I’m the one that I want

Self-professed “fag hag” Margaret Cho has found her comedic voice after 15 years of struggling—and it is finally paying off.

Raised on Polk Street in SF, where her Korean parents owned a bookstore, Cho left home for the harsh comedy circuit at age 16 and has been trying to find herself ever since. At 23, she hit the jackpot when a sitcom about her life was picked up ("it ended up being like Saved by the Gong,” she jokes). It was soon cancelled, as she details with painful honesty, because of her weight and the fact that she wasn’t Asian enough ("they hired an Asian consultant,” she says to jeers from the crowd).

She then became an alcoholic, “giving way too much unnecessary head,” as she says, before getting her act straight, becoming comfortable with her own self-image, and finding humor in her suffering and strength in herself—which is why this 96-minute performance is so enjoyable.

Whether reminiscing about her gay friends ("you have to suck cock to get abdominal muscles like that") or making fun of her mom’s phone messages, Cho is a delightful stage presence who beams with the joy of someone who has made it on her own terms. By the time you finish this, you’ll want to hang out with her. The DVD features a 40-minute behind-the-scenes featurette and producer commentary.