THE FINAL PRODUCT
What he’s got is plenty of attitude and humor. When–decked in boyish shorts and tight T-shirt–he describes himself as having once been a budding drag queen, he dares us to tell him that he really doesn’t fit the stereotype. And when he describes his friend Jonathan as a “piggy little bottom” we laugh nervously–at Scott’s bitchiness, and quite possibly at our own occasional pettiness.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Throughout The Final Product, Scott’s material is explicitly gay in both content and context, but though he treats the audience as an insider he doesn’t presume to know our own orientation. He doesn’t seek to educate the heterosexual crowd, and his material isn’t so culturally particular that it speaks only to gay men.
By the time Scott’s dancing around to the strains of “It Must Be Him” in bloody underwear, we’re quite unsure whether this is his fantasy or ours. The image–both ridiculous and terrifying–is haunting. It’s the kind of juicy stuff antigay advocates love. And it’s unquestionably sensational–but that’s Scott’s point. These extremes may not be commonplace, but they’re what define the space in between, where most of us exist.
