Nightlife: Best weekend ever?

If Paris Hilton is having a bad week, you'll probably see comedian Paul F. Tompkins telling us all about it -- with lacerating wit -- on VH1's "Best Week Ever."

It's one of Tompkins' many gigs, which include regular appearances on Lewis Black's "Root of All Evil" and "Countdown With Keith Olbermann," HBO and Comedy Central specials and writing stints on "The Daily Show" and "Mr. Show." But Saturday night he takes his bread and butter -- stand-up comedy-- to the Triple Rock in Minneapolis.

He spoke by phone from Los Angeles about "Best Week Ever," his tiny role in "There Will Be Blood" and the Minnesota audience, among other things.

Q What credentials does a comedian have to have to be on "Best Week Ever"?

A Uh, a pulse?

Q Do you actually pick out the footage you want to make fun of?

A No. VH1 decides what they want us to talk about that week and then they send video clips out to all the panelists. And then we just have to pretend like we discovered it ourselves.

Q Have you ever run into any of the celebrities that you've poked fun at?

A I never have. I think the show has grown over the years. I don't think it was ever super-mean, but I think "Best Week Ever" picks its targets fairly well. It's about making fun of people who can take it. So at a certain point we stopped talking about Britney Spears because it got sad. It wasn't funny anymore. There were kids involved. But with someone like Paris Hilton -- someone who invites her own ridicule -- it's a different situation.

Q In your HBO special "Driven to Drink" you talked about once drinking a glass of beer squeezed from a used bar rag. Did you really do that?

A Yes, that is a true, disgusting story.

Q What's your favorite beer to drink after a show?

A I don't drink beer as much as I used to because as you get older, you put on weight. And I've lost a considerable amount of weight since that special (in 1998) because I stopped drinking beer so much. But for some reason I like Heineken. To me it's a nice beery-tasting beer. It even tastes a little bit skunked, which I kind of like.

Q You had a small part in "There Will Be Blood" [as a townsperson listening to the oilman's spiel]. Did you get into your role as much as Daniel Day-Lewis did?

A I don't want to say it was a contest, but I feel like I held my own.

Q Saturday's show is at the Triple Rock. What's up with doing a show in a punk-rock club?

A I've been doing comedy since 1986 and I'm just not happy performing in comedy clubs anymore. At a comedy club, I feel like I am in competition with all the selling that is going on. I feel like I am a sort of chicken wing delivery system and that's it.

Q What do you think of the Minnesota audience?

A The crowds in Minnesota are great -- really sharp and respectful. They've come to see a show, and I'm there to give them one, so I feel like we're all on the same page.

Q Do you sometimes have to restrain yourself from telling cold-weather jokes here?

A I have been fortunate, in that I've never been to Minneapolis during the winter. I have yet to experience what is a hideous time of year for you guys. So I wouldn't dream of joking about it. I know it's a serious issue.

thorgen@startribune.com • 612-673-7909