American Humour : British Humour

[Minister Masket]

Do not forget the not-too heard of show The Goodies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydXtCpYimN8

They basically took over from Monty Python in the 70's and 80's, and were "great" singers too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXq8rELh ... re=related

[jiminski]

Looking back to the 1970s-1980s, let's compare Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, etc.) and Benny Hill.

No contest.

Mr. Bean? ugh. (although the thanksgiving episode with the turkey was humorous)

And maybe I am just dense, but neither version of the Office is funny.

well Benny hill and Mr Bean are a bit of an embarrassing standing joke here. With the wealth of inventive satire created on these shores, their universal appeal is an ironic paradox. (i win the bet for getting paradox and ironic in the same sentence!) That a breast fetishist, slapping a little bald geezer on the head, conquers the US market; with a blithering, mute idiot taking over the world..... Humour really is funny.


The Office is a pretty good example.. a lot of it is not actually laugh-out loud funny.. or funny at all! Much of it is so Cringe-making i can not even watch it! But that's because it is so well observed and poignant depiction of our weaknesses.

Would i rather watch Frasier or the office.. no contest! but which is more innovative, is a more searching question.

[MrBenn]

'About Schmidt' was billed as 'Hilariously Funny', and 'Comedy of the Year' by US Press... but I can honestly say it wasn't that funny... It was vaguely satirical, and was more poignant than comedic...

[pimpdave]

Siskel and Ebert Review Flirting With Disaster (1996)


To give you an idea and introduction to David O. Russell, since no one seems to either have seen his films or wants to acknowledge that he is "America's Picasso of Comedy".

Sorry jonesthecurl, I know you don't have sound.

But seriously, everyone, see his films. You might not like them, or you might find them sublimely clever, not to mention hilarious.

I saw I <3 Huckabees in the theater with a British ex-pat couple I've known a long time, and their response was slightly tepid. Although I do honestly think their response had more to do with them not necessarily getting the whole joke. I had to explain some of the philosophical concepts they didn't quite understand after the movie, but anyone who has gone through a Philosophy introductory course should have no problem following it.

Also, they seemed to make a big deal out Jude Law's American accent, and I think they were "put out" over Jude Law's character not being the most likable of the cast.

[jonesthecurl]

...it was the Daily Show I meant earlier...

[jonesthecurl]

I've noticed, in cinemas, American audiences are far more likely to laugh out loud than british ones. Especially when some guy's privates get bashed somhow, or someone farts.

[pimpdave]

Dave you knew I couldn't resist a comment like that.... which generation of the Starship Enterprise were you referring to or worst what if Cat wasn't on Red Dwarf !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkl ... re=related

Ah yes, the highly scientific and rigorously fair "man on the street" interview technique.

While most of it was somewhat funny in a "maybe the reason you're getting interviewed on the street is because you're too dumb to even have a job which is why you're aimlessly wandering around in the middle of the day" kind of way, I do have to say the jogging guy deserves the benefit of the doubt over KFC, cause the question was "Which state does KFC come from?"

The question is vague. Is he referring to the corporate headquarters of KFC? If so, then yes, that's in Louisville, KY, unless they've moved. In fact, KFC is a subsidiary of a multinational conglomerate named "Yum! Foods" (or maybe "Yum! Brands", I just know the ticker is "YUM" on the NYSE), also headquartered in Louisville.

However, the question was worded in a way that, in the vernacular could easily lead one to believe the "reporter" was asking where the CHICKEN comes from.

But anyway, it was still funny to watch. Kind of like the current administration in the USA, they may know all the valid intelligence, but they only show us the pieces they want us to see, to manipulate us into responding as they wish. (in the video's case, it was to laugh at Americans)

As for the Starship Enterprise, I have no idea. The only one I ever really liked was Star Trek 2, because it was a naval battle in space, and frankly, that's pretty damn cool. So how about that generation of the Enterprise?

(and ps, the answer is, Falcon and Enterprise both get destroyed by Serenity! Bitches!)

[pimpdave]

I've noticed, in cinemas, American audiences are far more likely to laugh out loud than british ones. Especially when some guy's privates get bashed somhow, or someone farts.

Oh, I agree with you there. That's annoying. I tend to think of that as going for the cheap laugh. Or, as a stand up comic would say, "working blue". Andrew Dice Clay made his career on working blue, but there are others, both in stand up and in film that recognize that the comedies that end up being timeless are those that ask for an investment from the audience, an investment which pays off immensely in the end.

Don't get me wrong, dick and fart jokes absolutely have their place, especially when used to great metaphoric effect, as the "Dicks, Pussies, and Assholes" speech at the end of Team America, but jones, dick and fart jokes are so much more often than not pretty boring.

[KoolBak]

Generalization is such an easy thing - shall we consider other countries and their tendancies towards laughter? I am not enjoying this thread any longer ;o( i am sure it is an "American" thang.............

[DAZMCFC]

And maybe I am just dense, but neither version of the Office is funny.

this indeed is true. overated wanker.


oh and Curm, Young Frakenstein should never be mentioned with fooking Benny Hill(pervert) and Mr. Bean. you can't compar the comedy genius of Mel Brooks and the Comedy genius of actors like Marty Feldman and Gene Wilder.

[RiskTycoon]

lol what happened in here? good grief ....

[drake_259]

i am not certain, but i believe that you british have a far higher likelihood of understanding our slang and lingo than we do of understanding yours. what i mean is that a lot of your dialog and phrasing, even terms, are not as easily understood by us. for example, take the term 'fag' you hear it, and i assume that the first thing that might come into your head is cigarette. (tell me if i am wrong) in the us, the term is directly associated with homosexuality. so processing the term goes from "fag = homosexual", to "actually they mean cigarette" to "why don't they just say cigarette" to "what did they even say about the cigarette, i was thinking about something else." you on the other hand seem better at simply thinking "ah, to them, fag = homosexual" and move on. i could be completely off base here, do enlighten me if you think so.

and thats why our language is the hardest to learn than any other in the world, i still haven't got the grips of the slang in London yet from the rest of the country

a few of our slang

Bare - Much/Many
Bloody - Damned (as an adjective)
Pip - Seed(s) (of fruit)
Smart - Clever
Knackered - Exhausted, Tired

these ones are used in our everyday language, some of us don't even know there slang our selfs because be use them so much.

we also got stuff like:
Sick - Used to describe something as brilliant
Blud - Friend, brother

[Curmudgeonx]

And maybe I am just dense, but neither version of the Office is funny.

this indeed is true. overated wanker.


oh and Curm, Young Frakenstein should never be mentioned with fooking Benny Hill(pervert) and Mr. Bean. you can't compar the comedy genius of Mel Brooks and the Comedy genius of actors like Marty Feldman and Gene Wilder.

That was the point. British humor seems dominated by Benny Hill, Mr. Bean, John Cleese and company, men in drag, and drunken women (Absolutely Fabulous).

American Humor has a broader range, both more crude and more urbane and droll. In the 1970s, Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor were writing Blazing Saddles, and Benny Hill was patting a small bald fellow on the head to a laugh track; the comparison is exactly why I mentioned them together, because British humor can be an oxymoron like Scottish generosity.

[jiminski]

And maybe I am just dense, but neither version of the Office is funny.

this indeed is true. overated wanker.


oh and Curm, Young Frakenstein should never be mentioned with fooking Benny Hill(pervert) and Mr. Bean. you can't compar the comedy genius of Mel Brooks and the Comedy genius of actors like Marty Feldman and Gene Wilder.

That was the point. British humor seems dominated by Benny Hill, Mr. Bean, John Cleese and company, men in drag, and drunken women (Absolutely Fabulous).

American Humor has a broader range, both more crude and more urbane and droll. In the 1970s, Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor were writing Blazing Saddles, and Benny Hill was patting a small bald fellow on the head to a laugh track; the comparison is exactly why I mentioned them together, because British humor can be an oxymoron like Scottish generosity.

interesting

[DAZMCFC]

And maybe I am just dense, but neither version of the Office is funny.

this indeed is true. overated wanker.


oh and Curm, Young Frakenstein should never be mentioned with fooking Benny Hill(pervert) and Mr. Bean. you can't compar the comedy genius of Mel Brooks and the Comedy genius of actors like Marty Feldman and Gene Wilder.

That was the point. British humor seems dominated by Benny Hill, Mr. Bean, John Cleese and company, men in drag, and drunken women (Absolutely Fabulous).

American Humor has a broader range, both more crude and more urbane and droll. In the 1970s, Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor were writing Blazing Saddles, and Benny Hill was patting a small bald fellow on the head to a laugh track; the comparison is exactly why I mentioned them together, because British humor can be an oxymoron like Scottish generosity.

you missed my point a bit Curm. see Benny Hill was shit and a pervert, for his time he could get away with a lot of stuff like that, but i've seen certain "slap-stick" humour in certain American films.


now Rowan Atkinson(who plays Mr, Bean) was fooking brilliant in Blackadder. i think Mr. Bean was meant to be aimed at younger people and bored housewives(i maybe wrong, just my theory).


about John Cleese. if you're going to slag off Monty Pytho or Falty Towers, you are on a hiding to nothing. with Monty Python all of them were Univesity educated,but still managed to make the working and middle class man laugh(the working man probably it took a bit longer to win them over). John Cleese was doing comedy quite a bit before Monty Python(wellbefore i was thought off), i think it was in That Was The Day That Was.


American sit-coms that we have over here.
LIKE:Scrubs, My name is Earl, family at war, some of Friends, Cheers(i know it's old), even lik a few episodes of Will and Grace .

Dislike:Frazier, the office.

[Huckleberryhound]

And maybe I am just dense, but neither version of the Office is funny.

this indeed is true. overated wanker.


oh and Curm, Young Frakenstein should never be mentioned with fooking Benny Hill(pervert) and Mr. Bean. you can't compar the comedy genius of Mel Brooks and the Comedy genius of actors like Marty Feldman and Gene Wilder.

That was the point. British humor seems dominated by Benny Hill, Mr. Bean, John Cleese and company, men in drag, and drunken women (Absolutely Fabulous).

American Humor has a broader range, both more crude and more urbane and droll. In the 1970s, Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor were writing Blazing Saddles, and Benny Hill was patting a small bald fellow on the head to a laugh track; the comparison is exactly why I mentioned them together, because British humor can be an oxymoron like Scottish generosity.

I doubt you've even Met a Scotsman, Ya Ball Headed Bastard.

[Huckleberryhound]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2qZatNyegM - Who dares wins.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP2xarcS ... re=related - Not the nine o'clock news.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp0dYbarVlA - Absolutely.

[Zemljanin]

De gustibus non est disputandum...

I like British humor better, but American humor also has it's unique heights. Just before I try to relate English and American humor, let me highlight some (seemingly) absurd relations:

English vs English
I ABSOLUTELY adore Dave Allen, while I can't stand Benny Hill (As a performer, he's more than brilliant, but his humor is soooo cheap, sometimes idiotic...)
and now something specially absurd:

Rowan Atkinson vs Rowan Atkinson (!!!)
I am ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY crazy about Black Adder (in most positive way) but I really, really can not stand Mr. Bean...

Can somebody explain that???
(All up to this point /and a little bit further/ was written last night. After I saw newest posts, I should significantly alter previous part of the post. But I don't have enough energy for that task. And it would be time consuming, so in the meantime some later parts could also become outdated or even obsolete...)

Now, to the topic:

English
If you aren't already a fan of British humor, my post alone is certainly not going to make you one. But if you ARE...
Instead of discussing well known shows (Monty Python, Black Adder...) I'd rather mention some forgotten outstanding gems. Chelmsford (even jiminski will have a problem to recall this show) is perhaps even better than Monty Python! Yes Minister and Yes Prime minister are a must! Totally awesome!!
My compliments to Americans who despise Benny Hill. Try this ones!

American
I like the genius of American humor, but I don't see it in TV shows. I see it only in movies (Airplane, History of the World, Blues Brothers...) Shows?
Well, I can't say that Fraser is bad, but I don't watch it, because it's too gloomy for my taste... (Although not as bitter as "Dear John"). Friends? Maybe humor isn't bad, but I never persisted five whole minutes of watching.
The main problem is that show usually offers something else besides humor. And I most usually don't like that something (American production is not nearly as good as English).
I do like Third Rock from the Sun, however. It's somehow - pure. And I like John Lithgow the same way I like John Cleese ...

Basically, as a field - humor is too narrow (and too interlaced with other things) for comparing cultures (jimiski perhaps have been too ambitious). But I'll give my 2 cents (2 pennies ) with some conclusive reasoning:

(i) American humor is almost as good as English humor (my opinion)
but
(ii) Americans are heavily inferior (to Englishmen) in the art of moving pictures (certain fact)
and
(iii) It seems that wast majority of American (humoristic) shows demand a certain level of masochism from audience (my personal feeling)
so
(*) Most American comedy products aren't really comparable to English ones

And for the end, once again:

De gustibus non est disputandum!

[Huckleberryhound]

Dave Allen was Irish.


Father Ted - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foFXj7pEj4g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mmge8nfsyg

[jnd94]

Seinfeld please!

Woody Allen Woody Allen Woody Allen!!!!

A great movie maker. If you wanted to see some humor, just watch Bananas and Take the Money and Run. 2 of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

[pimpdave]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2qZatNyegM - Who dares wins.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP2xarcS ... re=related - Not the nine o'clock news.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp0dYbarVlA - Absolutely.

And the best part is, the laugh track tells you when to laugh, so you don't even have to think for yourself!

[jonesthecurl]

Chelmsford 123 - a wondrous show.

I also just realised that one of the main conduits of Brit humour (incidentally, Irish count as Brits, at least when they do something good) has been almost ignored - radio.

I could go into a whole dissertation here, but I'll just mention two shows by name:

The Goon Show
The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I may have more to say n this subject later, especially if this doesn't lead any other posters into commenting.

[Huckleberryhound]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2qZatNyegM - Who dares wins.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP2xarcS ... re=related - Not the nine o'clock news.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp0dYbarVlA - Absolutely.

And the best part is, the laugh track tells you when to laugh, so you don't even have to think for yourself!

Yeah, the Americans take a whole studio audience to a remote house, just to get that real laughter thing happening

[Curmudgeonx]

Chelmsford 123 - a wondrous show.

I also just realised that one of the main conduits of Brit humour (incidentally, Irish count as Brits, at least when they do something good) has been almost ignored - radio.

I could go into a whole dissertation here, but I'll just mention two shows by name:

The Goon Show
The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I may have more to say n this subject later, especially if this doesn't lead any other posters into commenting.

Radio? What the hell is that?

National Lampoon used to have a radio show back in the late 1970s that was pretty damn funny. That was of course before National Lampoon became a "brand name" that they will whore out to any movie producer without any consideration for whether it is funny or not.

Thinking of National Lampoon though, and then Spy Magazine, Mad Magazine etc., do the bonnie isles have any form of humor magazines?

[pimpdave]

The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

National Lampoon used to have a radio show back in the late 1970s that was pretty damn funny.

Thinking of National Lampoon though, and then Spy Magazine, Mad Magazine etc., do the bonnie isles have any form of humor magazines?

jones, please do share your views on the Hitch-hiker's radio show. I listened to that as a kid. My dad would put it on in the car when we were taking family road trips. I'm sure it was the same production. Marvin's voice was so hilarious, it always made me giggle, if not out right start laughing.

Curm, to add to what you wrote on National Lampoon's, everyone should really hear National Lampoon's Radio Dinner. I'm pretty sure that was the most famous of their comedy records, and (surprise surprise) Christopher Guest was a major contributor.

As for printed comedy, does anything coming from contemporary Britain even rate against The Onion?