Saturday 8 January 2011

Do You Think It's Funny

After my introductory post a certain ex-fling of mine said: "Sexy? Yes, that you are. But funny? I never really associated you with funny!" - a remark not only obviously rude, but also blatantly untrue. Of course, I am funny. I have been told by many people I am funny! I believe some even used the word 'hilarious' which, I admit, might have been a slight exaggeration. Don't take this away from me! Funny has always been my thing, before sexy was my thing. Yes, I am not an American slapstick comedy kind of funny. I'd like to believe my sense of humour is more subtle. In fact, as it turns out, it might sometimes be so subtle, that it goes entirely undetected.

This whole episode made me decide to investigate the whole matter more thoroughly. I have asked a whole bunch of people what they find funny and made a shocking discovery that different people find different things funny. As a matter of fact, some people laugh at things that to me are not funny at all! So here is a list of different funny things in the order of how funny I find them, starting with the least funny (i.e. not funny at all) to the most funny:

1) Little Britain - OK. I just don't get it. It's just men dressed up as women. And if they are not dressed up as women, they pretend to be gay... That's kind of... juvenile? And  Come Fly With Me is just the same, only also racist. I am sorry about the quality of the second video but if you live in UK you can watch this gem of a show in full on iplayer.

2) A couple of days a colleague of mine emailed me a video of a baby orangutan:

It made her "L O L", "absolutely hilarious". I admit it is a very cute orangutan (PS. for more cute baby animals of various species go to - http://www.zooborns.com ) but it is not really that funny, is it?
And it is not that I don't find animals funny. This dude is just hysterical:



3) Ben Elton - I have just finished reading 'Popcorn' (full review here) and even though it was a very interesting book I found myself laughing once in 330 pages which is just simply not good enough. Writers like him try very hard to be funny in every sentence, they can't write anything normally. Every sentence has to be a joke and no one has got that many jokes. I feel similarly about Jenny Eclair. I read two of her books and her constant attempts at humour made me feel really uncomfortable. Especially that her jokes were mostly about farting and other bodily functions, which would have been fine if I was a 13 year old boy.

4) Cyanide and Happines - we are slowly getting there. Cyanide and Happiness has its moments of brilliance, like here:

But sadly the brilliance sinks in the sea of mediocre.

Keep reading beacuse it gets funnier!
5) Jerry Seinfeld



I don't really have to say anything. His whole 'I'm Telling You For The Last Time" stand up is available on youtube.

6) P.G. Wodehouse - Now when I said that you can't be funny in every sentence because no one has got that many jokes I meant no one alive. P.G. Wodehouse is funny in every sentence. Check for example this classic:
"The Right Hon was a tubby little chap who looked as if he had been poured into his clothes and had forgotten to say 'when'."

7) Eddie Izzard - when he is at his best. I laugh hysterically every time I watch this:


8) Damn You Autocorrect - making ordinary people hilarious since the beginning of iphone! Who knew that Steve Jobs could be so funny? A few times I laughed so hard I cried.

9) ME. Yes, that's right. A few days ago I went to the gym. I forgot my iphone on the treadmill. When I came back for it, some guy was already using the treadmill. I stepped on it without realising it is was running and got sent flying across the gym. I have written testimonies from everyone present that it was the funniest thing they had seen all day. Needless to say, I will not be going there again.
Today I ordered Indian take away and when it arrived I pretended there will be more people eating it, so the delivery guy does not think I am a gluttonous pig. I actually had a conversation (which weirdly sounded more like a monologue) with my imaginary dinner companion while receiving my order. For God's sake I was just trying to meet their stupid limits for delivery!
See? Funny, and not at all sexy.

Now, tell me what YOU find funny.

6 comments:

  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHTcjZzSlAM

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  2. There is nothing funnier than Jon Lajoie

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15S0g8pG6HU

    ok.. except for chemical and biological jokes:

    Question: Why do white bears like water?
    Answer: Because they’re polar bears.

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  3. I tell you what's funny, except me, this man:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMjrXRgu8IU

    Worship him.

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  4. Perhaps not "ha ha" funny; but definitely "hmmm" funny.

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  5. Well obviously you don’t get it, calling “Come fly with me” racist. It is quite the opposite! These brilliantly talented guys are mocking most aspects of very traditional and modern British way of life, one of the best shows on tv!

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  6. To be honest, I didn't find much of this funny, but I've chatted with you. You definitely can be funny and honest, which helps with inadvertent funny points. Gotta tickle my funny bone to really make me laugh though. *Chacha charmines little bear laugh

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