Who has the best sense of humour?

TheBigLebowski · 20-02-2010 09:53AM

Maximus Mysterious Wolf wrote: »

Unfortunetly political correctness was the death of the best of British comedy.

Very true. And not just british comedy, we may never have another Blazing Saddles.

Agricola · 20-02-2010 10:02AM

It depends on your taste in comedy. I think if you can agree that comedy should make people alittle uncomfortable and stretch the boundaries abit (as well as make them laugh) then the British stuff is the best. They are the kings of dark humour.
Generally Americans dont do dark comedy. Irish can be good but as an audience we shy away from real controversial stuff. Tommy Tiernan has a monopoly on being controversial here with his particular brand of church bashing. Once it goes abit further on from that, like into Frankie Boyle territory where it can border on racism and get fairly filthy, theres not as much of an appetite for it here as there is in Britian.

bonerm · 20-02-2010 10:03AM

The best American comedians seem to have a point to their comedy (eg guys like Lenny Bruce, George Carlin and Bill Hicks). I find this important if I'm going to follow a professional comedian or listen to them for any extended period of time.

Irish comedy these days seems to be based solely on the concept of sneering at stuff and playing off irony .... which is fine but that's all it is at the end of the day. Anyone could do it with enough practice, time and balls. I don't think we've had a comedian of substance since Dave Allen. Even Dylan Moran (who I do admire) is essentially just a raconteur.

So while it's not as tho they have 300 million comedy genii running around the place (most of them do literally not have much of a grasp on irony) if you're talking cream of the crop then America wins this hands-down.

Son Of A Vidic · 20-02-2010 11:33AM

How can this even be measured or assessed? The Germans probably think the Irish have a weird sense of humour. The Americans probably think the Germans have no sense of humour. The English probably think the Americans are dry. God knows what the French, Italians etc, think. We might perceive ourselves to be the funniest, but that's only a perception and not a fact!

cafecolour · 20-02-2010 12:46PM

Maximus Mysterious Wolf wrote: »

Unfortunetly political correctness was the death of the best of British comedy.

In more ways than one. I feel like I've seen a number of comics now that are trying to be aggressively 'non-pc' but seem to think that's enough and don't actually have any jokes. It want to shake them and say lads, i love shock humour, but you've got to have humour as well and not just shock.

Even worse is reference humour IMHO. A pop culture call-out is not a joke in and of itself. You've got to do something with it. That's what separates south park and the simpsons (in the good years) from family guy and scary movie/date movie ilk for me.

Pittens · 22-02-2010 02:54PM

The Americans probably think the Germans have no sense of humour

I think that is the general consensus. They certainly dont do stand ups. I go to germany, and with my school German, I dont get much funny there on TV or real life. I think their funny would be our direct and rude; each culture to it's own.

I was at a small festival and the mid act between two bands on stage was a magic comedian - that could work, a la Tommy Cooper - but it didnt.

He did some magic, and then used a virgin finder ( which was a pink starched kerchief) to humiliate the crowd - well the women - and found himself the hottest woman in the crowd. Much hilarity ensued, at least when she was found. The humour of relief-that-it-was-not-you, as they might say themselves.

That's what separates south park and the simpsons (in the good years) from family guy and scary movie/date movie ilk for me.

Oh God yes. Family Guy can just do a scene which references a movie , and we all just fall about laughing. Not. I really dislike the easy humour of Family guy in general, when there are no limits there is no humour.

As for PC, I agree it has its faults but what it replaced - ethnic humour - was dull as dishwater. I dont care about people being upset, just getting bored. Anybody who found paddy jokes,or black jokes funny is an idiot. I dont like Frankie Boyles self hating anti-Scottish jokes either. Give it a rest.

There is some Taboo humour in being anti-PC. After the taboo is broken the humour disappears. For instance, when in the US I noticed that Female Asian drivers were too timid to be good. Lots of people noticed this, in general conversation however because Americans are very PC, nobody ever said it to me.

Once I heard a comic ( may have been Silverman) make a joke about Asian drivers, and boy did I laugh. Then I heard it again and I didnt. Even if stereotypes are true ethnic humour is dull dull dull. It seems funny, paradoxically because of PC, but get rid of PC and those jokes - like PAddy jokes - become repetitive and moronic.

