Skip to content
Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Revolution

Margaret Cho

Nettwerk America · 2003 · 85 min

Margaret Cho blends post-9/11 politics with physical comedy in Los Angeles.

Margaret Cho walks onto the stage of the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on a mission to turn personal insecurity and post-9/11 anxiety into political rallying cries. Filmed in May 2003, this performance captures a transitional point in Cho’s career where her comedy began shifting heavily toward overt social activism. She spends her set targeting the Bush administration’s “Axis of Evil,” George W. Bush’s pronunciation of “nuclear,” and the predatory nature of the beauty industry, alongside her classic, highly animated impressions of her mother. The material ranges from the political to the intensely physical, including a graphic story about a bad diet that caused her to lose control of her bowels in public. This third national tour followed her breakout successes I’m the One That I Want and Notorious C.H.O., securing a Grammy nomination for Comedy Album of the Year in the process. While fans embraced her call for self-esteem as an act of political defiance, contemporary critics noted a growing divide in her work, arguing that her focus on progressive sermonizing occasionally overtook her instincts as a storyteller.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Condoleezza Rice trying to teach George W. Bush how to pronounce 'nuclear'

    Cho morphs into Rice as a blaxploitation superbitch brandishing flashcards over the president.

  2. The war in Iraq as an international penis contest

    Frames the geopolitical conflict between George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein as an insecure masculine posturing contest.

  3. Childbirth and lacking maternal instincts

    Proclaims herself a staunch non-breeder, describing the miracle of childbirth as literally explosive and deadpanning that she ovulates sand.

  4. Asian stereotypes and the lack of role models in media

    Critiques limited casting to manicurists or opium smokers, dissects Memoirs of a Geisha, and refuses to model herself on Hello Kitty because she has no mouth to speak.

  5. Tyranny of sizing and Dr. Atkins

    Vows to dance on the grave of Dr. Atkins with two big loaves of bread while recounting the severe digestive consequences of persimmon-heavy dieting.

  6. Being a problem dinner guest who prompts 'Don't go there' or 'Too much information'

    Fires back that she doesn't just go there—she bought a house there and will gladly give a tour.

How it plays

Tone
Provocative, raunchy, impassioned, and politically charged.
On stage
Raunchy, uninhibited, unapologetically inappropriate, and fiercely vocal champion of marginalized communities and progressive causes.
Pace
Features deliberate, suspenseful liminal pauses before character transformations, blending rapid obscene verbiage with silent physical mime.
About
Politics and the Bush administration, The war in Iraq, Asian American representation and Hollywood stereotypes, Diet culture and body image, Sexuality and LGBTQ+ advocacy, Bodily functions and childbirth

What the critics said

Praised for Cho's exceptional physical mimicry and bold candor, though several critics noted the special was choppier and felt preachier and less narratively cohesive than her breakout film 'I'm the One That I Want'.

In the room: Adoring and enthusiastic fan base, highlighted by opening footage of concertgoers discussing what revolution means to them.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: variety.com, rottentomatoes.com, frameline.org, slate.com, inthesetimes.com, voanews.com, imdb.com, newsreview.com.

Backstory

Filmed in 2003 amidst the launch of the Iraq War and an increasingly polarized political climate under the Bush administration, addressing censorship and attacks on civil liberties.

Details

Released
Taped
Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles
Runtime
85 min
Where
Nettwerk America
Director
Lorene Machado
Topics
Before
Notorious C.H.O. (2002)
After
CHO Revolution (2004)

More from Margaret Cho

If you liked this