Do you have a favorite joke? If so, why is it your favorite joke (yes, I know that explaining why a joke is funny has to be the least funny human activity, but humor me...pun intended)? Do you have it memorized, is it a comedian's signature bit, or did you learn it from a parent or a friend?
For my part, I do not have a relationship with any joke in particular as the humor that most appeals to me often lacks a referent and it seems that such a degree of absurdity does not conform well to the tightly-constructed genre of the joke. What do remain for me are comedic memories of individual bits from sketch comedy, which frankly tends to be my favorite genre of humor.
In the late 1990's (damn it, I am dating myself with this one...) when MTV was still generally quite cool and had a panoply of interesting programming, there was a sketch comedy show called The State. This was the heyday of the sketch comedy troupe and The State began as the comedy troupe of a bunch of NYU students and their friends (including producers David Wain and Michael Showalter who have subsequently become machers in the entertainment industry). There was a recurring bit called, "Old Fashioned Guy" in which a Southern gentleman in a seersucker suit (played masterfully by Thomas Lennon of Reno 911) would state, "Call me old fashioned, but I..." and continue by sharing something absolutely non sequitur. Here is an example:
Old-Fashioned Guy
I am not sure why this bit has stuck with me. Watching it again many years later, I hardly chuckled, and there have been so many things that have certainly made me laugh much more for altogether different reasons, but perhaps I didn't laugh this time because I knew what to expect. Perhaps it was the paraprosdokian or "unexpected quality" of the humor that made me laugh as an adolescent. Now that I know what to expect, "Old-Fashioned Guy" has simply become a delicious bit of nostalgia.
In any case, if you do have a favorite joke or bit, please post it here and if possible try to articulate why it is your favorite.
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ReplyDeleteA couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?”
ReplyDeleteThe operator, in a calm soothing voice says: “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard.
The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: “OK, now what?“
Just a classic joke ripping on New Jersians
This is the first joke I ever memorized.
ReplyDeleteA tomato and a carrot are walking across a street. They're too slow; a truck speeds through and runs them both over. The tomato is okay, but the carrot is badly hurt.
The tomato takes the carrot to the hospital. After stabilizing the carrot and running a few tests, the doctor walks out of the operating room to meet the tomato and says,
"Your tomato friend is okay, he's just going to be a vegetable for the rest of his life."
Not the best joke, but to my 7-year-old mind, this was edgy, clever, and badass, because what kid my age would know what a "vegetable" is? This would probably not bode well in current society.
Emily, thank you for sharing this. I am amazed that as a seven year old you comprehended the pun on "vegetable" on which the joke pivots. I was curious as to why you thought that such a seemingly innocuous joke "would probably not bode well in current society." Do you think the joke would offend our oversensitivity or rather that it is in some sense too innocent in subject matter and tone?
DeleteOh yeah, totally offensive to some. "Vegetable" is not very polite.
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ReplyDeleteI first encountered this joke in high school.
ReplyDeleteWhat did the buffalo say to his son when he left for college?
Bison
I'm a big fan of puns. I probably enjoy puns because puns can either be executed really cleverly or really horribly depending upon a few words. I also tend to take statements literally so I really appreciate jokes that can be read literally.
I also find them hilarious, and its interesting that they seem to be a cross cultural thing?
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ReplyDeleteAmy Schumer - Slutty Friend
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/RjfmODJJjVA
I'm a huge fan of Amy Schumer's and I love this bit because it feels very real and honest. I like jokes that seem realistic and progress through stories or drawn out situations, so this one is a hit for me.
I love how real and honest Schumer is in her comedy as well. She has a knack for calling out absurdities in our culture, particularly ones pertaining to the expectations of women.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut116mBuPpg
ReplyDeleteI love Rowan Atkinson's comedic acting, this one is a bit where he plays the Devil and welcomes people to hell.
Rowan Atkinson is awesome! I love his role of Mr. Bean.
DeleteHow do you get a priest to have sex with a nun?
