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This was touched on briefly in another thread, and thought it warranted further discussion. What do you find funny? What so-called funny things annoy you?
For instance, I love Monty Python-style humor (including "Fawlty Towers"), but I never "got" other British comedies like "Red Dwarf" (I fell asleep every time I tried to watch it) and especially "Absolutely Fabulous" (got annoyed in 10 seconds and turned it off).
I really didn't care for Napoleon Dynamite. I could never figure out why people thought it was so funny. The same with Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.
I thought The Hangover had some funny moments, but Superbad did not impress me at all.
Better off Dead is, in my mind, a classic. So is A Fish Called Wanda and Christmas Vacation.
So, what tickles your funny bone?
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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So, what tickles your funny bone?
"If someone has to use obscenity to be funny, they're not funny." Attributed to Groucho Marx.
I like old Vauldville humour, the Marx brothers still crack me up.
Monty Python, Are you Beign Served. Allo Allo, all of those make me laugh.
Jeff Dunham (though Peanut gets old quick)
Some Geroge Carlin.
Edit: OH, and I found 50 first dates a sad movie, with a bit of funny thrown in.
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For its irreverence, its brilliance, its blatant racism, and, best of all, it's blatant ANTI-racism.
Oddly enough, personally I didn't stop laughing during the Hangover or Superbad. In the end, however, I can watch Groundhog day at the drop of a hat. It continues to be my most favorite movie of all time although I wouldn't say it's for the comedy aspect at this point, so that's why I chose Blazing Saddles.
With regard to Mel Brooks', Spaceballs tops 'em all for me.
I find most things that try to be funny fairly funny. When there's an attempt to cover a comic tone that's never been done before it is seldom appreciated by the masses. People seem to prefer the comic patterns they're already comfortable with. For me though, films and comedy that bear their own brand are probably what I appreciated most. Buck my expectations, please.
To the OP. I think the key to enjoying Napolean Dynomite might have to do with feeling like you already know the character. He was inspired by that strange little brother of a friend who regularly barges into the room scowling over some trifling inconvenience in his life, operating on an agenda you never would have intuited. The film captured a very subtle tone of people on strange wavelengths. I don't know many people who enjoyed the film (most of my friends took away nothing from it), but I actually own a Vote for Pedro T-shirt. ;)
Not that I mean to show any kind of special preference to that film over the thousand other comedies I've enjoyed. I could prattle on about every film named in this thread. I'm sparing you all because I care about you.
I'll tell you what's not funny. Any movie starring Larry The Cable Guy. Love 'em in Blue Collar Comedy, but his movies? I can't finish them. Makes me want to bite the bullet of a .38.
I tend to like wit mostly. I also like rants. Finally, I tend to like humor that is just completely off the wall. I don't know exactly how to describe off the wall humor, but Robin Williams and Monty Python are good examples.
What I don't tend to like are slapstick and scatalogical humor. That's not to say that I don't find the occasional fart joke amusing. However, it has to be occasional. If a comedian's entire bag of tricks involves nothing but things that go into or come out of the body, then I get annoyed.
Some of my favorite stand-up comedians are as follows:
George Carlin
Dennis Leary
Paula Poundstone
I really miss Carlin. I was down for a couple days when I heard of his passing as I've never got the chance to see him live.
I'll tell you what's not funny. Any movie starring Larry The Cable Guy.
Or Rob Schneider. That man should not be allowed within 100 yards of a movie camera.
I like all kinds of humor from the gruesomely dark like Dog Bites Man to the super-silly like Spongebob Squarepants.
British comedy rocks even the sappier ones like May to December and As Time Goes By.
Canadian humor mostly follows a British mold but they have a few extraordinary shows that are a perfect fusion between British and American humor Kids in the Hall and Corner Gas as two of the best stand outs.
American comedy is where I find the most unfunny shows and people ever. Rob Schneider, Larry The Cable Guy, Pauly Shore, Brendan Frasier, 99% of SNL alumni, Dane Cook and anybody from MTV are not funny and should never be let near a microphone or camera
If you could find a way to combine and weaponize (in no particular order) the Muppets, Ghostbusters, Spaceballs, Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, Strong Bad & Homestar Runner, Scooby Doo & Shaggy, Count Duckula, the Neverhood, the standup of Steven Wright, early to mid seasons of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Seargant Frog, Monty Python, Wil.E. Coyote and much of his animated Looney Tunes brethren, The Emperor's New Groove, the Stupid Stupid Rat Creatures from Bone... and much of Bone in general, Pogo, Invader Zim, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Groucho Marx, and David Tennant as Dr. Who, you could probably slay me. Add Who Framed Roger Rabbit to the pile, 'cause you know what happens when ya' can't stop laughin!'
Unfortunately, I'm probably the last person you should ask for a favorite on anything. For a cross-section that will probably tell you more about a person's tastes, I can probably give you enough material to form a summary.
Got to throw in Family Guy in there somewhere. And any VH1 retreads of loving the '70's, '80's, '90's with all the background commentaries.
Tennant is hilarious.
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I typically like the movies I grew up with. Three Amigos is one of my all time favorite movies. The National Lampoon Vacation movies are fantastic and yes, so is most of Mel Brooks stuff, especially Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs.
I like many of today's comedies but most are gross-out or shock comedies that really lose their appeal after the first viewing.
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It has to be absurdist/surreal, snappy/biting, or both. As far as individual comedians go, I'm a big fan of George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Robin Williams (the non-Disney version), Penn & Teller, Eddie Izzard, Ryan "The Bunnybeater" Sainsbury, and Dara O'Briain. I'm also a fan of people who, while not necessarily comedians, are funny and insightful (even inciteful), such as Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, Aron "AronRa" Nelson, and our friends Rone and Ed on Atomic Array.
Film-wise, some of the best ones, in my opinion, are:
- Monty Python's Life of Brian
- Mystery Men
- The Big Lebowski
- The Boondock Saints I & II (not comedies, but still funny. "Sure, take your stupid f&*~in' rope.)
- Hot Fuzz
- Shaun of the Dead
P.S. Hank's on another spoken words tour this spring.
I think this kind of thing is hilarious. I wouldn't click the link from work. Something Positive used to be hilarious every time but now has settled down into a more story-oriented thing that still has jokes. Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles frequently gets a laugh out of me, but I haven't read it regularly in a while. Definitely don't click that link from work.
I also watch Sweeney Todd as a romantic comedy. It's about the only romantic comedy I do like. (Romeo & Juliet would count, but most stagings seem to think it's meant as a serious tragedy despite the mile-a-minute stream of dirty jokes and comic stupidity of the leads.)
I get a lot of my laughs out of alternative interpretations of works that aren't intended to be funny. If you watched the Thundercats as a kid, sit down with the DVDs and a working knowledge of Manifest Destiny thinking. The dialog turns horrific and hilarious.
And of course I'm a huge fan of Carlin. Ron White's pretty good too. (Probably not coincidentally they often have similar targets, though their strategies of attack differ.) I loved what I saw of Russel Brand on Comedy Central last year.
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I think this kind of thing is hilarious. I wouldn't click the link from work.
A great video for a great song by an amazing artist. "WKAP?" is one of my all-time favorite albums.
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And of course I'm a huge fan of Carlin. Ron White's pretty good too. (Probably not coincidentally they often have similar targets, though their strategies of attack differ.) I loved what I saw of Russel Brand on Comedy Central last year.
Forgot about Ron White. I'm a big fan of his, though no one else seems to be. Glad to see someone else appreciates his humor.
And of course I'm a huge fan of Carlin. Ron White's pretty good too. (Probably not coincidentally they often have similar targets, though their strategies of attack differ.) I loved what I saw of Russel Brand on Comedy Central last year.Forgot about Ron White. I'm a big fan of his, though no one else seems to be. Glad to see someone else appreciates his humor.
White is pretty much the only one of the four I can stand.
I think Ron White is funny, but given the frequency of his television comedy specials, they're starting to sound recycled. Maybe it's the booze. :P
Ah, I enjoy Bill Engvall too .... but his sitcom ... Zzzzzzz...
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Ah, I enjoy Bill Engvall too .... but his sitcom ... Zzzzzzz...
I like 'em all, but it's Forworthy who's been able to branch out of standup.
Last year, the front door card reader broke in the cold, so at 6:30 AM a bunch of us were trekking around to the side door in 0 degree weather. Another employee pulls up. "Front door won't open?"
I called back, "Nope, we're just out taking our morning jog in the freezing cold! Here's your sign."
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My own sense of humor seems to lean toward:
1) dry wit, and
2) lame puns. 8^)
I don't find funny:
1) glorifying stupidity (a lot of the humor on TV...)
2) anything entirely based on insults
3) anything entirely based on profanity (don't mind a little here and there, but I don't find it funny by itself)
Otherwise, I'm pretty easy to please. 8^)
Ah, I enjoy Bill Engvall too .... but his sitcom ... Zzzzzzz...I like 'em all, but it's Forworthy who's been able to branch out of standup.
** spoiler omitted **
That's the part of Engvall's humor that I do enjoy.
Most of the humor in my life comes from my gaming group and the in jokes we share. That aside,
Ricky Gervais
Robin Williams
Dave Chappelle
Mitch Hedberg (R.I.P)
and
Lewis Black
are all very funny men (or silly bit**es as I like to call them). I wanted to put Jon Stewart on there, but I think the politicians and Fox News do all his work for him.
And of course I'm a huge fan of Carlin. Ron White's pretty good too. (Probably not coincidentally they often have similar targets, though their strategies of attack differ.) I loved what I saw of Russel Brand on Comedy Central last year.Forgot about Ron White. I'm a big fan of his, though no one else seems to be. Glad to see someone else appreciates his humor.
I like Ron White. He's very much his own thing. And his onstage personality is a total shtick. He acts and sounds quite different in person, which means he's pulling off sixty fun minutes at a clip, in character. That sort of thing has a higher bar.
I miss Eddie Murphy back in his hey-days of Delirious, SNL, the first two Beverly Hills Cops, etc. I look and see what he does now and just sigh. I hear rumors about Beverly Hills Cop 4 resurfacing with Brett Ratner being the director, but even with him at the helm, I don't have much faith. Outside of donkey in Shrek, nothing Eddie has done in the past decade has amused me.
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Stephen F#~&ing Colbert
My F@&%ing HERO.
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Old school funny: George Carlin, Dennis Miller, Denis Leary, Steven Wright, Bill Cosby, Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor, Monty Python, Kids in the Hall, Robin Williams
New school funny: Demetri Martin, Gabriel Iglesias, Mitch Hedburg, Nick Swardson, Jo Koy
Not funny: Will Farrel, Jim Carey, Chris Katan (unless he's on SNL)
Best black comedy movie: Heathers
Not funny, yet funny: Jackass. This stuff isn't funny at all on the show, yet I laugh whenever someone imitates this stuff in real life and gets injured. Yeah, I know, I'm a sick man.
As for the brand of humor I use... when I'm trying to be funny myself, I think one of my greatest strengths is being able to say almost anything, no matter how absurd, outrageous, goofy, or nonesensical, with a straight face; as if it makes perfect sense.
Understandably, cartoonish absurdism is one of my favorite tacts.
Puns and wordplay are a favorite of mine, including ones so bad that the fact they're even being used is a sizeable part of the joke.
Come to think of it, I think my sense of humor is a lot like the Muppets.'
For me, it has to catch me off guard. If I can see it coming from a mile away, it is not funny. I am looking at you, Jim Carey.
I would agree with a lot of people here, slapstick, gross-out, obscenity often falls flat. For me, it really depends on delivery. If I do not see it coming, then it is funny. When the entire routine/show rides on it, it gets old.
I believe that is why comedy is so difficult. You have to take your jaded audience someplace they never expect. You also have to sprinkle on some truth.
Like
Monty Python
George Carlin
Eddie Izzard
Dislike
Jim Carey
90's+ SNL
Napoleon Dynamite (plenty of truth here, maybe too much. It never caught me off guard.)
Best black comedy movie: Heathers
"I love my dead, gay son!"
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Larry Moe and Curly
Shemp was a genius
Mel Brooks is a god not THE G~D but a god none the less.
Monty Python is the bomb but I must say Jabberwocky was it for me!!
Does watching politicains "work" count as comedy?
Though I do have to agree with Courtfool (becoming a habit lately) If I see the GAG coming a mile away it isn't funny.
Used to like Bill Maher but he is quickly turning into angry old fart screaming "you kids get off my lawn."
Dennis Miller back in the day.
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Most Jim Carrey isn't to my liking.
I do like Pot Smoking Idiots type of comedy because I relate to them well...don't judge me!
Monty Python is great. I like shows like Better off Ted and Big Bang Theory. Romantic comedies tread a thin line with me....some are good and some just get ridiculous and turn me off. Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire was awesome and had me rolling every episode.
For me, it has to catch me off guard. If I can see it coming from a mile away, it is not funny.
For me, honestly, I'm not sure it's the unexpected part necessarily. I know I have a fondness for old jokes I love. Or traditional gags that always make me smile, like the hallway-full-of-doors-that-are-all-weirdly-connected gag (loved the Yellow Submarine rendition,) or the mirror bit made popular by Groucho. (Count Duckula did a very good version of that one episode.) Sometimes I anticipate them with bated breath. It's why I find humorous books, movies, shows, etc re-watchable.
It's the... unexpectable. A clever quarter twist on the reasonable (behavior, circumstances, etc.) or even on reality itself.
I don't know if I can talk about it without sounding pretentious.
It's weird, but for me, good humor is a lot like good horror.
It's about That Which Should Not Be... but is anyway.
Of course, it should be clever.
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Favorite funny movie: Airplane
Favorite funny TV show: Family Guy
I tend to appreciate dry wit and absurdity (which encompasses a lot of British comedy).
What I cannot explain, however, is why I find over-the-top violence and vomit jokes funny. (See Family Guy where Peter fights the chicken, or the Family Guy where Peter, Brian, Chris, and Stewie decide to have a competition where they all drink milk of magnesia and whoever vomits last gets a pie). I'm not proud of it, but there it is.
Surely you can't be serious!Favorite funny movie: Airplane
I am serious. And don't call me Shirley!
I used to love Jim Carrey it wasn't until years later I realized I just really liked the movie Liar Liar. He's got Yes Man now too though. That's a good one.
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I never "got" other British comedies like "Red Dwarf" (I fell asleep every time I tried to watch it) and especially "Absolutely Fabulous" (got annoyed in 10 seconds and turned it off).
I'm not sure how anyone could like those shows if they had not been born, raised and lived in Britain at the right time.
I loved Red Dwarf when I was a teenager.