Would we all agree that Joan Rivers was the best Comedienne of all time

DEFTLEFTHAND

People say women aren't funny. Joan must have been an outlier.

I watched a vid of her standup tonight with friends. I was literally nearly throwing up at one stage I was laughing so hard.

She crushed all this PC snowflake agenda which exists today in comedy. It's fcking satire not real sentiment.

When I hear the likes of Chris Rock saying he won't play Uni campuses I think what a pansy. Be like Joan, fck them and their fragile sensibilities. It's not our fault that they can't get their rabbit brains around the concept of satire and showmanship.

Ol' Donie

Don't agree at all that chicks aren't funny. June Diane Raphael on How Did This Get Made? is hilarious.

What was the name of that, I'll give it a watch.

annascott

OP, Did you ever hear her talk about Adele? Hilarious but at the time the PC brigade slated her for it. Satire is satire.
This was only a few weeks before she died.

https://youtu.be/ONQ0LFKAlCM

She was hilarious.

It's sad that she won't get recognised, on the internet at least, because she wasn't sympathetic enough to the Palestinians. She was same age most of our grannies would have been when they died she said those things.

She's funny regardless.

Outlaw Pete

Loved her. Seen her in Vicar St end of 2012 and she was amazing.

RayM

I remember seeing her on Michael Parkinson's show, talking about her sad childhood and struggles with her body image. She went on to say that her first sexual experience was a rape. The audience went very quiet and then she said, "oh it's ok, he didn't press charges".

Noveight

She was hilarious. I love how she was genuinely edgy as fúck, many so-called "divisive" comedians end up looking like try-hards.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Noveight wrote: »

She was hilarious. I love how she was genuinely edgy as fúck, many so-called "divisive" comedians end up looking like try-hards.

She was 'edgy' before 'edgy' became a thing.

A free spirit who constantly pushed boundaries.

Arsemageddon

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

.

She crushed all this PC snowflake agenda which exists today in comedy. It's fcking satire not real sentiment.

Yes, Joan Rivers was brilliant.

However, if you think she shared some agenda with you about crushing 'PC snowflakes' then you seem to have missed the point. She was an equal opportunities piss-taker, she'd have eaten the likes of you for breakfast. It's a bit similar to people liking Al Murray because they don't realise he is being ironic.

By the by, what is this 'agenda in comedy today' of which you speak?

Junkyard Tom

Funny how?

Benrobjohn

Where do we stand with eddie izzard??

DEFTLEFTHAND

Arsemageddon wrote: »

Yes, Joan Rivers was brilliant.

However, if you think she shared some agenda with you about crushing 'PC snowflakes' then you seem to have missed the point. She was an equal opportunities piss-taker, she'd have eaten the likes of you for breakfast. It's a bit similar to people liking Al Murray because they don't realise he is being ironic.

By the by, what is this 'agenda in comedy today' of which you speak?

Research the reasons why George Carlin didn't want to play uni campuses in the last months of his life or why Rock and Jerry Seinfeld don't want play them today.

People take offence to jokes/routines. They no longer understand what satire is.

Arsemageddon

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Research the reasons why George Carlin didn't want to play uni campuses in the last months of his life or why Rock and Jerry Seinfeld don't want play them today.

People take offence to jokes/routines. They no longer understand what satire is.

First off, googling something about pop-culture is not 'research'.

Secondly, there is a whole world that exists outside of American college campuses. I don't live in America, I didn't go to college in America and like most people I couldn't give a flying fvck what a tiny group of idiotic students in America think.

AllGunsBlazing

She's on par with George Carlin, Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor. Razor sharp and brutally honest.

sabat

I've never heard her make a single witty or insightful remark; just insulting people doesn't take a whole lot of talent. Probably the only thing that she was involved with that made me laugh was her cameo as herself in Louis, but that was down to Louis CK.

davycc

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

People say women aren't funny. Joan must have been an outlier.

I watched a vid of her standup tonight with friends. I was literally nearly throwing up at one stage I was laughing so hard.

She crushed all this PC snowflake agenda which exists today in comedy. It's fcking satire not real sentiment.

When I hear the likes of Chris Rock saying he won't play Uni campuses I think what a pansy. Be like Joan, fck them and their fragile sensibilities. It's not our fault that they can't get their rabbit brains around the concept of satire and showmanship.

She is about as funny and original as Mrs Brown's to me , ie both sh1te!

