Stand Up and be funny
I’m a comedy snob.
As long as I can remember, my Dad has been a stand up comedian. Even when he’s taken breaks from performing, he has always been a comedian. There have been upsides and downsides to this. I have never re-heard a story I have told my Dad word for word as I have told it. I can’t scientifically explain the way my Dad hears my stories. I just know that what I told and what he hears are two different things. Anyone with a stand up comedian in their life can relate. It can be very frustrating.
The upside is that I saw and heard the greats from a very young age. I’m a millennial(still not sure how that is considering I’m 33 and have a job and my own place…)and if I were to ever meet Mel Brooks in real life- that would be my greatest moment. I know 2000 Year Old Man by heart, I have seen all the Marx Bros. movies, and I used to have an Abbott and Costello poster of “Who’s On First” in my room.
I was raised on the fact that EVERYTHING is a joke waiting to be made, if you say it right.
Nothing is too soon. Nothing is off limits.
It really is all in the delivery.
Like I said, I am a comedy snob. I don’t think “potty humor” is funny. It makes me uncomfortable and when I’m uncomfortable, I don’t laugh.Using an infinite amount of swear words in your act for no other reason then, I’m guessing, because you can- does not make me laugh.
I LOVE inappropriate jokes. When Ricky Gervais did a WHOLE bit about a dead baby, I was in tears(it sounds really horrible, but watch it on Netflix-it was awesome). He delivered it perfectly. He was smart about how to say it and what to say. But, when Sara Silverman did an Aushwitz/Holocaust joke on Hilarity for Charity(great cause, not so awesome show), I cringed.
“It’s not our job to appeal to the lowest common denominator, Doug. It’s our job to raise it. If you’re going to be the “Education President,” it’d be nice not to hide that you have an education.” — President Bartlet, Manchester Part 2, Season 3- I know, fake president-but still, this is how I feel about comedy. Comedy snob, guilty.
