COMEDY REVIEW : Best-of-Year Comic Wallows in Popularity at Celebrity Theatre

Tim Allen may have been the top pig at the Celebrity Theatre on Friday night--his featured set was met with the usual snuffles, snorts and barks of his snoutish followers--but Jeff Foxworthy gave him some competition for crowd favorite by riding in on a wave of almost instant celebrity.

Foxworthy, a Southerner as lean as his drawl, was named the best stand-up performer of the year at the American Comedy Awards last month, beating out several better-known comics, including Allen.

When KLOS-FM disc jockey Geno Michellini, the host of the three-comedian “5 O’Clock Funnies” bill, announced Foxworthy’s honor, the audience went bonkers. They even snorted for him, proving that while men may be pigs, they can be generous pigs.

The Atlanta native acknowledged the support humbly, reflecting the surprise he showed during his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony. He then went on to offer a relatively short but tight set marked by competence but lacking exceptional material.

It was obvious that the audience enjoyed Foxworthy, and that may be the only yardstick necessary for a comedian to gather accolades, but weaknesses in his routine were as clear as his strengths.

Foxworthy’s act is well-organized and thought-out, but there’s little surprise at work. He also tends to dip into the crude bucket--not as much as, say, Allen, but enough for it to be a signature of his style.

His focus is the South, especially that perennial favorite of backwoods, backwards thinking, the redneck . During his best bit, Foxworthy rattles off a list of redneck giveaways, all with the lead-in “You might be a redneck if . . ..”

Among them:

-- Your wife’s hairdo has ever been ruined by a ceiling fan.

-- You go to a stock car race and don’t need a program.

-- Directions to your house include “turn off the paved road.”

-- Your family tree does not fork.

That last one is particularly good and shows that Foxworthy can come up with right-on lines. He tosses them out with an aggressive, calculated manner that moves smoothly and effortlessly. But in this cool approach lies trouble; Foxworthy can be too slick, without the engaging quality of the storyteller who draws you in as much with charisma as with material.

This was underscored by Franklyn Ajaye, the comedian who followed. Ajaye, who’s been around a lot longer than Foxworthy, never seemed as in-control as Foxworthy but brought a slight edge of unpredictability that had resonance.

Without saying a word, the oh-so-relaxed Ajaye opened his set with a clarinet solo. Just one run--not great, but not bad either--and then on to the jokes. It was that little difference that got you interested.

From there, he talked to the audience, sharing his amusing thoughts on a bunch of topics, from golfing to being black to taking tests in college. Now, Ajaye’s set was probably as rehearsed as Foxworthy’s, but it didn’t feel like it. That’s the kind of difference that draws you in.

After Ajaye’s routine, Mr. Piggy himself took the stage and performed the longest set by far of the night. Dressed in a fancy beige suit and almost defying the crowd not to get involved, Allen put himself in charge.

Most of the material was fairly old, but his ruminations on power tools and male/female distinctions--basically, Allen’s view is that women are prissy and civilized and men are vulgar and uncivilized--were funny enough to satisfy even the most discriminating Cro-Magnon.