Bacchanal expects 'Full House' at Miller for Bob Saget comedy

Famous for Danny Tanner, infamous for “The Aristocrats,” Bob Saget refuses to conform to any comfortable label.

After years of playing Tanner­—the father of fathers for an entire generation of teeny-boppers—on the wildly successful “Full House,” Saget has recently achieved notoriety due to his beyond-raunchy stand-up act. On Nov. 11, Saget brings his “unique” brand of comedy to Columbia’s Miller Theater as a part of Bacchanal’s first event of the year.

Bacchanal is a student-run campus organization dedicated to promoting Columbia spirit on campus. In an interview with co-presidents Jody Zellman, GS, and Alex Kirk, CC ’11, Zellman said, “The only goal of Bacchanal is to make campus more fun and enjoyable for students by putting on great events.” Though the organization’s main showcase every year is its weeklong party held in April—which last year culminated with a concert featuring Vampire Weekend on the steps of Low—Bacchanal is trying to expand their influence by holding events year round, starting with Saget’s event.

“It’s very exciting for us to have new programming in the fall that students can really go to and take a break from midterms and actually enjoy themselves on campus,” Kirk said. Hoping to add to this enjoyment, sketch comedy troupe Chowdah will be opening for Saget. Alex Katz, GS, a member of Chowdah, said, “It is pretty exciting for the group to be opening for such a well-known name ... to be associated with a prolific actor and comedian.”

Prolific might actually be the only apt label for Saget. After countless years on as an actor on “Full House” and host for “America’s Funniest Home Videos”—both G-rated at most—he has returned to his XXX-rated stand-up roots. In a rather shocking reversal, his onstage persona directly contradicts that of Danny Tanner. Danny is kind, lovable, and wholly charming, while Saget on stage is vile, despicable, and wholly filthy. At first underground, this new side of Saget was unleashed upon the mainstream in “The Aristocrats,” a documentary comprised of the top comedians in the world telling their version of what is considered to be the dirtiest joke ever told. Proclaiming Saget’s version—which included an overdose of piss, tampons, blood, and a ridiculous amount of feces—to be the filthiest of them all would border on a blatant understatement. As Zellman noted, “'Full House' has changed.”

Such risqué humor may not seem like an ideal fit for one of the more PC-conscious schools in the nation, but Kirk is convinced “he will be A-OK and perfect for Bacchanal’s purpose.” Judging from the fact that the show sold out in less than a week (Saget will donate the proceeds to an as-of-yet unknown Columbia arts fund), it appears as if the Columbia student body wholeheartedly agrees.