DEFTLEFTHAND

Howard Stern always said she was the Queen of the one liners.

"If you don't want gays in the military make the uniforms ugly."

"At my age an affair of the heart is a bypass."

"My best birth control is just to leave the lights on."

"All babies look like Rene Zellweger pushed against a window"

"I've had so much plastic surgery that when I die I'll donate my body to Tupperware."

RayM

Benrobjohn wrote: »

Where do we stand with eddie izzard??

On his windpipe, ideally.

Outlaw Pete

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

She's on par with George Carlin, Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor. Razor sharp and brutally honest.

Yeah, she was still sharp on stage even in her later years. Here she is dealing with a heckler not too long before she died:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAD-ky3TYQk

Arsemageddon wrote: »

However, if you think she shared some agenda with you about crushing 'PC snowflakes' then you seem to have missed the point.

Ah in fairness now, she hated political correctness and when I seen her she had ten or fifteen minutes of material on how liberals needed to be thicker skinned today and stop getting offended on other's behalf all the time. So much of her material was jumped on by liberals in fact and she would end up having to defend it almost on a weekly basis (especially stuff she would say on that celeb Fashion review show she presented). Here's an interview with her where she touches on some of that (from 4mins in):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rna2dYBwlc

AllForIt

She was sharp as f*ck , but I didn't like her as a person.

PandaPoo

I don't think I've ever watched a clip of her being interviewed, or her stand up and thought she was funny.

I don't think I ever will. I hope I'm proved wrong though.

Irish Guitarist

I thought she was woeful shite. She was especially shite in her later years when insulting young female actresses while looking like she had absolutely none of her original face left.

Turtyturd

Wasn't she just a celebrity version of the person we all know who thinks they are the only one who tells it like it is but everyone really just thinks they're a c*nt?

Fair play to the OP for shoe horning snowflake into the conversation to show how much of a man he is.

Omackeral

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

She crushed all this PC snowflake agenda which exists today in comedy. It's fcking satire not real sentiment.

When I hear the likes of Chris Rock saying he won't play Uni campuses I think what a pansy. Be like Joan, fck them and their fragile sensibilities. It's not our fault that they can't get their rabbit brains around the concept of satire and showmanship.

I have to laugh at you championing her for being edgy and pushing boundaries and for disparaging the snowflakes and PC brigade when you yourself were absolutely appalled and using the word bigot only yesterday at the thoughts of someone laughing at jokes at the expense of the Catholic Church.

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Bet he thinks he's a great lad altogether mocking the clergy and referring to Priests as Paedos.

Tell the bigot to think of something original.

You should take your own advice and be like Joan and fck your fragile sensibilities. I see you thanked a rape joke too. Hypocrite

Turtyturd

Brilliant

Barry Badrinath

No, I wouldnt agree.

Her joke about 9/11 should go down in comedy history.

Can't say I enjoyed her full routine, a little too fixed on certain themes, but do agree she was possibly the best comedienne ever.

Funnier than Shappi Khorsandi anyway...but who isn't.

The Bishop Basher

I have zero time for political correctness and I'm a little bit too old to be considered snowflake but comedians who have to belittle others to make themselves funny just aren't funny..

Slagging Edel over her weight isn't clever or witty. It's immature, sad and pathetic..

It's not even close to humour..

Swanner

Swanner wrote: »

I have zero time for political correctness and I'm a little bit too old to be considered snowflake but comedians who have to belittle others to make themselves funny just aren't funny..

Slagging Edel over her weight isn't clever or witty. It's immature, sad and pathetic..

It's not even close to humour..

What was funny was Adam Hills wading in to defend Adele...by referring to Joan Rivers' own appearance.

Clearly irony is lost on him.

Sam Kade

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

People say women aren't funny. Joan must have been an outlier.

I watched a vid of her standup tonight with friends. I was literally nearly throwing up at one stage I was laughing so hard.

She crushed all this PC snowflake agenda which exists today in comedy. It's fcking satire not real sentiment.

When I hear the likes of Chris Rock saying he won't play Uni campuses I think what a pansy. Be like Joan, fck them and their fragile sensibilities. It's not our fault that they can't get their rabbit brains around the concept of satire and showmanship.

Of all time? So you have heard every comedienne that ever lived even before television or radio were invented? What's your secret to such a long life?

