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Rick Mercer speaks R eport

Born18 JULY/AUGUST 2010 to Mercer The Costco Connection rant Being self-deprecating Memorial Day in is certainly an admirable trait— Newfoundland, and Canadians have that. July 1, 2005 Thanks to one of those great Newfoundland-in- by Mark Cardwell ‘‘ Confederation ironies, Canada A long time ago, in a province far, far away, taped in front of a live studio audience most Friday Day is an official day of mourn- a young Newfoundland comic tried to defend his evenings between September and March, they are ing in Newfoundland. You see, island’s honour during the political battle over the his satirical takes on the most telling political events Canada just happens to cele- Meech Lake Accord by writing and performing a that he has read about in the papers that week. “It’s brate its birthday on the anni- one-man satirical show that poked fun at Canada something I’ve done consistently throughout my versary of the bloodiest day and Canadians. career,” Mercer’’ says about the tightly choreo- in Newfoundland history. “I was angry about some of the stuff that was graphed, two-minute tirades that are shot outdoors On July 1, 1916, the being said about Newfoundland and Newfoundland- year-round by a cameraman who walks backwards Newfoundland Regiment was ers,” Rick Mercer recalls about Show Me the Button, as fast as Mercer does forward, a process that is wiped out on the battlefield I’ll Push It (Or, Charles Lynch Must Die), which he often interrupted by slips, falls, sirens—even street of Beaumont-Hamel, France, first performed at theN ational Arts Centre in Ottawa people in alleys—requiring up to 40 takes. “It comes during the Battle of the in 1990 at the age of 21. “Looking back, it was a pretty from my love and passion for politics.” Somme. The story of the rough show. I basically went on stage and ranted for As political awareness and caustic wit go, he Newfoundland Regiment in an hour—but trying to be funny, of course.” certainly comes by both honestly. World War I is a dramatic At least one person in the audience saw a comic Born and raised in Middle Cove, a town he says one, long and filled with diamond in the rough: George Anthony, a former is “now almost a suburb of St. John’s,” Mercer grew heroic victories. It came to entertainment editor for The Toronto Sun and head up in a tightly knit family “in a house with a little an end on this day in 1916. of arts, variety and entertainment for the Canadian barn and a goat and a horse in back” and among It was on this day that Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). After taking friends who loved nothing more than talking poli- 801 fighting Newfoundlanders Mercer’s show on a successful cross-country tour— tics and dissing politicians. “Some families avoided left the trenches and tried to and touring again in 1992 with a second show called talking politics—not the Mercers,” he says. smash through the German I’ve Killed Before, I’ll Kill Again—Anthony hired Notably, his first job, at age 13, was at a restau- lines. Only 69 returned to Mercer to co-create and co-star in a zany new CBC rant, Shea’s Hamburger Hell, and at the corner store answer roll call. An entire comedy called This Hour Has 22 Minutes. It was on next door, Shea’s Rip Off, which were both owned by generation was wiped out this wildly successful show that he honed his politi- his godfather, Hughie Shea, a close family friend and in minutes. Today is the day cal rants into a trademark shtick that has fuelled his local iconoclast who sat in the provincial legislature we remember them. rocket ride to Canadian television stardom. “Depend- as a Liberal, a Conservative and an independent, I was at the War Memorial ing on how you look at things,” Mercer writes in Rick depending on the term. “I met a lot of colourful char- in St. John’s this morning at Mercer Report: The Paperback Book, a best-selling acters working there [and] got some great material,” 11:00 a.m. and watched the collection of rants from his current hit CBC show, remembers Mercer. “I also discovered that I wasn’t wreath-laying ceremony. It The Rick Mercer Report (RMR), “George Anthony very good at peeling potatoes—and realized that I was a beautiful day; there was gets the credit or the blame.” didn’t want to peel potatoes.” a big crowd, including lots of It’s likely the former for the roughly 2 million young people, in the audience. Canadians of all ages who tune in to RMR each Roots of fame It makes for a bit of a week—and the latter for the politicians and pundits Elected student council president in high school, muddled holiday. On the day Mercer sometimes pummels from his podium. Mercer also discovered a passion for the stage. The we are supposed to be cele- Officially billed as an arts and entertainment pro- first creative pieceM ercer wrote, a one-act play called brating the flag, the flags are gram, the half-hour show mostly revolves around The 20-Minute Psychiatric Workout, won Newfound- flying at half mast. the sharp-witted, self-deprecating Newfoundlander’s land’s high school drama festival. Then he and three Everything is different in antics as he travels across the country to do every- fellow students—Christine “Tiny” Taylor, Andrew Newfoundland.—Rick Mercer thing from conducting tongue-in-cheek interviews Younghusband and Ashley Billard, all of whom went to skinny-dipping with famous Canadians to trying on to enjoy careers on stage or on TV—formed a high-risk activities, such as ice climbing or experi- theatre company called Cory and Wade’s Playhouse encing zero gravity (“The best thing I’ve done,” (“There was no Wade, no Cory,” says Mercer, “but it Mercer says), that often leave him banged up and sounded cool in grade 10.”) and put on original per- bleeding, much to the delight of his viewing audi- formances in theatres around St. John’s. ence—and Mercer himself. “It’s a great gig,” adds the 40-year-old Costco member in a recent phone inter- view from his home in Toronto. “I get to travel The Costco Connection around and have fun while making a fool of myself. Rick Mercer Report: The Paperback Book It doesn’t get any better than that.” (Anchor Books, 2008) is a collection of some of Mercer’s rants from the first five years of Civic duties his television show. In those rants he has his Then there are the rants. Usually written by say about politicians, elections, Americans and Mercer on Thursday nights in his office at CBC more. He even discusses his native province, headquarters in downtown Toronto, where RMR is Newfoundland, as in the excerpt above right. JULY/AUGUST 2010 The Costco Connection 19 Rick

