COMEDY : He’ll Explain You to Your Wife

Rob Becker thinks too many of his fellow comedians are getting cheap laughs at the expense of men.

“I’m one of the few comics around who doesn’t come out and say, ‘Men are pigs,’ ” says Becker, who comes to the Irvine Improv Tuesday, Sept. 4. “I don’t think men are pigs. I think women just misinterpret their actions.”

Pointing out the differences between the sexes has become the bedrock of Becker’s act. “I used to think men and women were just alike,” Becker says. “I used to think that until I got married. . . . I think there are some basic differences in the way we see the world.”

Men, for instance, don’t relate to the concept of shopping for things they have no intention of buying. “My wife will say, ‘Imagine this in our house.’ I have to say, ‘Honey, that doesn’t belong to us,’ ” Becker says. “For me to like something, I have to be able to afford it.”

His take on the sexes doesn’t always go over, he admits. “Some women get (angry) about it, to tell you the truth,” he says. But most women, he claims, “appreciate what I do.” And the men? “I get a lot of guys who come up to me (and say), ‘Thanks for explaining me to my wife,’ ” he says.

The idea is to recognize the differences but not to dwell on them. “That’s the whole challenge of a relationship,” Becker says. “You have to meet in the middle.”

Becker is an animated performer who has enjoyed a fast rise since moving to Los Angeles from San Francisco a year ago. He won a coveted spot on “Late Night With David Letterman” in April and is in the midst of negotiating his second appearance.

Even while touring heavily, Becker says he has found time to build up lots of new material since his last Improv dates in April. “This last year has been real fertile for me,” he says. “I’ve come up with a lot of new stuff.”

Who: Rob Becker, Rick Corso, Joey Scazzola.

When: Tuesday, Sept. 4, through Sunday, Sept. 9. Shows are at 8:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. on Friday; 8 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Irvine Improv, 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine.

Whereabouts: In the Irvine Marketplace shopping center, across Campus Drive from the UC Irvine campus.

Wherewithal: $7-$10.

Where To Call: (714) 854-5455.