Jamie

Weinstein

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October 14, 2008

Evan Sayet on Leno, Letterman, Stewart, O’Brien, SNL . . . and More Maher

When last we left our friend Evan Sayet, the conservative Hollywood comedian was ripping into his former boss, HBO's Bill Maher. But throughout my interviews with him, Sayet doesn't shy away from offering praise for liberal TV comedians and shows, including Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien and Saturday Night Live.

Stewart is his favorite lefty. He likes the Comedy Central comic because, besides being genuinely funny, "he doesn't take himself as serious as the others do" and "he takes shots at both sides." But even while praising Stewart, Sayet points out the double standard that is infused in Stewart's comedy.

"You know, [Stewart will] make fun of John Edwards's haircut, but he will attack George Bush's beliefs. And that is something you see over and over again from the leftist comedians even when they are attempting to be even-handed because they agree with the beliefs of the left," he says. "Nonetheless, he gets that his job is to be a social commentator and sometimes that means making fun of the left."

Sayet came to appreciate Conan O’Brien's humor after seeing a live taping of his show. More than his humor, though, O'Brien "exudes" a certain "decency," according to Sayet, and seems to understand how lucky he is to have the job he has. As for Saturday Night Live, Sayet thinks that the comic institution is fulfilling an important public role.

"I think (SNL has) done a great job," Sayet explains. "You know, I don't need 50/50, but when you've got the media sticking their head up Obama's behind and only one group of people are saying anything about it and it is Saturday Night Live, you've got to tip your hat to them."

It should be noted that his comments came before SNL's latest season got underway. It is very possible that he may have a different opinion now after watching the show ruthlessly skewer Sarah Palin. Or, like me, he may just find it bitingly funny.

When it comes to America's two most important late night hosts, however, Sayet's view isn't so nice.

"(Jay Leno) is the guy that eases you into bed every night," he says, "So his jokes aren't very deep. They are always the surface level joke. There is one thing you know about George Bush, he is stupid. So as soon as the man says George Bush you know the punch line is 'he's stupid.' You know, there is one thing you know about Bill Clinton, he is a philanderer. And so as soon as he says Bill Clinton you know the punch line is philanderer."

David Letterman is a sensitive subject for Sayet. It was Letterman who befriended Sayet when he was a young stand-up in New York City in the 1980s and helped him score his first job when he moved to Hollywood. Still, Sayet speaks freely about the faults he sees in his former friend. "Letterman has been very, very good to me," Sayet says. "I know him to be a good, decent, loving, generous man. But he is what David Mamet calls a 'Brain Dead Liberal.'" Sayet also charges that Letterman's comedy is dishonest and paints President Bush, and even America itself, in a negative light.

But isn't it acceptable for comedy to be dishonest to elicit a laugh?

"Not if you are pretending to be socially important," Sayet contends. "By definition, if it didn't have certain hyperbole, if it didn't have certain twists along the way, then it wouldn't be a joke, it would be a statement. It is a given. I am sure Rodney Dangerfield did get some respect. But when it is a one-sided campaign and there is an agenda and a well-known agenda, especially in a time of war, there is no excuse for it."

Speaking of his friend and fellow conservative comedian Dennis Miller, Sayet has nothing but praise. "He has always been smart," Sayet says about Miller. "I loved him when he was a Democrat. He was bright. He was fresh. He was all of those things. What I've noticed more than anything about Dennis Miller that since he has become a Republican he has become a nicer human being. And I believe these two things go hand in hand."

But back to Maher, a man, unlike Miller, who Sayet clearly doesn't think is a particularly nice individual: Sayet has come up with one more thing that he feels is at play with Maher, in addition to his narcissism and his need to be liked, that explains his psyche. To understand Maher, he says, you have to understand the infantilization that is inherent in stand-up comedy and in show business – a criticism that must hit close to home for Sayet, a fellow stand-up, whether he realizes it or not.

"Stand-up comedy is about the most infantile profession you can aspire to," he says. "You don't work. I mean, they even call what you do play. You know, 'Where was Bill Maher last week? He was playing in Chicago' . . . So you have these permanently infantilized people who work 20 minutes a day? Forty minutes a day? How long is a comedy set?  And the rest of the time, literally, they are watching Gilligan's Island. Literally they are watching I Love Lucy episodes smoking dope and touching themselves. And this is a profession that allows you, if you have any kind of success, to continue to be infantile your entire life."

While it is unclear whether Sayet has ruined his chances of appearing on all the late night shows, it seems all but a certainty that you won't see him as a panelist on Bill Maher Real Time anytime soon.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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