COMEDY REVIEW : Canadian Star Tries U.S. Waters

IRVINE —  Like many “on the rise” comedians, Canadian Mike MacDonald has landed his own sitcom. You probably won’t see it around here, though--his hard-times-in-the-wilderness show, “Mosquito Lake,” is strictly for Canadian TV.

MacDonald may do well in his role as a math teacher who escapes his job by dragging his wife and kids to a creepy mountain retreat. He’s a fluid mimic with all the big physical takes and timing that seem to go so well on the little screen.

Those skills were apparent throughout MacDonald’s Wednesday night performance at the Improvisation in Irvine, where he will play through Saturday. With MacDonald, a punch line is as apt to rely on his cache of body English, silly accents and delivery punctuations, often with several exclamation points. It’s easy to envision him taking a sitcom set-up line and dashing with it, keeping the laugh-track honest for a change.

At Irvine, MacDonald also showed that while he may be Canadian--he called himself, half-jokingly, that country’s greatest comic--he also has a mean case of America-envy. More than a couple of times, he talked about what a wonderful and weird land we have and how, if he’s really going to make it, he has to make it here. No, it wasn’t to the tune of “New York, New York.”

But he doesn’t forget his homeland, especially when seeking a safe refuge to look at the more curious, politically and otherwise, American qualities. It’s a comfortable position to be a reflective outsider, and MacDonald luxuriated there Wednesday.

One of his best comic paths had to do with our history, one that MacDonald recognizes is bloody and jingoistic. Let’s see, wasn’t it convenient for all those colonials that the British wore those bright red uniforms, just perfect for target practice. “Didn’t they have (a traveling team) uniform?” he wondered.

Then we had to take care of the Indians. With as much body language as anything, MacDonald communicated the attitude of “who the heck are these guys and what are they doing here? Move ‘em out, move ‘em out!”

In describing the longstanding relationship between America and Canada, MacDonald sees it as that of a little brother and big brother. You know, the big brother gets into all these fights around town and the little brother taunts his opponent safely from the brother’s shadow.

Like with Panama. MacDonald knew it was over for Noriega when President Bush put out the $1-million bounty. MacDonald acted out a scene in which one of Noriega’s men gets the news and begins seeing his boss in a new light. For his part, a nervous Noriega announces that he’s stepping out for a while, maybe going to church.

MacDonald’s satisfying performance was preceded by Jeff Garlin’s strong set. Garlin is one of those self-absorbed comics who thinks that all their internalizing is funny. In his case, it usually is.

Headliner Mike MacDonald will perform today and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. the Improvisation in Irvine, 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine. Tickets: $10. (714) 854-5455.