Jim Norton: Monster Rain
Studio: HBO
WorkNameSort: Jim Norton: Monster Rain
Comedian Jim Norton is not, as some might accuse him of being, a “dirty comic.” No, with his tales of childhood fellatio (consensual, mind you … between two boys), his descriptions of the ideal vagina (“big” and “meaty” and “bald”) and his propensity for having sex with trannies (not because he likes men, but because they’re all he can afford), Jim Norton goes way beyond dirty. He’s a “cringe humorist,” which means that he’s devastatingly, uncomfortably honest with his act; considering that most comedians are outcasts and perverts, he’s an honest comedian but one that would be hard to take home to mom. Norton’s ability to wind a near-right libertarianism into his forthrightness about race, class, culture and, yes, sexuality also engages, primarily because it’s so rare to hear a white male comic approach such issues in a way that’s neither implausibly apologetic nor offensively reactionary. Plus, even (or especially) when he’s at his most vicious and “dirty” in this HBO special, Norton is also at his funniest.
This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 6, 2007.