Comedy

[Chocolate Shake Man]

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.

[SMiLE Brian]

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

[Chocolate Shake Man]

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.

[rab2591]

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

[Chocolate Shake Man]

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

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.

[EgoHanger1966]

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

[Chocolate Shake Man]

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.

[halblaineisgood]

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[Chocolate Shake Man]

I like your list. There are only 2 or 3 guys on there I haven't had the chance to appreciate thus far, Bob Hope for instance, I'd like to know more about him, can you recommend somewhere to start ? Also, I'd add Brian Regan to the list.

And I agree with you about "Important" comedy, the kind you don't laugh at...YOU CLAP. I don't care for that.

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

[halblaineisgood]

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[Chocolate Shake Man]

Epitome of Hyperbole is my favorite Brian Regan special. That's the one to check out.

I will! Thanks!

[halblaineisgood]

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[Mike's Beard]

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.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I love his timing. I am going to have to check for some non-road movies on Netflix. Now that I know where Woody Allen and Conan O' Brien come from, who influenced Letterman ? Where'd he come from ... who is Letterman's Bob Hope ?

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.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

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.

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.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Carlin was God.

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

[Paulos]

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

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

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.

[rab2591]

Carlin was God.

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

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

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!

[halblaineisgood]

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[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

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

[rab2591]

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

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

Such a great film!

[Chocolate Shake Man]

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

YES!!!!

[SMiLE Brian]

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

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

They were parodies?

All this time I thought they were just lousy