TV Review : HBO’s ‘Loco Slam’: Cursing Isn’t Any Funnier in Spanish

Because Latinos have such little presence on television, there’s a natural tendency to herald every inroad made on the tube. But what should we make of “Loco Slam,” HBO’s showcase for Latino stand-up comics?

Is it a major step for Latinos on cable’s premium channel? Or just a tried-and-true vehicle that suggests Latino comedians curse better because they do it bilingually?

Modeled after HBO’s showcase for black comics, “Def Comedy Jam,” “Loco Slam” features a host (Carlos Mencia) and three or four other comics on each of the 30-minute shows in this four-episode experiment. (Each show premieres on Friday and repeats several times.)

Taped at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, the tone on tonight’s outing is set by Mencia, whose opening monologue is flooded with the “F” word. Mencia can be wildly funny, as he proved in his stint as host of “Comedy Compadres,” the forerunner of “Loco Slam” that had a short run on KCOP-TV last year. But freedom of speech doesn’t necessarily help Mencia or many other of his cohorts. It’s no longer shocking to hear expletives or graphic references to sex and body parts, and the repeated uses here quickly become numbing.

But each of the comics in tonight’s premiere has his or her moments. And they certainly represent the spectrum of Latinos in stand-up, including a Puerto Rican (Herb Quinones), a Dominican (Ludo Vika), a Chicano (Jeff Garcia) and a self-described “white Latino” (Pablo Francisco). Quinones does a funny bit about the most dangerous weapon in any Latino home: a mother’s house slipper; Francisco is a gifted sound-effect comedian.

And there are laughs aplenty throughout the four episodes, especially from those who focus on solid material and not on shock value. Hey, I’m no prude, but there’s no substitute for talent--in any language.

* “Loco Slam” premieres at midnight tonight on HBO.