(Kind of) grown up 'Screech' takes on comedy
The State News
Lindsey K. Anderson
When Dustin Diamond took stage at Connxtions Comedy Club, 2900 N. East St. in Lansing on Saturday, he made sure to let the audience know he isn't Screech from "Saved by the Bell" anymore.
The actor-turned-stand-up comedian voiced his opinion on everything from female genitalia to marijuana during his 45-minute show and loved throwing in his key phrase, "Trust the Dust," whenever possible. He performed at the venue four times over the weekend.
Even though Diamond is trying to kick his persona of the nerdy geek from TV, it was his 1,500 minutes of fame from "Saved by the Bell" that brought a lot of the college-age audience to the stand-up show.
"I used to watch "Saved by the Bell," so I was kind of interested in seeing what has kind of happened to him," said Michelle Castillo, an MSU special education learning disabilities sophomore who saw the 10 p.m. show on Saturday. "He was really crude, but I thought he was funny."
Castillo said she doesn't think Diamond's comedy would fly amongst an older audience because of the amount of crude material used in his act, but she added if "Screech" keeps performing in front of twenty-something crowds, his career might see an uprising.
Tamara Keranen, an MSU marketing junior, said it wasn't the references to sex that grabbed her attention - it was the drug-related politics.
"I think it's very courageous that more people are standing up and telling the truth about marijuana, especially in front of a room of people drinking," Keranen said of Diamond's stance on legalizing the green-leaf drug. "His stuff was good, but a little dirty."
She said she came to the show because it was something to do out of the ordinary, and she also confessed she had deeper feelings for Diamond.
"He's hot," Keranen said.
Whether it was his looks or material, Diamond gave everyone something to laugh at while poking fun at himself and his failing job, Michael Jackson, "Saved by the Bell" and vaginas.
"I was very pleased (with his show)," said Jasen Filipiak, an East Lansing resident who frequents Connxtions Comedy Club when time permits. "Screech, or Dustin - whatever you want to call him - was a true comedian, because he had his own material."
Filipiak admitted he watched "Saved by the Bell" back in the day, but he also said he didn't come to the show with high expectations, simply because each comedy show can be different from the other.
"Sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's not," Filipiak said of the comedy at Connxtions. "It was good."
Diamond proved to be getting older (he's now 26) and even though his career is struggling -Ęhe made references many times to the fact that he was on stage in Lansing and not behind the television set - he still provided a handful of laughs to the audience.
But one thing's for sure. "Screech" has long left Dustin Diamond's body, and in his spot transformed a booby-loving, pot-promoting, pushing-30 regular Joe who's just trying to stay on top of his comedic game.
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