Aug 13, 2004  |  By: Brian Moylan  | COMMENTS     

WHO CAN GET Sophia Loren to laugh at porn and Rod Stewart to admit he likes when his girlfriend has a Brazilian bikini wax? Who would project a picture of a penis on Buckingham Palace and persuade common people to share their embarrassing sexcapades?

Why, Graham Norton, of course, the gay talk show host who is in the middle of a 13-episode stint of “The Graham Norton Effect” on Comedy Central, Thursdays at 10 p.m.

His popular and award-winning show, “So Graham Norton,” aired on the United Kingdom’s Channel 4 for six years and on digital cable’s BBC America from 2001 until April. For those in the United States who missed it, BBC Video is releasing “The Best of So Graham Norton,” a 91-minute compilation on DVD, on Wednesday, Aug. 18.

The secret of Norton’s success is summed up well by two of the countless celebrities on the DVD (And when I say countless, I mean Cher, Dolly Parton, Lauren Bacall, Dustin Hoffman, Joan Collins, Elton John, Queen Latifah, Kim Cattrall, Alan Cumming, Whoopi Goldberg, and others).

Singer Sarah Brightman says that Norton is “so naughty, but so charming at the same time.” Bisexual comedian Sandra Bernhard (who was also on the premiere of Norton’s American venture) calls Norton out, pointing out that, even when he’s interviewing guests, he is always the center of attention.

Bernhard is right; it is all about Norton, and that is the only reason to watch.

WHILE HE PLAYS like a good cog in the PR machine and lets his guests shill for their new movie or TV show or CD or whatever for a while, Norton doesn’t sit through silly, pre-planned stories about celebrity life like his colleagues Jay Leno and David Letterman.

Instead, he makes a guest his accomplice in various wacky antics. His celebrities look at naughty Web sites, he gives them absurd gag gifts, he has them talk on the phone with creepy people and makes them act as judges in games he plays with the audience.

Unlike Larry David, the star of HBO’s annoying “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” who always says the things most people think but find too inappropriate to say, Norton says and does the things that most people think but are too embarrassed to pull off. Because he is never shy and has no boundaries, the vibe rubs off on his guests and audience members.

And that lack of embarrassment includes topics about sexual orientation. While “The Graham Norton Effect” seems toned-down, especially compared with the bawdiness found on the DVD, Norton is never afraid to make a gay joke, a dirty remark, or a homoerotic double entendre.

There is one American lesbian talk show host with blonde hair (whose name rhymes with Helen DeGeneres,) who seems to feel that, in order to appeal to middle America, one needs to leave the gay stuff at home.

With Norton everything — especially the gay jokes — is on the table. On a recent episode, Norton, along with actors Seth Green and Matthew Lillard, played a game where audience members had to identify their partners (who were dressed in full-body costumes) based on the way they simulated making love.

One woman correctly identified her male partner. Then, Norton asked a man his partner’s name. When the guest replied, “Chad,” Lillard said, “Hey, that’s not a girl’s name!”

Green quickly slapped Lillard and said, “No, but it’s a partner’s name.”

Green’s message, which is Norton’s message and the message of the whole campy affair, seems to be: “Don’t worry about who’s gay and who’s not, just shut up and enjoy the fun.”

And it’s easy for someone as funny as Norton to consistently take viewers along for the ride.