Marlon Wayans (Photo by Roc Perry)
Marlon Wayans goes to work this weekend at the Richmond Funny Bone Comedy Club at Short Pump Town Center. You might think that an actor with a sitcom in the works for NBC (“Marlon”) and a new Netflix movie on the way (“Naked”) might feel obliged to take some time off from traveling the country and telling jokes. Not this guy.
“I’ve always loved working, and now I love what I do,” Wayans said over the phone in early September. ”I love trying to make people laugh, I love trying to figure out the science of comedy, the business. That’s why I’m on the road every weekend. I’m kind of addicted to the laughs.”
Wayans is also known for writing, producing and starring in parody films such as “Scary Movie,” “Dance Flick” and the more recent “Fifty Shades of Black.” The latter, he says, is his final send-up of popular film genres. Expect to see him in more conventional comedies, like the Netflix film he’s starring in with Regina Hall, about a groom who wakes up an hour late for his wedding, missing the ring and all of his clothes.
“It’s kind of like “Groundhog Day,” Wayans explained. “He has to start over and over again until he gives his fiancée the perfect wedding.”
Sounds like a character with a lot of work to do. Wayans was reflective when asked what drives him to work so hard.
“Ultimately my contribution to the world is smiles,” he said. “So everyday I do it, man. … I just feel like I’m really working on my inner smile. I’m just getting better, man. I feel like my best years are ahead of me.”
Wayans offers a kind suggestion for people who can’t make it to his latest Richmond engagement: “If you can’t see me in Richmond, I’m in D.C. the week after. So come bring your ass over there, and come laugh!”
See Marlon Wayans at the Richmond Funny Bone Comedy Club, Sept. 16 through 18. Age 21 and over permitted. Tickets are $30; find more information here.
