun as it was to get in there and figure out how to create the perfect show, this time I wanted to flip that completely on its head. One guy, one camera, one night, the good, the bad, the screw-ups.”
Cook isn’t quite the guy many people think he is. For one thing, despite his keg-party persona, he says he’s never had a drink in his life; he’s so competitive that if he started drinking he would have to be the best at it, and that wouldn’t end well.
He also seems to be trying to review his material to make sure he isn’t purposefully hurtful to people, especially women. His five sisters have given him a lot of feedback.
Cook lost his mother to cancer in 2006, then his father the following year. His new routine reflects some of that pain.
“I’m very proud of this new show,” he says. “I wish they could see it.”
The birthday bunch
Newscaster Jim Lehrer is 75. TV personality David Hartman is 74. Actor James Fox is 70. Actress Nancy Kwan is 70. Author-director Nora Ephron is 68. Actor Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca in “Star Wars”) is 65. Musician Pete Townshend is 64. Singer-bassist Dusty Hill (ZZ Top) is 60. Singer-actress-model Grace Jones is 57. Actor Steven Ford is 53. Singer Jenny Berggren (Ace of Base) is 37. Actor Eric Lloyd (“The Santa Clause”) is 23.