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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

No Cure for Cancer

Denis Leary

Showtime · 1993 · 62 min

A high-volume defense of smoking, meat-eating, and being a jerk.

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Denis Leary struts onto the stage armed with a cigarette and an aggressive defense of his own bad behavior. The hour operates on a single frequency of high-volume cynicism, peaking with the song “Asshole,” an upbeat anthem where he happily lists out his daily offenses. The routine functions as an attack on the health-conscious trends of the era, built on the premise that being a toxic jerk is a point of pride.

Filmed at Irving Plaza in New York City in late 1992 and televised the following year, the 45-minute set was a commercial breakthrough. Directed by Ted Demme, the show catapulted the comic from the club circuit into an MTV fixture and Hollywood actor. He spends the runtime defending meat, recreational drugs, and tobacco with a rapid-fire delivery. The performance drew lasting criticism for its resemblance to the persona of contemporary Bill Hicks, but it found a massive audience eager to hear someone shout at them about their habits.

The set list

5 bits

  1. I'm an Asshole song

    Performs an unapologetic opening musical number declaring himself to be an asshole, accompanied by his backing band.

  2. Deaths of musicians

    Rants about premature deaths of musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughan while questioning why Jon Bon Jovi cannot get into a helicopter, and quips 'one down, three to go' regarding Andy Gibb.

  3. The Stairmaster

    Mocks exercise equipment, questioning whether humans running on Stairmasters have become gerbils.

  4. Rehab in the 1970s

    Contrasts modern rehab with the 1970s, when rehab just meant stopping coke while continuing to drink and smoke pot.

  5. Father and newborn son

    Offers a tender reflection on his chain-smoking macho father and his own emotions following the birth of his son.

How it plays

Tone
Outraged, cynical, aggressive, satirical, and unapologetic.
On stage
An angry, fast-talking, chain-smoking, beer-swilling comic projecting irritation, mock rancor, and an anti-politically correct attitude.
Pace
High-energy, fast-paced, and chaotic, sustained by relentless shouting and ranting.
About
cigarette smoking, drug use and rehab, red meat and vegetarians, political correctness, death and cancer, family and fatherhood

What the critics said

Praised by reviewers as a well-paced, energetic, and professional showcase of outraged comedy, though noted for relying heavily on delivery over substantive joke-craft and burdened by evident similarities to Bill Hicks's routines.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, letterboxd.com, variety.com, nytimes.com, latimes.com.

Backstory

Conceived as a stage performance and television distillation of his off-Broadway show, directly rejecting political correctness while embracing chain-smoking and rock-and-roll rebellion.

Details

Released
Taped
1992, Irving Plaza, New York City
Runtime
62 min
Where
Showtime
Director
Ted Demme
Topics
After
Lock 'n Load (1997)

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