The Smiley Smile Message Board

In a conversation with ThePosterFormallyKnownAs ( :) ) I thought I'd begin a thread on comedy to see the kinds of stuff that we might like. I was just recently having a conversation where I tried to establish the kind of comedy that I like. I concluded that there are two very prominent and different kinds of comedians - the kind you laugh at and the kind you clap at. Personally, I prefer the former. Lenny Bruce is a comedian who is revered a lot and I can appreciate what he did just in terms of free speech, but I don't particularly consider him to be a great comedian. I'm not sure if he ever made me laugh. I suppose my preference is for more absurd comedy or character-driven stuff. In terms of out and out funny, here are some of the people that I like - not just comedians but also comedic performers and comedy writers (whose names you may or may not know). Curious to see your list:

Albert Brooks - maybe for me the guy who I have laughed the most at
Woody Allen - I love his work not only for the interesting films like Annie Hall and Manhattan but also for his great stand-up and hilariously absurdist early films
Larry David/Jerry Seinfeld
Steve Martin - again, here, I'm thinking of the work he is directly responsible for (in other words, not Father of The Bride and Bringing Down the House) - the stand-up stuff and films like The Jerk and Man With Two Brains are fantastic comedy
David Letterman - especially the NBC years where he was probably creating the most daring and unique television in America
Monty Python - probably creating the most original television in England
Conan O'Brien - also, especially the NBC years
Norm Macdonald
George Meyer
John Swartzwelder - the above two being great writers for The Simpsons
Jack Handey
Jon Stewart - less for the political stuff and more for the style of comedy - in particular, his book Naked Pictures of Famous People
Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant
Richard Pryor
Tina Fey
shows like Arrested Development and Community
Dave Chapelle
Mel Brooks

Also I have a soft-spot for the black and white comedy of Bob Hope (in particular, his 1940s-era films rather than his less funny 1980's golf-club stand up), the Marx Brothers, and Charlie Chaplin.

I'm sure there's more but this is all I can think of at the moment.

Dave Chapelle- I am still shocked at his quick fall from fame, could almost be the BW of the comedy scene.

Chapelle's show was great and I thought that a guy with that much talent would have come back with something that made a similar cultural impact but that has yet to happen. But I have seen him do some stand-up since that was very funny.

George Carlin
Steven Martin
Tim Allen - love his standup
Bill Hicks
Ricky Gervais
Community is one of my absolute favorite shows.
Jerry Seinfeld
Larry David
Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean)
John Cleese (especially for Fawlty Towers)

Though not a real fan of Jamie Foxx, this clip is one of my favs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-SCxow_2b8&feature=fvwrel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-SCxow_2b8&feature=fvwrel)

Yes! I've seen that a bunch of times and thought it was great. "I'm your conscience."

Also wanted to throw in Mitch Hedberg and Steven Wright.

Love many of the mentioned above. I'll throw in Louis CK.

I think that Louis CK could warrant a whole thread. I'm not exactly sure on my feelings on Louis. I like his personality and I think his show is nothing short of brilliant despite being incredibly difficult to watch at times. Nevertheless, I don't laugh as much at his material and even sometimes feel that I laugh at the stand-up stuff in his show because it is a break from the really depressing other stuff, which happens to be great because it seems to tap into to very real anxieties and fears. I considered putting him on the above list - I'm really into his stuff right now - but I couldn't do it without this explanation.

.

I have heard great things about Regan but haven't seen him - I will check him out.

My piece of advice on Bob Hope is to watch the films that are just him and to avoid the "Road To" movies. I don't mind those, and can appreciate them more but to me they don't hold a candle to the Hope vehicles. My favourite movies of his are Where There's Life, My Favorite Brunette, and Monsieur Beaucaire. Below is a youtube clip from Brunette. You never know, you may just find a link to the whole movie while you're there...

But take a look at it and notice where Woody Allen and Conan O'Brien got almost their entire character from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g3lRhUfl8k (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g3lRhUfl8k)

.

I will! Thanks!

.

From the UK;

Bottom - an unemployable alcoholic and a sad virgin with a small penis, living in a squalid flat, kicking the crap out of each other - genius.
Only Fools and Horses - the best sitcom of all time, Del Boy rocked.
Blackadder - The exchanges between Blackadder and Baldrick are priceless. Surprisingly written by the otherwise terminally unfunny Ben Elton.
Faulty Towers - John Cleese is a comedy God.
Monty Python - I don't find the show that funny, but the movies are pure gold.

For stand up nothing beats Roy Chubby Brown. The King of un-pc, he says with pride what every sane Englishman is thinking. Would probably not be Aegir's cup of tea!!

From the US;

The Simpsons and South Park are still on the whole pant pissingly funny.
I usually hate American live action sitcom but found Frasier to be very good.
The Jerk by Steve Martin and the Chevy Chase National Lampoon Vacation movies can't be beat. I'll be watching Christmas Vacation for about the 10000th time in the coming month.
Richard Pryor gets my vote for best stand up comedian of all time. Every American stand up of the last 30 years owes him a debt.

