Comical taste

[inactiveaccount]

I was on YouTube just a while ago watching some stand up videos... I started on George Carlin (one of my favorites) and ended up on Dane Cook (<3). And I noticed something. The comments got progressively more HORRIBLE.

You can't please everybody. That much is a fact. But do people really have to be so... up in your face?! As I got into the Cook videos, I noticed that more and more people were beginning to rag on the material. Saying he was too hyper on stage, his jokes weren't thought out at all, blah blah blah. The works essentially. But then some OTHER people decided to reply back to them and say jokes were supposed to make you laugh, they weren't supposed to be rants on one topic or another (once more, I thought of Carlin). Then there was the standard YouTube war, nothing I'm not used to. I'm not offended by the comments at all but it just got me thinking.

I myself prefer a mix of both types of comedy. I don't know who said it (probably some random hobo off the street ), but there was this really great quote on stand up: "Good comedians make you laugh. Great comedians make you think." I agree, for the most part. But "good" should suffice sometimes, right? Either way, how do you prefer stand up: sophisticated, thought out jokes or slap-stick type jokes?

[LeapYearKisses]

Hmmm... While I like slapstick in some situations, on the whole I prefer sophisticated - or witty - humor. My favorite comedian is Eddie Izzard, and he trends toward the historical/political/"intelligent" in his jokes/satire. Yep. I also love irony. XD Situational irony is the best!

That isn't to say that jokes intended "only" to be funny are terrible. I like Dane Cook when he's not getting too out there, but it's with the understanding that he's not trying to make me ponder.

Hope that makes sense! It's late and I'm bushed. XP

[Kiwifruit]

I like just about anything xD Especially if it's non-PC. The dirtier and more inappropriate the more I like it xD Though if it's political humour I most likely won't get it...

I like Dane Cook generally, but he tends to overwork things in my opinion and drag on with the same joke for as much as he can milk it for. Sure, I laughed at the joke when you made it two minutes ago, now it's just getting old...

[Chanel_no5]

My comedy taste is all over the place. Sometimes the funniest thing I know are people falling over. Sometimes I prefer very thought-through jokes. I mean, come on, if it's funny, it's good, right?

Also, sometimes I think reading YouTube comments are the best way of losing faith in humanity. *sigh*

[Just Older]

I tend to like most comedy - most comedians - unless they feel the need to make something funny by increasing the volume and swearing. Honestly, overuse of 'swear words' is annoying.

I can appreciate potty humour, and witty humour and just about anything in between, though.

[doggo]

I have a very varied taste in humor too. I do have a preference for anarchism in humor though. Political satire must be my favourite, although I also love fart-and-shit sort of humor, and purely visual humor - this is one of the reasons I love anime, so much visual humor, and I can get such a huge kick out of someone's face just looking really stupid. I guess I'm the opposite of JO in the sense that grown up people suddenly swearing crudely can really crack me up. Word plays, rhyming, humor in song lyrics... and just the pure psychedelia. I think the last thing I laughed out real hard at was a topic on a Finnish web forum that wasn't only absolutely psychedelic, but after wading through dosens of comments that repeated the names of various body parts + the word "fart" again and again it just reached some sort of blessed saturation point and I broke down laughing tiredly and uncontrollably.

[VoOs]

While I do prefer wit before slapstick (irony is sort of a guilty pleasure too), I definitely enjoy a little of everything. My favourite kind of humour is often purely auditory, though. Tone of voice, immitation, comical use of music and sound, that sort of stuff. I could probably laugh my ass off at someone reading the phone book if they did it in a funny voice.

[Jorm]

Over all I definitely prefer wit. There are some more slapstick-y comedians I definitely enjoy, but over all I'd much prefer something more verbal.

[JenJen]

I loved Dane Cook before he got super famous. Not in a hipster "I liked it before it was cool" way, but I honestly believe his material got lazy and went downhill afterwards. I think he was content to rest on his laurels.

And I think I might be speaking blasphemy, but I never found George Carlin all that funny. I'm sure he was a riot at the time, but now I just find his jokes cliche and as he got older he got a lot meaner and a lot more bitter. Not my cup of tea.

I like most kinds of comedy. Frasier is one of my favorite shows. But so is Tim & Eric of Adult Swim fame.

[Mirf]

But do people really have to be so... up in your face?!

That's more of a general problem in the internet (or is it on the internet? ). It's a lot more popular to find common dislikes than likes for some reason and the more verbally you can dislike something the more noticed you get. And a lot of people really want attention on the internet (or in .. there i used both ). It's not just limited to humour.

As for the actual question. I've a really odd sense of humor. I'm kind of picky~ish but it ranges from the most immature slapstick ones, over some really niche ones to really "thoughtful" jokes. It's a bit like my taste in music. I couldn't really pick a favorite singer, band or even genre. There is just so much which i really like for different reasons. And a lot of stuff that other people would consider exactly the same that i don't like at all. I know i'm being exceptionally vague but i find humor a really though thing to explain.

I'll just stick with i like jokes out of both worlds .

[flower]

I'm sitting here trying to think of what makes me laugh. I have to say my family, when they imitate other people. It sounds horribly mean but it is all done in fun. My brother-in-law does an awesome imitation of Michael Jackson dancing--crotch grabbing and all. He made me laugh so hard with that one....I was actually on the floor crying I was laughing so hard. And my sister recently did an imitation of my grandmother (who is quite a character) that had me reacting the same way. I suppose I enjoy comedians who find humor in the everyday little things, like Seinfeld.

[vote_for_pedro]

Over all I definitely prefer wit. There are some more slapstick-y comedians I definitely enjoy, but over all I'd much prefer something more verbal.

What he said.

Also, I like my comedy to be raunchy/edgy/controversial. I don't know why, but I find good, clean humor seriously lame. If it's suitable for children or old ladies, I prolly won't even crack a smile.

p.s. Carlin was genius. Dane Cook is not funny.

[The Dude]

I'll confess... I like the slapstick. My taste in comedy defintely runs more to the physical than the intellectual, although I hold to the belief that what's funny is funny regardless of age, creed or color. There's just something about the high school humor that will always appeal to me. Some favorites include Red Foxx, Richard Pryor, and Larry the Cable Guy. I was also a huge fan of Eddie Murphy and Andrew Dice Clay's older stuff, before they ditched the blue material and became family acts. When it comes to British comedy, I'm definitely more of a Benny Hill guy than Eddie Izzard. And oh man, when I first saw George Carlin on stage, I laughed so hard I couldn't see. I'll always remember him as the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman.

I also tend to laugh at things or situations that shoudn't be considered funny... accidents, etc. partly out of nervousness, but most of the time because there's something I find irresistably funny about it. Also, when people do ridiculous stunts like sticking their head in a crocodile's mouth and it backfires, I can't help but laugh, because well, it's like watching natural selection in action.

On that note, have you seen any of Bob Saget's stand-up? Hoooooly cow, some funny stuff! Nothing at all like Danny Tanner on Full House.