Margaret Cho Stays on the Edge

Comedian back with new concert film, ‘Notorious C.H.O.’
by Todd Leopold, July 2, 2002
 

(CNN) -- Margaret Cho is letting it fly. Her new movie, “Notorious C.H.O.,” showcases her stand-up routine in its purest form. The movie was filmed on her recent concert tour of North America, and it shows Cho going for big pointed laughs, not so much the introspective self-examination of her previous show, “I’m the One That I Want.” “This show is a lot funnier and more outrageous,” Cho said in a phone interview from Los Angeles, California. “There are lots more jokes.” And, she added, she thinks she’s become better at delivering them. “I’m a better comedian now,” she said. “I think we get better with time unless we die, if we’re allowed to live.” ‘All-American Girl’ goes awry Cho certainly has more life experience to mine now. The comedian, 33, grew up in San Francisco, California, the daughter of Korean immigrants. She started performing when she was 16 and won a college comedy competition a few years later. First prize was an opportunity to open for Jerry Seinfeld. Of course, there was a catch: Cho wasn’t in college at the time. “[Seinfeld] told me to quit school,” she laughs, before she admitted that she was way ahead of him. Cho became a hit on the college circuit and, by 1994, had been featured on late-night talk shows and a Bob Hope special. At that point, ABC gave her the stand-up comedian’s traditional prize: the lead role in a sitcom. But “All-American Girl,” which cast Cho as a – duh! -- hip Korean-American woman with a very traditional mother, was canceled after one season and threw the comedian’s life into a spiral. The network and producers wanted an ethnic show but not too ethnic; they tried to reshape Cho into somebody she wasn’t, asking her to lose weight and make changes in her life. “By the end,” she writes on her Web site, “[the show] was completely lacking in the essence of what I am and what I do.” She did put the experience to good use, however, making it a central part of “I’m the One That I Want,” an off-Broadway one-person show that led to a tour and a successful film. Inspiration from Madonna The “Notorious C.H.O.” tour began August 30. Two weeks later, the September 11 terrorist attacks brought the show to a temporary halt. Cho was inspired to get back on the road, she said, by Madonna. “I saw Madonna on the 14th, and she brought the audience to its feet,” she said. “That was so comforting. It inspired me to want to help people get out of their depression.” Cho was doing shows the next night. A number of the proceeds from tour dates went to charity. She does talk about September 11 in the show, she said, but it’s in a section unrelated to the rest of the material. She observes that the post-attack atmosphere has been interesting. “We’re embracing patriotism, and that hasn’t been chic for 100 years. ... We’re reinvigorating ourselves,” she said. But at the same time, she said, “9/11 made people question what America looks like and who they are. ... People associate foreigners with terrorism, and there are dangers behind that. America is made up of foreigners.” She said she has high hopes for “Notorious C.H.O.,” especially based on the reception given “I’m the One That I Want.” “I think this one is better,” she said. “It’s a really polished work. It was a lot of fun for me to do.” Cho has the next few months planned out. She’ll be working on new material, particularly a script for a self-described “broad comedy.” Whatever it is, she’ll be sticking with what she does best – being herself. “I don’t really have an agenda,” Cho said. “I don’t care about being on a sitcom or making an impression [to the powers that be]. I’m doing all this ... because this is what I want to do. So I’m free to do whatever I like to.”