Comedians you do NOT think are funny...

[Shareefruck]

Schumer basically steals decent material and somehow turns it into poor material, IMO. That period of time when she was first getting big was really frustrating because for some reason, nobody was calling her out on her crappiness.

Of course. If he wasn't funny, he'd be lynched.

On a comedic level, it works, but I can't help but think that on an intellectual level, his method of communicating ideas really rubs me the wrong way and feels irresponsible to me (even when there's obviously a germ a truth to some of his views). He confidently, relate-ably, and persuasively encourages outrage with absolute certainty and power, to a degree that might give the worst kinds of people ammunition, and then backs off when he realizes there's a flaw in his reasoning, and kind of cheaply hits the eject button by going "Aaah, but I'm an idiot, what the **** do I know?" every time. Feels like a bit of a cop-out to me, and kind of a slightly disingenuous/dangerous one.

In comparison, Doug Stanhope hits the nail on the head and has the courage of his convictions much more (while also having more extreme but understandable/logically consistent views with fewer cheap tactics), IMO.

 

[ORRFForever]

Schumer basically steals decent material and somehow turns it into poor material, IMO. That period of time when she was first getting big was really frustrating because for some reason, nobody was calling her out on her crappiness.

On a comedic level, it works, but I can't help but think that on an intellectual level, his method of communicating ideas really rubs me the wrong way and feels irresponsible to me (even when there's obviously a germ a truth to some of his views). He confidently, relate-ably, and persuasively encourages outrage with absolute certainty and power, to a degree that might give the worst kinds of people ammunition, and then backs off when he realizes there's a flaw in his reasoning, and kind of cheaply hits the eject button by going "Aaah, but I'm an idiot, what the **** do I know?" every time. Feels like a bit of a cop-out to me, and kind of a slightly disingenuous/dangerous one.

In comparison, Doug Stanhope hits the nail on the head and has the courage of his convictions much more (while also having more extreme but understandable/logically consistent views with fewer cheap tactics), IMO.

Fair enough.

In his defense, I LOVE his stuff and his delivery. I have no complaints with his comedy.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Bill Hicks and George Carlin are the first to come to mind. Carlin especially, who is more of a ranter than a comedian. Generally, I dislike comedians who mistake being loud with being funny. There are exceptions like Bill Burr and Doug Stanhope, but I'd say there's an inverse correlation between how loud a standup is and how funny they are.

Ah yes, the Lewis Black method of stand-up comedy.

I'm not a fan of that either.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

My wife and I started watching the Ken Jeong stand up special on netflix and it was brutal. Turned it off after like 10 minutes. He was just trying to live off his character from the hangover.

 

[Shareefruck]

I can understand people not finding him funny (as humor honestly doesn't seem to be his main priority), but Carlin is way too eloquent, rhythmic, and poetic to be dismissed as someone who just rants and shouts.

 

[Shareefruck]

Fair enough.

In his defense, I LOVE his stuff and his delivery. I have no complaints with his comedy.

Don't get me wrong, I just feel like he's a good and like-able guy with great/infectious delivery who's maybe just unintentionally using it in a way that seems kind of questionable to me.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Someone should do a thread : Comedians who were once funny, but ran out of material, and aren't funny now.

Patton Oswalt was a lot funnier before Trump won the election and it became his focal point for damn near every joke.

John Mulaney has flirted with political commentary but not TOO much, which makes his act more tolerable. His "horse in a hospital" bit is an eye-roller though.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

The only people who complain about comics making political jokes (i.e., not the jokes themselves, but simply the fact that politics are involved) are sensitive conservatives. You never that complaint aimed towards the worthless Larry the Cable Guy.

Also, Pryor might be the best to ever do it. Live at the Sunset Strip is a masterpiece. Just a phenomenal storyteller.

" Alright, give me the money motherf***er! "

 

[John Price]

- Samantha Bee

- Trevor Noah

- Daniel Tosh

Bee to me isn't that funny. She made her name on the Daily Show but her TBS show is nearing cancellation, she got in hot water making stupid comments, and she's doing an awful job on TBS. Samantha Bee's Ratings Are Terrible. So Why Exactly Is She Still On TV?

Noah isn't as funny as Stewart was.

Tosh2.0 just doesn't seem like a rather humorous show. All he does is just commentate on viral videos. Who cares.

 

[Dr Pepper]

The only people who complain about comics making political jokes (i.e., not the jokes themselves, but simply the fact that politics are involved) are sensitive conservatives. You never that complaint aimed towards the worthless Larry the Cable Guy.

Also, for my money, Pryor might be the best to ever do it. Live at the Sunset Strip is a masterpiece.

Larry definitely belongs in this thread.

Never been a fan of his.

Neither is David Cross. I love Cross's dismantling of Larry (and his whole shtick) in this vid:




Crass, xenophobic "right wing" comedy like 95% of Larry's act, or others like Jeff Dunham or Ralphie May, are usually more miss than hit.

 

[Dr Pepper]

- Samantha Bee

- Trevor Noah

- Demetri Martin

- Daniel Tosh

Bee to me isn't that funny. She made her name on the Daily Show but her TBS show is nearing cancellation, she got in hot water making stupid comments, and yeah she's doing an awful job on TBS. So yeah, she not funny. And yes, I've seen her show. It's not funny.

