For his first career solo show, producer Louis Morissette has chosen to revisit his journey of the last 30 years, addressing the ups and downs of his professional (and personal) life with authenticity, self-deprecation and yes, a certain dose of humility .
Exit the drooling, impertinent and arrogant Louis Morissette. With Under pressure, the man behind Véronique Cloutier – we will come back to this – invites us to take stock of his life and to an exercise in public introspection where he shows himself more vulnerable than ever. An autobiographical story much more than a one man show with punch lines.
Since he celebrated his 50th birthday, the producer, actor and comedian felt the need to stop and take stock. A need like a desire, of course, but above all a physical need like a necessity. Because you see, the pressure of the job ended up having effects on the health of this funny guy.
In its form, as in its content, Under pressure is unlike any other comedy show. We sometimes have the impression of attending a Ted Talk where the subject of the conference could be: how to find your place when you are the lover of a superstar? Or again: how to recover from a failure after being knocked out?
Louis Morissette answers these questions with his usual caustic humor, but with a lot of self-deprecation and by asking himself, without prevarication: why do we run so much? And again: to please who?
But who is Louis Morissette? The comedian from Drummondville begins by telling us about his youth in the region, his disabled sister, his studies in international business at McGill… before entering the National School of Humor, to the great dismay of his father.
With a projection of supporting youth photos, the staging of Under pressure could have included a glass of mint syrup. Liqueur that one would have sipped while watching the slide show which traces the childhood and career of the man who co-founded the group of comedians Les mecs musicales with Alex Perron and Jean-François Baril before launching into the showbusiness arena.
Completely friendly, always frank (one of his great qualities), but not your usual comedy show. And above all, obviously, lots of old stories on the program.
The shadow of Véronique Cloutier looms large in this very personal show by Louis Morissette, which looks back on his romantic beginnings with Quebec’s favorite host. The projections of the front pages of Monday, Featured Echoes and other gossip magazines, are hilarious in the sense that it is Véro who interests them – as evidenced by the headlines: “Véro is expecting a baby” or even: “Véro has had her daughter”.
If the show Under pressure is an attempt at freedom and self-affirmation, Louis Morissette also paradoxically nourishes his status by asserting himself with his beautiful Véro, of whom he speaks from start to finish.
Morissette also returns to her less good moves, tackling head-on the sketch of Bye bye 2003 (Séraphin Péladeau, a man and his sins), which caused him to lose his contract with Quebecor (for the reality TV show For better and for worse), the failure of the show VIPdisconnected by Radio-Canada in 2004 after a broadcast, the arrest of Véro’s father, Guy Cloutier, the controversial Bye bye 2008etc.
But there will also be a question of its rebirth – notably with the broadcast of the series THAT (on Radio-Canada). A success that he attributes to his hard work. Because yes, Louis Morissette would be a workaholic, that’s what allowed him to make his mark, to found his production company, to have a certain success, but it’s also what ended up burning him .
The somewhat fierce comedian approaches all this with a touching sincerity (and perhaps also the desire to settle certain scores and dot the i’s), offering the public a fairly wide open window on his private and family life, which he nevertheless jealously protected for years.
But there you go, this (very public) family is not quite like the others, he is the first to recognize it. Moreover, it was his son Justin Morissette, 19, who opened the show. A great opportunity for this talented young boy, who inherited his parents’ communicative talents.
“Some people say to me, why are you doing that? To get your parents’ attention? I answer them: if I wanted to have their attention, I would tell them that I was going out with Pierre Karl Péladeau’s daughter…” Bam! Needless to say, this young Morissette is not afraid.
Visit Louis Morissette’s page
Under pressure
On tour Until August 17
reference: www.lapresse.ca