A Tribute to Patti Harrison, the Comedian Changing Trans Representation On-Screen by Being Fully Herself

A sketch in the second season finale of I Think You Should Leave sees a group of teenagers getting asked to watch a video as part of their driver’s ed. Before the video begins, the instructor (played by the program’s lead performer Tim Robinson), reminds his students what they’re about to watch “is a little outdated” and not to let that distract them from the message. Oh, and he also barks an important order: “I don’t wanna hear any questions about the tables!”

Quickly, it becomes clear why he bellowed that mandate. The video concerns Patti Harrison as a woman loading filthy foldable tables into her car. As the lady drives around, her increasingly absurd dialogue on the phone states “the tables are my corn” or how she felt like “he was going to kill me” Actual helpful information about driving is absent. It’s the kind of inexplicable ludicrous comedy that I Think You Should Leave does so well.

But it’s made especially hysterical thanks to Harrison’s deeply dedicated performance. From her petulant wails of frustration over how dirty her tables have become to her “surprised” shocks at stumbling into an accident at the end of each segment in the video, it all radiates a rare kind of ceaseless comedic commitment This segment is just one of several unforgettable Patti Harrison I Think You Should Leave performances. It’s also a microcosm of the qualities that make her one of the greatest joys in the modern comedy scene.

Born in Ohio in October 1990, Harrison got her start in the entertainment industry writing for TV programs like Seriously TV and The Special Without Brett Davis. Her first acting credits would be on the latter show, where she portrayed iconic roles like “Sharting Woman” and “Atti.” The former figure immediately defined Harrison’s comedic characters as not just stiff reactors to male wackiness. There was no chance she would get trapped in the “straight woman” roles to rowdy boyfriends. She would be the tornado of chaos inspiring audience laughter.
That gusto and commitment to inhabiting such deeply flawed and abrasive characters have a long tradition in on-screen comedy. Executing ludicrous material with a straight face makes the preposterousness extra hysterical thanks to the power of dissonance. Patti Harrison’s work in material like the “tables” sketch epitomizes this phenomenon perfectly. She’s not quipping to the camera about how wacky her scuffed tables are. Her curt phone call line deliveries or short-tempered interactions with another driver are gut-busting because they inhabit such a dry driving lesson video. The dissonance between such an authentic piece of educational media and Harrison’s piercingly agitated performance is delightful.

Another I Think You Should Leave sketch sees Harrison as a judge on the Shark Tank pastiche The Capital Room. Three of the judges are actually wealthy entrepreneurs — Harrison’s character, meanwhile, only got her money through a holiday-themed snafu. Or, as she puts it, “I sued the city because I was accidentally sewed into the pants of the big Charlie Brown at the Thanksgiving Day parade. I made ALL my money off the big Charlie Brown!”

Her frank and confident delivery of her character’s many woes (“I can’t stop drinking WINE!”) is incredibly funny to witness. This is especially true when they conflict with her brief departures into more stylized line deliveries, like her iconic peppy “and popcorn!!” proclamation or her goblin noises describing what she’ll do if somebody brings her a bad deal. It’s a tour de force performance, a masterful commitment to so many forms of absurdity.

What makes this extra exciting is Harrison has completely upended the norms for trans performers in mainstream American comedies. If actual trans women — or trans women characters — did appear in movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin or the Ace Ventura titles, it was for mockery. They’re “othered” because of their bodies and being perceived as “not real women.” It’s a trope that put all the power in the hands of cishet viewers. Harrison’s comedic characters were all about quietly taking that power back.

Harrison’s comedic characters are often societal outliers and bizarre creations…but never because of their transness. On the contrary, rarely do Harrison’s characters in I Think You Should Leave or in films get noted as being trans. The American comedy norm of only genitals and “otherness” defining trans women is completely absent here. Instead, Harrison’s characters have amusingly idiosyncratic traits that make them oddballs in the world. An aggression over tables or an obsession with a Santa Claus metaphor are what make Harrison’s characters distinctive.

The lack of obsession over Harrison’s status as a trans woman was especially apparent in her 2021 romantic comedy Together Together. Here, she portrayed cis woman Anna who functions as a surrogate mother for aspiring single dad Matt (Ed Helms). This quietly tender feature from writer/director Nikole Beckwith lets Harrison not only play a cis woman, but lets her play an interesting character outside the suffocating limits often placed upon trans actresses. In 2011, Helms was doing a “trans panic” joke in The Hangover: Part II. A mere ten years later, he was acting opposite Harrison as an equal costar.

