Review of The Paragon of Comedy

From the opening performance of an "improvised" medley of disparate musical styles, which was clearly rehearsed, it is obvious that John Paragon's talents were of no small measure. This variety special displays, sometimes rather garishly, his ability to sing in tune, dance like a professional, flip and cartwheel like a gymnast and time his jokes impeccably. Yes, he was quite impressive in each song and sketch, but I wasn't really drawn in... until he sang a song about breasts. It was so up-front with its content and so bouncy that it won me over. Seth MacFarlane most certainly took this song as inspiration for his Oscar song, "We Saw Your Boobs." I thought this special hit its stride during the second half, and I found myself laughing out loud a few times. "The Mating Game" parody with an ostensibly Japanese student was equal parts hilarious and offensive, and the sex education sketch with a skeevy, greasy instructor was just brilliant. Many of Mr. Paragon's Groundling pals were enlisted as support, including Paul Reubens, Cassandra Peterson, Tress MacNeille and the undervalued Edie McClurg. There are certainly some weak segments here, but one would need to be pretty sour to not be entertained. Rest in Peace, you gifted man...