Jim Breuer brings 'Find the Funny' tour to Colonial

LACONIA — Comedian Jim Breuer was cruising down the road on his tour bus, relaxing and taking in the view of Palm Springs. Life on the road is an interesting one, with landscapes constantly changing, and new crowds laughing at his jokes.

Slowly but surely, the comedian with nearly four decades of sketch and standup comedy under his belt is making his way to Laconia, where he knows eager fans will be waiting, just by ticket sales alone.

“That show’s already almost sold out, and I’m going to be jacked up for that crowd,” Breuer said. “I already feel thankful for them.”

Breuer will be at the Colonial Theatre on Saturday, April 25, smack in the middle of the tour that started in Florida about two months ago, moved its way across the South and to the West Coast, before steadily heading back East, and then down the coast to come full circle to an Orlando, finale, on May 23.

By the time he hits Laconia, Breuer said he will be on fire. This is when improvisation comes out in full force.

“I’m curious to see the energy of that crowd, and that kind of energy feeds me,” Breuer said.

This tour is called “Find the Funny.” Breuer recognizes this can be quite hard to do these days. Breuer is a proponent of turning off screens — in fact, putting the screen down altogether — to remember we all need to take care of each other, and lift others up. Comedy is a huge part of that.

“I am working on the things that I want to work on,” Breuer said. “Morality, spirituality, funny and community is what I’m thriving on over the next few years.”

The Long Island native eventually moved to Manhattan in the early 1990s, when he was coming up in the comedy world. By the mid ‘90s he was on "Saturday Night Live," living a comedian’s dream and on a meteoric rise that landed him movie roles, notably the cult classic “Half Baked.”

Breuer knew from sixth grade he was going to be a comedian, already doing sketches in school and oozing with natural humor. It wasn’t until he saw Richard Pryor that he began thinking about standup comedy. That only became more solidified after witnessing a comedic genius on "Saturday Night Live" — almost a foreshadowing of where he would end up.

“Eddie Murphy really sent me over the top.”

In high school, Breuer was taking acting classes and focused on his comedy, but it went on the back burner when his parents moved to Florida, in the late 1980s. In 1989, he put his mind to making it a career.

“I never turned back,” Breuer said. “And I rose pretty quickly.”

He started off in Florida, blasting through gig after gig, and in 1992, moved to New York City with his sights set on the small screen. By 1995, he was on "Saturday Night Live." The show is the stuff of legends, producing some of the world’s best funny men and women over the years.

At this point he was surrounded by greats like Will Ferrell, Tracy Morgan and Norm MacDonald, and Breuer was putting on iconic performances ranging from characters like Goat Boy to epic impressions of Joe Pesci on “The Joe Pesci Show.”

Pesci himself was a guest on the show, along with Robert DeNiro, and Breuer recalled the memorable skit where he really felt the wise guy schtick from Pesci, to the point where he really thought he was seeing red. He said it was a moment he will never forget, and after about 10 minutes, he didn’t know if he had disrespected the actor with his imitation.

“He confronts me, gives me the whole 'Good Fellas' Tommy scene, and scared the living snot out of me,” Breuer said. “I was like, 'I’ll never do the sketch again.' But then he said, ‘I’m busting your chops.’ I thought I was going to have to pay him commission.”

While only in a handful of movies, Breuer made his mark in 1998, in the comedy “Half Baked,” that had an entire generation in stitches. Breuer played Brian, the lovable Funyuns-eating stoner opposite Dave Chapelle. The movie is about a group of stoner friends in New York City trying to bail their friend out of jail, who accidentally overfed a police horse, by selling marijuana under the moniker Mr. Nice Guy.

Hilarity ensues, and it's one of those movies anyone in the late ‘90s was repeating one-liners from. The flick came after the Cheech & Chong franchise, and actually included Tommy Chong himself, and just before the rise of the party comedies of the early 2000s.

This was a wildly high point for Breuer, pun intended. Asked if it is something he ever tries to distance himself from, he said, “absolutely not.” He still eats Funyuns.

“If that is what brought you laughter and, and what brought you through that door to see me, so be it,” Breuer said. “That’s what brought us all together.”

By 1999, he moved to New Jersey with his wife and raised three daughters, and a lot changed.

“In ’95, I was on 'SNL,' and then it moved quick,” Breuer said. “By ’99, I was kind of done with it all. I am God, family and friends, and work, in that order. To me, that is the order of life.”

Comedy fascinates Breuer, and so do his fans, as there is such a wide span of why they come to see him in action.

“I love what everyone gets hopped up on,” Breuer said. “That’s why I love my audience — the SNLers, the 'Half Baked' crew, the Truthers, the podcast people.”

He is always amazed when someone talks to him about his podcasts, or a documentary he did with his late father.

“I was always bringing my dad on the road, and that ended up being his last tour,” Breuer said.

As he was relaxing between gigs, he recalled a point during a previous show when he elaborated on a specific area. He still has that ability to pull back and improvise, based on the feeling he gets from the crowd. The push and pull of the energy drives him and his comedy, and the laughter is often contagious.

“I found myself in the past sprinkling little things in that were subliminal, whether it be inspirational moments or something to make you think a little,” he said. “But it was hidden well. Now, I don’t mind if it is a live stream, making videos here and there, or even on stage, I’m squeaking it in.”

Some of his routines involve parenting, while others involve the aches and pains one might have in their 50s, and he has also included his relationship with God. He has a new podcast called “Funny How God Works," as well as the YouTube channel Jim Breuer’s Breuniverse.

Breuer has been a guest on popular podcasts like "The Joe Rogan Experience" and "WTF" with Marc Maron, and over the years he starred in his own Comedy Central specials.

His standup sets tend to continuously evolve as a tour goes on, which makes it interesting for him when he’s onstage, and for the audience in front of him. While he once feared whether people would question if he were “born again,” now he doesn’t care, and sometimes topics can be deeply spiritual and inspirational.

“I don’t fear that anymore, and I feel like people really need to hear it, and that it really resonates with people,” he said.

He said he couldn’t be happier to have his life in the ‘90s lead into the family life he has today, giving him the best of both worlds. His favorite part about back then, which has bled into his comedy in recent years, is when he kills it in front of an audience. Breuer can feel it, and see it, and hear it, when he knows he’s crushing a set.

“I don’t like people going, ‘Oh, he was funny.’ I want people saying, ‘Oh my God, my head hurts,’” Breuer said.

He called himself an “all-for-one, one-for-all guy,” and takes prides in the fact he had a blue collar upbringing, staying true to who he is as a person.

“That Hollywood world is the extreme opposite,” Breuer said. “I was very uncomfortable there. But standup comedy is my homebase, and allowed me to have a voice.

“I’ve had a really blessed freaking journey.”

For tickets and more information, log onto jimbreuer.com.