# Holy crap, that guy's unfunny - but everyone else loves him! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659 "2008-12-18T00:20:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/161 "2008-12-20T03:08:18Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > **Jeff Foxworthy** - Everyone in my family thinks the Blue Collar Comedy Tour is the funniest thing they’ve ever seen. I can’t stand any of them except the fat guy that chain smokes (Ron White?). The crowning moment came when I saw Jeff doing the “it was in the last place I looked” “Well of course it was! Why would you keep looking…” joke, which I would have rolled my eyes at in second grade. Are you that hard up for material that you’d do a joke Bob Hope has probably done 50 years ago (and it was probably lame then too)? > **Larry the Cable Guy** - Almost as bad Jeff Foxworthy, but the annoying catchphrases put him on pretty much the same level. I hate Foxworthy and Larry, but Bill Engvall’s pretty good, too. Ron White, of course, is fucking hilarious. Chris Farley gets laughs out of me, but I agree he wasn’t as good as Belushi. The thing about Belushi was that he could do his schtick whether he was thin or fat. He just happened to gain weight later in life, but it’s not like most of his gags involved being chubby. Farley needed to be fat, and he knew it (not that he was up to doing something about his weight one way or another). I could be wrong about this, but while John Belushi always seemed born to the limelight, I never really thought Chris Farley was cut out for show business. Since his death, I can’t help thinking that if he’d wound up teaching second grade, he’d be alive today. He’d also probably be happy and thin. The kids would have loved him, too. Farley should have stayed the hell away from professional acting. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/162 "2008-12-20T03:08:21Z")
> [@Batsinma\_Belfry](#): > > I agree. Plus those other two “Blue collar comedy” guys. Other than flipping through the channels I’ve never seen his act but I caught [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIvsoGoR5DI) on you tube and thought it was funny. He reminds me of Red Fox. I don’t usually like a continuous barrage of low-brow humor but it has it’s place. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/163 "2008-12-20T03:35:29Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > **Larry the Cable Guy** - Almost as bad Jeff Foxworthy, but the annoying catchphrases put him on pretty much the same level. Now that ain’t _right_. ---
**Author:** ![Ersatz\_Shmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ersatz\_Shmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ersatz_Shmoe)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/164 "2008-12-20T03:58:08Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Page three and no mention of Colin Quinn!? > > Perhaps, this is because no one ever thought he was funny. This open letter sums up my thoughts on his “act” better than I could myself: > [Prank the Monkey: The ZUG Book of Pranks - Kindle edition by Hargrave, Sir John, Al Natanagara, Al Natanagara. Humor & Entertainment Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.](http://www.zug.com/live/30733/An-Open-Letter-to-Colin-Quinn.html) > > (Shakespearety was originally “shitty”, don’t know why it changed) On a related note, a [comic strip](http://busterbeaver.comicgenesis.com/d/20040701.html) about Colin Quinn. ---
**Author:** ![ThePylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@ThePylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThePylon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/165 "2008-12-20T04:15:24Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > Funny thing is, I didn’t particularly like him in Newsradio. I’m obviously a fan, but I just didn’t find Bill McNeil especially funny or creative. \ Meh, come to think of it… I guess I just have that vision of his nicotine patch belt stuck in my head… \ ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/166 "2008-12-20T04:30:46Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > Just a note on Eddie Izzard: I (allegedly) saw some clips of Eddie’s Izzards latest show Stripped on YouTube (allegedly), and he seemed to have dropped the Transvestite motif, dressing in ‘normal’ male clothes (the video was a bit murky though, and the clips dang near encompassed the entire routine - probably removed from YouTube by now - allegedly). \ I saw him in Vegas a while back where he has the mustache he wears for the Riches and was wearing men’s clothing. (I agree he looks _fabulous!!_ when made up and dressed up). Someone yelled from the audience “Where’s your dress, Eddie!!!” His reply: “I **am** a transvestite. I don’t _have_ to dress like one to prove it!” My SO (a crossdresser, in fact) didn’t get to see the show but has adopted that as his sig-line). 😉 And yes, Eds was just as funny as I’d hoped ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/167 "2008-12-20T04:52:53Z")
> [@Cagey\_Drifter](#): > > I’m going to defend Sarah Silverman here. I think she’s hysterically funny… And this is where **Cagey Drifter** reveals where he/she is straight/gay. 😉 Sarah Silverman is someone whom you laugh WITH, if you want to fuck her, or laugh AT if you don’t. Me, I’m laughing, but it’s in my nature to be attracted to Jewish girls. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/168 "2008-12-20T12:13:58Z")
