EUGENE MIRMAN
AGE 30
PROVENANCE Brooklyn, N.Y.
ACHIEVEMENTS Appeared on “Late Night with Conan O'Brien,” “Comedy Central's Premium Blend,” NBC's “Late Friday,” and VH1; toured with Yo La Tengo, Modest Mouse and Helio Sequence; starred as a suspected arsonist in an episode of “Third Watch.”
Except for scientists and businessmen, few Americans pursue a career based on anything related to their college major. An exception is Eugene Mirman, who majored in comedy (high schoolers, take note, apply to Hampshire College). At age 30, Mirman's among a vanguard of edgy New York comics rising in the wake of the omnipresent David Cross. Watching Mirman and his cohort at Tinkle, the show Cross runs with Todd Barry and Jon Benjamin at Pianos on the Lower East Side, and at Invite Them Up, the Wednesday night East Village show that Eugene cohosts with red-headed Southerner Bobby Tisdale, you get the feeling that you're witnessing the future of American comedy - that is, if the good guys win. These guys do tell jokes, sometimes in the old mold of Johnny Carson-style-one-liners, but more often they launch elaborate stories, or video parodies, that riff on pop culture for laughs in a way that's a little too twisted to call ironic. Eugene brings to this a force of personality that's on par with Jackie Mason or John Belushi, only far more loveable than either. Watching him decry Shintoism for its lack of dogma on stage (“Get real, Japan”) or on video as a fireman saving a baby from an apartment rapidly filling with radioactive smoke that will render him permanently invisible, you get the feeling he's something Americans will buy.
You moved to Massachusetts from the Soviet Union when you were five. What effect does being an immigrant have on your comedy?
It makes me a weirdo with a slightly different perspective. It made it easier for me to be persecuted in high school and therefore made it easier for me to do comedy. Thanks, adversity! Now I'm madly driven to become famous and have sex with a few of the girls who were mean to me. That's right, Mary Fitzgerald, we're going to fuck one day.
Do you think you would be a comedian if you still lived in the Soviet Union?
I would be in jail.
Why did Communism fail?
It's a bad idea and it doesn't work. Just like a corporation shouldn't be all powerful, neither should government, assholes. Government can exploit the worker just as much as capitalists can.
What about Russia today, with Putin fast becoming a dictator?
Well, I don't think Russia will be a threat to us as it was in the past, but I think it will be a pretty shitty place soon. People often want safety over freedom, especially in financially unstable places. Even we have that with the Patriot Act. At first it seems OK, until you are arrested for possession of sweet, rebellious commercialized punk-metal. That's right. Be careful, System of a Down fans, you're all going to jail.
You've performed as an opening act for a bunch of indie rock bands - The Shins, Yo La Tengo, and Modest Mouse. How do their audiences compare with your comedy club crowds?
Outside New York, people don't go to see comedy as much. But they do go to see indie bands. There's a similar sensibility. So often you'll find the same kinds of people at rock shows as you would at East Village comedy shows. They've just rarely been exposed to live comedy before, which makes it hard sometimes. But it's also fun to have a new audience. A certain set of artistic styles, influences, and attitudes do link indie comedy and music. My comedy is in the same spirit as a lot of the music I listen to.
In your neighborhood of Park Slope, you're something of a celebrity. Any downsides?
People assume things about you. People are like, “Hey, aren't you the guy that loves tomato soup? Aren't you the guy that threw up on an old man? Didn't you sell WMD's to the Eagles?” No. But who's going to believe me? Rumors. It's all bullshit, but people love gossip. Luckily, I'm not that famous.
You've been on TV a lot - Comedy Central, “Conan,” “Third Watch.” What's the craziest thing you've ever done on television?
On “Third Watch,” probably. I played an insane arsonist and fought a guy who used to be on “90210.” And my shirt kept getting torn by the tough yet sexy lady detectives.
Are you excited about Tony Danza's new TV show?
His show is amazing. I have never seen anything more vague and boring on television. I saw him donate $10,000 in phone cards to the troops (by giving them to two kids who started an organization to help soldiers). What a nice thing to do. Until he points out that the cards say “From The Tony Danza Show.” We know it's from you, you asshole. And it's from the show's budget. It's almost no money for them. A fifth of a commercial. It's nice of you to give, but don't make it seem like it's a sacrifice. It would be more effort for you, Tony, to not dance for two days, and I think the phone card stunt made you look like a self-congratulating dick.
In some of the short videos on the DVD that comes with your new CD, you play a cop, an FBI agent and a fireman. Which is the toughest job?
They are all hard jobs. I guess an FBI agent, because they look into cases from outer space.
Do you know any good pick up lines?
Here's two to say to someone to see if they are right for you: “I feel sick. Can I stay with you?” and, “In the future, we don't use money, but we have lots of condoms.”
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