Janeane Garofalo: If You Will

A standup comic for 25 years, Janeane Garofalo leaves us grinning from ear to year without sacrificing the controversial material that's given the comic her mark in a male-dominated industry.

Garofalo's If You Will critiques Homeland Security and addresses religion, racism, and parricide without missing a laugh. The ability to insulate strong messages and gauge a sold-out Seattle auditorium while fluffing witty banter with hand gestures and a solid repertoire of expressions gives Garofalo her unmistakable style. This comeback is fluid, classy, and smart, proving that the '90s personality is still facetious enough to command a cult following.

"What is the measure of a man... who am I, who are we, if we're not creating content, creating content, creating content?"

Garofalo is a self-proclaimed neo-luddite. She also puts her celibacy, atheism, and personal bout with alcoholism on the chopping block before a largely receptive audience. But visions of the comedian are nothing if not rebellious. She was rumored to have left the set of Saturday Night Live in 1995 after only 6 months because of a pervasive sexist environment, describing the experience as one of the most miserable of her career.

"Some people want to run with the bulls in Pamplona. Some people want to see the pyramids of Giza. You know what my dream is? To be a highly functioning alcoholic."

The Emmy-nominated performer brings the same irreverent attitude to her standup routines as she does to her film and television roles--Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Wet Hot American Summer, and her acclaimed performance as Vicki Miner in Ben Stiller's 1994 cult classic Reality Bites, to name a few. It's her seemingly benign "anti-establishment" sensibility that eventually led to her opposition to the Iraq War and later to the Tea Party movement. And she takes no issue with mixing her political views and humor--which is arguably a big part of her continued success.

"If you don't recognize the 'Teabaggers' and the majority of the Republican party---and the conservative movement at this point---is racist, then I would say to you to go home and mark your calendar nine months hence because you are in danger of having a baby in the toilet."

What Garofalo's cynicism awards us in the end, is a reminder that standup comedy isn't only meant to lighten the mood, but also serves to deepen the discourse. (And don't expect to find her on Twitter, because she's not there.)