Movies: Come back to the Five and Dime, Eddie Izzard, Eddie Izzard...

I am a bit of a latecomer to Eddie Izzard's insane and hysterical comedy. Meredith, the (Former) Roommate of Awesomeness, introduced me to his Emmy award winning stand-up show, Dressed to Kill, more than two years ago. From the moment walks out and says "And in heels as well!" while jumping in a pair of platforms, I was hooked.

For those who might not know, Eddie Izzard is a very British comedian who employs a stream of consciousness type of delivery, and also dresses up in women's clothing. He says he is an "Executive Transvestite." Now, Izzard doesn't make a pretty woman (or anything female looking at all, for that matter), but there is something undeniably sexy about him. On stage, he is natural and confident. His material is also unlike anything you've ever heard -- he covers a range of topics from religion (Catholicism and Anglicanism) and history (ancient Rome and the Siege of Troy), to Pavlov (his cat experiments?), Heimlich (as in maneuver), and Bird Strike (when birds get sucked into the engines of planes).

So why am I telling him to "come back to the five and dime?" I feel that he's strayed into areas where his true comic genius is limited. He had parts in Ocean's 12 and 13, neither of which did him justice (though a bit more in 13 than 12). He's currently starring in the FX show The Riches with Minnie Driver. Though I'm happy that he has steady work, the show is on FX, has gotten next to no press, as well as thoroughly mixed reviews. The consensus seems to be that Izzard is funny, but the show isn't up to his comic level. I've seen but one episode, but I can say that's true -- there are very few things up to his level.

This is an appeal to him to come home. Come back to the world of stand-up. I'll go see you! I'll watch you on TV! I'll buy your album! Anything, just stop doing TV and movies. None of them do you justice. I long for the platform shoes and red lipstick, the imitations of Sean Connery, James Mason, and Michael Caine. I miss the stream-of-consciousness delivery that connects toasters and showers, or Noah and the Siege of Troy. Come back, Eddie. We all miss you.