Ron James is one of the most prolific comics to ever grace a stage in Canada. His poetic punchlines paint pictures in the minds of the audience that are more vivid than any painting ever produced. His analogies and metaphors are written and recited with such precision that even if you don’t understand it you can’t help but laugh and admire the care and creativity put into it. And, even at the level he is at with his career he still has the same humble attitude you’d expect from your basic working class Canadian citizen.
His new sketch show on CBC – The Ron James Show – is a breath of fresh air for people looking for original, inspiring and purely entertaining Canadian sketch comedy. It has a certain gritty, raw and unapologetically true to life feeling similar to that of The Chappelle Show. And the sketches have a wonderful sense of play about them. You know how when you watch current SNL sketches and out of the 5 or 6 sketches two will be hilarious and original, one will be hit and miss and the the rest will be subliminal advertisements? The Ron James show is comprised entirely of clever and original sketches that fit into that first category. The sketches range from soft and awkward with subtle punchlines to fast paced scenes with rapid-fire punchlines. The cast and crew work like a well oiled machine and the respect and admiration that they have for each other transfers into every aspect of the show. It’s a beautiful thing to witness comics working towards the greater good instead of just selfishly advancing their personal agendas (an unfortunate flaw in many sketch troupes).
Ron James’ comedy forces us to acknowledge that life is a tricky beast not to be taken lightly, while also selling us a sense of hope because once we realize that life is no picnic for anyone it makes it easier and far more enjoyable to cherish each step and stumble. A portion of his opening monologue from the first episode of The Ron James Show:
“Welcome to the Ron James Show. How ’bout that? It only took me 30 years to get here and now I need a nap! Life goes so fast doesn’t it? Yet the journey is all about the long haul. Holy jumpins! With contradictions like that no wonder you wake in the mornin’ with a knot in your neck. One things for certain – time takes no prisoners. There’s no cartilage in my left knee and my right knee sounds like a bag of nickles. There’s hair where there’s never been and none where there should be…”
The Ron James show airs every Friday at 8pm. If that doesn’t work for you you can always stream the episodes online right here! And here is the interview…
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Are you a professional journalist? You write very well. Great interview.