Margaret Cho » Beautiful

Beautiful DVD – Concert Review on ZoiksOnline

margaret cho — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:56:25 +0000

“Margaret Cho’s ‘Beautiful’ DVD.” – Concert Review

By Bob Zerull

Margaret Cho has done it all. At forty years of age she’s an actress, fashion designer, author, gay icon, and recording artist. She’s a political activist who has stood up for gay and lesbian rights, specifically the right to marriage. She’s won numerous humanitarian awards for efforts on behalf of women, Asians and the lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender (LGBT) community. First and foremost, Margaret Cho is a comedian and she’s back with her fifth comedy special entitled “Beautiful,” which comes out November 17th.

“Beautiful” was taped just weeks before the 2008 election and there was plenty of election talk. Margaret claims in her special that she was fired from the Obama campaign for her jokes about McCain and Palin. She goes on to say that she’s sick of McCain, because everybody calls him a great soldier. “Well, he was captured, must not have been that good.” Cho is not a fan of Sarah Palin because she tolerates gays. What does that mean? Cho goes on to say she’s torn because she hates Sarah Palin but she really wants to have sex with her (but Cho puts it in a much more profane way).

Cho clearly has found her niche with the LGBT community much like Kathy Griffin or Joan Rivers. She spent a good portion of her show dedicated to Proposition 8 and the legalization of gay marriage. As with any great satirists she spends much of her show focusing on stereotypes and making fun of them. Like the G shot she got on her G spot to help her have better orgasms, because she’s Asian and if there’s extra credit she’s going to do it.

The comedian also discusses her new television show called “The Cho Show” in which she appears naked in every episode. She does this because in 1994 when her break out show “All American Girl” premiered she was wearing a tank top and her producers told her to never wear it again because she looked fat. Cho said she wants to be naked in every episode of “The Cho Show” because those producers can see her ass in every episode and kiss it. During her time on the “All American Girl” she starved herself several weeks, rapidly losing weight. By the time the pilot premiered she experienced serious kidney failure.

What’s good? If you fall within Cho’s niche you’ll love every second of this special. Additionally, if you’re a normal, open-minded human being you’ll find “Beautiful” very entertaining.

What’s bad? If you’re a close minded conservative who’s uncomfortable with X-rated humor involving numerous “controversial” topics such as homosexuality then you’ll probably be turned off. If I just described you I challenge you to watch her special. You might just learn something.

Beautiful on DVD today!

margaret cho — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:51:09 +0000

“Beautiful,” Margaret’s fifth stand-up concert film is out today!

Check out some clips from the DVD.

Get your copy in Margaret’s shop – there are still a few autographed packages left.

International releases coming soon, so stay tuned…..

Beautiful DVD: Autographed Pre-Orders

margaret cho — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:44:41 +0000

In her fifth concert film, “Beautiful,” comedian Margaret Cho pulls back the veil on the myth of beauty, and exposes her audience to a raunchy and hilarious ride.

Available on DVD on November 17th from Image Entertainment, Margaret is offering an exclusive pre-sale on her site of a limited number of autographed copies!

All pre-orders will ship on November 17.

‘Beautiful DVD – Pre-Order Bronze Package’ ($20) includes:

1 – Beautiful DVD: Autographed by Margaret Cho

‘Beautiful DVD – Pre-Order Silver Package’ ($30) includes:

1 – Beautiful DVD: Autographed by Margaret Cho
1 – Revolution DVD
1 – Beautiful sticker and button pack

‘Beautiful DVD – Pre-Order Gold Package’ ($40) includes:

1 – Beautiful DVD: Autographed by Margaret Cho
1 – Revolution DVD
1 – Beautiful sticker and button pack
1 – Cho Quotes sticker and button pack
1 – Limited edition Beautiful tote bag (no more will be printed)

PRE-ORDER to claim your autographed copy today!

Clips from Beautiful

margaret cho — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:09:39 +0000

“Beautiful,” Margaret’s 5th concert film, will be on DVD on November 17th, from Image Entertainment!

Margaret is offering a limited number of Autographed copies in an exclusive Pre-Sale on her site!

Check out some clips below.