Pittens · 22-02-2010 02:56PM

Nor do I like attacks on Chavs, or Travellers as humour, although I think that the reaction should against the supposed humour content rather than people's upset feelings.

neil_hosey · 22-02-2010 03:21PM

has to be the scoots... if only for billy connolly and franky boyle .. two fúckin genius'

ejmaztec · 22-02-2010 03:30PM

neil_hosey wrote: »

has to be the scoots... if only for billy connolly and franky boyle .. two fúckin genius'

And don't forget Susan Boyle, she has me in stitches.

bonerm · 22-02-2010 04:14PM

neil_hosey wrote: »

has to be the scoots... if only for billy connolly and franky boyle .. two fúckin genius'

Really? I find they have nothing to offer except verbal diarrhea.

aDeener · 22-02-2010 04:19PM

aaronjumper wrote: »

America. They gave us south park, family guy
american dad and all the other dirty immature
shows that like to offend just about everyone.

And Ireland of course

american dad? you are easily amused

neil_hosey · 22-02-2010 05:03PM

bonerm wrote: »

Really? I find they have nothing to offer except verbal diarrhea.

Ah i love the 2 of them. Especially frankie boyle. Some of his lines are absolutely priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFJ4lyv4IFM&feature=related

Minstrel27 · 22-02-2010 05:10PM

efb wrote: »

Our TV comedies and comedians bear this out. Dara O'Brien is an exception.

As shows like Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd have Irish writers so would they not count as Irish sense of humour. Those three shows alone are tremendously funny.

tech77 · 22-02-2010 06:48PM

cafecolour wrote: »

In more ways than one. I feel like I've seen a number of comics now that are trying to be aggressively 'non-pc' but seem to think that's enough and don't actually have any jokes. It want to shake them and say lads, i love shock humour, but you've got to have humour as well and not just shock.

Even worse is reference humour IMHO. A pop culture call-out is not a joke in and of itself. You've got to do something with it. That's what separates south park and the simpsons (in the good years) from family guy and scary movie/date movie ilk for me.

2 very good points, well made.
I'll reserve judgement on Family Guy because i haven't seen a lot of it (but as per the South Park episode about it, i suspect, from the ones i've watched it does suffer from the "reference=funny" thing).

tech77 · 22-02-2010 07:09PM

Pittens wrote: »

I think that is the general consensus. They certainly dont do stand ups.

They do.
Check out the German stand-up Henning Wehn, "Germany's comedy ambassador".
Funnier than most US/UK standups.

He riffs on exactly that point ie how German's are seen as unfunny/having a strange sense of humour.

He brings a whistle and stopwatch on stage and tells us comedy is all about timing.

His treatment of Germany's military history (arguably the most taboo subject for Germans) can be hilarious- because it's done properly.

"Shock-by-numbers" comedians like Silverman et al could learn a lesson from
him about how be controversial AND funny at the same time.

SlabMurphy · 22-02-2010 08:15PM

Aussie's have a good sense of humour. Barry Humphries aka Sir Les Patterson has to be one of my favourites

liah · 22-02-2010 08:39PM

Family Guy and American Dad really aren't funny. They just make references to film or news, add a silly voice, and expect you to laugh. Or they draw something out (Peter Griffen holding his leg and going "aagh!" for around 3 minutes) and you're supposed to laugh. It's not funny, it's just irritating and shows no respect at ALL for the intelligence of the observer.

America has its good comedy but I wouldn't say it's the funniest, you only notice the majority of comedians/shows being American because.. well, they have the biggest English-speaking population.

Canada has some great comedy. Everyone here already knows about Trailer Park Boys. Kids in the Hall as someone else already referenced. There's a little show called Corner Gas, too-- we also have the Just for Laughs festival. As also mentioned before, Dan Aykroyd is Canadian. Tommy Chong is an absolutely brilliant comedian, incredibly (and deceptively) skilled man. A lot of writers for the more popular American shows are actually Canadian. We also have a lot of "marmite" comedians like Mike Myers, Jim Carey, Seth Green, etc. But I'd never say Canada had the best comedy, either.

Completely disregarding "popular" humour, and taking a look at "man on the street" humour, I'd say the Irish do probably have the best natural wit in the English-speaking world. If you're in a social situation in America and you try to joke with your average American, they'll probably not be able to cop on too quickly. But generally if you try to joke with your average Irishman, they'd probably give right back and better than they got.

AckwelFoley · 22-02-2010 09:32PM

funniest man alive after richard pryor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqs0eL5uvXA

Capt'n Midnight · 22-02-2010 09:59PM

medicman2009 wrote: »

How can this even be measured or assessed? The Germans probably think the Irish have a weird sense of humour. The Americans probably think the Germans have no sense of humour. The English probably think the Americans are dry. God knows what the French, Italians etc, think. We might perceive ourselves to be the funniest, but that's only a perception and not a fact!

The Japanese have no sarcasm.

We don't get a lot of US jokes because they depend on knowledge of public figures. A lot of the humour we use on this side of the Atlantic can't be used in the states because it depends on knowledge of more advanced concepts.

BTW
How many potatoes does it take to kill an Irishman ?

_____ none ______

Terry · 23-02-2010 01:12AM

filthymcnasty wrote: »

for tv shows and movies its the americans no contest:
the simpsons, seinfeld, curb your enthusiasm, snl etc
we cant keep living off fr. ted forever, great and all that it was.

Jewish humour it is then.
Sorry to get all political, but these people consider themselves Jewish above American.
Matt Groening may not be Jewish, but the majority of the Simpson's wriers are.

K-9 wrote: »

Again context and as you say, some thought goes into it. Maddie and Fritzel jokes can be funny.

Some good Wacko jokes going about straight after his death, but the amount of people who got outraged. I don't think we are as good at dark humour as we like to think we are!

I'll cover political correctness below.

cafecolour wrote: »

I tend to like a bit off each. I like dry humour and absurdist humour (but not aggressively wacky).

http://www.theonion.com has always been a fave, so probs to the americans for that. Also for a boatload of animated humour (south park, aqua teen, etc.). Most of their live action sitcoms are pretty ****e though (barring a few - seinfeld, arrested development). I hate anything that tries to get dramatic or have a lesson (it bugs me in south park even, but I tolerate it there).

I grew up on monty python and fawlty towers is still my favourite of all time, so probs to the british for that. Ditto the office, spaced, peep show, black books. I hated Little Britain with an undying passion though.

The Onion shows that there are actually American people who do understand satire and irony.
It shows that they are not limited to toilet humour and jokes about how Jewish/Irish/Italian/Polish peoplego about their daily lives.

Maximus Mysterious Wolf wrote: »

IMO without a doubt the British are head and shoulders above anyone when it comes to a sense of humour and pure slap stick comedy.

Unfortunetly political correctness was the death of the best of British comedy.

You come from the generation of the Carry On films and nudge nudge wink wink comedy from Britain (albeit at the tail end).
I know so many people of your age group who still think those films are funny.
The thing is, they just come across are complete crap to my generation.

In saying that, I'm sure you and quite a lot of the younger members here don't appreciate the cheap laughs in Beavis and Butthead.

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

Very true. And not just british comedy, we may never have another Blazing Saddles.

Part of the reason that Blazing Saddles is so popular now is because of the liberal use of the word nígger.
When I first saw that film, that word wasn't as taboo as it is now and it was the the fact that it was just a well scripted comedy with something for everyone which made it popular.

In saying that, had it been written by a European, it would have been banned because of the word nígger.
It was written by a Jew, so he could claim racism and cite the holocaust ad infinitum if the film was banned.

Now that was completely off topic.
The thread asks who has the best sense of humour and not who the funniest people in the world are.

This brings me back to my original point that humour is subjective.

I find my dry humour really funny, but most people think I a prick because they just don't get it.
I think that slapstick comedy is lazy, but a lot of people think it's really funny.

No one race or nation has a monopoly on humour. It's all down to the individual.

Who has the best sense of humour?

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