In its latest attempt to create cutting-edge programming, Comedy Central slapped together ‘Out on the Edge,’ a lame, hour-long embarrassment that looked more like a parody of gay comedy than a showcase.

Gays, as almost everyone knows, have the capacity to be scathingly funny and talented, which they do mostly on Broadway and in Canada. Comedy Central’s attempt to condense that je-ne-sais-gay talent of true ‘edge-dwellers’ into a half-hour program was less than half-assed – it was sad. A better attempt could have been staged by the Office of Residence Life at the Jabberwocky Caf.

Host Alan Cumming, known for such not-so-funny roles as Nightcrawler in ‘X2’ and Fegan Floop in ‘Spy Kids 2,’ tried his hand at stand-up to kick off the show. Once that flopped, he tried switching shirts and hairstyles between every commercial break, perhaps to keep viewers on their toes – but certainly not to make them laugh.

The rest of the show consisted of a smattering of awful performances by pretend singers and dancers and a couple of pretentious stand-up comedians. Gay Pimp, known in elite dirtbag circles for his annoyingly homoerotic techno-romp ‘Soccer Practice,’ performed a dance routine with two boys in soccer uniforms that looked like it was choreographed by Donald Rumsfeld. Heck, maybe it was – the secretary of defense sure is on the edge. Plus, he has a lesbian daughter.

The shameless assault on the good-humored gay community continued with a screeching number by dreadlocked lesbian barnyard rock band ‘Betty,’ which offered rousing, out-of-tune lines like, ‘How about a little sloppy sugar for my tasty meal?’ I guess this is what passes for gay humor, at least on Comedy Central.

Lesbian comic Vera Cruz popped on the stage for a bit to say she shopped at thrift stores and to make fun of her mother. Hers was the stale, self-deprecating act even so many straight comics fall prey to these days. Call it a good step for affirmative action, but don’t call it funny.

The saving grace of the program came, as it could only have come, from Scott Thompson, whose trail-flaming portrayal of Buddy Cole and other gay characters on the Canadian sketch comedy show ‘Kids In The Hall’ became the hallmark for truly scathing and hilarious gay comedy. Sitting cross-legged and limp-wristed at a small table on stage, Thompson began his usually lachrymose, condescending commentary on being ‘an old whore’ in a young gay community undergoing civil rights changes.

‘Tomorrow, gay marriage will be normal, and even good-looking gays will be doing it,’ he said.

Then, after sipping languidly from his faux martini, he toasted to ‘the only relationship I’ve ever been able to maintain’ and jumped into the audience to kiss his thousand husbands.

Thompson is always at the edge of comedy, especially when it deals with gay issues. Comedy Central was smart to include him, but if they hope to tighten their grip on gay viewers, they’d better ditch Gay Pimp and give Thompson a special of his own.

Published on February 3, 2004 at 12:00 pm