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With his sharp observations about life and the dumbness of celebrity, comedian Christian Finnegan aims for the best week ever - and more.

By SHARON KENNEDY WYNNE
Published July 14, 2005

Christian Finnegan is aware he looks slightly like Biff from Back to the Future. He has embraced his geekiness, turning it into a career making "smart comments about dumb things."

He was memorable as Chad, the only white guy in the house in the Real World spoof on Chappelle's Show. And he has added his sharp observations to My Coolest Years on VH1 and was a writer for Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central.

But it's in his regular gig on VH1's Best Week Ever that the 32-year-old comic has built a following with absurd commentary, as when he responded to Julia Roberts' bizarre shoutout "Happy Birthday, Marva" during her Oscar presentation: "What if that was code? What if she was actually activating a terrorist cell in Buffalo?"

Best Week Ever (BWE to its fans) has received critical raves for its cast of snarky comedians and actors who comment on the past week's developments in pop culture and celebrity gossip. Finnegan was there in the beginning and remains a permanent cast member, with his own segment "What Your Purchases Say About You." So we asked:

THE NEW BACKSTREET BOYS COMEBACK ALBUM: What this purchase says about you is that you are thinking "Thank God for the Internet so I can purchase my music anonymously."

COLDPLAY: I'm the most rocking guy in Accounts Receivable.

THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART'S INDECISION 2004 DVD: I don't like being amused as much as I like being bemused. I prefer a wry chuckle over laughter.

My standup isn't as pop culture dependent. I like to talk about real stuff, timeless things, not so much about what Lindsay Lohan is doing.

Oh, it's just a turkey shoot. Tom Cruise is going to be regarded as the golden age for pop culture criticism. This is like Greek tragedy: the biggest star in the world losing his mind in front of the whole world. My fear is somebody is going to end up dead, Tom Cruise will stab his own eyes out or something. But he's picking up the slack for Michael Jackson.

There are certain people I just hate and I can't put a positive spin on. Paris Hilton, I hate her with such an undying rage and every week I find a new way to say something inappropriate about her. When the new season of Simple Life was starting and Paris and Nicole were heading out in an RV and I said, "I don't know about you, but I'm rooting for drunk drivers." That didn't make the air.

I worry sometimes the show is becoming "What's on TV this week?" When we started out there was a lot more politics and, on a personal level, I'd like to see more of it. I know we're never going to be the Daily Show. But there is room for more political and social commentary. Something deeper.

Sometimes we do packages on TV shows that I think no one is watching but us. Do people really need our comments on what happened on Hell's Kitchen this week? But I will say of all the clip shows, I think it's the best. It's not just nostalgia; it's talking about what's happening now. And we don't do things admiringly.

Are you serious? Really? I would like to put out a personal plea; it would mean so much me. I am a total Hulk-a-Maniac. I watched when he beat the Iron Sheik. I know the 24-inch pythons. I know it all.

I would kill to have Hulk Hogan in the front row of my show there in Tampa. Hulk, if you are out there I'll buy you a beer, or work for you for a week, whatever it takes.

Christian Finnegan, 8 p.m. today, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday through Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, Tampa Improv, 1600 E Eighth Ave., Ybor City. $12-$16. (813) 864-4000.

[Last modified July 13, 2005, 09:36:06]