ReplyDeleteDress her up as an alter boy
I am a confirmed Catholic so I am allowed to say these jokes, or so I feel. But as a Catholic with a Catholic mother and a Protestant father I have found so many flaws in the Catholic church and disagree with a lot of their ideas. So I like to dig into a good priest joke every now and then.
Simple and the punchline really makes it funny. Priest jokes are always funny and they kind of go off of current events which is also pretty funny poking fun at the real world
DeleteI like this joke because it's simple but has a little punch to it. It's not too controversial, but it's sharp.
DeleteMan goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, "Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. Says "But Doctor... I am Pagliacci." - Watchmen
ReplyDeletePersonal favorite:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAJxpo4lrB4
This is one of my favorite movies and I've always found the delivery of this joke particularly well done. The film is very creative in how it uses humor to great effect in tense situations.
Favorite scene from Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon and Robin Williams
ReplyDeleteWill: You know, I was on this plane once, and I'm sittin' there, and the captain gets on, he does his whole, you know, "we'll be cruisin' at 35,000 feet," but then he puts the mic down. He forgets to turn it off. So he turns to the copilot. He's, like, "You know, all I could use right now is a fuckin' blow job and a cup of coffee." So the stewardess fuckin' goes bombin' up from the back of the plane... to tell him the microphone's still on. This guy in the back of the plane's like, "Hey, hon, don't forget the coffee." Sean: You ever been on a plane? Will: No, but it's a fuckin' joke. It works better if I tell it in the first person.
This joke rings well with me because the punch line is a quick one-liner but the way the joke is displayed is in a first person story, he uses imagery to bring the listener onto the plane with him (even though he had never been on one). I think this is key to captivating an audience.
Good Will Hunting is a phenomenal movie, it brought Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to fame and takes place around Boston, MA. Here's the clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WAylnO5gtA
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/80793445/
ReplyDeleteBefore Key and Peele took off there was their little Mad TV skit by the name of Coach Hines. This is one of my favorite Coach Hines skit and I get a laugh out of it every time.
Coach Hines I agree is absolutely hilarious. I think physical comedy has disappeared a little but Hines is a great mix of physical and vocal comedy. GREAT SKITS!
DeleteThose high kicks always crack me up and Coach Hines' threats are always wicked funny.
DeleteIts hard to figure out what my favorite joke is since I find a lot of things to be funny. As a kid I loved comedians like Dave Chappelle and his stand up about Washington D.C. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofnSojq-vqI. I thought this was hilarious as mainly because of what he was discussing and also how he delivered it. Like its so over the top, but also kind of not?
ReplyDeleteMy humor is still pretty similar now, and I enjoy a lot of forms such as vines. Here is one of my favorite funny vines that I currently enjoy a lot. https://vine.co/v/Oetanigr7i6
A father told his son:"don't masturbate too much or you'll go blind." The boy said " dad, I am over here!" I got this from a book of jokes all of which were really corny. I think it is super hard to write funny. My favorite type of comedy is performed. Recently I have been revisiting the movie Spinal Tap. The performances in that masterpiece are top notch. My little joke kind of sucks in comparison. But honestly I got ripped off for twenty bucks because there wasn't a winner in my joke book. More like big book of sick and depressing jokes. Check out SpinalTap the movie. You will hoot and carry on.
ReplyDeleteWhat was left after the explosion at a french cheese factory?
ReplyDeleteDes Brie
I enjoy puns a lot and I think this is a good one. In french, "Des Brie" means some brie which makes sense because its a cheese factory. But it also sounds like "debris" which fits in with the explosion.
A man walks into a bar.... and stays there for my entire childhood.
ReplyDeleteI think this joke is funny because it is an unexpected twist from a "normal" joke setup. The "man walks into a bar" jokes are a classic type of joke, but this one takes a dark turn and becomes an anti-joke that still makes me laugh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1tsGGz-Qw0
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the newer Key & Peele Sketches where both artists are sitting in a math class. What I find funny about the video is not necessarily the joke itself, but how the scenario plays out. Peele makes a joke in the middle of class but nobody hears him except Key ("I wish I was high on potenuse"). When Key repeats his friend's joke, everybody hears him and goes into hysterics. He ends up getting all of the credit for the joke and a lot more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlR6CdJtRWM
ReplyDeleteI was never a fan of Bill Burr until I heard this and it instantly became my favorite thing ever. I am all for women's rights so don't judge me too much based off of this, i just love the points that he makes in addressing an issue such as a woman making less than a man, which there is clearly no valid argument for.