“Beautiful” at Just For Laughs in Montreal!

margaret cho — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:51:23 +0000

Margaret’s fifth stand-up film, “Beautiful,” will have its Canadian premiere at this year’s “Just for Laughs” Film Festival in Montreal! Here are the details:

Just For Laughs Film Festival
July 25th at 7:00 PM
NFB CineRobotheque
1564, St. Denis, Montreal

Buy Your Tickets Online Here.

Or call or visit the Just For Laughs Box Office (2111, St-Laurent Blvd.)
(514) 845-2322 or 1-888-244-3155

Visit the JFL website for more info.

Beautiful trailer – tune in to Showtime July 3rd!

margaret cho — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:21:35 +0000

In her fifth concert film, Beautiful, comedian Margaret Cho pulls back the veil on the myth of beauty, and exposes her audience to a raunchy and hilarious ride.

Margaret’s new concert film, Beautiful, will premiere on Showtime July 3rd at 11pm ET/PT. Check her TV/FILM PAGE for more airings and the On Demand schedule.

Learning to love her luscious self over the past forty years, comedian Margaret Cho realized that the eye of the beholder doesn’t hold all the power when it comes to beauty. Our tastes may be groomed by the media, but how we feel about how we look brings our self-image into focus.

Armed with something more potent than lip gloss — a mouth so shocking and raunchy it should be stamped with a warning – Cho toured America with her manifesto: “This show is really about how we should feel beautiful,” says Cho. “When you feel beautiful, you’re going to have more of a willingness to use your voice to speak.”

Shot at the Long Beach Terrace Theater, Cho’s latest stand-up concert film, Beautiful, explores the good, bad, and downright ugly in beauty, and the unattractive politicians

Venus ZineMargaret Cho gets every Tom, Dick, and Harry to laugh and relate

margaret cho — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:23:33 +0000

By Katie Heath

“Tonight’s “Beautiful” tour returned audiences to a more primal state, double-fisting drinks, hollering, and screaming alongside Cho as she performed her routine of confronting “hush-hush” issues with trademark acid wit.”

Despite the Chicago Theater’s attempt at well-mannered ambiance, there was no concealing the crowd’s Margaret Cho-–induced appetite for sex and booze in the sold-out auditorium.

Tonight’s “Beautiful” tour returned audiences to a more primal state, double-fisting drinks, hollering, and screaming alongside Cho as she performed her routine of confronting “hush-hush” issues with trademark acid wit. Her controversial reputation stems partially from her usage of bathroom humor — which may be why she was dis-invited from the 2004 National Democratic Convention — but also from her fierce activism, which addresses bigger issues such as what it’s like to be demoralized by your country and culture. No subject — be it Republican sex scandals, racism, illegal immigration, two-way dildos, anus bleaching, and/or personifying genitalia — was too taboo for the fearless stand-up queen of queasy.

This August the comedienne, actress, and burlesque dancer will return to television with VH1’s The Cho Show. Her experience starring on ABC’s All-American Girl, which was axed in 1995, was regarded by Cho as a disservice and fuels her activism, aggression, and punch lines to this day. During its course, Cho recalls having been coached to act “more Asian,” “less Asian,” and also inspired to undergo severe weight loss because her face was “too round.” Now wiser, armed and ready, Cho is bound to unpack a heavy punch if producer-types try to make her anything but herself.

Joined by openers Liam Sullivan and Kelly — yes that Kelly from the YouTube.com famed “Shoes” sketch ( “Let’s get some shoes”) — Sullivan’s one-man show roused the audience with his practice of playing multiple characters. Sullivan began as the character Pat (a very busty singer-songwriter and proud butch) before switching costumes to play the infamous Kelly (a platinum blond, shopping enthusiast, razor-edged valley girl). It’s clear why Cho decided Sullivan should join her tour — they both share venomous tongues.

“Basically, it was a fag hag summit,” is how Cho inducted the evening, describing her recent stint on the True Colors Tour with “The Queens of Fag-Haggary,” Olivia Newton-John, Deborah Harry, and Cyndi Lauper. As a self-proclaimed “fag hag” and beloved cheerleader for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights, Cho’s advocacy for political change and self-acceptance is a huge theme of her routine.

Cho looked fresh, wearing a candy cane–striped blazer, her “tightest jeans,” and also a relatively newly tattooed torso in which she proudly showed off. Pulling up her shirt, Cho shared her mother’s reaction — as she often does — in this case toward first seeing the large floral tattoo collage: “Toooo much, tooo much,” Cho mimicked, imitating her mother’s heavily accented speech.

