Everyone who was present at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on Thursday evening, in the hall and on stage, knew the importance of this gala. This evening should go down in history.
We were told again that it was not a tribute evening to Yvon Deschamps. In fact, no, it was not precisely a question of honoring this humorist whom everyone admires. But, ultimately, this final Just for Laughs gala still gave the feeling that we were celebrating this tradition created several decades ago, but also this monument that is Yvon Deschamps. He was back on stage after years away from the spotlight, for this evening, the profits of which will be donated to his foundation (which was able to raise $500,000).
It’s the end of the Just for Laughs galas as we know them. For this last moment, which had to be made memorable, in front of the 3000 people in the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, we saw an impressive number of comedians parade.
To start, we were asked to host “the best comedian in Quebec”. Martin Matte and Patrick Huard arrived on stage together, both certain to be the one who best meets the appellation of “best comedian in Quebec”. This made for a high-caliber, perfectly slobbery moment, perfect to get the festivities started. Moment then joined Louis-José Houde, who added another good layer of arrogance to the exchange. Each time, the ovations greeted the comedians.
The trio then presented a comedian “who must dream of one day being hot like [them] others”, the one who received the most heartfelt ovation, which he had to put an end to himself: Yvon Deschamps. He presented a monologue during which he slipped into the shoes of a retired character “racist, but who does not know it”. The number, filled with a ton of “ethnic” cliches, brought a lot of laughs from the audience, many of whom had no doubt come to see Mr. Deschamps back on stage.
It was then Boucar Diouf’s turn to present himself at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. Preceded by Martin Matte (who first recalled that Yvon Deschamps was the one who had presented him at his first gala and paid him a beautiful tribute), Diouf was excellent. He recounted how his learning of Quebec culture came through Yvon Deschamps, whose shows he watched. The comedian of Senegalese origin recounted the things that surprised him when he arrived in Quebec: sister farts, the fact of replacing half of the verbs with “aweille”, the expression “peter au frette” and other Quebec linguistic specificities.
It was entertaining to see comedians from such diverse backgrounds taking turns on stage. Guillaume Pineault, who came next for his solo, was introduced by the excellent Maude Landry, who would have been given a longer time on stage.
“It’s the last gala!” Tonight, we say goodbye to something cult, which has marked the generations, ”launched Landry, just before, wondering why we were ending the galas.
Guillaume Pineault was solid, centering his solo around the fact that he hadn’t had time to write his number and that the idea had caused him a lot of stress. If we heard in front of us a couple wondering “who is Guillaume?” when he arrived, the ovation that followed seemed to announce that many who did not know him will remember him. This is the good thing, especially with the galas.
“I’m going to be happier later to have been here tonight,” said Virginie Fortin, already planning to be able to brag about having been part of this historic moment. The comedian presented the group Samedi de rire – whose members, unlike Guillaume Pineault, were recognized by the crowd, who immediately stood up.
It was funny, but it was also another one of those moments of the evening that we already know will stick with some audience members for a long time, because they may never happen again.
Daniel Lemire (in his mythical character of Uncle Georges), accompanied by Rosalie Vaillancourt (playing a child as adorable as it is tiring), pleased the spectators just as much with their friendly number.
Often during this evening, we went from the new to the oldest generation, we made them meet, we offered the public to taste a large sample of what is best in French-speaking Quebec humor.
After Daniel Lemire and Rosalie Vaillancourt, Neev presented Philippe-Audrey Larrue-St-Jacques. True to form, he cleverly told how his life was out of step with the masses.
For her 16th gala, Korine Côté (presented by Simon Gouache) decided to pay tribute to herself, by first remembering her first gala number. She then had the crowd laughing non-stop with her witty remarks about the mundane and less mundane things in life.
Another favorite, Sam Breton, also started off with a nod to “Yvan Beauchamp,” before launching into a fun tirade on his household OCDs. He talked about his four sweepers, his obsession with cleaning the tub after every shower, his obsession with the “right” way to fill the dishwasher, each time triggering good laughs.
The evening ended with a bang. Laurent Paquin hosted a call-in show, entitled What’s the problem?, during which his fellow comedians made calls to complain about everything and nothing. Mona de Grenoble, Cathy Gauthier, Louis T, Pierre-Yves Roy-Desmarais, Mélanie Couture, François Léveillée, Silvi Tourigny, Michèle Deslauriers and Stéphane Fallu skilfully followed one another on stage with varied calls ranging from garish humor to the absurd. Yvon Deschamps is the one who made the very last call: “There is one problem: the gala is over…”
All the comedians of the gala then went on stage to share a last moment charged with emotion. A final moment in the evening that made us feel that it was important to be there to witness it.
