Old Enough to Know Better Tour
A comedy explosion that’s been building for 40 years!
Rick and Jim met in the late 1980s when they were two jokers battling it out in the Ottawa Improv League. They became friends as two young guys who both liked comedy and beer (mostly beer) and in 1988, they signed up for a standup contest at an Elgin Street bar.
The night before the contest though, Jim called Rick and said he wasn't going because he didn't have enough material. Rick drove over in his beat‑up Datsun, they wrote a set together, and the next night Jim beat Rick with some of Rick’s own jokes, winning the grand prize, a coveted VHS VCR. The friendship was solidified.
Soon they were fixtures at Yuk Yuks, working alongside Ottawa legends like Norm MacDonald, Mike MacDonald and Tom Green. By 1992, after playing all over Eastern Ontario, they hit the road together for a six‑week run through Western Canada.
The decades that followed are a blur of festivals, TV appearances, and gigs across Canada — from St. John’s to Victoria to Iqaluit — plus shows in the U.S. and Europe. But standup is a solo sport so those adventures were rarely experienced together. Rick & Jim each went their own ways, had their own families and careers.
Rick became a TV writer, starting with Open Mike with Mike Bullard and going on to write eight seasons of The Rick Mercer Report plus major broadcasts like the Canada 150 celebrations from Parliament Hill, The Canadian Country Music Awards, The Giller Prize and many CBC New Year’s Eve specials.
Jim proved to be the wiser of the two, building a fulfilling career as a master electrician. Who’s got the pension now, Mr. Smart Guy?
But whatever they were doing, they were always in demand as comedians and they never lost the love of performing.
So now, after decades of shows and with full lives from which to draw their inspirations, they’re teaming up again. This new show blends standup with the sketch roots they started with, delivering a fun, fast, and hilarious night out.
Two seasoned pros doing what they love purely for the joy of it, rekindling the fun of the early days. A perfect show for service club fundraisers, corporate get togethers and small theatres. You’ll have just as much fun in the audience as they're having onstage.
