Big names on autopilot in crash-landing

Carol Leifer
**
John Pinette
***

Americans on the Fringe come in all shapes and sizes but Carol Leifer and John Pinette are both big.

She is a veteran gagsmith who has written for Oscar nights, Pinette is fat, a butterball of a comedian.

Coincidentally, both have Seinfeld connections. Leifer reputedly inspired the Elaine character, Pinette appeared in the final episode.

Now the bad news. Both disappoint. Worst is Leifer's When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win. The title is a reference to having seen the Beatles but being unable to brag about it in youth-obsessed America.

Having recently hit 52 and lost her father, she took stock and decided to pen something personal.

Her stories are published next year and her run feels like a book tour, with material read flatly from A4 pages. A few moments raise moderate smiles. Her late dad is a classic Jewish archetype, accusing any critics who gave his daughter bad reviews of anti-Semitism.

Leifer explains how she became a lesbian and adopted a baby. It took time, she adds, because Angelina Jolie has first refusal.

As for Pinette, I Say Nay Nay ought to be slick, it is already on DVD. In a half-empty hall he cruised through his material on autopilot. If you devour jokes about eating, however, there is much to munch on.

Pinette loves grub, except greenery: "Salad is not food. It is just a promissory note that food will soon arrive."

Some of his references do not travel well. A riff on the merging of KFC and Taco Bell clearly scores better Stateside. But Pinette beat Leifer hands-down. He also does an impressive Elvis impression. And we are not talking waistlines.

Leifer until 24 August. Pinette until 25 August (0131 226 0000, www.edfringe.com).