The General

By now, everyone should know (as much as these things are generally known) who voiced the lead rat Remy in Ratatouille -- Patton Oswalt. Although the role seems more in line with a mainstream figure like Tom Hanks or Robin Williams, it wasn't so odd: Oswalt was a regular on the TV show King of Queens, playing a character based on himself for nine seasons and 117 episodes. (Who knew?) Onstage, Oswalt leans more toward the acerbic, astute cultural critic, a punk-nerd comic who escaped his small town in a rage. Although he spent years in S.F., he clearly stayed in the flatlands -- on his Web site, he talks about a Ratatouille screening at the "Knob Hill" Masonic Hall, and he doesn't appear to be kidding. His CD Werewolves and Lollipops was released by Sub Pop, which doesn't release much comedy (unless it's by David Cross). Although much has been made (mostly by us) of his KFC "a failure pile in a sadness bowl" joke, we've come to love his nuanced George Lucas geek-out bit, in which he describes how he'd use time travel to stop the director from making his sequels. He returns to the city for eight shows this week, including two (higher priced) shows on New Year's Eve. Catch him tonight with Arj Barker and Tony Camin.
Dec. 28-31, 8 & 10:15 p.m., 2007