KITHfan.org: A Whole Lotta Kids in the Hall

<< back to previous page

Dave: TV Ontario's Studio 2 (July 13, 1998)

Paula: For many Canadians, Kids In The Hall took over where SCTV left off. The cross dressing comedy troupe pushed the envelope, and became a cult television hit. The group dissolved in 1995, but for one of the Kids, Dave Foley, the ride was just beginning.

Steve: Foley went south of the border and straight into a starring role on the sitcom NewsRadio. This year, he hit the bigscreen. He starred in, and co-wrote, "The Wrong Guy."

[clip of "The Wrong Guy" with Nelson Hibbert (Dave) playing *the staring game* with his boss]

Dave: First of all, I'm just going to screw up your focus... (Dave rocks back and forth, and side to side) Oh, the seas are rough today... oh, we should have stayed ashore... oh.... There, I'm sorry, now --

TVO: Now you're ready?

Dave: Now I'm ready.

[clip of Nelson with his dead boss and the knife]

Dave: (voice-over) "The Wrong Guy" is a, uh-- I think is a smart but goofy comedy about a worthless corporate type, who, uh, believing he, is going to get-- when he is passed over for a promotion he is certain he is going to get, throws a fit and finds his boss murdered... and thinks he has horribly implicated himself and goes on the run, not realizing that nobody is going to look for him, and nobody thinks he did it.

[clip of Nelson phoning his fiancee before leaving]

Dave: That's the worst description of the movie I have ever given. Oh god its-- ignore me now, because the movie is funny. (Dave starts rocking side to side) I'm just a little seasick. Its tough doing these things on the cruise ships.

[clip of Nelson with Jennifer Tilly's character]

Dave: Well, it's a comedy-- yeah, its definitely a comedy without a lot of special effects or gimmicks, although, uh, Jennifer Tilly is computer generated. Most of the money went into that. We wanted to do sort of our version of a Zucker brothers film, or early Woody Allen-- Kevin and I used to call it "gagfest comedy", where it was just constant jokes. And that's what we set out to write, we sat down and tried to write as many jokes as possible in every scene. And I think we did that.

[clip of Nelson with a hotel manager (Kevin)]

Dave: Working with Kevin McDonald was like slipping on a pair of my favourite old shoes. Which was pleasant for me, but pretty *damn* uncomfortable for Kevin. (grinning) But it was-- it was fun. Kevin and I-- its-- he's like the... Playing a scene with Kevin is like the easiest thing in the world, since we know each other's rhythms so well after working together for 14 years.

[clip of KITH ~ "The Cutest Boy On Death Row"]

Dave: I feel pretty proud of the fact that we're listed in the lineage of Canadian comedy now... y'know, that The Kids In The Hall is discussed with SCTV, and Wayne and Shuster, and y'know, CODCO, and all that. Canadian comedians have a strong sense of craftsmanship [voiced over a clip of Jacques and Francois] People have said that we develop in a vacuum over here, and you never have a hope of making a living, so you never try to fit the commercial market, so you try to develop your own style. Then, generally, by the time you go down to L.A., you've got 10 years under your belt, and everyone says, "Wow, these Canadians are really professional! And skillful." Obviously, it's not so much about Canadians, it's just that Americans aren't really funny, so we have to go down there and fill the void.

[clip of Dave and Bill on "NewsRadio" - when Bill finds out he has 36 years to live]

Dave: I think there's more great comedy writing on television than film. People don't take-- oddly enough, people don't take as many risks in feature films than they do in television. They-- maybe because of the demands of the medium. You have to produce so much material for television, that they don't have time to censor and worry about it. There's a-- strangely, its a much freer medium for a comedian to work in.

[clip of Dave in drag on the "Halloween" episode of "NewsRadio"]

Dave: The "Halloween episode... my return to drag-- my first time playing drag really, because it was the first time I ever played a man in a dress, because I've always played women in dresses. So it was really weird trying to figure out, "Well, how do I do that? How feminine do I make my body posture?" Obviously, as you can see, that's not much of a big stretch for me. And really, it was just a cheap attempt to please the Kids In The Hall fans- that was the idea behind it.

[clip of Dave in drag with the mime in "Halloween"]

Dave: I *do* look good in a dress... I'm a fine lookin' woman. Y'know, I'm a handsome gal, and really, a pretty mediocre man. Which is sad. You know, my whole adolescence would have been much more successful if I had been a girl. But, you only live once.

[clip of KITH ~ "Rusty"]

Dave: I really don't know what it is-- why people like drag. I mean, when we did it, we did it sort of, uh, out of necessity. When we were doing the club show, we got tired of writing about guys, and we couldn't get any women to stay in our group. Everytime someone would perform, they would get a job somewhere, and so it's just us that-- we couldn't get jobs anywhere. (laughs)

[clip of KITH ~ "The Poker Game"]

Dave: I think-- I miss doing the live shows with the guys. I think I'm probably old enough now that I'm really romanticizing the early days. But it seemed that people who like the show really felt an affiliation with the show. Y'know, that there-- we were all in on something together. And fans of the Kids In The Hall really do approach us as if we were a part of their social group. You know, there's not a real-- a real distance between us, and that's kind of a nice thing.

[clip of KITH ~ "Bad Doctor"]

Dave: My humour tends to be a little on the dark side, a little bit morbid. I think my babyface, my innocent *visage*, has made it easier for me to get away with things that maybe some of the other Kids couldn't have gotten away with. I could say some pretty horrible things, and everyone would say, "Aw, look at the cute axe-murderer!"

[ends with clip of Dave, as the bad doctor, saying "Well, I really should be going now..."]

 

Contributor

•  

<< back to previous page

dave foley bruce mcculloch kevin mcdonald mark mckinney scott thompson shadowy men
the kids in the hall their work their characters fans interact play site credits/contribute
shop site update list news archive home

 

bruce dave kith kevin shadowy men on a shadowy planet scott mark Site Credits play fans characters work update list archive home home shop home