At 59 and with a 30-year career, Mario Jean succeeds where many have failed: making audiences of different generations laugh by tackling topics specific to people his age.
The announcement of the bankruptcy of Just for Laughs on Tuesday morning did not dampen Mario Jean's joy in taking the stage of the Théâtre Maisonneuve in the evening to see the media premiere of his new show “Les imperfects bonheurs…” and other things about life! .
“I think of the staff at Just for Laughs, I can’t help but think of them. Just for fun, it's part of our culture and our humor in Quebec,” the comedian took the time to say at the end of the show.
This seventh solo exhibition, presented at Place des Arts, examines Mario Jean's three decades of jokes and career. And you could feel it in the room, which was clearly made up of fans laughing loudly at his every gag, as well as during this hour and a half show, during which the artist barely paused to catch his breath.
MARTIN ALARIE / AGENCE QMI / LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL
Friendly humor
With Mario Jean, it's hard not to like the friendly humor and the face of the somewhat naive middle-aged man, which allows him to sometimes, but never too much, fall into jokes “about physical leaks that come with 'age.' ' go along with it.” we laugh heartily.
Alone on a stage with minimalist decor, the nearly sixty-year-old comedian tells his story in a series of friendly numbers that explore popular themes and the trials of people of his generation. He tells us the story of his hospitalization for three sawn-off fingers (paying tribute to the work of the health network's staff) and highlights the noises that come with aging (have you ever heard a young person say, “Hey, yo?” ) , oupelaye, man!”?), describes the body that changes over the years and the memory that fails, while at the same time signaling the urgency to live.
- Listen to the interview with Mario Jean, the comedian on Sophie Durocher's show QUB :
Through the hilarious and sarcastic story of the little African his family supported at the time of World Vision, Mario Jean tackles immigration without making it heavy, yet thought-provoking.
We keep giggling when the comedian mentions his “list of things he doesn't want to do or never do again before he dies.” Go to a nudist camp like his girlfriend wants, speak English (you have to listen , as he translates very Quebecois expressions into more than approximate English), give his email address when paying at a store, get surgery and… be a parent.
To become old
Mario Jean reveals that he has been in a relationship with his wife for 39 years (“my record,” he says) and takes the opportunity to recount the vagaries of menopause and andropause in a powerful number that ends… in a sex shop !
Then, when he imagines what the experience of a relationship with a man would be like, he concludes that regardless of our age, sexual orientation, or gender identity, what matters is experiencing these imperfect blisses.
Particularly noteworthy is the young comedian Tommy Néron, who, in less than 15 minutes as Mario Jean's opening act, quickly made people want to see each other again on stage.
–Mario Jean continues his tour of Quebec. He will be at the Salle Albert-Rousseau in Quebec City on March 19th and 1stum May.
MARTIN ALARIE / AGENCE QMI / LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL