BY KAREN BOSSICK

Comedian Eddie Ifft says his New Year’s Resolution is to be “even more upfront and honest than ever.”

So, buckle up for his upcoming performances at The Argyros in Ketchum.

Eddie Ifft will perform two evenings of hilarity on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 14-15, at The Argyros in Ketchum. Both shows start at 7:30 p.m.

Ifft performed to two sold-out shows at The Argyros in 2019. Then COVID hit and, well….

“It was interesting because we homeschooled and Internet schooled my daughter, and I found out I would’ve flunked kindergarten,” said Ifft, who has a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old.

“Actually, you should be asking my wife how it went during 16 months of not performing. She’d tell you: I couldn’t get him on the plane fast enough!” he added.

Since Sept. 1 Ifft has been out cracking jokes every week.

“I haven’t taken time off because I’m playing catch up,” he said.

It was tough for a comedian to sit at home for 16 months, watching the unbelievably crazy things that went on in the country and not have a forum to address them. But now he has his chance.

“In my act, I see my year in review, what we went through,” he said. “Actually, I was a little let down.  We spend $3 trillion on defense in the United States and in 10 minutes Duck Dynasty took over our Capitol.”

But, despite a political major in college, Ifft doesn’t major on politics on stage. Instead, you might hear him address the sex life of a tapeworm. Or, how weddings are just beauty pageants with one contestant. Or how to fake a heart attack to get help in a Home Depot.

“They give elderly people orange aprons there to make them think they have a purpose in life,” he quips.

Ifft has been known to address his neighbor—the one with 40 guns.

“I go, ‘What do you need 40 guns for?’ And he says, ‘Intruders.’ I say, ‘Who’s coming to your home--ISIS?’ And he asks me, ‘What are you going to do when an intruder comes in your house?’ I go, ‘Simple, I sleep naked.’ ”

Ifft has also been known to lament how his cellphone so completely rules his life that he doesn’t go anywhere without the phone completely charged.

“If it dips below 10 percent at a party, I’ve gotta get out of there because I might have to talk to someone and because I might not be able to find my way home without it,” he says.

Called one of the most underrated comics in America by the Onion, Ifft has told jokes around the world to sold-out crowds in two dozen countries over the past 25 years. His “Talkin’ Sh*t” podcast is one of the most successful podcasts in the comedy world.

He has also released his own 30-minute special for Comedy Central and made numerous TV appearances on such shows as “Last Comic Standing” and the “Joe Rogan Show.” And he released a new album this past year—“Sweet Home Malibama,” the title being a play on his home in Malibu.

But before he did man-on-the street segments on the Queen Latifah Show, he spun jokes at the Boiler Room and Duchin Room at Sun Valley Resort.

“I love Sun Valley more than any place int he world. I wanted to move there during the pandemic, but my wife wouldn’t let me,” he lamented.

In fact, Ifft proposed to his wife while in Sun Valley 10 years ago. It did not go as smoothly as he had hoped because he got deathly ill with the flu and couldn’t leave his hotel room for a few days. When he did get well enough to get down on one knee without puking, his original proposal site—Trail Creek Cabin—was closed for the day. So, he took his wife to the top of Baldy to seal the deal.

“I can’t wait to ski again. I’ve been skiing around the world and there’s no place like Sun Valley. I just hope they’ve put a safety bar on that chairlift at the top of Warm Springs,” he said, apparently referring to the chair behind Lookout Restaurant that locals refer to as “the chair to nowhere.” “Riding that chair scares me to death!”