Once he got his driver’s licence, Mercer lion viewers, making it the highest-rated was bitten by what he calls “the circus bug” and comedy special in CBC history. It also earned became the wheel man for a travelling enter- Mercer major media attention in the U.S., tainer who put on one-man shows in commu- raves where eyebrows were raised about such stunts nities around the province. He eventually as his getting a state governor to back sup- ended up in the show, dressed as a robot that about his posed Canadian legislation to go to a 24-hour weaved through the crowd on roller skates. “It day instead of only 20. “Americans weren’t was not a speaking part,” deadpans Mercer. supposed to see the show,” Mercer quips in Less funny is the fact he failed to finish the final adventures mock horror. “But they were very good about math credit he needed to get his high school it. I never got a single vitriolic call or e-mail. I diploma—a lifelong regret that pushed him to only tend to get flack from young political recently contact the Newfoundland education assistants here in Canada, who get mad when ministry to learn if and how he can do it. I poke fun at their masters.” Back in St. John’s, Mercer met CBC radio After writing and starring in Made in producer Alison Gzowski, daughter of the late Canada, a satirical sitcom about Canada’s film and legendary Canadian radio host Peter and television industry that ran for 65 epi- Gzowski, at a restaurant where he was work- sodes and was nominated for every major ing as a dishwasher. He managed to sell her award for best writing in a comedy series, on his idea of doing short satiric commentar- Mercer launched Rick Mercer’s Monday Re- ies about politics on the radio. The rant was port in 2004. Moved to Tuesday nights and born, and soon afterM ercer was on his way to redubbed The Rick Mercer Report three years

that show in Ottawa. “That was my big break, later, it was, and remains, the highest-rated

t i cred oto h and I was young and stunned enough to say p comedy show on CBC. The show attracts ‘I’ll do it!’ ” Mercer tells The Connection. Mercer experiences zero gravity. viewers from all demographics. “We are very much a family show,” Mercer says about RMR, Taking TV by storm which is managed by Lunz and owned by the In addition to “dumb luck and obviously couple’s production company, Island Edge. He some natural talent,” he credits his success to adds that, despite winning a prestigious Rose Canadians’ ability to laugh at themselves. d’Or, the TV industry’s most prestigious “Being self-deprecating is certainly an admi- award, for best comedy, the show’s format rable trait—and Canadians have that,” he adds. defies comedy convention. Says Mercer, “It’s certainly worked out well for me. I some- “People in the industry just don’t get it.” how made it through the jigs and the reels.” More certain, he adds, is the reason for In particular, he is thankful for the eight the success of his rants, which have earned years he spent with This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mercer comparisons to American late-night whose name was a nod to both the ground- Report talk-show hosts such as Jon Stewart. “We play breaking CBC news show of the 1950s—This the role of editorial cartoonists in newspa- Hour Has Seven Days—and the 22 minutes of Mercer pers,” he explains. “There are so many sources content in a modern half-hour show. “It obvi- Bungee jumping with activist Rick Hansen. now that people can get news from today that ously created my career,” says Mercer. “And I think they like the idea of going into the working with [fellow East Coast comics Cathy office the next morning and saying, ‘What did Jones, Mary Walsh and Greg Thomey] was Mercer have to say last night?’ ” He adds that great fun.” Though he loved doing his rants, his rants have mellowed over the years, which which he terms “my own creative place in may help to explain his show’s G-rating attrac- every episode,” and which became the basis for tion. But they still connect with people. “The his first book, Streeters, which made it onto rants have changed, as I have,” he says. “I was The Globe and Mail’s national best-seller list in angrier as a young man and very ideological, 1998, Mercer didn’t like having to use a fic- [but] I see things more grey now.”

tional name, J.B. Dickson, on the show’s popu- As for the many awards he has received eport lar news desk segment. “That always bugged R over the years—including six honourary doc- me,” he says. “I thought, ‘This is show business, torates as of this summer, an honourary high and the only thing you’ve got is your name.’ ” Mercer school diploma, 20 Gemini Awards and a Eager to create and produce his own Prime Minister Stephen Harper reads Governor General’s Performing Arts Award— shows together with his life and business part- Mercer a bedtime story. Mercer most cherishes the firstG emini he won ner, Gerald Lunz, who produced Mercer’s first with the cast of 22 Minutes. “It was the most one-man show in Ottawa—and everything ing up at the border in July with skis on their exciting night of my life,” he says. “I thought, after that—Mercer came up with a novel idea cars. But the guy started going on about how he ‘Yeah! Now I’ve got a job for the next few years.’ while on a shoot for 22 Minutes in Washington, knew everything about our president and what And, ‘Hey, if there’s a war, I won’t have to fight. D.C. “[The crew] was standing around waiting a great guy he was. And it got me thinking, I’ve got talent to entertain the troops—and and a man came up and asked what we doing,” ‘Hey, this could be a show.’ ” now I’ve got this trophy to prove it.’ ” C recalled Mercer. “I bullshitted him and said we And it soon was. Begun as a regular seg- were there with the Canadian president— ment on 22 Minutes, the aptly titled “Talking Quebec City–based freelance journalist Mark which is hardly an original joke for Canadians, to Americans” was expanded by Mercer into Cardwell isn’t as witty as Rick Mercer, but he since we’ve all laughed about Americans show- an hour-long special in 2000. It drew 2.7 mil- is taller. 20 The Costco Connection JULY/AUGUST 2010