MovieChat Forums > Funny People (2009) Discussion > Is American stand-up really like this?

Is American stand-up really like this?

posted 14 years ago by jack-hanly
74 replies | jump to latest

Hi, I've never really watched many Americans do stand-up with the exception of Chris Rock who's entire career revolves around imitating Richard Pryor and doing 'black jokes'.

Even though some of the stand-up was OK, do a lot of stand-ups in America talk about their cocks? People in the audience seemed to find it all hilarious. I've also seen Sarah Silverman who's a bit controversial at times but not great.

I'm sorry but I've seen hundreds of comedians in the UK and every one of them blew the stand-up stuff out of the water in this film. I know Rogan and Jonah Hill are not really renowned for stand-up but they could have at least written good jokes for them.

It might be just me, but what is stand-up generally like in America?

Personally my favourites are Lee Evans, Russell Brand, Michael McIntyre, John Bishop, Peter Kay, Rhod Gilbert, Jack Dee, Jason Manford and Tommy Cooper (who's also a magician). So if anybody wants to see some British stand-up I recommend those, bit of a long list I know.

[–] mckenna_eoghan 14 years ago

I do think that comedy this side of the water is better than American comedy, but not by much. Have you never heard of Bill Hick's or Rich Hall.
Also I don't think of Lee Evans as a comedian but more of a comic performer, he doesn't tell very many jokes but does make a lot of strange body movements and noises. You might have guessed I'm not a fan of that particular comedy. I think the real modern greats from England, Ireland, Scotland and Whales would be Dylan Moran, Jack Dee, Rob Brydon, Michael McIntyre, Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle and Dara O Brien.
I do disagree that the comedy in this film isn't that good. I thought it was fantastic, but it doesn't differ much, so obviously that particular type of comedy is not your cup of tea.
I think English comedy is wittier than it is in the States but the cleverest piece of comedy I have ever seen came from an American, Rich Hall. I suggest you watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Skba8wuKA

[–] aniketagg87 14 years ago

As long as we are on ethnicity of stand-up comedy, I give y'all: Russell Peters: Indo-Canadian-American. Go figure.

[–] yobuddy 14 years ago

Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor. Period. End of Story. US wins, Uk loses.

And for my fellow Americans on this thread, Mitch Hedberg, Ron White, and all the other Comedy Central hacks named are dime a dozen. Decent for a laugh, but not great. If you want to throw out examples of American stand-up, just throw out Murphy and Pryor to start with and you've made your point

-yourbuddy

[–] eraofawe 14 years ago

not a big fan of UK comedy. my favorite UK comedian is Jim Jefferies but he's originally Australian. I can deal with Russell Brand tho.

Good American Comedians:
George Carlin (simply the best ever)
Eddie Murphy
Louis CK
Bill Burr
Bo Burnham
Martin Lawrence
Jamie Foxx
Demetri Martin
Mitch Hedberg
Russell Peters
Richard Pryor
Dave Attell
Dave Chappelle
Greg Giraldo
Nick Swardson
Brian Regan
chris rock

I think Robin williams, Dana Carvey, Lewis Black and Dane Cook are extremely overrated.

just my 2 cents.

[–] TVShowsOverMovies 11 years ago

A few years later, this is still a yummy list.

Of that bunch, I like Burnham and Louis CK the most.
Bill Burr and Hedberg are cool. Not a huge fan of Swardson.

The rest of the list is good/great/legendary. One of my favorites, Daniel Tosh, is not on your list - BUT, to each his own. I try to not be the "you forgot this person..." guy. So, yeah. Thanks for reading this important message.

[–] eraofawe 9 years ago

I like Tosh too. As a comedian not a tv host. Honestly, I don't think I had heard of him when I made this list. Cheers.

[–] mikekearn 14 years ago

As many others have said, there are a lot of comedians in the US who are very funny and do other stuff.

Even in the movie, George (Adam Sandler's character) makes fun of Ira (Seth Rogen) for having nothing but dick and fart jokes. Of course, since he's hypocritical, his own jokes are pretty racy. I think that sort of humor appeals to both actors, but I also think it was done on purpose in the film as part of who they are.

-------------
"I will not succumb to temptation, unless she's cute."

[–] Room_On_Fire 14 years ago

Not all comedians are like this. It's just this movie.

Check out Mitch Hedberg or Demetri Martin.

"Oh, my God. Bear is driving! How can that be?!"

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] ccr1633 14 years ago

Bill Hicks, although much more appreciated in England, is light years above any British comedian over the last 40 years at least. That includes the numerous Bill Hicks imitators like Eddie Izzard. As far as living and active American comedians, however, they're definitely in a down phase. A bad one. You either get racist jive bs from black comedians like Chris Rock and Paul Mooney, or tepid and gutless schlock that's slaved to PC mentality. It seems that it's the American women who are pushing the boundaries, like Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes, but they're not especially clever and certainly don't belong in the pantheon of American comedy.

[–] MrBlondNYC 14 years ago

Proclaiming the superiority of British stand-up to American stand-up based on a film with fictional comedians is like saying "American music is way better than British music. I saw Spice World". In other words, just plain stupid.

Russell Brand is popular over here too. Maybe because he talks about his cock.

George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.

[–] HollowScar 14 years ago

It depends on the comic style. When I looked at this movie, there were a lot of comedians, but they only had cameos when they should have taken the stage. The stand-up jokes were disastrous and not funny at all, but the overall movie was funny at times.

I always liked dry humor, and dark humor. Jokes about cock can be controversial, and over the top.