Commenting on “Asian problems,” as alleged by stereotypes and the status quo, Cho joked that she’s often called upon for help when it concerns garment alterations, Sudoku, or technical support.” “If there’s extra credit,” she says, “I’m fucking doing it!”

As a woman of multiple minorities, Cho has experienced much disrespect from media figures who chastise her for not adhering to American mainstream culture and/or images. The discussion of her weight, Asian American heritage, and the chauvinism it reveals in journalist types are Cho’s favorite subjects.

Recently a morning radio show host asked her, “What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and you were beautiful? What if you were blonde, had blues eyes, were 5-foot-11, weighed 100 pounds, and you were beautiful?” Cho responded, deadpan, with daggers shooting through her eyes, “I probably wouldn’t get up because I’d be too weak to stand.”

Only once in her 90-minute routine did laughter fall from a constant moment. When first mentioning the Virginia Tech University shooting, the crowd fell silent, not quite ready to laugh in the slight about the deaths of 32 students in cold blood. Cho sustained, describing her experience unraveling the identity of the murderer with her family and “all the hundreds of dry cleaners in America.” “Oh fuck!” she recalled screaming when she discovered she shared the same last name with Seung-Hui Cho.

As an activist for increased Asian American representation in the media, Cho touched upon a very serious issue. Oftentimes, American society unveils latent racism during tense times in which minorities are shown as criminals in the news. Cho said she held her breath during the days that followed the tragedy, fearing that she would be judged a criminal, or worse, harmed, because of her association with his race.

On the topic of stereotypes, Cho recalled upon another radio interview in which the radio host had congratulated Cho on her performance in Charlie’s Angels, the role performed by Chinese American actress Lucy Liu. “Excuse me,” Cho snapped sarcastically, playing on his ignorance, “I’m the one in Grey’s Anatomy.”

Although Cho is married to a heterosexual man, she identifies as queer. “I’m not bi, I’m I,” she grinned. Pointing across rows of stretched arms, saying, “There was a time when I had sex with everyone. I just want you to want me.”

Simply put, what Cho really wants is for everyone in the world to have permission to access their preferred genital, whatever that may be. Using the example of Larry Craig, the closeted homophobic senator who was arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover male police officer in an airport bathroom, Cho says, “If he would just come out, then he could have dick all the time. Dick everywhere.”

This then lead to a fevered discussion of Christian fundamentalism and its enthusiasm for the film The Passion of the Christ. In her funniest one-liner of the evening, Cho smirked, and said, “Jesus should have used his safety word.”

To end the evening, Cho performed a musical number, describing explicitly her fondness for receiving oral sex. You couldn’t help but smile; every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the audience could relate on some level. Retrospectively, it seems that Cho’s use of defensive bitchiness has evolved into a more positive — unifying — celebration of sex and difference. “There is so much beauty in the world,” she says, “You just have to open your eyes to see it.”

Dallas Morning NewsMargaret Cho talks a blue streak

margaret cho — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:26:14 +0000

By MANUEL MENDOZA

Almost 40 now, Ms. Cho was less strident, less out to shock for the sake of it, and more outwardly happy than in the past….She was most at home when engaging the body, especially from the angle of identity politics…Ms. Cho seemed more comfortable in her skin than ever.”

GRAND PRAIRIE – For Margaret Cho, the body is political. She never met an orifice she wasn’t eager to explore for social meaning.

On her first tour in three years, comedian Margaret Cho entertained the Nokia Theatre crowd with her frank observations.

On her first tour in three years, called Beautiful, the foulmouthed comedian brought her frank observations to Nokia Theatre on Sunday night. Almost 40 now, Ms. Cho was less strident, less out to shock for the sake of it, and more outwardly happy than in the past.

That didn’t stop her from boring into her usual topics from the liberal, sexually open-minded point of view that has become her trademark and creates her audience demographic, the gay men and lesbians who were out in force in Grand Prairie.

She started gently, with polygamy, a reference to a local news story just to let the crowd know she was hip to the goings-on around here. Soon she turned to the many ways she and others deal with their body parts. “I’m Asian,” Ms. Cho said. “If there’s extra credit, I’m doing it.”