I told this joke in class already, but my favorite joke is:
ReplyDeleteA couple invites an old college friend over for dinner to catch up. They haven't seen him since before they had their three children, so they're having a good time catching up while the kids play in the other room. The oldest child runs in, saying, "Mooommy, can I have a cookie?" The mother replies, "Of course, Rose, you can have a cookie." Their dinner guest asks, "Is that a family name? Why did you name her rose?" The father replies, "Well, when she was born, a tulip fell lightly on her forehead."The second child, not wanting to be left out runs in and yells, "MOMMY, I WANT A COOKIE!" The mother replies, "Not with an attitude like that, Tulip!" Again their guest asks how they got the name, and they reply, "Well, when she was born a Tulip fell lightly on her forehead." The third child, hearing the commotion, runs in yelling "ARGHHHHHHHHH!" The mother snaps, "Shut up, Cinderblock."
Part of what gets me about this joke is how awful it is, that kid got hit in the head with a cinderblock? What? But also that it builds a pattern and then lets the listener draw the conclusion for the punchline. It was originally shared with me by a friend of mine while we were canoeing in Montana. We didn't have much to do all day every day, stuck in a boat together, so we swapped jokes. This is the only one I remember, and probably the most memorable part of the trip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO7lR64leSk
ReplyDeleteLouis C.K is probably my favorite stand-up comedian, and probably anything that he says on a stage will make me laugh. I don't have any favorite joke in particular, however this one short story I find truly hilarious because he mocks stupid details using tons of exaggeration.
Kyle Mooney - Ball Champions
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X37EzJnuntk
Kyle Mooney is one of my favorite cast members on SNL. This piece, from his personal youtube channel, is of a character he created. This character is someone who is extremely awkward and goes around different events and venues, trying to interview people, unsuccessfully so. As a viewer, I am delightfully uncomfortable. I can't help but simultaneously cringe, laugh, and root for his character who is just trying to connect with these people. I appreciate the more subtle types of physical comedy in this - while he is not performing physically in the way someone like Jim Carrey does, there are smaller, more precise gestures that are distinct to the nature of the character, enhancing the comedic effect beyond just his mumbled words, and through his full embodiment of the character. Additionally, I particularly enjoyed the intentionally bad graphics which are only loosely related to baseball, providing the feeling this is a homemade video of this character's creation. I picture the character putting in hours of work, editing the video, and taking great pride in the final product, unsuspecting of its humorous nature.
Carly, your explication of this bit is so perspicacious and incisive. Excellent!
DeleteQ: Can a kangaroo jump higher than the Empire State Building?
ReplyDeleteA: Of course. The Empire State Building can't jump
Haha this was particularly funny to me because reading it the first time I imagined a kangaroo literally jumping over the empire state building. But what makes it funnier is that the empire state building is personified in the answer giving it human characteristics but it is a true statement, funny play on words with this one lol
Great, Renaldo Jean. I laughed at this one. I appreciate the unexpected twist of the joke. One-liners that have an unexpected or absurdist element always catch a listener off guard.
DeleteWhile I cant say I have a favorite joke, this clip from "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia" turned me onto the show which is by far and away one of my favorite shows.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fP4emqw7O4
A genetic engineer walks into a bar, tiredly seats himself, and says to the bartender, "Get me the strongest stuff you got."
ReplyDeleteThe man seated next to him eyes him speculatively, wondering what his story was. Absently taking note of this, the genetic engineer asks, "What do you call a cross between a baboon and a chihuahua?"
The man gave a bemused shrug. "I don't know. What?"
"I don't know, but it won't shut the fuck up."