Jamie Kennedy flips script on hecklers

Being heckled is an occupational hazard for stand-up comedians.

And these days, "everyone is in the entertainment business," said Jamie Kennedy, who was on his way to record the voice of a frustrated young wizard for a new animated Nickelodeon offering, Fanboy.

And because anyone with an Internet connection can become an instant critic, heckling occurs online as well as up close and personal, he said. Examining this facet of our celebrity-obsessed culture, Kennedy and director Michael Addis made the documentary, Heckler.

The work -- which features Kennedy talking with those who have heckled him -- includes interviews with a slew of fellow comics as well as filmmakers such as George Lucas. Heckler debuted a year ago at New York's Tribeca Film Festival and will be out on DVD this fall.

Kennedy will appear at The Improv in Schaumburg Thursday, May 15 to Sunday, May 18, performing his live act in part to promote the coming release.

Hecklers at comedy clubs tend to be friendlier than one might imagine, Kennedy said, with the nastier ones few and far between.

"Most think they're being a help. That's the type that shouts, 'We love you man.' They just want to be part of the show and usually have had too much to drink," Kennedy said. "They get to talking loudly, then the next thing they think they are part of the show. But they are good people for the most part."

The real vitriol happens online, Kennedy said. With such flicks as Son of the Mask and Malibu's Most Wanted to his credit, Kennedy has taken a lot of online hits.

Kennedy said he's fine with a good amount of mainstream press and named Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times, Elvis Mitchell of the New York Times and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times as being fair.

What riles him most is when a critic of any sort is uninformed about the point of the material and when the attacks become personal. "Review the piece, not the person," Kennedy said.

Kennedy also learned that some of the bashing bloggers have hidden agendas: comics slamming other comics, jocks berating other jocks and politicians slogging other politicians, sometimes without letting the readers know this is the case.

Still, Kennedy said he realizes it's part of being in the game.

"We all suffer the slings and arrows," he said. What he wants Heckler to show is, "people who do the calling out can also be called out."