She lost 107 pounds, but didn’t lose her sense of humor (and why would she?) — Lisa Lampanelli, otherwise known as the “Queen of Mean,” still hilarious as ever, has gone Back to the Drawing Board in her latest comedy special, premiering tonight (June 26) on EPIX at 10pm ET/PT (9pm CT).
The hourlong special is the comedienne’s fifth stand-up special, and nobody is safe. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Lampanelli, she’s brash, vulgar, and she makes fun of pretty much every minority group out there. I doubt many people could get away with saying what she does; maybe it’s her tendency to be self-effacing that takes the edge off.
No spoilers here — I won’t quote any of her jokes — but I can tell you that if you’re a fan of Lampanelli, you’ll love this special. Her appearance surprised me – not in a bad way, but in a “Wow, you cut off so much hair and look like a different person” way; she has a pretty hilarious explanation of her haircut that skewers Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. She has lost a lot of weight and kept it off for 3 years – no small feat. As someone who has also struggled with my weight, I found her assessment of today’s weight loss programs spot-on and hilarious, and the underlying reason for her desire to shed the pounds (emotional eating, the need to save her own life) inspirational. I laughed out loud — that wheezing, can’t-catch-your-breath type of laugh (at work, no less) — when I got to the part where she explains how she looks sans clothing. She has recently gone through an amicable split from husband “Big Balls” Jimmy; that, of course, plays into the special; so does her dialogue on her support of gay marriage (which is pretty timely considering the SCOTUS ruling that just came down, considering this show was taped at least a couple months back).
Lisa’s praise of EPIX gives you a glimpse into what to look forward to: “They had absolutely no language constraints for me, no subject was off-limits, and they really allowed me to let it fly. They are true comedy fans, and they allowed me to push the envelope and have no boundaries.”
Here’s the official trailer for tonight’s special:
