O.C. COMEDY REVIEW : Poundstone’s Bent Offerings Come Up Short : Uneven opportunities to interact with the audience was reflected in her show at the Improv in Irvine.

Paula Poundstone is known for her impromptu exchanges with the audience--she just picks someone or something and starts jawing in her bent sort of way.

Knowing that, it’s fair to say that Poundstone’s act can either sail or sink on the strength of her spontaneity and wit on any given night. At the Improv on Tuesday, where she also headlines Friday and Saturday, Poundstone found uneven opportunities, and it was reflected in her act.

At times, it was fun just watching her talk, such as when she gently picked on a guy in the front row who said he worked for “the parent company” of 7-Eleven, implying he didn’t hand out Slurpees in one of the lowly franchises.

Poundstone zeroed in on the pretension in that, giving him a series of verbal noogies after she learned that he played for the 7-Eleven softball team.

“Hmmm, I guess the 7-Eleven workers don’t have time for a softball game,” she intoned, “ . . . (but) when you’re an executive, you can go out and throw a ball around all afternoon. . . .”

Not hilarious, but it made a point about privilege, even class distinctions.

Later, though, her needling of a quiet engineer named George and his uneasy date was pretty barren, amusing only because of the embarrassment factor. Poundstone’s compass was set in their direction as she kept coming back to them--but they weren’t that interesting.

Poundstone’s regular routines tended to pay off, but they too were inconsistent, hampered by a style that can be cloyingly self-conscious. Poundstone has something of Rita Rudner’s abstract reflective nature, but not always her rarefied illumination.

The best moments came when she got really wiggy, such as with her recollections on baby-sitting. The story started with Poundstone talking about how she shut up some 4- and 5-year-olds by telling them her head came off. One kid didn’t fall for it, but the other did. He said his came off too, with a zipper. How did hers come off?

Like an aspirin bottle, she explained, “I have to line up the arrows.” While the kids pondered that, Poundstone did her own thinking: “I can’t wait to baby-sit again. You know they’re gonna be staring at my head the whole time.”

Her head turned up later when she talked about the high cost of medical care and her fear that a metal chip is lodged in the back of her brain. Going for a scan would be too expensive, so Poundstone decides to head out to the airport instead--a ride through the metal detector should let her know what she needs to know.

Poundstone found a local slant early on when she followed in the footsteps of many comics who come to Orange County and talk about freeways and driving. Even Jamboree Road, one of Irvine’s main thoroughfares, was mentioned. With a name like that, Poundstone thinks it should be a lot more fun.

“When Jamboree comes up, I’m never happy enough. . . . I enjoy turning onto Hullabaloo.”

Do we have a Hullabaloo Road out here? We should, you know.

Paula Poundstone performs Friday at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. and Saturday at 8 and 10:30 p.m. at the Improv, 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine. Tickets: $8 to $12. (714) 854-5455.