by Lexi Ross

Tonight, an eager audience crowded into Science Center C for a special performance by renowned comedian Jeff Garlin and the Immediate Gratification Players. Garlin, best known for writing and starring in Curb Your Enthusiasm and for his roles in WALL-E and Arrested Development, was being honored as IGP’s very first Player of the Year, an award recognizing “comedians who have a background in improvisational theater and who the Immediate Gratification Players deem to be hilarious.” We had to agree with IGP…Garlin was awesome.

The show began with Scott Levin ’11, the head of IGP, presenting Garlin with a signature red-and-yellow IGP tie, which Garlin promised to wear on the next season of Curb. A comedy segment followed, in which Garlin performed a series of impromptu standup routines based on a one-word audience suggestion (it was “penis”…real mature, Harvard), and IGP members followed with improvised scenes based on the monologues. Garlin himself sometimes stepped into these scenes, much to the audience’s delight.

Finally, Garlin concluded with a Q&A, which was arguably the most interesting part of the show. We learned that he supports Conan O’Brien over Jay Leno (YEAH TEAM COCO!) and that he’d rather be a ninja than a pirate because he gets seasick. “Being funny is like being gay,” he told us. “You’re born funny, just like you’re born gay. But you can also learn to be funny, just like what happens if your dad hits you when you’re a kid.” We’re pretty sure this doesn’t mean Garlin is gay, but that didn’t stop an intrepid audience member from asking him to drop his pants. Multiple times. Maybe pre-gaming Jeff Garlin wasn’t the best idea?

While a few of the IGP scenes fell flat, Garlin picked up the slack with his sometimes off-color humor and genial manner. And if nothing else, we now have the insider scoop: in the upcoming Toy Story 3, he’ll be playing a character called Buttercup the Unicorn. On second thought, maybe there are other ways to learn to be gay…