But she wasn’t in favor of anything and everything. Not anymore. Her gay-centric shtick led to the assumption that she is lesbian or bisexual, and she continues to talk about her omnivorous history. “I wish I had thought to charge,” she said after mentioning Eliot Spitzer and her respect for prostitutes.

But while she still labels herself “queer,” Ms. Cho revealed that she’s been married to a man for a long time, though not necessarily faithfully. That kind of nuanced confession would not have squared with the righteous anger of I’m the One That I Want, her first stage show.

Now, she’s more measured, using heady, indirect associations in place of pinpoint daggers. She advised Britney and Paris to slow down, blaming their downfall on the moment they revealed too much flesh. “I don’t think we understand Paris Hilton, but we will in the future. She’s like a crop circle.”

Some of Ms. Cho’s hour-plus set returned to the subject of Asian stereotypes. She’s driven crazy by people who try to employ her help with Sudoku, clothing alterations and tech support, or who confuse her with actresses Lucy Liu or Sandra Oh.

But she was most at home when engaging the body, especially from the angle of identity politics. Whether tweaking Idaho Sen. Larry Craig (”He’s a sorry old queen without a piano bar to go to”) or Heidi Klum (in one of her exaggerated impersonations), Ms. Cho seemed more comfortable in her skin than ever.

Star TelegramCho brings a raunchy humor to Metroplex

margaret cho — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:28:03 +0000

By Todd Camp

“Some of the biggest laughs were unprintably raunchy (but none the less hysterical).”

GRAND PRAIRIE — During her packed show Sunday night at Nokia Theatre, Margaret Cho proved that even preaching to the choir can produce beautiful music.

Cho came through town on her Beautiful tour and addressed everything from body issues to government sex scandals to all sorts of subjects we can’t repeat in a family newspaper.

The lady
Cho has been busy lately, popping up in the new film One Missed Call, which arrived on DVD last week, and starring in two series on the gay network, Logo: Rick & Steve and Sordid Lives: The Series. This summer, she will star in The Cho Show, a new VH1 reality series about her family and friends.

The lowdown
The crowd was made up largely of gay men, as apparent by the whoops and hollers in response to her frequent references to gay-themed subjects. Despite the coarse nature of the material, no one seemed offended in the least, though people were occasionally taken aback.

The laughs
Unfortunately, some of the biggest laughs were unprintably raunchy (but none the less hysterical). Cho opened her show with a Texas twist: “I’m not a polygamist, but I am slutty. Does that count?” She touched on other topical issues from the Virginia Tech shootings (also by a Korean named Cho) to the pope (”He’s very mean. I think he’s from Slytherin.”).

She also tapped into her familiar impersonation of her mother and ended with a particularly racy song (again, too rude to share, dang it).

I guess you had to be there.

Bay WindowsThe Cho Must Go On

margaret cho — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:33:12 +0000

By Scott Kearnan

“The sex-capade, and a subsequent tangent on pop culture divas…went over well with the packed audience, who was hooting and hollering its collective approval. Her political jabs, peppered throughout the show, were among her best and the show one of her consistently funniest.”

There’s a certain formula that comes with a Margaret Cho comedy show: combine one part sex talk, a teaspoon of potty humor, a hefty dollop of politically incorrect leftist opining, and a few shout-outs to the LGBT community (Cho is married to a man but identifies as “queer”). The result? A seemingly sold-out show at The Orpheum on April 5, a rabid fan base that hangs on her every word, and – if history is any indicator – a DVD special that will allow you to freeze frame any number of Cho’s uproariously contorted facial expressions (now in HD!) for maximum hilarity.

It’s a solid formula; in danger of growing old, true. But it works every time. “Beautiful” is no exception, a solid return to form after Cho’s last national tour of original material, 2004’s “State of Emergency.” That outing found Cho in fiercely political territory, and there’s no doubt that the comedienne is often at her best when she’s fired up over one hot topic or another. But the election-year immediacy of “Emergency” channeled Cho’s (admittedly righteous) indignation over the State of the Union into a rancorous, shrewish show that abandoned comedy for campaigning. Infrequently funny, it often threatened to turn her usually saucy soapbox into a bitter bed of nails.

