O.C. COMEDY REVIEW : Like Sitcoms, Rob Becker Is Made for TV

One of the byproducts of the Comedy Boom is that network television has been snapping up comics for roles in prime-time programming faster than you can say “sitcom.�

One of the many good things you can say about Rob Becker’s performance Tuesday at the Irvine Improvisation is that he would do this trend proud: He belongs in a sitcom. He’s not in a position yet to carry a weekly series--if you’re not from the San Francisco Bay Area, chances are you haven’t heard of him--but there’s no question he would add immeasurably to one.

He’s immensely animated, while avoiding that phony, amped-out demeanor endemic to a lot of current comics. He’s wonderfully expressive, especially facially, while avoiding that equally ubiquitous power-mugging. And he’s naturally inclined to act out emotions and ideas without the stiff pretensions of a would-be Master Thespian.

He doesn’t traffic in sociopolitical commentary or other Big Statements. He doesn’t have a commanding presence or the kind of aggressive delivery that’s likely to “destroy� a room. And he doesn’t resort to base or mean humor--he never goes for the easy laugh.

He does deal with lots of everyday, eminently universal stuff, whether it takes the form of childhood remembrances or adult concerns.

Early in Tuesday’s performance, he related how much he enjoys shopping for clothes now, versus the days he had to go with his mom. “Wasn’t that a stroll through Hell?� he asked, acting out a typical boyhood shopping excursion.

Becker: “Mom, (how about) this pair of pants?�

Mom: “Ohhh, honey, nooo. (shaking head slowly) Those won’t make you look enough like a dork.�

Not unlike Kevin Meaney (another highly animated comic who spent some time on the Bay-Area circuit), Becker initially devotes a portion of his set to recounting exchanges with his mother--adopting a distinctive maternal voice to re-create Mom’s half of the dialogues--then repeats some of her pet phrases throughout the rest of the show.

“My mom used to always beg for eye contact. I don’t know what the deal is. I’d walk in the house (and Mom would say) ‘What’s the matter?’

“Nothing.�

A motherly concerned, disbelieving expression, then “Look at me.� (This became one of the set’s main callbacks.)

“Did your mom have that theory that if you could look her right in the eye and tell her something, it had to be true? What was the first thing you mastered? Look her right in the eye ‘ . . . then the spaceship landed. They got out and broke your vase. They got back in and flew away.’ �

On the plus side of mom behavior: they “make excuses for you when you do stuff--it’s ‘cause you’re cranky . ‘He’s just a little cranky. He needs a nap . . . What’d you do, stab your brother in the head with an ice pick? You better go lay down for awhile. We don’t murder here. Murder is wrong. Take your ice pick and march to your room.’ �

Moving on to the present, without leaving childhood situations totally behind, Becker revealed that he recently bought a box of Cracker Jacks, but was pretty unimpressed with his prize: “A little plastic magnifying glass. . . . You can’t even burn ants with this thing. You know what you can do? You can make an ant slightly uncomfortable,� he said, briefly portraying an ant who’s just a little too warm.

A moment later, in a section addressing the dumb things people say, he described visiting a Denny’s and asking a waitress what the soup of the day was. Her response: “I don’t know--it changes.�

This segued into a nifty bit about food at movie theaters. “Doesn’t the movie theater make the best nachos? I don’t know about you, but when I see that Velveeta cheese soup hit those stale Doritos, I feel like I’m in Mexico. Every bite says bienvenidos .�

He voiced other gripes, sometimes coming across as the goofy guy’s answer to Andy Rooney. But it wasn’t all silly observations and vignettes. He also dealt with various aspects of dating, married life, housework, even the probable difficulty of being a guard assigned to watch reportedly suicidal Ramon Salcido, the Northern California man charged with killing several members of his family.

In a segment on dating, he described the challenges facing men these days, largely because of the “mixed messages� they’re receiving from women.

“On the one hand,� he explained, “women are always saying they want more sensitive guys. All my women friends are always saying that--how they hate these macho, (bleep-bleep), jerks. . . . I think every guy would like to believe that. The only trouble is, when guys go out, who does the best with the women? The macho, (bleep-bleep), jerks. If there was no demand, there would be no supply.�

Some of us would just settle for a supply of more guys like Becker in comedy clubs--and on TV.

Through Sunday at the Improv, 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine. Tickets: $7 to 10. Information: (714) 854-5455. Through Sunday at the Improv, 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine. Tickets: $7 to 10. (714) 854-5455.