COMEDY REVIEW : Tough-Talking Comedian Turns Out to Be a Pussycat

At first blush, comedian Joe Yannetty comes across as one of those tough-talking Italian guys--sufficiently long on street-wise attitude that push might come to a lot more than shove, pal.

But eventually it becomes clear that beneath the brusque exterior is a gen-u-ine sweetheart, the proverbial pussycat. Those conflicting traits make Yannetty an enormously engaging storyteller--but also prevented him from having as good a set as he deserved Thursday at the Laff Stop in Newport Beach.

Early in the show, he occasionally interspersed his tales with brief greetings or questions to members of the crowd; later, some in the crowd took this as a sign that they should feel free to indiscriminately holler lame comments, break into small discussion groups, or jump on stage and scoot past Yannetty into a newly vacated seat in the front row .

True story.

Even allowing for the very real possibility that there were some bona fide goofballs in the house, the duality of Yannetty’s persona may have encouraged this behavior. The more his nice-guy side surfaced--the more apparent it became that the rude and/or odd folks were going to be handled with kid gloves and bemused charm--the more control of the show he relinquished.

The situation demanded that Yannetty assert himself early on: a little earnest tough talk, a few razor-sharp phrases to squelch the Chatty Contingent might have reminded the audience that he was in charge, that he was running the show.

As it was, his authority slipped so far away that the black-clad woman who bounded across the stage later felt comfortable initiating a dialogue with her former party (and we do mean party) across the room--which she then decided to rejoin by clomping across the stage again .

True story II----every Fellini-esque detail.

Speaking of stories, Yannetty sort of compounded these unfortunate circumstances by launching into additional long ones, pushing the set length beyond an hour. It’s probably not a good idea to prolong an increasingly hellish show. The prudent thing might have been for Yannetty to utter his pithiest joke and depart at the 45-minute mark (assuming the Galloping Gal wouldn’t mind his traveling across her stage.)

Still, even though he blew the call by trying to carry on with a show that clearly had gotten away from him and was hurtling into the Twilight Zone, you could understand why he tried spinning more yarns: Under the right circumstances, he’s quite good at it.

He telegraphed this from the get-go Thursday. One of his first anecdotes dealt with flying--perhaps the most over-explored topic in stand-up--and it turned out to be fresh and clever. At one point, he recounted being told by a stewardess that he was prohibited from wearing his Walkman headphones during takeoff and landing. When he asked her why, she replied “In case of an emergency you have to be able to hear us over the loudspeaker.”

Yannetty didn’t quite buy this. “What could possibly go wrong on an airplane that I would not be able to surmise there was a problem, because I had headphones on? If I see the guy in front of me get sucked out the roof, I pretty much don’t want to listen to that tune anymore. . . .”

From there, he segued into a bit that not only offered the same kind of innovative execution but involved a more unusual topic: the tribulations of planning a wedding. For instance, in selecting an invitation and the accompanying envelopes, “they bring you a book the size of the first draft of the Bible.”

Fiancee: “Do you like this one?”

Yannetty: “Yes.”

Fiancee: “Do you like that one?”

Yannetty: “It’s beautiful.”

Fiancee: “(How about) that one?”

Yannetty: “I love it.”

Fiancee: “You’re just saying you like every one.”

Yannetty: “Exactly.”

“Like someone’s going to come up to you in the receiving line at the wedding, going ‘Joe, this place is great. The food was fantastic. The band is phenomenal. But those envelopes (stink!) How could you pick a stupid color like that?’ No, people open it up, they go ‘Hey, look, it’s pink inside--throw that away.’ ”

Yannetty also bemoaned the staggering expense of getting married, which required him and wife to take out a loan. “My wedding cost the equivalent of a 27-foot sportfishing boat. I got this,” he complained, pointing to his rather simple wedding band. “Oh, (my wife) got a nice ring. She’s got the first 22 feet of that boat. . . .”

There were plenty more gripes about the whole knot-tying process--though, again, we’d wager that this matrimonial curmudgeon is actually an absolute doll to his wife--just as there were plenty more stories about various members of his family; about the Volvo 760 Turbo Wagon (which supposedly “goes 160 m.p.h. . . . Who needs a station wagon that does 160? Who is this for--women who are always late getting the kids to school?”), and about recently visiting a petting zoo that had alligators.

Distinctive, witty and entertaining as most of his stories are, some don’t have the payoff to merit their length. Still, Yannetty is a refreshing monologuist with tremendous promise. If he creates more tales equal to his strongest ones, trims the weaker ones--and develops a more effective way of dealing with rude patrons and weird circumstances--there’s no question he will become a standout stand-up.

Joe Yannetty continues through Sunday at the Laff Stop, 2122 S.E. Bristol St., Newport Beach. Showtimes: 8, 10 and 11:45 p.m. Saturday, 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $6-$9. Information: (714) 852-8762.