She knows she’s not really fat yet she obsesses about not being skinny. She drinks too much, doesn’t exercise on a regular basis and eats ice cream straight out of the pint. Janeane Garafolo is Every Girl. Garafolo has created a niche for herself over the last 15 years, strutting her particularly female insecurities on The Larry Saunders Show, the Ben Stiller Show and The Late Show with David Letterman. She developed popular characters in films such as Reality Bites, The Matchmaker and Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. While you’ll find a healthy portion of her films in Campus Video rather than at the Apollo (she unabashedly pokes fun at her straight-to-video record), Garafolo has remained true to that which started off her career — stand-up. A few Obies caught her act when she passed through Cleveland’s Lakewood Civic Auditorium on Nov. 17.
For those of us who’d only seen Garafolo on television, the live show was full of expected, yet satisfying material. She appeared on stage in a baggy hooded sweatshirt and bantered with the cheering crowd, saying “I know what you’re thinking, where’s my half-shirt?” In usual Garafolo dry-wit, she pleaded with the Britney Spears wannabes to lay the fashion to rest.

“She totally sounded how I’d expect — depressed and lazy,” senior Sarah Miller said.
“She was smaller than I expected. I thought she would be taller,” senior Stephanie White said.
To some that view her in terms of her personality — larger than life — her smallish figure may come as a surprise. She stands at a diminutive 5 ft 1 in., and is by no standard fat — except perhaps by her own and that of the Victoria’s Secret catalogue.
“I thought she came off as being very real...which I appreciated and found refreshing considering she is someone who is in the entertainment business,” senior Jess Coleman said.

The duration of her show was similar in style to her HBO special — like sarcastic banter from one sassy girl to any one of her friends. She obviously wasn’t pulling any “sophisticated celebrity” kitsch when she mentioned losing control of her bladder while drunk on a night out in New York City. She spoke directly to her audience and even addressed the misinterpreted familiarity that her followers might feel towards her. She stated that although she might seem like a nice person to “hang with,” and you might be tempted to wait for her outside, she advised that fans “please don’t.” She clarified a common misconception of herself, joking, “I know I read gay, but I’m not.” All of this is standard fare for Garafolo — except the political commentary that she engaged in midway through the show.

A feminist and liberal, Garafolo doesn’t usually engage in political discussion, but in this appearance she did make reference to September 11. Her comments were surprising given her image as a liberal. She announced her support of military efforts in Afghanistan, stated that the attacks were a call for war and even went as far as to praise President Bush, albeit reluctantly. In addition to supporting the war efforts, some remarks seemed to some Obies present as culturally insensitive.
“I was a little surprised with some of her jokes and felt that some of her material bordered on being racist. I couldn’t smile when she talked about supporting the war, being annoyed with peaceniks or supporting George W.,” Coleman said.
“My least favorite part was definitely her joke about the Jamaican nurse...That was neither funny nor non-racist. Oh, and P.S. Janeane — war is bad,” Miller said.
Overall, though, the political commentary on Bush and Afghanistan fit into her routine of casual conversation — after all, she is a just another person living in New York City just months after her backyard was unexpectedly attacked by two hijacked airplanes. It seemed appropriate that she would step outside boundaries of her politically libral image in order to express her true feelings at this time. She spoke about thinking about leaving show business, and her father urging her not to, saying “If you leave show business, the terrorists have won.” The crowd laughed when she scoffed at the absurd Taliban celebration in honor of causing the cancellation of Garafolo’s trip to Cleveland. The crowd laughed because it needs to laugh about these times that have caused so much worry and sadness. Her views weren’t what fans might have expected, but they should value them because they’re so obviously real — something not too common in a hugely popular stand-up comedian’s act during a national tour.
The show was definitely worth seeing, like having coffee with your best friend (especially your funny best friend) over Fall Break. You go in knowing the general topics of conversation, you laugh until iced coffee comes out your nose, and you go home satisfied — nothing more, nothing less. The show’s cost was a lot more than a cup of coffee. The $35 ticket price might encourage some fans to save their paychecks and splurge on some Ben and Jerry’s in front of the television. When asked if she’d see her again, White said, “Probably not. I can see her for free on HBO.”