Badly Drunk Boy

She could be very funny but I couldn't deal with her accent. It's the American version of the skanger Dub accent.

dark crystal

I thought she was brilliant; a biting wit, but she was most biting when referencing herself. My stomach would hurt after listening to one of her routines and there aren't many comedians, male or female, who have that effect on me.

In terms of comediennes, I also think Ellen Degeneres is a great stand-up.

myshirt

Joan was hilarious. The best one I seen from her was when she managed to get a recipe into the Homestead Charity Cookbook here in Ireland.

"This recipe has been in my family for years'

and they actually published it.

PirateShampoo

Sam Kade wrote: »

Of all time? So you have heard every comedienne that ever lived even before television or radio were invented? What's your secret to such a long life?

It's just his opinion. He's entitled to anyone he chooses. If your so desperate to attack the guy like some of the other posters at least give a proper counter argument as to why his opinion is wrong.

Richard Hillman

She was a great of comedy.

OU812

She was good but sometimes went a bit too far with the insulting. The clip above with the heckler (who I don't think was heckling, he was objecting), for example, I think she panicked slightly & just kept talking until she could get back on track.

I like Iliza Shlesinger, Chelsea Peretti & in particular Natasha Leggero as three prime female comedians (although I don't think gender should identify them, they're either a comedian or not. I'm actually using spotify more for comedy (some of the greats of the 70s have old comedy albums up there) these days.

Rivers was a pioneer in the early days when there were almost no females in the industry & deserves recognition for that.

Sam Kade

PirateShampoo wrote: »

It's just his opinion. He's entitled to anyone he chooses. If your so desperate to attack the guy like some of the other posters at least give a proper counter argument as to why his opinion is wrong.

Don't get your knickers in a twist over it, he said of all time in our time would've been a better choice.

Outlaw Pete

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

I thought she was woeful shite. She was especially shite in her later years when insulting young female actresses while looking like she had absolutely none of her original face left.

In fairness, that was half the joke and the things she said about herself were oftentimes equally as bad as what she said about others.

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Howard Stern always said she was the Queen of the one liners.

"If you don't want gays in the military make the uniforms ugly."

"At my age an affair of the heart is a bypass."

"My best birth control is just to leave the lights on."

"All babies look like Rene Zellweger pushed against a window"

"I've had so much plastic surgery that when I die I'll donate my body to Tupperware."

Some gems there alright and also love the one on Graham Norton about Vanessa Feltz (3mins in).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znRrObTQ8kQ

JupiterKid

Outrageously funny and didn't care one jot what others thought of her. Saw her live in the Olympia about 14 years ago and she had everyone in convulsions.

I miss her! Current comedians could learn from her.

somesoldiers

I remember one line from her not sure where I heard it

She was talking about some red carpet event in which someone had worn the same dress she wore at another event

"that dress has seen more red carpets than an Irish lesbian"

YFlyer

sabat wrote: »

I've never heard her make a single witty or insightful remark; just insulting people doesn't take a whole lot of talent. Probably the only thing that she was involved with that made me laugh was her cameo as herself in Louis, but that was down to Louis CK.

Is she funnier than Karl Spain? He be on about riding peoples mothers and eating biscuits.

ohnonotgmail

Sam Kade wrote: »

Don't get your knickers in a twist over it, he said of all time in our time would've been a better choice.

the best female comedian post vaudeville. is that precise enough for you?

suicide_circus

There are of course exceptions to the rule and Rivers was one, being very funny, but in general women are less funny than men.

nozzferrahhtoo

Knew nothing about her but calling her the "best of all time" was certainly a recommendation to change that. So I went on you tube and the first thing I found was "An Audience With Joan Rivers 1983".

She started out with a "She is so fat that when she....." type joke and it just got worse from there really. Not a single funny moment or joke in the whole event. The closest it got to funny was her joke justification for wearing a fur coat, which is that she sourced one based on the animals having heart attacks rather than being killed for the coat.

So if the "best of all time" is based on some other lengthy example of stand up that someone could recommend I will give it a second chance and sit though it, but not feeling hopeful so far.

Captain Obvious

She was a hateful bitch.

Hande hoche!

That fashion police show was hilarious. Mainly due to seething hatred the participants had for each other, boiling just under the surface.

PandaPoo

Hande hoche! wrote: »

That fashion police show was hilarious. Mainly due to seething hatred the participants had for each other, boiling just under the surface.

Whenever I watched it, which was maybe 5 times, it seemed like the rest of them were fake laughing at everything Joan said. Not even convincingly.