Funnyman Jim Breuer has been making people laugh since he was in high school. After four years coining iconic characters like “Goat Boy” on Saturday Night Live, he moved on to star in cult film classics like Half Baked, penned two books, recorded a heavy metal album, and appeared on late night talk shows including Jimmy Kimmel Live. Today, when he’s not touring the country with his new standup show, fans can catch him Thursdays on “The Jim Breuer Podcast” or tune in to his weekly radio show, “Fridays With Breuer,” both on Sirius/XM.
On March 10, the Long Island native will treat audiences to an evening of sidesplitting jocularity at The Pavilion at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. Haute Living caught up with Breuer ahead of his sold-out performance to talk all things comedy.
What can audiences expect to see and hear at your upcoming show?
Mostly, I talk about where I am in life—from turning 50 to mortality to raising three teenaged daughters to dealing with elderly parents and to whatever’s going on in the neighborhood. I don’t curse and I don’t talk about politics. The recent shows have been pretty off the handle.
Who’s coming to see your shows these days?
It’s pretty diverse, mostly families with young teens, older SNL fans, and those who know my standup comedy. I also get a lot of people who’ve heard me on Howard Stern, they’re the most conservative group in my audience.
You probably have some crazy stories from your Saturday Night Live days. Any standouts?
Tons although they’re too long to print. I could tell you the story of Alec Baldwin when he invited everyone out to play truth or dare or when New York’s former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and I ended up in an Italian restaurant drinking Sambuca and talking about how he took down the mafia when he was a district attorney or the times when Will Ferrell would lock into a character for weeks and you couldn’t address him as anything other than the character he’d picked. It was really funny.
The Saturday Night Live after-parties are the stuff of legend. What were they really like?
Every Saturday night you ended up at the SNL party and when I say “party,” it was more of a restaurant sit-down thing where the only people partying were the guests the cast members had brought. The party got started around 1:30 a.m. and by 3 a.m., it was done. For the most part, everyone was just talking and eating. No one was going crazy.
What’s your standup creation process? Do you try out your material on family and friends first?
No, I don’t bounce material off them. I’ve been around comedians that try their bits around you. I hate that. I came from a blue-collar family where we busted each other’s chops and found the funny in tragedies. When I hang out with my friends and family, we’re all laughing and just talking and when it’s over, that’s when I’m like, “Wow, that’s a great thing to talk about on stage.”
You’re one of the best character comedians in comedy. Where do you get your personifications from?
99-percent come from interaction with real people. I’m the corner street storytelling guy. I’m the guy in the garage that the neighbors come over to talk to and I keep you entertained for hours.
Do you get a lot of heckling for Goat Boy and your other funny characters?
Not until the end because I usually crush it for a solid hour. Then they’ll start going, “Do the goat! Do the party in the stomach! Do the Slayer bit!” I also had a Netflix show called “And Laughter For All.” I get a lot of those requests.
You’re known for personifying people who’re drunk or on drugs. Have you ever developed characters or performed while intoxicated or high?
I’m not going to say I haven’t but I don’t think that’s the way to come up with material. You shouldn’t need anything to make you funny. If I can’t be hilarious clean as a whistle, I should pack it in because I’m putting myself in a no-win situation down the road.
Is there anything you won’t joke about?
I don’t do politics and subjects about molesting. I used to tell this funny story about Will Ferrell. One time, he was walking around as this painter whose paints changed lives. He alluded that Tracy Morgan, Colin Quinn, and I were thugs so, that night, we pretended to be ne’er do wells and dragged him out of his dressing room and mock raped him. It was hilarious. The whole cast got in on it. People were dying every time I told this story but one night someone told me, “Rape is not funny.” I never told that story again. I’m not going to make fun of something that has badly traumatized someone’s life.
Comedy’s so challenging because everyone has an opinion about what’s funny or not. How do you determine what goes into the show and what gets shelved?
I kind of feel like I know what’s going to be funny. Still, I like to present small pieces for as long as I can. My bits are like making a cake. It starts with the eggs and the sugar and by the time it’s done, it’s a 10- to 15-minute piece. I’m not a one-liner guy. I bring you on journeys starting with the subject then I hit you with something. I find all the fun paths then I bring you back to where we started. By that time, everyone’s like “I can’t believe he wrapped that all together.“
What’s your goal as a comedian?
My goal is to crush. I want to crush you. I respect all the other stars but I feel most of them don’t have anything on me in the ring. That’s always been my attitude. You may have more credits. You may have been on television but if we get in the ring, I’ll take you down.
If you could improvise with anybody, who would it be?
Jimmy Fallon. I have improvised with him before and he used to come on my radio show. He’s very playful and very upbeat. When you put no egos in a room, you can get a lot done and be extremely creative.
What’s the best part of being Jim Breuer?
It starts with my family. We’ve seen the world. My wife and I, we beat the snot out of this place.
Sounds like you enjoy traveling. What settings do you enjoy best?
I like what nature has to provide like canyons and mountains and oceans and lakes. Stuff like that. I’d also love to see the pyramids but I’m not ready to go there right now.
What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve done?
I’ve gotten into a cage with a lion. That was pretty scary.
What’s on your bucket list?
I’d like to write really emotional, inspiring, and powerful films that are also funny. In 2020, we’re scheduled to go to Uganda to trek with wild gorillas. I’ve always had an infatuation with gorillas. When I was on the road, I would sit in the zoo and try to tap into their souls. Yeah, it was nuts.