For me the test is if I see the act a second (or more) time and still think its funny. There is a lot that is funny the first time and just doesn’t hold up. A lot of the people mentioned here fit that for me, Sarah Silverman especially. Larry Miller had a standup routine about a fish that was caught/releasd that amused me on multiple viewings. Generically, anyone who relies on a catch phrase. The specific was Colin Quinn talking about Larry the Cable Guy at the Jeff Foxworthy Roast: Git ur done means “this is where I’d put a punch line if I had one”. And speaking of those comedy channel roasts, do they not understand the concept? The panel is supposed to talk about the guest of honor, they spend half their time ripping their fellow panelists. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/169 "2008-12-20T13:03:03Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Did you ever see the commercials for **The Riches** on FX (or even an episode?). No, or if I did see a commercial for it, I wasn’t paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/170 "2008-12-20T17:21:38Z")
> [@Linty\_Fresh](#): > > I hate Foxworthy and Larry, but Bill Engvall’s pretty good, too. Ron White, of course, is fucking hilarious. My beef with Ron White is that he’s slow to change his act, and he gets (or got) a lot of visibility around the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. He had a special before the Tour, he did the Tour, and he had a special after the Tour, and in all three his act was at least 50% the exact same. It’s a funny act, but when you’re doing that many TV shows, _change it up_! I’ve seen Lewis Black on TV twice, in person once, and I have three of his albums, and I have _never_ heard a single joke repeated. Granted, White and Black (heh) do different shticks, but even Bill Engvall manages to keep his material fresh with each act. Ron White’s funny as hell, but he’s only worth listening to once. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/171 "2008-12-20T17:58:36Z")
Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. Being a neurotic solipsistic prick is funny? Will Farrel, I get it you’re a loveable clueless loser. Saturday Night Live One-liners are funny in 10 seconds not 3.5 minutes Frank Your Bush impression sucks, your DeNiro is passable Chris Rock You’re one note, it’s a good note, but still, one note. Seth Rogen Doesn’t even have anything worth dismissal. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/172 "2008-12-20T17:59:39Z")
> [@gang\_green](#): > > Chris Farley. No matter how much he wanted to be John Belushi, he couldn’t do it. I always thought he wanted to be John Candy. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/173 "2008-12-20T18:38:48Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > [ Are you that hard up for material that you’d do a joke Bob Hope has probably done 50 years ago (and it was probably lame then too)? I never got to see Bob Hope live, but from what I hear, he killed. His TV stuff had to be watered down for the censors. Please don’t insult a fine comic actor and stand up guy with your comparison–there is no comparison. 🙂 I second, third and nominate Jim Carrey for worst comic actor, period. I actually like him better as a serious actor with light touches of comedy. As a comedian, he has yet to make me laugh, but I sure do want to smack him. ---
**Author:** ![PharmBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@PharmBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PharmBoy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/174 "2008-12-20T22:03:48Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > My beef with Ron White is that he’s slow to change his act, and he gets (or got) a lot of visibility around the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. He had a special before the Tour, he did the Tour, and he had a special after the Tour, and in all three his act was at least 50% the exact same. It’s a funny act, but when you’re doing that many TV shows, _change it up_! I’ve seen Lewis Black on TV twice, in person once, and I have three of his albums, and I have _never_ heard a single joke repeated. Granted, White and Black (heh) do different shticks, but even Bill Engvall manages to keep his material fresh with each act. Ron White’s funny as hell, but he’s only worth listening to once. Agreed. What’s interesting about your comment is Ron would probably agree with you. I saw an interview where he said the reason you don’t see him on tour as much as Larry, Bill and Jeff is that he doesn’t have much of a work ethic. ---
**Author:** ![Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crocodiles_And_Boulevards)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/175 "2008-12-20T22:30:53Z")
[Fred](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEqwKNNQBwc) from YouTube. Why is this guy so famous? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/176 "2008-12-20T22:37:10Z")
