The problem with daytime TV — as Bill Maher put it to the crowd on Sunday night — is that it just tells women what they want to hear and presumably already believe. That women are smarter than men, for instance, or that pregnant is sexy. "No, it's not," he said, countering that last one. "She's not glowing — she's just sweating."
Shows by Oprah and her ilk should all be re-titled "Making Women Nod," he added, mimicking the crowd shots of approval that follow every pandering remark.
Maher's show at Massey Hall didn't have a title, at least not one that anyone bothered to stamp on the ticket, but he could, and perhaps should have, gone with something like "Getting Easy Applause from the Politically Victorious."
It's not catchy, granted, but it's true to how most of the show played out. There was, yes, plenty of clapping and cheering for the longtime political comic. (Those of us on the rational and humane end of the spectrum have been in a pretty good mood since last Tuesday.) But actual laughter? Noticeably less. The show had many thoughtful silences — while the full house took in some wry point about Iraq or Dubya — followed by earnest applause of agreement, but not a lot of laughs.
The crowd wasn't against Maher — though, always the button-pusher, he had some winning-back to do after dropping "nigger" in the early minutes of his set. But much of Maher's 90 minutes sounded less like a comedy act and more like a jeremiad aimed at his usual targets, repeating for the crowd what they apparently already thought about the election, Republicans and the church, and adding little comic spin that hasn't already been covered by the likes of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Onion, his own show, other comics and any halfway intelligent conversation that's taken place between any left-wing people since 2000.
But hey, let's not get too serious. How about that Sarah Palin? Isn't she a twit? Am I right folks?
Cue the applause.