It's a good question. Letterman often credits Johnny Carson but outside of the fact that they have the same job, I don't see many similarities. Conversely, Johnny Carson informs just about every mannerism of Bill Maher. I don't know where Letterman necessarily gets his voice from but certainly his show from the 80s where they did all that crazy iconoclastic stuff was very much informed by Steve Allen and Ernie Kovacs.

I should probably know this, but are you British? The British seem to especially single out Frasier. I love Cheers but I wasn't as won over by Frasier.

Carlin was God.

I'm sure he probably offended some of the folk round here though....  >:D

I love comedy in all it's forms, whether it be the puerile stupidity of Jackass or the 'important' stuff like Bill Hicks. Love sitcoms both British and American and have a real love for animated comedies, probably because you can get away with so much in animation.

Fave shows in no particular order:

South Park
Archer
Summer Heights High
Red Dwarf
I'm Alan Partridge  (plus Mid Morning Matters, Places Of My Life etc)
Frasier
American Dad
Father Ted
Blackadder
Simpsons
Family Guy
How I Met Your Mother
Big Bang Theory
Mighty Boosh
Flight Of The Conchords
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Futurama
Spaced
Inbetweeners

As far as individuals, George Carlin was awesome, as was Richard Pryor. Also a fan of Bill Cosby's standup work...i'd forgotten just how funny he was in his prime. I miss Bernie Mac. :(  Concerning currently active stand-up comedians... Kevin Hart, Mike Epps, Chris Tucker, and Eddie Griffin are on my list.

As far as TV shows (both current and past)... my all-time favorites include: Married With Children, American Dad, Big Bang Theory, Bernie Mac Show, and the Simpsons in the mid-90s. One really funny movie I saw recently was Paul. One of the funniest movies I have ever seen; as my wife & I are nerds in a way. a lot of that movie hit home. Always been partial to stoner comedies (even before I ever smoked), esp. Up In Smoke.

:rock

And good if he did offend anyone. That was his job ;D
______

Thanks Paulos for adding some great ones to the list.

I'm also gonna add the movies Airplane and The Burbs to my list. The Burbs is probably my favorite comedy of all time...it's well casted, hilariously scripted, perfect storyline.

Edit: I'll also add Life Of Brian to the list!

.

Oh God, Airplane was funny as hell. sh*t HITS THE FAN

:lol "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."

Such a great film!

YES!!!!

The Brady Bunch parody movies from 1990s were well written as well. :lol

They were parodies?

All this time I thought they were just lousy :lol

You don't like them? They are amazing when "relaxing" :hat.

Seriously! They're fantastic!

I need to see them again, as my tastes have changed greatly in the past twenty years

The Christopher Guest improv movies are great too starting with This Is Spinal Tap through to Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. I'm pretty sure Arrested Development got their vibe from them.

Samuel Johnson
HL Mencken
Laurence Sterne
The Marx Brothers
Jerry Lewis
Brian Wilson

Just got through watching the episode of American Dad where Steve tried to befriend a feral cat that he accidently caused to get run over...man...that show happens to be the funniest show on TV.

I end up watching a lot of Cartoon Network with my daughter, and The Amazing World of Gumball and the current incarnation of Looney Tunes happen to be funny as hell as well.

HL Mencken was great with the toilet hoax.

I just want to tell you both Good Luck, we're all counting on you....



Brit Comedy - Monty Python, Spike Milligan, and The Goon Show probably gave me my odd sense of humour when I was a kid. The Goodies, Blackadder (I think my favourite is III because Hugh Laurie is so amazing), A Bit of Fry & Laurie... probably tonnes more.
The current stand-up craze is pissing me off, tho. Seemed I couldn't go for a pint in London without encountering a 'comedy' night featuring lazy homophobia/racism/sexism from some amateur d*ckhead who is the victim of some cruel practical joke where their friends said 'You know, you should do standup' with sh*t-eating grins on their faces. It's either that or 'let me recount a boring life experience with slides'. I do enjoy GOOD standup, but the amateur stuff just reeks of desperation.

American - Anyone been watching It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia? My favourite atm. As for all timers, Steven Wright, Cheers (again, a childhood lunchtime stand-by - it's so well crafted/dumb and warm), Steve Martin - The Jerk has the greatest opening line of any film ever - Mel Brooks' golden  period (anything before Space Balls in my warped chronology, in other words). Groucho. Again, probably a lot more.

Don Rickles
Gilligan's Island
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ('Mitchell')

don rickles is the man :lol

Brian certainly never disappoints in the comedy department...

Recently started to watch IASIP, really liking it so far, also just started watching Community after hearing many glowing reviews and really digging that too.

American Dad is fantastic, it's much funnier than Family Guy.

100% agreed

.

In no particular order:

The "Masters"(1900's-1940's-ish)

The Keystone Kops
Charlie Chaplin
Buster Keaton
Fatty Arbuckle
Harry Langdon
Larry Semon
Snub Pollard
Harold Lloyd
Laurel and Hardy
Jimmy Finlayson(possibly the greatest straight man to ever live)
The Marx Brothers/Groucho Marx(possibly the greatest comedian to ever live)
The Three Stooges
Abbot and Costello

The "Second Generation"(1940's-ish to the 1970's-ish)
Martin and Lewis
Jerry Lewis(he deserves to be counted on his own)
Bill Cosby
Foster Brooks
Robin Williams
Richard Pryor
George Carlin
Redd Foxx

"Modern day comics"(1980's to today
Mitch Hedberg
Kevin James
Adam Sandler
Chris Farley
The Eric charactor on Boy Meets World
Bob Saget

I tend to like absurdity and farces, with the occasional dose of "important' comedy. 60s Batman, Woody Allen's What's Up Tigerlily?, Mel Brooks-including Spaceballs and Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Airplane/Top Secret/Naked Gun/Hot Shots, Judd Apatow's stuff (F&G, Undeclared, all his movies-esp. Superbad and Walk Hard), every stupid Will Ferrell movie, those two intelligent Will Ferrel movies (Stranger than Fiction, Everything Must Go) Monty Python, Futurama, South Park, Sandler is great in those very rare occasions when he steps out of his cliched formula (Funny People, Punch-Drunk Love), Borat/Bruno, first two Austin Powers movies, Kevin Smith, Tina Fey/Amy Poehler/Kristen Wiig, Tarantino if Pulp Fiction counts as a comedy-I've laughed my ass off to that movie, how twisted is that?

A little Carlin, Maher, David Cross, Bill Hicks every now and then.

WC Fields is very funny. 8)

.

I like a lot of comedy, it's really hard to narrow it down. All six Three Stooges still make me laugh a lot. Chappelle was great. All sorts of shows and movies I find funny. The original Porky's is good. Currently I like the U.K Inbetweeners a lot. Hot Seat with Wally George was hysterical. Three's Company and Man About The House was funny, early All In The Family and early Happy Days was cool. Seinfeld was a good show. Curb was good too. I liked The Office a lot US and UK though the former lost a lot after Jim and Pam married. Impratical Jokers is darn good. John Belushi was good. Richard Pryor could be very good. Young Eddie Murphy was fun. Jeannie and Bewitched are fun. Abbot and Costello, The Little Rascals, Dr. Dirty-John Valby, Weird All, Conan. I like the Richard Lester Beatles and John Lennon movie. Superman III was funny too of Lester's. My tastes are weird I guess.

.

.

Damn straight. As you can see in my OP, he's one of my all-time favourites. Have you seen his new video podcast?

.

.

This might be the right place to mention that another legendary great comedian just passed. Jonathan Winters died on April 11th.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, what a fantastic show. It's one of those rare comedies that makes me laugh out loud. The episode with the Night Man and Day Man song is a classic, I cried when I watched it.

No mention of Spike Milligan ????

Comedy Bang! Bang! anyone?

I grew up listening to Goon Show cassettes! The sheer absurdity of them has formed my entire basis for humour.

.

.

.

Likes:
Bill Hicks
Seinfeld/Curb Your Enthusiasm
Simpsons seasons 2-9
The Trip (steve coogan)
Alan Partridge Season 2
Monty Python TV show
Stewart Lee
Earlier Family Guy
Frasier
Office (UK)

Dislikes:
Simpsons post-season 10
Alan Partridge season 3
Monty Python's films
Jack Black
Will Ferrell
Lewis Black
Later Family Guy
Office (US)
absolutely anything with that little sh*t Paul Rudd

Any love for Modern Family on here?

Spine Millington and Pewter Fentner

.

.

I love it. Manages to be both funny as hell and touching.

Other comedy TV-shows I've enjoyed over the years: Seinfeld (must've watched the whole series at least 4 times), Curb Your Enthusiasm, Peep Show, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Freaks and Geeks, The Inbetweeners, Louie, Arrested Development, The Office (US), Entourage, Family Guy, South Park, That 70's Show and lately Silicon Valley which I really recommend.

Came across the show "What's My Line?" on youtube. Got really hooked on it, been watching it the whole week. Always liked the games where you need to guess the word or name. The last round is my favorite, just hear what celebrities come up with to change their voice/accent. I read people calling Ed Sullivan conservative, but he was quite funny on this show. Groucho Marx (yes, he's been there too) made some amusing liberties when he refused to blindfold himself & disclosed the name of the mystery guest. Thankfully, the other 3 panelists played along & continued asking questions to identify the actress.
In turn, I discovered the Ernie Kovacs show. What I set my eyes on 1st was use of video effects, some of them looked so advanced for its time. Really cool, too bad the sound quality leaves much to be desired, at times I couldn't hear the jokes.

I love Emo Philips