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There are completely unfounded rumors circulating that Jim Carrey and Katie Ford are collaborating on a new horror movie titled "I Was A Teenage Comic."
Although the epic will probably never materialize, being funny has been no laughing matter for Carrey, an 18-year old struggling impressionist, and Ford, a 15 year-old comedian trying 'desperately to get her act together.
"It wasn't very good tonight," said the Grade 10 North Toronto Collegiate student as she hustled out of Toronto's Yuk Yuk's Komedy Kabaret.
Actually, Ford did fairly well with five minutes of material on babysitting, pet cats and 'home-eck'! "I was going to wear a skirt I made in Home-eck but when I put it on all the staples fell out."
Later, over coffee at a nearby deli that doubles as the site of many of Yuk Yuk's post mortems, Ford and Carrey talked about their craft.
"I did a very high-pitched John Wayne when I was eight and got into being the class clown about the same time," said Carrey, a bright student who, through a series of unfortunate circumstances was forced to quit school two years ago in Grade 10. "There's a lot of garbage being taught in school but I do miss my school friends. Once you're out it's difficult to keep in touch."
Ford nodded. Two years ago her father died and her mother moved Katie and her twin sister Jane up to Toronto from New York.
"You get a lot of material from being an outsider and from doing a lot of babysitting," says Ford, who keeps her fingernails dirty and punctuates her thoughts with "ums" and "uhs."
"An impressionist must stay away from the cheap laughs and characters that are done better by other people because you can't afford to lose too many comparisons. I can do Richard Nixon but I know it's not as good as Rich Little's so I never do Nixon on stage." says Carrey.
Now living with his parents in Jackson's Point, a Lake Simcoe town; Carrey commutes regularly to Yuk Yuk's and after ten months of dedicated work, he is slowly being rewarded for his efforts. A recent appearance in Ottawa as the opening act for Pat Paulsen was so successful that Carrey, who includes in his arsenal a wacky impression of The Amazing Kreskin, was held over for a week and headlined at the same club.
Ford, a one-year veteran, he is in no hurry to get a "feature" at Yuk Yuk's, the only paying spot on the show which goes to an act with at least 30 minutes of solid material.
"I work out at the club three times a week and on those nights I usually get home after midnight and then have to wash my hair and do, you know, girls stuff," said Ford in a sarcastic tone while quaffing her second lemonade. "I don't perform at school because I don't think they'll understand some of the material."
Unlike Carrey, who carries a very 'mature' act and hopes to make it to Las Vegas someday, Ford's, whether intentional or not, limited act epitomizes the growing pains of her generation.
"I bet all you ladies can't wait for the nice weather again so you can wear your sun dresses," said Ford during her act. "I'd like to wear one but those straps are so thin they don't hide my undershirt."
©1999 TG Magazine/Le Magazine TG
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