Margaret Cho: I'm the One That I Want

I'd never heard of Margaret Cho before "I'm the One That I Want" came out, but since then she's become a real fixture in the entertainment industry. In this performance, she talks about her various experiences in life, such as a lesbian cruise. Some of it makes you think "OK, that's more than I needed to know" (you'll know it when you hear it), but you never stop laughing.

Cho's concert documentary "Assassin" featured her with some more toned-down material, but no less right-on. She's certainly an admirable person and great comedian. It's great to know that we have someone like her to reflect modern humor.

Margaret Cho is a Genius. She has the uncanny ability to talk about very sensitive issues (racism, self image, family, cruelty in the entertainment industry, and of course sex in all of its forms), and make them accessible through sheer hilarity. Her timing is impeccable, her imitations uproarious, and her candor admirable. This movie is an autobiographical account of her life including the failure of her sit-com. Through it all, she is able to show her audience a great deal of vulnerability, and still come out triumphant. I laughed so hard I thought I had gone through a 90 minute abdominal workout.

I saw this about 3 years ago. I really wanted to see it after hearing about it at her website. This was much different from her previous routines as this was a one woman show rather than stand up comedy. This first few minutes are pretty slow where she talks about sexuality.

When she gets into the meat of the show ("The All American Girl" incident), that is where she excels. We hear the story behind the failure of the show, Margaret "selling out" to the show's plot (An episode has her making fun of her parents at a club, something she does often in her routine. In the end, she publicly apologizes for making fun of her parents), losing weight rapidly because the network told her too, and a whole lot more. When she gets serious, we feel her pain. When it was cancelled, she goes into a downward spiral. I loved her retort when she replaced by Drew Carey ("Because he was so thin" lol).

I love the empowerment Margaret gives herself when she realizes that losing a show was not the living end. She knows better now because of those unattainable goals that Hollywood sets up for women and ethnic comedians. She shows her strength and defiance against the system. In the end, she comes out a winner.

Ahhh, you're in for a treat. This woman has something to say and she says it in the best ways possible-- funny, edgy, self-effacing, step off buddy, been-there and Hi, I'm baaaack.

And just in time. I love you, Margaret Cho. I've heard the ass master bit fifteen, twenty times, and you still make me laugh. God bless you.

It's interesting how easily male stand-up comedians slip into their eponymous network sitcoms, and how difficult it is to fit a female comedian into one. Cho gives us her story, and then she gives us her new mantra-- I'm the one that I want. This is the kind of tape you'll want to have around, not necessarily because of the humor, but because of the message. If you've never heard of Margaret Cho, then know that she is one of the best around. A 'must see'.

It's a torrent of self-hate that pours through this scabrously funny ninety-minute concert by the Korean-American comedian Margaret Cho, whose work here is a peak that bears comparison to Chris Rock and Richard Pryor--the tallest praise I can muster. Cho's unclassifiable id--Asian-American omnisexual is a poor sticker for the self she unloads here--can find no name, no resting place, and no club that will have it as a member. Never has alienation been so explosively hilarious. And beyond the content of her work, Cho is a master of her craft, a genius manipulator of silence, long-held muggy faces, microphone-stand grasps, lunges for the water bottle, and sheer stillness. Her precision can be scary. There is a little too much face-pulling and playing to the balcony of Boys' Town (Cho's "I am a faghag!" shtik seems designed to churn up microwaved warmth from her fan base). But there are many moments--especially Cho's rendering of her inexplicably insane-seeming mom--that could stand toe to toe with Lenny Bruce and Pryor at their tops.