Margaret Cho’s ‘I’m the One That I Want’ now a film

By John Hartl
Seattle Times movie reviewer
July 2, 2000
 

Margaret Cho’s exhilarating one-woman show, “I’m the One That I Want,” had a sold-out run earlier this year at Meany Theater.  She returned last month to present Lionel Coleman’s movie version at the Cinerama, where the Seattle International Film Festival held the world premiere. (It returns Friday for a regular run at the Egyptian.)  To say that the reception was enthusiastic is an understatement. The audience ended up voting it the top American movie in the festival. Only a couple of Asian films earned more votes.  “I was so pleased and excited,” said Cho, speaking by phone from Los Angeles. “It was the same kind of reaction when I perform it live. Film is physically such a different experience, so I was so excited that it was just as powerful.”  One female audience member, unacquainted with Cho’s comic take on racism and sexism, told her the movie had changed her life. Cho said it wasn’t the first time she’d heard that.  “A lot of people are really affected by the honesty of the show,” she said. “When women talk about weight, addiction and sexuality, it’s an incredibly cathartic thing. My work is not always about entertainment. I like to talk about issues that are close to me.” Filmed at two evening performances last November at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, “I’m the One That I Want” grew out of Cho’s experiences growing up in the Bay Area and battling network executives on her television series, “The All-American Girl.”  So far, she’s heard nothing from ABC about her less-than-complimentary account of their attempts to slim her down and become “less ethnic” for the show.  She was particularly appalled by the addition of animated rickshaws and fortune cookies to a promotional spot she had filmed. At one point she jokes that “All-American Girl” was replaced by “The Drew Carey Show” because “he’s so skinny.”  “(My show) doesn’t really incriminate or indict anyone,” she said. “I’m just telling my story, and it’s not necessarily a charge against Hollywood or a battle cry. It’s just about being an artist.”  Cho first performed “I’m the One That I Want” in this form as an Off-Broadway show about a year ago. Her parents, who had never seen her do it before, turn up in the movie, as part of the audience.  “They never had any interest in coming before,” said Cho. “They were afraid, scared for me; the whole idea of what I do is really terrifying for them.  “Since it was such a big night, I thought it was important to share that with them. It was our hometown, and it seemed like it was time. I know they will be there at the San Francisco premiere of the movie; they’ve lost that fear.”  At the outset, she knew she wanted to make a filmed document of the show. She also wanted to stop doing the live version, write a book and a new show. She claims she did her last live performance of “I’m the One That I Want” at New York’s Town Hall on June 17, though she doesn’t rule out reviving it at some point.  “I love the Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy concert films,” she said. “They were incredibly influential on me, growing up, and this show was perfect for that kind of film. It’s the right subject, the right time in my career, and the tour was so successful there were more dates than I could physically do.”  It’s not her first experience with movies. She’s appeared in independent films (“It’s My Party”) and major-studio productions (“Face Off”), and she has a soft spot for a little-known picture called “Fakin’ the Funk.”  “It’s about a group of Chinese exchange students who get lost in L.A. and integrate with the culture. I think it’s on video.”  At the Cinerama premiere of “I’m the One That I Want,” Cho said it was strange to watch herself in a packed theater because she didn’t have to do anything.  “It’s really surreal,” she said. “I find myself really getting lost in it. It seems like another person. I rarely watch myself perform, anyway. It’s not part of my whole thing. I usually don’t go back and look at what I’ve done.”  She wasn’t entirely surprised by the reception at the festival.  “I’ve done many club dates in Seattle, and I think there’s this warmth and intelligence in Seattle. It’s very diverse and that reminds me of home.”  Would she make any changes?  “No, it’s a perfect film of this show. I had a real sense of a homecoming, especially with my parents being in the audience.”  How did she work with the director, Lionel Coleman?  “It was already directed, all he had to do was shoot it. He shot the film and he came to the performances and looked at it for the best angles. It was a very technical job, and that’s incredibly important.”  What’s the trick to creating a concert film that seems so alive?  “I think it’s psychic,” she said. “There’s a kind of weird metaphysical equation when it works.”  Has she watched it by herself, with no one else around?  “No, I think that would be scary.”