Comedian Amy Schumer gives GVSU hilarious advice

By STEPHANIE ALLEN

Updated: September 5, 2012, 9:32 PM

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Comedian Amy Schumer gets big laughs from the crowd during her Aug. 29 outdoor show at Grand Valley State University near Zumberge Pond.

Comedian Amy Schumer struts around stage outside of Grand Valley State University’s Kirkhof Center near Zumberge Pond during her Aug. 29 show on the Allendale Campus.

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Just about every stereotypical sex joke a woman comedian can make – Amy Schumer does.

But Wednesday night, outside of Kirkhof near Zumberge pond, her jokes all seemed to be tailor-made for Grand Valley State University students while Schumer poked fun at every race, religion and social status – leaving no controversial rock unturned.

Between warnings of sexually transmitted diseases and something she called “grape” – the grey area between consensual sex and rape that often happens at colleges, Schumer tackled very real issues and received very real laughs from the nearly full audience.

Schumer’s talent, like all good comedians, is in her ability to make fun of and laugh at herself the same way she makes fun of and laughs at the world around her. After becoming a finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, her hilarious romps have been popping up all over the place, including an appearance on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

She’s had guest spots on NBC’s “30 Rock,” HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and was in the recent movie, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, released in June.
She didn’t hold back any of her usual controversial (and sometimes offensive) jokes about race and religion, looking through the crowd and observing very candidly “Not even one Asian? Is this a bad school?”

But although her jokes may seem offensive at first glance, Schumer had just enough tact in telling them that they were well received, and despite being a mostly-white crowd, audience members of all race and background couldn’t help but laugh at her booty-poppin’ and finger-wagging on the stage while impersonating her African American girlfriend.

Her witty comebacks and ability to make fun of just about anything or anyone, kept her 45-minute set entertaining. No one was safe, from the “blonde skeletons,” to the cast of Twilight look-a-likes that walked past the outdoor stage – Schumer was never at a loss for words.

Freshmen took the brunt of the comedic criticism, though, with the show beginning when Schumer asked who in the audience was a freshmen. When more than half of the audience cheered, Schumer looked out and said to them dryly: “Keep it down, everyone hates you.”

And although she was merciless at times with observational humor, she managed to sneak subtle positive undertones into some of her jokes about body weight, telling freshman that it’s okay to put on a few extra pounds in college, and that they shouldn’t have eating disorder contests with their roommates.

There was only one awkward silence during her question and answer section when a student asked why her newest CD was called “Cutting.” After avoiding the question she said that her younger sister used to cut herself and walked off stage.

The audience paused, looked around, and then cheered.

As a raunchy comedian, she left students with some entertainingly dangerous advice– don’t blackout, get fat and sleep with people you don’t know.

arts@lanthorn.com

Published August 30, 2012 PageOne