Clearly money was on Chris Tucker’s mind as he returned to his standup comedy roots after more than a decade. Owing $11 million in back taxes to the IRS would be a serious matter for some, but Tucker’s dilemma was a platform for his routine last night (Fril., Oct. 28) at The Fox Theatre.
The actor/comedian, whose films like Friday and Rush Hour put him on the Hollywood map, retained a sense of humor regarding his personal troubles which also includes a home foreclosure. Dressed in a bedazzled suit jacket and matching shoes, his return to stand-up jumped right into such stating that his 40-city trek is the “IRS tour.”
“That’s the last time I let Wesley Snipes help me pay my taxes,” he joked. He went onto saying that his financial decisions were so bad that he bought two houses next door to each other. “I would knock on the door asking for sugar and I was like yeah, you can borrow some sugar. You me!”
Fortunately his material expanded from his recent headlines to his times working on movies such as Friday. Behind a promise to get back into film, he proclaimed that “Ice Cube hardly paid us anything for (Friday). I think he paid us in CDs and weed but that was about it.” During such actor Tiny “Zeus” Lister reprised his Friday role as Deebo briefly rode out on stage in a bike to applause.
Behind recalling stories of his childhood, Tucker also tried his hand at impressions. He gave a laughable Sidney Poitier offering money advice and shared moments with Michael Jackson saying that he suggested Chris change his name to Christmas. His take on Jackson’s “Human Nature” followed as he enlisted crowd interaction while performing his signature impression of the pop star.
He did take time towards the end of his set to announce the Cardinals winning the World Series which sent the near capacity theater in an uproar. High fives to audience members led him to say “I’m glad to be here to celebrate with ya’ll. Don’t go home and do nothing crazy.”
Although Tucker staggered to find the next joke at times, he otherwise gave a funny and surprisingly clean showing. Up and coming comedian London Brown opened the show in which impressions of Paul Mooney and Chris Tucker garnered huge laughs. Comedian Terry Hodges was also on hand as a supporting act.
