So you've got $60 million to burn and nowhere to light it. Well, if lining the pockets of Liberal advertisers in Quebec for a year sounds like your kind of fun, then $50 million will get you a crate of golf balls with $10 million in change to spend on anything from gun registration to shipping line contracts. But if you want to produce entertaining theatre, with an explanation or two about the Mexican peso crisis thrown in for good measure, then step right up, my friend, and lay that 60 mil down, because here's one production that will be happy to take your money

Yes, extended by popular demand, another scandal inquiry for Canada's viewing pleasure: The Gomery Inquiry: How Quebec Was Won.

Now beginning its second year, the ever-evolving and unexpectedly amusing vaudeville act hosted by none other than Justice John H. Gomery hit what had to be both a high-water mark in entertainment and a low point for relevance last week when the dynamic duo of Chrétien and Martin hit the stage, reprising their famous roles of the minimizing Prime Minister with a flair for mangling every language in his repertoire, and the ever-fastidious but always out-of-the-loop Finance Minister. It was high comedy and good times on the main stage for the production that still has more than a few scratching their heads at its popularity.

But there was no denying the star power of Jean Chrétien, a man of few words but many golf balls. He was vaudeville at its finest, props in tow, one-liners always at the ready, as he sparred with straight man Bernard Roy (a little tepid and underplayed in this reviewer's opinion; always one step behind), and showed what it means to be a lead actor. Chrétien had presence; he had panache. He was probably the first actor in the history of this production's storied run to make you want to stand up and cheer, breathing new life into the role which will be forever remembered for his play with sporting equipment.

With the production moving to Montreal later in the month, one wonders how it will be received after his "Westmount cheap" quip, and a new cast of characters to boot, but for those lucky enough to attend in Ottawa, it was classic theatre, and classic Chrétien.

Paul Martin, normally a disappointment in the main role as Prime Minister, was on familiar ground here as he harkened back to his most famous character. It was the role of Finance Minister that put Martin on the map, and it's obviously a role he's comfortable with. The man of minutiae, the fusser of finances was back and strutting at his best, and for those who missed his first run, Martin added much in the way of back story. Deficit fighting, Asian financial crisis, his famous role in the Mexican peso affair, and just what a finance minister does and more notably doesn't do, was all there. Long-winded at times, tedious for some, it was still presented with confidence, making this reviewer and others shake our heads and wonder why he ever hung up the role.

Olivier had his Hamlet, and Martin had his Finance Minister. He's been out of his depth ever since.

Sadly, such an entertaining high point furthered the debate on just what this production is up to. Started as a serious inquiry into the world of corruption and deceit, greed and arrogance, it never really took flight or grabbed much attention during its initial run. Infighting and arguments, stalling tactics by its producers, and an early cast not fit for prime time made for a tawdry and uninspired production; more soap opera than morality play. Only recently has it found new teeth and energy as a comedy, far and away from its initial focus.

This must have been what its producers, the federal Liberal Party, had in mind all along. But at a cost of $60 million dollars, it begs the question: why waste all that money if what you wanted in the first place was a comedy?

And let there be no doubt, The Gomery Inquiry is comedy at its best.