Agreed with 3 of the 4, but I think Demetri's awesome. His deadpan delivery and the wide range of topics he hits, I haven't heard a single comedy special of his that didn't have a few hilarious parts to it.

 

[John Price]

Agreed with 3 of the 4, but I think Demetri's awesome. His deadpan delivery and the wide range of topics he hits, I haven't heard a single comedy special of his that didn't have a few hilarious parts to it.

The only reason I deleted him is I haven't really seen enough of his standup or videos to be fair so I just removed him from the list. I'm not too interested in him though. I've seen better.

 

[ORRFForever]

Don't get me wrong, I just feel like he's a good and like-able guy with great/infectious delivery who's maybe just unintentionally using it in a way that seems kind of questionable to me.

I am not a PC guy so nothing he says bothers me.

 

[Shareefruck]

I am not a PC guy so nothing he says bothers me.

It's not a political correctness or sensitivity thing for me. I was just praising Doug Stanhope earlier (who is WWAAYYYY more uncomfortably extreme/politically incorrect-- Burr is very tame in comparison) and thumbing my nose at the way that female comedians are presented these days.

I just have some issues with some of the tactics that he uses in expressing his real opinions in joke form, not what his actual opinions are.

 

[Cor]

@BonMorrison

 

[Cor]

@Jussi

 

[Suxnet]

My wife and I started watching the Ken Jeong stand up special on netflix and it was brutal. Turned it off after like 10 minutes. He was just trying to live off his character from the hangover.

I actually thought he was kind of annoying in the Hangover.

 

[Neutrinos]

I agree so much with this. He has a very anxious energy performing standup...always shouting and huffing and puffing red as a tomato.

I think deep down he knows he's not an elite comedian....but to be fair his standup is what got him recognized to get his foot in the door with News Radio. Maybe it was better back in the day. I love his podcast and UFC work though. You definitely can't take away what he's built (even though I'd say 80%+ of his listeners don't even like his standup).


I pretty much agree with the majority of this thread.....a lot of comedians are just obnoxious. Dane Cook, Amy Shumer, Louis CK, Jeff Ross...honestly the list goes on and on.
The majority of standups have this anxious yelling energy and it's just really not for me. The dudes that sort of coined it were the best at it though(Carlin, Pryor,Steve Martin)
Then I respect the legends like Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock who definitely have a lot of chops, but again are a little too erratic at times but can still enjoy because of their skill.

My favorite comedians
Mitch Hedberg
Zack Galifianakis (Mitch with a Piano)
Dave Chapelle
Bill Burr
Rodney Dangerfield
As far as female comedians I do find Sarah Silverman really fun, but more so in interviews than standup.

Back in the day, Rogan certainly had a marketable look

Clean cut, shredded physique, very Italian looking

I have a theory that his look is what got his foot in the Hollywood door as casting agents probably saw him as the next Tony Danza

 

[ORRFForever]

It's not a political correctness or sensitivity thing for me. I was just praising Doug Stanhope earlier (who is WWAAYYYY more uncomfortably extreme/politically incorrect-- Burr is very tame in comparison) and thumbing my nose at the way that female comedians are presented these days.

I just have some issues with some of the tactics that he uses in expressing his real opinions in joke form, not what his actual opinions are.

I am not familiar with Stanhope.

Bill Burr is remarkable funny and considered one of the great comedians of our time. I don't disagree.

 

[Ms Maggie]

I can understand people not finding him funny (as humor honestly doesn't seem to be his main priority), but Carlin is way too eloquent, rhythmic, and poetic to be dismissed as someone who just rants and shouts.

His routine on "a place for my stuff" is hilarious. As is the football v baseball bit, so creative.

 

[zombie kopitar]

Back in the day, Rogan certainly had a marketable look

Clean cut, very shredded physique

I have a theory that his look is what got his foot in the Hollywood door as casting agents probably saw him as the next Tony Danza

That could be. Even though he seems to be consensus viewed as a mediocre comedian, he sells out big theaters. So clearly there's a market. Also you got to give him props for using his platform to promote other comedians with extreme admiration for the art.

Also on second thought, after watching some Sarah Silverman stuff, I take back what I said. Almost never very good content, she just can have excellent delivery. Her voice over work in Wreck it Ralph was perfect for instance.

 

[John Price]

Sarah Silverman's voice (as well as her sister) in Bob's Burgers cracks me up.

 

[zombie kopitar]

^ Yeah exactly, she can be so damn funny at times. But her actual material is nothing special.

 

[Rempe73]

Easy. Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Stephen Colbert, Jerry Seinfeld, Samantha Bee, Jim Carrey, Patton Oswalt, Gabriel Iglesias, Seth Rogan, Carlos Mencia, Jonah Hill, Aziz Ansari, etc. I could go on all day.

But the worst of the worst have to be Hart and Iglesias. And it’s not like I have a limited view of comedy or anything like that. I love guys like Norm MacDonald, Patrice O’Neal, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., George Carlin, Roseanne Barr, Bruce Bruce, Tom Segura, Theo Von, Joey Diaz, Lavell Crawford, Chris Rock, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, Lisa Lampanelli, etc. I know I’m forgetting at least 5-10 others.

 

[ORRFForever]

^ Yeah exactly, she can be so damn funny at times. But her actual material is nothing special.

Why Women Aren't Funny