Jan. 01--"I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be to see this year out," John Oliver started earnestly, before he gave the audience his mischievously amicable grin. "Not physically, obviously."
No, the British comedian and host of HBO's relevant, clever "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" has heard of Chicago's winter weather and politics, and he'd rather have been somewhere else physically. But spiritually, Chicago is the place for him to bid 2015 a not-so-fond farewell.
With "Last Week Tonight" on break till next year, Oliver -- a consummate stand-up who also hosted "John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show" for four seasons on Comedy Central -- brought his infectious intellectualism here for a two-night run of four sold-out shows (including one that will end just before midnight New Year's Eve) to the "ludicrously opulent" Chicago Theatre, a venue he described as "designed during a Liberace fever dream."
Local comedian Natalie Jose -- an endearing force to be reckoned with who performs around Chicago and has for years -- opened with an energetic, self-deprecating 20 minutes. "I should be rich," she said. "I'm from Naperville." Though her set was tight and well-structured, there was a mismatch between Oliver's socio-political commentary and Jose's hard-partying persona that kept her from gelling with the audience. "I'm supposed to be relatable up here," she lamented at one point. Catch her in a smaller venue to fully appreciate her charm.
Oliver, ever the populist, has charm to spare, as he tossed out flowery turns of phrase with a cultivated air of self-aware Englishness. "I'm British," he says at one point. "That doesn't make me better than you ... anymore."
It is a strange phenomenon that Americans attribute higher intelligence to those who speak with an English accent, which works in Oliver's favor for his high- and low brow material. When he discussed politics (which he did frequently, both world and local), it's easy to view him as an expert, and when he played out a physical gag about a locker room full of unclothed soccer (ahem, "football") players, it felt especially funny to hear an accent we regard as refined brought down to that level.
Oliver, clearly a quick wit during interviews and in the off-the-cuff responses to hecklers during this show, almost seems to employ self-abasement as a means of staying relatable. He described his personal foibles and childhood embarrassments in exacting detail, so that when he delivered treatises on our own perceived American exceptionalism there was no offense to be taken -- he's already confessed and expressed his own feelings of deep inferiority.
For those who don't know, Oliver cut his teeth with a lengthy stint on "The Daily Show," where he proved (and improved) his skills as a political satirist (culminating in his adept handling of guest-hosting responsibilities while Jon Stewart was out for several weeks in 2013), and much of his effective style of delivering judgment without being condescending is undeniably Stewartesque.
His extensive experience poking fun at (and, more recently, digging deeper into) current events -- whether absurd or tragic -- left him especially prepared to speak to Chicagoans, and he hits hard on our lengthy political history ("Nobody does it like Chicago, Illinois does it!") and up-to-the minute events. Discussing embattled Mayor Rahm Emanuel's most recent news conference on Wednesday, Oliver pointed out that the mayor's call for 30-day desk duty for police officers involved in shootings only served to highlight that the previous amount was only three days ("72 hours -- a long weekend").
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