Comedian not about to settle for mediocrity

Kirk Baird

Friday, Feb. 16, 2001 | 9:46 a.m.

Fast Facts

Who: Jay Mohr.

When: 9 p.m. today, through Sunday.

Where: Paris Las Vegas' Le Theater des Arts.

Tickets: $42.49.

Information: 946-4567.

For Jay Mohr it was simply too much of a good thing. And the actor-comedian knew it.

On the set of the upcoming comedy-sci-fi flick "Pluto Nash," Mohr was working directly with box-office heavyweight Eddie Murphy.

Murphy plays the titular role, while Mohr's place is a comedic sideman, performing the part of a Frank Sinatra-type singer.

As filming was about to begin, Mohr had been testing some of his standup material on extras on the set while Murphy and friend Johnny Gill, the R&B singer, looked on.

The director yelled "action," but Mohr had other plans. Unwilling to miss out on the moment, the actor yelled back "cut" and filming stopped.

"I just want everybody to know that yesterday was my 30th birthday, and today I'm singing in front of Johnny Gill and telling jokes in front of Eddie Murphy and I don't think that's very fair," Mohr said. "I'm fine with it, but I just want everyone to acknowledge that ... I'm well aware of the bizarreness of the situation."

It's a telling glimpse into Mohr, one he shared in a recent phone interview from his home in the Hollywood Hills. And after hearing the story, one can only deduce that he gets it. "It" being the fact that no matter where his career path leads, Mohr is simply one of us. In this case a native of Verona, N.J., who began a career in standup comedy at 15 and has never forgotten it.

Mohr performs today through at Sunday at Paris Las Vegas.

"When I was doing (the movie) 'Jerry McGuire,' I've got Tom Cruise standing next to me on a Friday evening, and I'm thinking I've got to get out of here" to perform comedy, Mohr said. "I'm pretty passionate about standup."

Maybe that's why it's easy to believe him then when Mohr said he has performed at least once every two weeks, unless he was extremely ill. And it certainly gives him credibility when he wonders why some comedians abandon their standup career for Hollywood.

"If you're a standup, and it's in your bones and in your blood, then why wouldn't you want to be a standup? If I have the opportunity to get 1,100 people in a building, and they're all there just to see me, that's pretty flattering," Mohr said.

There is an inherent irony in that statement. After all, Mohr's easily known more for his work in film -- "Mafia!" "Go," "Suicide Kings" -- and TV -- "Saturday Night Live," "Action" -- than as a standup comedian.

But that's the way he wants it.

"It was a conscious effort," Mohr said. "I've never done 'Letterman' or 'Leno,' even though I've been offered. I didn't want to walk into a room with Eddie Murphy or Al Pacino and be known as a comedian. I didn't want that stigma.

"And now that I'm known as an actor, now I have the liberty to do comedy. I mean, look, I'm doing Vegas now."

As for his acting career, it's been hit-and-miss, usually with Mohr coming up short, but rarely with critics.

"Go," "Suicide Kings," and "Playing by Heart" were all fairly well received by film reviewers, but none of those movies made much of an impact at the box office. Even seemingly can't-miss films, such as "Picture Perfect" and "Mafia!" failed to generate the interest of moviegoers.

And that pattern of critical success-popular failure continued on the small screen as well.

In 1999 the Fox sitcom "Action," in which Mohr played egotistical film producer Peter Dragon, whose recent box-office bombs had left him struggling to regain Hollywood credibility, was touted as one of the year's best by TV critics.

Despite the praise, the show made it through only 13 episodes before sagging ratings prompted the network to pull the plug.

As to why the show failed to catch on proved to be a point of debate among critics.

There were some who thought the bitingly satirical "Action" pushed the envelope too far for Middle America's taste, with actors routinely using profanity that was bleeped out, but it didn't take a lip-reader to interpret what was said.

There were others who thought the show may have been too much of an inside joke, with its myriad references to Hollywood dealmaking leaving outsiders uninterested.

Even Mohr isn't exactly sure why the show flopped. But, he maintained, even if the show lasted half a season, it still had an impact.

"Neil Young said it best: 'It's better to burn out, than fade away.' We made our little mark and we moved on," Mohr said. "Yeah, we were all disappointed about it, but what can you do? I can't make a television show any better than I did with 'Action.' "

And for that reason alone he will not do another sitcom.

"In my opinion, I did television as good as it could possibly be done," Mohr said. "I would never want to go back and do mediocre."

But he has had little time to dwell on the show's failure. Mohr's got his film career to focus on.

In addition to "Pluto Nash," Mohr can be seen on the big screen in the upcoming "Simone," with Al Pacino, and "Speaking of Sex," with Bill Murray and Lara Flynn Boyle. And now he's about to start work on a new movie with film babe Denise Richards.

It's nice to see Mohr knows how lucky he's got it.

Kirk Baird

is an Accent feature writer. Reach him at 259-8801 or kirk@lasvegassun.com.