That is why he was so funny. Same with Airplane. He played it strait enough that it made it funny.
The Top Five Most Overrated Comedians
- Thread starter Locutus
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That is why he was so funny. Same with Airplane. He played it strait enough that it made it funny.
I don't know what Master of Your Domain is but you are right about it resonating or not...I do better with humour when it is real and happening in front of me...some people just have that gift to dead pan when something is happening in a room...I find that hilarious...but to watch "situations" I don't enjoy it...it's too "situational". I don't like "movie comedies" either. And an audience laugh track...OMG, shoot me.
I prefer darker quirkier comedies usually myself but I do have a fondness for the "classics". I Love Lucy, anything from Carol Burnett show, Oliver and Hardy, etc. (I'm sure I'm missing something.)
And Master of Your Domain was a Seinfeld episode, the only one worth watching, in my opinion.
lol Cute. I agree with her about some, but to me, Carlin was a laff n a haff.
lol Yep.
I can go along with that list except Rowan Atkinson is funny at almost anything. Bean is awesome and so is Black Adder.
Haven't got a clue who Ron White is.
Foster Brooks was great.
Cheech n Chong had moments.
Ditto for Williams.
Ditto for Cosby.
Ditto for Benny.
Conway's a riot.
Nielsen is great at just about anything.
Ditto for Levy.
Lorne Elliot is great.
And I'd add the Monty Python crew, Jonathan Winters, Buddy Hackett, Jim Carrey, Martin Short, Dan Akroyd, and Russell Peters Bill Hicks and Russell Peters have their moments.
Um, Oliver was Hardy. lmao I'ma thinkin you meant Stan and Oliver or Laurel and Hardy. lol
Oh, and comes to the silents, Buster Keaton cracked me up more than the rest.
My notable over-rated comics are (off the top of my memory) Letterman, Seinfeld, Murphy, and Will Ferrell.
Duh oh! LOL.
Murphy? I'm drawing a blank.
And I can't believe no one has mentioned the horror that was/is Carrot Top!!!!8O
Yet another gem that has gone unmentioned is Bob Newhart. The Driving Instructor still makes me laugh.
Bob Newhart The Driving Instructor.wmv - YouTube
Yup. So. That was why I did it. Hey.
Ah yes, I concur. Goofy freaking laugh. I'd rather listen to a novice bagpipe player, lol.
Yet another gem that has gone unmentioned is Bob Newhart. The Driving Instructor still makes me laugh.
Oh, man, yeah he's good. I still love the interview with Sir Walter Raleigh about tobacco. Remember that one?
Abbot and Costello had some great moments: a couple of the scenes in "Buck Privates", "Who's on first?", adding up the rent, and "Loafin'" (the bakery job) come to mind.
Forgot Bamster.
I like dthat weird guy, what was his name--Emo Philips. He had some great ones. "My computer beat me at chess but it was no macth for me at kickboxing."
Bob Newhart skit on Tobacco - YouTube
Yes! I knew I was forgetting a whole bunch when I made my classics list, "Who's on first" is brilliant!
Anyone in the public eye - singers, dancers, writers, actors - have their good performances and bad. No one is on the mark all the time. You have to look at a body of work in order to judge it fairly. Comedians have it tougher than dancers, writers or actors in my opinion. This is especially true if their work is based on current events, political commentary or modern life in general.
Dancers and actors can impress audiences many years after their films were made. Writers do the same with their books. Comedians less so.
The era into which you were born plays a big part as well. George Carlin's routine about seven words you could not say on TV was more a social commentary than comedy, but his ability to tell the tale made it work. Much of his work will become less understood with time. The reason? Most comedians are funny because they make you laugh in the now. Whether it's using a telephone to find out about to-bac-co or making light of current events like THH22M does, comedy loses something over time. How we think, how we perceive our world and even our temperament change. Our language and technology evolve.
Lenny Bruce was considered the first to use strong language mixed with edgy political commentary to make people laugh. It worked then, but is nothing special today. The trick is being able to recognize that he was a pioneer in the field. The same goes for Seinfeld, Carlin and others. They were a part of the moment, but left an impression.
Some people were not born when marijuana was in vogue (yet again) in the late 1960s and 1970s. To listen to a comedian describing Richard Nixon, Lester Pearson or Robert Stanfield sucking on a doobie, then messing up a political speech worked then - but not now. These men are dead, relatively unknown to younger audiences and the "newness" of drugs has passed. Times change. Artists come and go.
Some performances are truly special, but they are a minority. Only the extraordinary ones transcend time.
Dancers and actors can impress audiences many years after their films were made. Writers do the same with their books. Comedians less so.
The era into which you were born plays a big part as well. George Carlin's routine about seven words you could not say on TV was more a social commentary than comedy, but his ability to tell the tale made it work. Much of his work will become less understood with time. The reason? Most comedians are funny because they make you laugh in the now. Whether it's using a telephone to find out about to-bac-co or making light of current events like THH22M does, comedy loses something over time. How we think, how we perceive our world and even our temperament change. Our language and technology evolve.
Lenny Bruce was considered the first to use strong language mixed with edgy political commentary to make people laugh. It worked then, but is nothing special today. The trick is being able to recognize that he was a pioneer in the field. The same goes for Seinfeld, Carlin and others. They were a part of the moment, but left an impression.
Some people were not born when marijuana was in vogue (yet again) in the late 1960s and 1970s. To listen to a comedian describing Richard Nixon, Lester Pearson or Robert Stanfield sucking on a doobie, then messing up a political speech worked then - but not now. These men are dead, relatively unknown to younger audiences and the "newness" of drugs has passed. Times change. Artists come and go.
Some performances are truly special, but they are a minority. Only the extraordinary ones transcend time.
Some of those people had their odd funny moment,the Python gang more than most.BUT if you want funny,catch some Tommy Tiernan,you will piss your pants.