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Appeared in The Boston Phoenix, May 5, 2000 The Daily Show and its host, Jon Stewart, share a reputation for smart and hip humor. But those aren't words you'll hear from Jon Stewart without some prompting. To Stewart's way of thinking, funny and smart aren't necessarily the same thing. "I take exception with people who say, 'Oh, potty humor, that's dumb.' If it makes people laugh, you know, whatever," Stewart says. "The bottom line is that it's done artfully. And if you can do a really good shit joke, then you've done a really good shit joke." It helps, of course, if you can move comfortably from a fart joke to sharp jab at government policy, and Stewart does so regularly on The Daily Show. "I think that's probably a reflection of what people are like," he says. "They giggle at scatological stuff sometimes, and then can appreciate a joke that maybe has a point of view. You don't want your show to be didactic, you want it to be funny and surprising." Stewart is quick to point out that there are plenty of comedians failing miserably because they're too smart for their own good. "There's a lot of guys doing Neitzche jokes, and the jokes blow. They're not funny. Just because they're about Neitzche doesn't make them smart." When Stewart replaced Craig Kilborne as the Daily Show's lead talking head, the show swapped smarm for charm, celebrity worship for more pointed satire. Though the format has changed very little, the attitude has shifted noticeably. It's still billed as "The Most Important Show Ever." But when Stewart says it, you can picture him laughing when the camera stops rolling, rather than running his hand through his hair and checking himself in the mirror. In contrast to Kilborne, he has let the audience in on the joke. When Stewart was originally tapped for the job, he had wanted to get rid of celebrity guests, a staple of the old show. He has since changed his mind. "I think it's a nice break sometimes, from, 'Okay, you sat through 15 minutes of us satirizing, here's someone from Melrose Place! Look! Fun! We can have fun!'" Stewart has tinkered with the Daily Show's approach a bit. Senator Arlen Spector was a recent guest, and newsmen Wolf Blitzer and Sam Donaldson have appeared. Even former Senator Bob Dole has done several spots as a guest anchor. Stewart would like to push that a little further. "Obviously I'd like to see the candidates on the show," he says, then deadpans, "because I think we'd do the definitive three and a half minute interview with them, really ask them everything there is to ask." Although The Daily Show takes up most of Stewart's time, he is finding time to hit the road and sharpen his stand-up for a date at Carnegie Hall in June. One of those stops will be at The Comedy Connection on May 12th and 13th. Usually when comedians reach this level, they opt to play theaters, and their stand-up turns into a self-consciously monologuish one-man show. Stewart promises this won't be the case. "It's just me, but it's not a one-man show. You won't learn anything, let's put it that way. There is no arc. When I get to the point where I say, 'They're not going to laugh any more,' I'll just leave."
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