Most notably known as the champion stoner in Super High Me, Doug Benson lit up Blackman Auditorium on Tuesday night as the comedian for Springfest week. Benson performed in front of a packed auditorium and mostly talked about that which he was almost definitely under the influence of: marijuana. While he covered a range of jokes that weren’t related to a certain illicit drug, let’s be honest here, his jokes and stories about smoking the ganja were what got the biggest laughs from the audience. Benson clearly understood that a majority of the audience were really, really big fans of Super High Me (if you catch my drift), and appropriately delivered jokes of the same caliber.
For those of you who don’t know, Super High Me is a 2008 documentary that was meant to be an amusing, yet semi-serious spoof on Super Size Me. The film showed the effects of Benson smoking marijuana everyday for 30 days after abstaining from smoking for 30 days. While this film was only moderately praised by critics (it received a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), stoners around the world hailed Benson for creating a highly-publicized film that showed marijuana as having no negative effects in a person’s life. As a result of that film, Benson received a mass following of loyal, yet very laid-back followers.
Aside from giving advice on how to avoid getting caught smoking in hotel rooms, Benson also touched upon pop culture in many of his jokes. At one point during his performance, Benson pulled out his cell phone and read some tweets that Northeastern students sent him during the days leading up to his performance. Many of the tweets expressed excitement over Benson’s upcoming performance, and even one offensive tweet that Benson read aloud didn’t damper his mood or humor.
Overall, Benson delivered a successful show where he showcased not only his humor but also his ability to think fast and be interactive with the crowd. While his jokes were mainly all centered around getting high, everyone in the audience pretty much knew that going in and were completely fine with (okay, expecting) jokes of that nature. Benson was consistent, humble, and very hysterical. Those three attributes would be impressive for any comedian, and they were even more so considering that Benson was probably under the influence of…something.
(If you missed this performance or want to see more of Doug Benson, he will be performing at the Brighton Music Hall in Boston on May 19th and you can find tickets here.)
(Photo Source: http://www.ticketmaster.com/Doug-Benson-tickets/artist/974767)