[January 19, 2012] John Oliver makes smart people laugh Tweet Jan 19, 2012 (The Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- During an election year, every day is Christmas for political commentators. "These candidates are particularly Santa Clauses, in terms of the Republican candidates dropping crazy gifts down America's chimneys," says John Oliver, the senior British correspondent on "The Daily Show with John Stewart," airing Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. "Not a day goes by that I don't appreciate that Herman Cain ran for president. It played out like a performance art piece. They've all been fantastic fodder." Oliver, a British import born in Birmingham and raised in Bedford, came to the United States in 2006 to join the faux news show on cable TV. He won an Emmy for his writing contributions and has gone on to have his own comedy specials and a recurring role on the NBC sitcom "Community." Oliver performs Saturday, Jan. 28 in Iowa City. He'll be bringing his standup show to a sit-down crowd of 1,100 in the Iowa Memorial Union on Jan. 28. Most of the tickets have been snapped up for the joint Hancher/SCOPE Productions event. It's tagged "Comedy for Smart People," but Oliver says that's a tad misleading. "They're misconstruing the notion the English are inherently smart," he says by phone from "The Daily Show" offices in Manhattan. He blames it on the accent, which he calls "the great charade when it comes to American ears." "Americans think British people are much more intelligent than they are. I have no intention of correcting them." He also didn't bother to correct his teachers. "I probably skated by" in school, says Oliver, 34, who attended secondary school in Bedford, then studied English at Christ's College in Cambridge. "I'm not as smart as I think my grades suggested," he says. "I managed to over-perform." But the comedian already known for his political satire at home was smart enough to know a good deal abroad when "The Daily Show" came calling. "(It) was my favorite show before I came here," he says. "I'm interested in politics and current affairs. I've always done comedy around those areas. As a writer already, it was easier to fit in. I've loved it." His sterling satirical spit and polish drew industry attention, too, earning him a 2009 Emmy for comedy writing -- and a surreal experience. "It's one of the more ridiculous moments of your life when you're standing onstage, holding an oversized statue that you're able to take on a plane," he says. "You're looking out at the cast of 'Mad Men,' realizing the less attractive people are onstage. It's an out-of-body experience." With his feet back on the ground, he says America's political system has given him plenty to dish about, calling the election process "exciting and demoralizing." "I think it is objectively ridiculous," he says. "You don't have to be an outsider to think it long, expensive, with too many balloons. I do admire the fact that Iowa manages to force candidates to come and eat disgusting things at the Iowa State Fair." He's equally outspoken about the constitutional monarchy in which he was raised. "It is completely irrelevant," he declares. "It functions mostly as a tourist attraction. The vast majority of people in Britain could not care less about (the royals). They function in a ceremonial capacity. Every few years they stage a royal wedding for the world to be bemused and amused by." He'll share more of his pointed views with Iowa City audiences, discussing "broadly, what's been going on in the world over the last few months, looking forward to the election, with stories from my life, as well." The laugh track to his life is eclectic, from "intelligent television shows" and "South Park" to Charles Barkley on TNT and "The Book of Mormon" on Broadway. But his roots were planted deeply at home. "Monty Python was a huge influence," he says of the wacky sketch comedy troupe that spawned television shows, movies and the musical "Spamalot," playing in Eastern Iowa last weekend. "I got to meet my favorite Pythoner, Terry Jones, recently in New York. We went to breakfast together. It was a dream come true for the 11-year-old John Oliver and the 34-year-old John Oliver, as well." He's also a news junkie. "I listen and watch the news all day down in the writers' wing of 'The Daily Show,'" he says. "I'm either laughing at the news or pounding my head into the desk in front of me." He enjoys the occasional standup gig, to hone his material. "I don't get to tour much at all. I'm always here at 'The Daily Show.' I zoom out for weekends here and there," he says. "I increase the frequency for that if I'm preparing a show for Comedy Central. I just try to make it a semiregular habit, just to keep one's muscles loose." Live audiences are his sounding board, not his wife, who "basically just rolls her eyes." Audiences give him "a sense of whether I'm going in the right direction, whether the seed of an idea you thought was funny is funny." It amounts to "writing onstage out loud." America seems to be hearing him loud and clear. -- Diana Nollen GET OUT -- WHAT: John Oliver -- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28 -- WHERE: Main Lounge, Iowa Memorial Union, 125 N. Madison St., Iowa City -- COST:$22 and $40 online . Any remaining tickets will be available for sale one hour before show time at the IMU Main Lounge. -- EXTRA: Mike Lawrence opening -- DETAILS: Hancher.uiowa.edu ___ (c)2012 The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Visit The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) at thegazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]