Who do you just think is horrifically unfunny to the point of not even cracking an occasional smile at that the rest of the civilized world just loves to death?
My main two are:
David Sedaris. After hearing from friends how hilarious he was and reading Amazon reviews that said stuff like, “whatever you do, don’t read this in public because you’ll be weeping with laughter,” I read all of Naked and Barrel Fever and I’m not exaggerating when I say that I didn’t laugh or chuckle even once. As far as I’m concerned, the guy simply isn’t a humorist.
The Zero Punctuation guy that everyone loves. Holy crap is this stuff unfunny, and somehow the whole readeverythingasquicklyaspossible approach actually makes it less funny. It doesn’t sound like incisive barbs and snark, but a nervous fifth-grader trying to read a report to a class. Again, I think I chuckled once in listening to about 10 episodes.
I find Ricky Gervais and Larry David entirely unfunny, but I don’t think it’s personal - I’m just not amused by the whole jerk-gets-bitten-in-the-ass schtick that seemed to be the sole repeating plotline of Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Check out the recent standup special that Ricky Gervais did.
Try this bit which is part of a larger routine where he talks about how when he was a kid they used to tell stories to his class to teach moral lessons.
I find George Carlin to not be very funny. Angry, yes. Funny, no. He stopped being funny sometime around 1983. I also never got the love for Sam Kinneson.
And while once upon a time Sarah Silverman was funny, that was a while ago. She hasn’t been funny since she got famous.
I’m not sure if anybody actually thinks Conan Obrien is funny, but he’s been on the air for a long time so I imagine somebody must.
I find him to be a virtual black hole of funny. It’s like he sucks any and all humor out of any environment he’s in and jettisons it to some dark dimension.
There are comedians - like Dane Cook - who I absolutely abhor but can kind of understand why some people like him. The appeal of Conan Obrien completely and utterly mystifies me.
Dane Cook
Carlos Mencia
Will Farrell
Jay Leno
whoever makes those JibJab political cartoons
Tina Fey
Terry Pratchett (sorry, Discworld is decent but not particularly funny. I’ve read 5 or 6 of them and maybe giggled twice.)
I think Mencia is funny. He’s not my favorite comedian in the world, but when I watch his stand ups I laugh quite often; although I can see why a lot of people think he is not funny in the least.
Seinfeld is the tops on my list. I love his stand up, but I watch that show and I don’t think I have ever even cracked a smile.
Ben Stiller- Not funny at all. He plays one character in EVERY FREAKIN MOVIE. The one exception is Zoolander (and kinda Tropic Thunder too)
Oh yeah, and of course it goes without saying that Larry the Cable Guy is a fucking worthless shitty “comedian” who has absolutely no talent. Oh yeah, and he’s a fraud who plays to redneck ignorance. Fuck Larry the Cable Guy.
I can’t think of the name, but it’s that comedian who always wears black and talks about his therapy/bad life/whatever. He was pretty big in the 90’s, but I haven’t heard much from him (mercifully!) since. Last I saw of him, he was on Curb Your Enthusiasm.