COMEDY REVIEW : Comic Lacks Finesse but Knows How to Hack It

Some people believe that funny is funny, while another school of thought holds that there are different kinds of funny.

John Fox, a living Exhibit A for the latter theory, brought the house down Wednesday night at the Laff Stop, as he invariably does during his frequent visits to the Newport Beach club.

What’s interesting about that: His act is almost devoid of wit, cleverness, insight, intelligence or inspired whimsy. He’s not much interested in ideas, language or subtlety.

His approach is so base, overblown and occasionally stoopid that he’d never be allowed on stage at an Improv, and it’s impossible to imagine him ever doing “Late Night With David Letterman.”

What’s interesting about that: “Letterman” is the first credit listed on his resume and one of those mentioned in his introduction Wednesday. That’s immensely surprising, so at odds with his act that it’s hard to believe. Sure enough, a spokesman for “Letterman” said Thursday that the program “has no record of his appearing on the show.”

Hmmm.

Despite this multitude of minuses, the fact remains that Fox killed big time Wednesday. If this sounds like he may be a hack--but a highly skilled hack--you’re reading the message loud and clear.

Indeed, Fox’s skill rests in his ability to wring big laughs from truly tasteless jokes and/or ones that are weak. For one thing, his delivery is exceptionally animated, expressive and physical. It’s as if his face and body were designed for mugging.

When you ask, “How many people think I look like Captain Kangaroo after a rough weekend?”--and you do --you’re mocking yourself in a way that puts an audience on your side, while indicating that everything is fair game.

And that’s probably no accident, but rather another facet of his considerable skill: He’s a shrewd technician who always knows exactly where the joke is. And in the absence of actual jokes (not an uncommon occurrence for Fox), he knows exactly where a potential laugh is and knows he can bag it if he’s loud/physical/coarse enough.

It’s not as though Fox is completely incapable of generating fresh or droll stuff. Discussing his previous professions, he achieved a nice hit-and-run twist when he said, “Before this I was a house painter for 5 years. I didn’t think I’d ever finish that (bleeping) house.”

But that was a rare gem, sandwiched as it was between bits about how tiny a little boy’s, uh, anatomy is, and how vocal his ex-wife was in the throes of passion. Which further supports the theory that there are different kinds of funny, as well as its corollary: that there are different kinds of un funny.

Headlining a bill that also includes Jonathon Doll, Fox continues at the Laff Stop through Sunday.

The Laff Stop is at 2122 S.E. Bristol St., Newport Beach. Show times: 8, 10 and 11:45 tonight and 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $6-$9. Information: (714) 852-8762.