I was thinking earlier today of how funny that joke the old hippie dude tells in Children of Men(“I don’t know, but this stork is delicious!”), but realized that it was funny only in the context of the movie. I know that I’ve seen more than just that and I’ve read some in books. Anyone else think of any?
There are many.
A favorite of mine is “The District Attorney is a Republican” from Miracle on 34th Street.
A robot comparing various animals to potatos? Makes no sense whatsoever.
A robot named Crow comparing various animals to potatos? Okay, it doesn’t actually make much sense either, but it sure is funny. (The potato scene starts around three minutes). For quite a while after I watched this, I annoyed my family by saying “This is a potato. This potato has long ears” until they were ready to throw me out of the house.
The Jack Benny Show, especially the radio show is pretty much an inside joke all the way around. This is why I’ve heard so many people today, say they don’t get the “Jack Benny Show,” or why he was so popular. Because Jack Benny did a lot of humour that was dependent on knowning the characters and he’d run a joke and it wasn’t uncommon to set up a joke and get the punchline in the next radio show.
Contrast this to the “Burns and Allen” radio show, which is dated but you can easily get. Gracie has illogical logic and George has to deal with it. So while both shows vied for #1 comedy in radio, “Burns and Allen” isn’t one big inside joke.
It took me a lot of listening to Jack Benny to appreciate how funny he and the rest of the show are, but I can see how others wouldn’t find him funny at all