O.C. COMEDY REVIEW : Leno Pokes Fun With Gentlest Jabs

Jay Leno, at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center on Friday, showed just how civilized a comedian he can be. His often hilarious (though sometimes overworked) pokes at everything from fast food to slow parents was practically an object lesson in how nice guys can get ahead.

Leno fills auditoriums, hosts big-time award programs (such as the Emmys last year) and makes extra cash pitching Doritos on TV (and, according to the rumor mill, he may replace Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show” when Carson’s contract expires in September). To many young comics, he well may be the most realistic and accessible symbol of making it.

At 40, he has achieved all this with talent tempered by a personality that has its own checks and balances. He’s pretty conservative as comics go, a performer who obviously doesn’t think mainstream is a bad word.

His Bren gig was signature Leno--witty, polished, engaging (almost lovable, the overgrown kid dressed up in fancy clothes) and daring only to a point. He apologized during a gentle tease of his 80-year-old parents, and even his most muscular jabs at airlines, McDonald’s and television were almost gracious in their delivery. (By the way, Jay, how come no blasts at Doritos? Are they better for you than a Big Mac?)

Sometimes one wished he would really wade in, drop all this honorable stuff and swing for the groin. With intelligence like his, Leno could leave some mean bruises. But apparently comedy isn’t a weapon to him, as it is to someone such as George Carlin. His fans knew what to expect going in, and he gave them pretty much what they expected.

In one way, maybe they got a little too much of what they expected. Leno rolled out some musty bits from his repertoire, such as the one about the trouble his parents keep having with that $1,200 VCR he gave them a while back. Leno may have been the first stand-up comic to talk about how the clock is always stuck flashing “12,” but it seems like just about everybody does it now.

Actually, anyone familiar with his career already has heard most of Leno’s anecdotes and reflections on his parents, but I didn’t mind listening to several of them again. Leno’s loving descriptions of his technology-fearing mother and hardware store-infatuated father is more like storytelling than joke-telling; it carries the pleasure of intimacy.

There were forays into topical regions, such as the Gulf War. A brief but strong bit found him wondering where the Iraqis are getting all those American flags to burn. “They don’t have water or food but they never have any trouble finding flags. . . . you know, I don’t see many Iraqi flags around here.” He even goosed the media a little, asking the crowd if we had seen CNN correspondent Peter Arnett’s latest movie, “Sleeping With the Enemy.”

On that fast-food trail, he imagined a McDonald’s conspiracy to use every part of the cow. First there were McRibs; later there might be “McMarrow” and “McGristle.” And how can you respect a company that makes a big deal about employing senior citizens at minimum wage ? “Yeah, it’s McDonald’s cradle-to-the-grave minimum-wage program.”

As for television, he whined back at ABC’s “thirtysomething” for being so whiny. Imagining he was watching the program, Leno yelled back at the characters: “Hey! Can’t you blow up a car or hit somebody in the eye? Do something!” He then veered to the new Star Trek, describing its new cast as a “scab crew.”

One of his more probing moments came as he speculated on the vigilantism that might be bred by all those crime shows in which the public is asked to find fugitives. He touched on what those shows say about our culture, that some folks are looking for criminals on every corner. But he pulled back quickly and moved to another bit. Before you knew it, he was nice again.