George Carlin: comedic icon.  People all of ages seem to enjoy George Carlin’s scathing viewpoint on everything from religion and politics to parenting and old age - and all subjects in between.  A couple of years ago I wrote an article on my disappointment of Carlin’s 13^th HBO standup special.  The man whose comically matter-of-fact outlook on life usually brought a wide smile to my face now only made me feel uneasy and even a little nauseous because there was no longer any humor in his mannerisms, only bitterness and anger.  “Where’d the funny guy go?” I asked.

Apparently HBO thought George was funny his 13^th time out because they just brought him back for a 14^th.  When I first heard his was performing, I knew I had to watch; not because he was so damned funny, but because I wanted to see what kind of a train wreck he would be this time.  George is over 70 now and I figured if he was that curmudgeonly at 68, it could only get worse. 

For a long time George was, by far, my favorite comedian.  His timing was impeccable, his logic was sound, and his observations were witty and well thought out.  Add some classic facial expressions and tonal inflections and you have a brilliant performance.  George is a writer who details and perfects his 90-minute act long before he performs it live and his excellent writing skills shine through with his perfectly-executed delivery.  So when I watched George stumble and falter time and time again two years ago, it was sad.  When he had to repeatedly refer to his notes (something he’d only done before at comic workshops or when reading his “In the News” bits), I thought perhaps his age was showing.  When his subjects lacked much comedic value, I though perhaps he was just out of touch.  When I heard he was performing live last Saturday night, I marked the calendar and planned for a disaster.

I am happy to report, George Carlin, Funnyman At Large, is back!  This was the finest performance by George I’ve had the pleasure to witness since I saw him at The Club Casino in 1984.  He was back to his “old” self, and I do mean old – George is getting up there in years, but his mind is sharp as a tack and his wit is flawless.  There were absolutely no notes used all night.  He went seamlessly from one subject to the next, hanging onto one just long enough to wring the laughs out of it before moving deftly onto the next.  This was the George Carlin that kept me in stitches decades ago – the attitude was there, the facial expressions, the tones, everything.  Prepared for total disappointment, I was, in fact, elated that my comic hero had come back to life!

Carlin entertained the crowd dressed completely in black and surrounded by a living room setting that was just oversized enough to make him appear as if he’d shrunk about a foot – unless he actually HAS shrunk, in which case he was surrounded by a perfectly normal living room setting.  His overall theme was “BS In America”, but his subjects ranged from “Child Worship” to “Challenging Authority” to “How Long Should I Wait Before Deleting My Dead Friend’s Contact Information In My address Book?”  Some of the material he used sounded similar to some of his past rants, but when strung together using his incredible talent for manipulating the English language, it still sounds fresh, new, and most importantly, true.

One of Carlin’s most admired traits is his ability to see through the muck and mire that we all get tangled up in and draw us all a nice clear picture of reality.  Sure, he goes a bit overboard now and again – he’s a comedian, not a philosopher or a theologian.  George says what’s on his mind and it’s good to see that this septuagenarian’s mind is still clear and razor-sharp.  As he mentions during his performance, he does not have a very high tolerance of stupid people – something most of us can relate to.  The problem is, how often do we realize just how stupid we’re being ourselves?  It’s much easier to recognize stupidity in others – a cold hard fact of life that allows this very column to exist. 

So as I sit and watch George’s hour-plus act yet again via “On-Demand”, I get a warm feeling that the spark has not died and the genius lives on.  When I look at the other comedic offerings out there, I cringe.  Comedians today are so homogenized you can’t tell one Dane Cook-alike from another, and if they’re not ripping off someone’s material, they’re doing their best to shock you into laughing by using terms that would embarrass a longshoreman.  George is a curser, without remorse, but with an inkling of taste and flair – at least in his 14^th HBO special.

So, welcome back, George, we missed you!  You were gone far too long.