Maybe it’s the impending departure of President George W. Bush (Cho’s least favorite, favorite target), maybe it’s her barely contained excitement over not one, but two groundbreaking Democratic nominees, but Cho is in better spirits with “Beautiful.” There are politics, to be sure; but this time, it seems the girl just wants to have fun, musing on about sexuality, body image and stereotypes, but with a much more lighthearted approach.

In typical form, Cho opened with a detailed description of her latest medical sojourn to the nether-regions, a G-Shot: collagen injections provided for G-Spot enhancement.

“It looks like Cape Cod,” said Cho of the hooked fingers needed to access the pleasure zone, one of several dashes of local color splashed throughout.

The sex-capade, and a subsequent tangent on pop culture divas – Paris, Lindsay and Britney all earned a moment of derision or, in Brit’s case, defense – went over well with the packed audience, who was hooting and hollering its collective approval even before the obligatory series of “Asian Laundromat” jokes.

Still, it was as if with bated breath that the audience waited for the bomb to drop: when, oh when, would the Patron Saint of Gay Liberalism drop her first political bomb? Would the first spit of venom be reserved for Bush? Larry Craig? Eliot Spitzer?

Don’t worry; they all got a turn to roast.

But most surprising was how seamlessly Cho wove her hot-button humor throughout the course of her show, peppering the personal with the political rather than – as in shows past – abruptly switching gears and letting the engine fall out. Compared to past tours I’ve witnessed, the audience seemed appreciative of the approach. It’s as if Cho finally recognized that the faithful flock in attendance are of a generally like mind, and that there’s no need to preach to the converted. Rather then lecture at us, she finally laughed with us.

Of course, her comments were long on LGBT humor: she called Craigslist the “Penny Saver” of online hook-up sites, confessed her attraction to butch lesbians (”The kind that roll their own tampons,” she gushed), and scoffed at the Catholic Church for trying to run out the gays (”Girl, please… not with all that stained glass.”)

And she elicited one of the biggest laughs of the evening with one of her bawdiest comments: “Jesus was such a bottom!” she asserted, citing her desire to see him “say the safe word” while flailed in Passion of the Christ.

Looking cool and comfortable, Cho’s state of mind was clearly reflected in “Beautiful.” Previously, she’s acted the role of funny-lady ringmaster, using barbed wit and acid tongue to fend off homophobia, body image woes and Republicans like lions in her three-ring circus. But by keeping the anti-right animosity more minimal and more good-humored, Cho succeeded in making it more pointed. And her relaxed demeanor did more to show us the joys of self-empowerment than all her previous tirades on the dangers of poor body image.

That’s not to say Cho dumbed it down. Her political jabs, peppered throughout the show, were among her best and the show one of her consistently funniest. She did drop a few clunkers; Cho has a tendency to provide pat, oversimplified responses to complex issues, as if reciting the progressive party line without much thought as to why. Issues like immigration, abortion, and war are complicated, and while I tend to agree with Cho’s perspectives on those issues, it’s never without some frustration for the bumper sticker sloganeering (”A woman has the right to choose!” “Unless you’re a Native American, we’re all illegal aliens!”) that stands in for reasoned arguments.

Whatever the means, Cho’s end is to impart a little of her own thinking on politics, self-esteem, and self-love to her audience. Filing out of The Orpheum after nearly two hours of pro-LGBT humor, the audience went back into the real world, where validation is harder to come by and laughs are usually leveled at, not with, the queer community.

Indeed, no sooner was one foot out The Orpheum door than we were confronted by a familiar Boston site: a certain disheveled man who bears a “Jesus Saves” placard and a fistful of maps to Salvation (once baseball season starts, he’s usually busy “enlightening” Fenway fans).

But try as he might to spread the gay-hatin’ gospel, this street urchin apostle was probably ill-prepared for one comment hurled at him, for once. It was uttered by what appeared to be a suburbanite soccer mom with her husband and teen daughter in tow. Without trading in un-Cho like stereotypes, she looked to be one of the unlikelier attendees, the kind of woman who only knows her gays from Will & Grace; her show tickets read Boston, but her pearls and pea coat said Wellesley.

“Jesus was a bottom!” she yelled, followed by a snicker and a sneer.

Before the show, it’s doubtful she’d know a bottom from a top unless they were hanging at Neiman Marcus. But tonight, she was giving it back to The Man and riding high on queer rebellion.

One rebel at a time, Cho’s Kingdom Has Come. Her Will Be Done.