Comedy Now!: Harland Williams

Harland Williams doing stand-up in the late nineties is an exercise in controlled absurdity. He relies heavily on bizarre vocalizations, surreal tangents, and a total commitment to odd premises that succeed through his deadpan earnestness.

By 1999, Williams was already a recognizable character actor in American multiplexes, having secured memorable roles in films like Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary. Returning to his native Canada, he filmed this half-hour set for the third season of Comedy Now!, a broadcast showcase on CTV and The Comedy Network. The barebones television format strips away the Hollywood gloss, leaving him on a plain stage to run through the left-field material that originally built his career.