Hitch this to your water and sewer line: A man’s gotta eat. And no man has been in more need of cheeseburgers since the days of J. Wellington Wimpy’s rampant gluttony than actor-comedian Pat Roach’s character Randy in the Canadian hit series “Trailer Park Boys.”
Rivaling the popularity of other Canuck exports like poutine, hockey, politeness and sensible healthcare, “Trailer Park Boys” has become a living cult with worldwide appeal. And Roach as Randy is back on the road, on a tour he’s calling “A Cheeseburger Picnic.”
It’s all sometimes hard to believe considering how niche it seems: A running mockumentary of the misadventures of a trio of buddies — trailer park denizens serving as stand-ins for a North American class underbelly. But that’s the power of comedy, folks, along with the fully believable, au naturel comedic chemistry of the cast. Early on, many of the show’s principals continued their real off-screen lives, with Roach famously working as a regional sales manager for a bottled water company and as a personal finance consultant.
All this from a man whose gut defies gravity and who is completely comfortable topless in front of millions of viewers. As the assistant park supervisor for Dartmouth, Nova Scotia’s fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park, Randy might be the greatest poster boy in the fight for body acceptance. There is something undeniably beautiful about the greasy rub of his matted, coarsely-haired torso.
Roach has kept the myth alive off-camera by working the comedy circuit in character — usually alongside his series comedic foil, the beloved John Dunsworth as fellow trailer parker Jim Lahey. Following Dunsworth’s death in 2017, Roach is continuing Randy’s legacy in a world without Jim. “He wanted people to move forward,” Roach told a University of Wisconsin student newspaper. “He would be very pleased that Randy went back up and did Cheeseburger Picnic.”
Roach on tour mixes up standup, silliness and downright burgering-not-buggering for TPB devotees. Until a thirteenth season surfaces, “Bobandy” will do whatever he must to keep himself in cheeseburgers. So listen to the liquor and don’t frig off.
Randy of Trailer Park Boys presents: A Cheeseburger Picnic at 8pm January 18 at Respectable Street in West Palm Bech. trailerparkboys.com ~ Abel Folgar