Harrison’s comedic characters are firmly different creations than typical trans women in comedy. For one thing, they’re often depicted as beautiful, assured, and powerful women. These are not aberrations existing for mockery like in The Hangover: Part II. Her one-episode character Lulu in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, for instance, is supposed to be a bourgeoise polished “perfect” bride in contrast to the schlubbier human alter-ego of the titular superhero. In her sole I Think You Should Leave season three appearance, she’s a potentially vengeful office worker wielding power over the sketch’s protagonist. Her Theater Camp villain Caroline is a powerful rich figure in contrast with the scrappier protagonists.

Trans women in comedy have long existed in powerless making it easier for cis male characters to mock them. Meanwhile, Harrison’s characters either have societal power or are unabashedly loud brash figures clutching the spotlight with all their might. She’s not boxed in by the standards of “how trans women SHOULD” act in comedies. Instead, she’s taking on commanding and deeply idiosyncratic roles that feel totally unprecedented. Her characters are distinctly Patti Harrison creations, not hollow echoes of harmful stereotypes or, even, mere subversions

Typically, folks from all over the LGBTQIA+ community have had to present themselves as “model citizens” in pop culture. To exhibit flaws or abnormal qualities might “alienate” straight viewers, a fate worse than death for any piece of art. Harrison, meanwhile, unabashedly makes obtuse noises or screams about dirty tables. For her The Lost City role, she’s constantly loudly exclaiming about “Shawn Mendes” to display her hipness with the youths. Even her She-Hulk: Attorney at Law guest appearance concludes with Lulu drunkenly bellowing in glee over the size of the titular superhero’s boobs.

That loudness has even extended to Harrison’s delicious villain roles. This is yet another way she’s subverting standards for trans performers in American media. Traditionally, whether in comedies or dramas, trans women antagonists on-screen were defined as villainous because they were trans. This facet of their identity instantly made them “creepy” or “murderous” in titles like Insidious: Chapter 2 or Dressed to Kill. Meanwhile, Harrison’s antagonists are often never even explicitly coded as trans.

Someone like her foe Caroline in Theater Camp isn’t nefarious because she’s “trans.” Instead, the writing and Harrison’s performance define the character like an Air Bud villain or Tex Richman from The Muppets. She’s bad because she’s scheming to take over the theatre camp kids call home! It’s a juicy role that’s a lot of fun to inhabit and Harrison plays it with aplomb. Villains are often the most enjoyable roles to play in movies or television. Unfortunately, that’s been difficult for trans women performers to savor thanks to stereotypes plaguing trans antagonists. Harrison, meanwhile, plays figures nefarious because of their real estate plans or their malicious uses of dog feces. Take that Insidious: Chapter 2!

Such subversive qualities make Patti Harrison a gift to trans women representation in media. But you know what benefits even more because of her presence? American comedy in general. Other comedians — mostly men — seem to believe reinforcing the status quo is “edgy.” Would-be provocateurs say statements that make billionaires nod their heads in agreement and act like their “truth-tellers.” There are so many middle-aged rich men complaining about pronouns, yet so few amusing punchlines.

Into this desolate comedic landscape strolls Patti Harrison as the hero we don’t deserve, but the one we most certainly need. You truly never know what weirdness Harrison will commit to next. In an age of predictable “transgressive” punchlines, she is blessing us all with regular doses of rebellious comedy that’s actually fresh — not because she is trans, but because she’s Patti Harrison.

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Lisa Laman

Lisa Laman is a life-long movie fan, writer, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic located both on the autism spectrum and in Texas. Given that her first word was "Disney", Lisa Laman was "doomed" from the start to be a film geek! In addition to writing feature columns and reviews for Collider, her byline has been seen in outlets like Polygon, The Mary Sue, Fangoria, The Spool, and ScarleTeen. She has also presented original essays related to the world of cinema at multiple academic conferences, been a featured guest on a BBC podcast, and interviewed artists ranging from Anna Kerrigan to Mark Wahlberg. When she isn’t writing, Lisa loves karaoke, chips & queso, and rambling about Carly Rae Jepsen with friends.

Lisa has written 16 articles for us.

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