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Los Angeles Daily News
Friday, January 15, 1993

LAUGHTER TO BE INEVITABLE WITH 'ACME WAX LIPS'
Clifford Gallo Special to the Daily News

After George Bush said "read my lips" during the presidential 
campaign before last, we soon learned to keep our eyes on our wallets 
and not on the commander-in-chief. There's no such double dealing 
when the Acme Players make the same claim about "Acme Wax Lips," the 
North Hollywood-based comedy and improv troupe's latest assault on 
the funny bones.

Featuring the finely honed talents of the Acme Players, namely 
Adam Carolla, Chris Darga, Kate Donahue, Marc Drotman, Lisa Malone, 
John McCann, Paul Rugg, Vanessa Thomas and James Wickline, "Acme Wax 
Lips" prompts a smile, even though the featured sketches are not 
always as inspired as the troupe's off-the-wall performers.

The majority of the show is made up of scripted sketches, which 
spoof everything from blind dates to the royal family, while leaving 
room in the second half for a bit of audience interaction and 
improvisation. The most successful sketches boast a kind of sublime 
absurdity that extends beyond the rib-tickling confines of each bit's 
zany premise or snappy punch lines that stick with a viewer after the 
curtain drops.

Highlights include Lisa Malone's "Robe Girl," about a 
sleepy-eyed court reporter who imagines herself as a covert 
superhero; Kate Donahue and Marc Drotman's "Waiting Room," about a 
couple of job applicants whose anxiety melts when they hear the theme 
from "Dirty Dancing" and Paul Rugg's caustic and hilarious "Sports 
Talk," featuring a blistering parody of pop psychologist Dr. David 
Viscott.

Several of the sketches are hit-or-miss, either overstaying 
their welcome or missing comic opportunities. There aren't any 
clinkers in the lot, but there are instances where the humor would 
benefit from an increased edge. Two examples that come to mind are 
Rugg and Malone's "The Legend," about an American researcher tracking 
down a tall tale in an Irish pub, and McCann's "Wonderful Times," a 
bit about a pair of elderly "actresses" recalling their Hollywood 
heydays to a rest-home volunteer, that is a drag in more ways than 
one. Even when the material is less than ideal, the Acme Players 
still work wonders.

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