Douglas Adams. Mildly amusing jokes, if twee observations like “Have you ever noticed - how vending machine coffee tastes like shit? And what is up with all these forms I gotta fill out?” float your boat. Barely adequate prose writer, who couldn’t plot or write characters for shit. Piss-poor work ethic. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/177 "2008-12-21T00:08:37Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > - Lucille Ball was just a mugging clown who seemed more concerned with getting praise than being funny. . I have never so much as chuckled at an \*I Love Lucy \*episode. I just wonder how someone can find it funny. I tell people this and it’s like I said _I hate America_! ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/178 "2008-12-21T02:46:10Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > George Lopez, Carlos Mencia (_shudder, /support the Stop Carlos Mencia cause_) I have a couple good friends who love Mencia and put on Tivo’d episodes of his TV show whenever I drop by for a visit. Mencia’s whole schtick is “White people are like this, but Mexicans are like _THEEEEEEESE_! You know what I mean, vato!” Which was good for a chuckle in the early 60’s when Bill Cosby did the same thing about blacks, but got played out quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/179 "2008-12-21T07:41:59Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > George Lopez That show just furthers the stereotype that George Lopez is funny. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659/180 "2008-12-21T09:11:28Z")
So many bad comics, so little time… Clearly, most of these people are working because they are making \*someone \*laugh. Just who, I don’t know. I love stand-up comedy, and I think it would be easier to list the comics I actually enjoy. But, in the spirit of the thread, and in no particular order, **Sarah Silverman** - I can’t really add anything that hasn’t been said. Her popularity will never make sense to me. **Sasha Baron Cohen** - I couldn’t get through 30 minutes of Borat, yet many people I know loved that movie. I’ve never laughed at anything this guy has done. **Dane Cook** - smug guy that doesn’t have much talent. Gets by with better than average looks for this profession. **Jeanne Garafallo** - the female version of Dane Cook. She’s kind of cute, but her act isn’t. **Ben Stiller** - immediate channel change. I can’t believe Marsha from The Brady Bunch Movie married him. He looks like a chimpanzee. **Richard Lewis** - BLOWS. The weird thing about Lewis is that he has been so bad for so long. His “act” hasn’t changed much at all, his constant neurotic whining, pacing, and hair wringing are all annoying. I don’t know a single person that likes his comedy. **Adam Sandler** - Aside from the previously mentioned fight with Bob Barker (which I admit to laughing out loud at), he seems to be stunted in the ninth grade. Not funny, but thinks he is. **Bobcat Goldthwaite** - Don’t know if he’s still doing standup, but his act was so painful to watch. I actually wince in pain when I hear his voice and breathing. **Will Ferrell** - no, no, no! \*\*Bill Maher \*\*- what an arrogant, pseudo-intellectual hack. I know, Bush sucks. Anyone who has seen his show knows within 5 minutes that Bush sucks. As has been mentioned, opinions are fine, but it’s the only opinion he has. And he takes the “Bush sucks” idea to the next level… he has all the answers! He actually believes he’s one of the great political minds of our time. \*\*Steve Colbert \*\*- I just don’t get it. I honestly have never even cracked a smile. I love political humor and his show just sinks like a stone. His interviews are embarrassing. **Lewis Black** can hammer out some pretty good political material. I’m not sure if he’s ever done stand-up, but his show is a train-wreck. **Andy Dick** - Might be worth watching on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. **Gilbert Godfrey** - Anything that he says that might be funny gets lost in that annoying voice. Very similar to Bobcat in this regard. **Jeffrey Ross** - Didn’t see him mentioned, but he’s awful. **Bob Saget** - Another I didn’t see mentioned, but his stand-up is as bad as watching a 24-hour marathon of **Full House**. \*\*Tom Green \*\*- What a vapid boob. **Paula Poundstone** - Another I haven’t heard of in a while, but she made her mark in stand-up. I thought little of her delivery, not to mention her material. OK, to prove that humor is subjective and that there are some people I like that others loathe, I’ll admit that: I like **Carrot Top**. Don’t ask me why, but he cracks me up. Most people look at me like I’m crazy. **Jim Carrey** was actually funny as a stand-up comedian and as a regular on “ **In Living Color** ”, and I liked his first “ **Ace Ventura** ”. But the facial contortions sort of took over and I can’t stand him. Others must love the weird faces, because he’s made a lot of money making them. **Jay Leno** - The best of the current Late Night show hosts. No comparison to **Johnny Carson** , but I think his monologue is consistently funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-that-guys-unfunny-but-everyone-else-loves-him/477659.md?page=10)