The man who parlayed childhood (and adulthood) hyperactivity into a successful comedy career is back. Mark Lowry's latest video, Remotely Controlled, features more of his broad comic style, including the stand-up routines, song parodies, and guest appearances by CCM artists that comprised his last two projects. But Lowry has added a new element to the mix-a flurry of fast and furious comic sketches.
The video sets up its premise immediately-Lowry is crashed on the couch of his tour bus, channel-surfing on the TV while waiting for the start of his concert that evening. For the rest of the video, we watch what Lowry is watching. Coincidentally, a local cable channel is re-playing the previous night's concert, allowing the on-stage segments to fit in smoothly.
In stereotypical male fashion, Lowry can't stay on one channel for very long. This results in a series of sketches, most of which are send-ups of some of the few things on this planet that are more over-the-top than Lowry. Each of these pieces pays close attention to detail, both in script and appearance, making them even funnier. Included in this manic hodgepodge are parodies of:
shopping channels
With Lowry as host, Bill Gaither hawks old Gaither Trio 8-tracks, and Carman pitches his own series of collector plates.
hair clubs
Lowry appears as the president (and a client) of the Hair Loss Club for Men, proclaiming the wonders of baldness. Testimonials include John James (of Newsboys) who notes that the band really took off after he joined the club.
TV stand-up
A comic, with no clue how woefully bad he is, performs his routine in a comedy club. The blatant copy-cat mentality of much of stand-up gets hit here, from the venue that looks like every other club on TV (which all look like the "Improv") to the comic who takes (all the wrong) ideas and styles from well-known comics. Admittedly, it can be a bit painful to watch this poor guy bomb so horribly, but the comic point being made is great.
TV evangelists
Deacon Larwell Jones (Lowry) preaches on the evils of long hair and asks for our money, while mixing Scriptures and metaphors in a manner that would make Miss Malaprop proud.
infomercials
It would be comic sacrilege to lampoon stupid TV and leave this out. It's an easy target, but Lowry hits it with flair and moves on.
I was a little disappointed to find that there is only one song parody in this project, but it is as good as any Lowry has made. In "I Can Eat It All" (a send-up of Clay Crosse's "I Surrender All"), Lowry sings of his love for food, especially food that is bad for him. The lyrics in the song and the images in the video feature many close parallels to the original song, and Lowry even catches some of Crosse's vocal inflections in his rendition. As has become par for these videos, Crosse makes a guest appearance in the parody of his song, grilling burgers to satisfy Lowry's voracious appetite.
"Hyperactivity," the other comic song (though not a parody), also features a guest shot. Kathy Troccoli (who is opening for Lowry on his current tour and also co-hosts a variety TV show with him) shows up to hit Lowry in the face with the classic cream pie. Meanwhile, Lowry sings:
They might tame the wind They might calm the sea But they'll never harness my energy I'm the poster boy for hyperactivity It's not my fault The world's not keeping up with me
The stand-up routines provide Lowry's thoughts on eating and cooking, his hyperactivity as a child, and touring with Bill Gaither as a member of the Gaither Vocal Band. This last topic and a medley of 60's TV theme songs (on which Lowry grew up) are familiar live material, but have not previously been recorded on one of his projects.
As funny as this man can be, perhaps Lowry's finest moments are when he slows down a bit. While remaining cheerful, he can (and does) get serious and encourages us with a word from the Bible, an observation he has made about the nature of our loving Father, or a story of how someone demonstrated that love to him in their own lives. Within that context, he closes the on-stage portion of the video by singing the hauntingly beautiful song Lowry co-wrote with Buddy Greene, "Mary, Did You Know?," which has been recorded by several Christian and mainstream artists.
Fans of Lowry will enjoy this latest project, and with the mix of the sketches and some added (dare I use this word about Lowry?) subtlety to his trademark broad comic style, it's worth a second look by others, too. Proverbs says that "a merry heart doeth good like a medicine" and "a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." In Remotely Controlled, Mark Lowry provides both with his comedy and his words of encouragement.
