COMEDY REVIEW : Leno’s Alter Ego Needs to Alter His Routine Too

Kevin Rooney and Jay Leno have been linked both personally and professionally for years. They’re close friends and writing partners, having co-scripted Leno’s acclaimed Showtime special “Jay Leno and the American Dream.”

With all this familiarity, it’s predictable there would be similarities in comic styles. The lean, bald comedian, who performed Wednesday at the Improvisation, where he’ll continue through Sunday, draws from many of the same reservoirs as Leno--he relies on a topical eye sharpened by layered irony and a rising indignation over the way things are turning out.

Equally noticeable, he possesses much of Leno’s steady timing and confidence. In fact, Rooney is slicker than Leno, the model comic who rarely offends but almost always ingratiates. Rooney may be too slick; he often lacks the underlying working-class charisma that makes Leno so welcoming.

Still, Rooney’s Improv performance was a success, albeit an uneven one. Rooney’s thoughtful humor grabbed the audience but did have a hard time holding it. During the better bits--from a survey of today’s political headlines to an existential gasp about the prospects of fatherhood--he held sway.

Other times, such as when he dwelt too long on his baldness, there was clear drift. It angered Rooney at one point, and he scolded a couple near the front for gabbing about his jokes the moment they were delivered. They weren’t an isolated case; during more than half of his 45-minute show, a threesome behind me talked loudly about what they had done that day.

The inattention seemed to peak during all the bald business. Leno also gigs on his looks, reciting from a list of descriptions of himself he’s gathered from newspapers over the years (his favorite is “the pelican-faced comic”), but he knows when to pull away.

Rooney’s lingering here was too self-involved. Sure, baldness is his trademark, but enough already. A more personally affecting bit was the fatherhood set-piece--his ruminations over that terrifying, humbling reality had the wonderful sweep of shared experience.

Kevin Rooney will play at the Improvisation today at 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.; Saturday at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.; and Sunday at 8 p.m. Tickets: $7 and $10. (714) 854-5455. The Improv is at 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine.