Pages

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Not funny. Two points of view on the same night.

Last night my friend Sarah and I went to a Michigan firehouse fund raiser. Three comedians performed at the fundraiser. I'm not in any way anti-comedian. Jerry Seinfeld? Love him! Ellen Degeneres? Hilarious! But last night, Sarah and I were not amused by any of the three comedians who performed. And here's why.

What I learned from the comedians (all men):

Women are horrible. They're pure evil, they manipulate men, they nag all the time, they trick men into marrying them then turn into the worst versions of themselves. And not only that, but one guy said having a daughter has taught him that women are born evil. Nice dad, huh?

DUIs are hilarious! What's funnier that an DUI? Isn't drunk driving the funniest thing? One guy talked extensively about how he got a DUI and how hilarious it was. And how he's planning on how to get out of the next one. He even joked about victims who are injured by drunk drivers. I'm not kidding.

Racism! SO funny! One of the comedians kept making Arab jokes and what's worse is that people were laughing so hard they were banging the tables. I was completely baffled.

Religion! Isn't it hilarious?

Look. I have a sense of humor. If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know that. Maybe you don't find me funny, but you know I'm willing to laugh at myself and life. But that stuff I listed? That stuff isn't funny. What do you think should be off limits for comedians to joke about? Maybe being raised in the 90's just made me too politically correct.

Here's the one joke I laughed at.

"You know who I like? Kid Rock. I like him because he's a millionaire, but he looks like he should be running the tilt-a-whirl at the carnival."

It's funny because it's true.

Sarah's take on the night:

"Truth be told, we did laugh a few times, but we had to supply our own amusement. Such as, cracking up every time the older couple behind us had to ask the other to repeat the punch line, or when the woman at our table would cackle and then repeatedly pound on the tabletop. One time, the comedian did crack us up, but it was more nervous laughter, as he accosted a gentleman coming out of the bathroom, asked him what color the soap was (to validate that he had washed his hands), then the comedian proceeded to run into the bathroom to verify that the guy was wrong, and called him out on it!

The vibe of the evening was that of an awkward church retreat for older couples rekindling the romance. In a firehouse. By laughing at all the flaws each comedian pointed out about how these couples raised their children and then managed to screw up their own relationships.

And speaking of the material, it is clear that comedians think the funniest bits are ripping women to pieces. In fact, we are pretty sure that the final comedian was gay, but still used material related to his 'failed marriage' and his newest conquest...pretty sure he totally made those scenarios up just to fit in with theme of woman bashing by the other comedians!"

Have any of you had a bad experience with comedy shows? Have you had a good one?

8 comments:

Katherine said...

Ugh. I agree-those things are NOT funny!! There are enough actually funny comedians out there (Brian Regan, Gabriel Iglesias) to show that you don't have to harp on things like the ones you listed to be funny. (I'm not saying those two are perfect, just that their material tends to be funny and usually is appropriate.) I find very few comedians funny, really, because I feel like too many people think that crude/rude=funny and I heartily disagree!! But I like those you listed, too, and a few others. You know what's really not funny? This comment. It's quite dull. But there it is!

Elizabeth Downie said...

Brian Regan is HILARIOUS! Good call on that one. I don't mean to be a comedian basher - I mean, I appreciate what they're trying to do (make people laugh). I just wish some of them wouldn't do it in such a mean spirited way. The ones you listed are perfect examples of that.

Stabenow7 said...

I agree That stuff I do not laugh at b/c it is not funny I do love me some Brian and Gabriel though!!!! I saw George Carlin live once...oh yeah SOOOOOOOO not kidding he was the MOS cras dirty old man ever.

Heather said...

I don't mind if comedians make fun of their own race...that seems acceptable, but most ridiculing of other races never quite strikes me as funny. And I can take the snarky woman jokes to a point because if a comedian is halfway intelligent some of the stuff is true.
DUI - never funny.
But I do love comedians. Of course my husband and I never agree on which ones!

Erin said...

I LOVE LOVE Brian Regan! My family and I went to see him at the Tuacahn in St. George, UT last summer and he was great! The guy that opened up for him... not so great. Some of his jokes were funny, but some of them were the wrong kind of jokes for a crowd of mostly families in Utah. Sounds like the comedians you guys saw are not going to get very far... the best comedians know what the limits are for jokes. These ones clearly did not!

bethy said...

I have only been to one live comedian show and it wasn't funny. Most of the material was offensive and crude. I like Brian Regan because he takes real life situations and tells them in such a funny way. I can't really relate to comedians who just swear or talk about crude things. UGH!! The kid rock joke was pretty funny though.

Unknown said...

most comedy these days is offensive and rude/crude. I hate going to comedy clubs for that reason. I do like that Kid Rock joke. Awesome.

Liz Hughes said...

Brian Regan is very funny.
Something's just aren't funny. Sometimes people need time to heal before you make fun of a disaster or situation. I mean the Lincoln assassination just barely became funny.