# Jonah Hill **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408 "2014-05-14T03:00:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/41 "2014-05-16T21:53:55Z")
I think he is funny. But then, I think Will Ferrell is funny. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/42 "2014-05-17T02:10:09Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > How about Melissa McCarthy? Another one-trick pony. Hi, I’m fat and foul-mouthed; funny, right? > > \ You asked if there is just nothing there? \ My answer is there is less than nothing there. Much less. He stinks! And, so do all of his untalented friends who appeared in that stink fest, “This is the end”. I just wish that for all of them, that truly was the end of their careers. But so long as enough people continue to pay to see the movies made by those crumbs, they will keep turning out those insufferable piece of shit movies. At the risk of having a whole bunch of folks disagree with me, I have to agree with OP about that fat, foul-mouthed, bloated, overdone, fat, unfunny whatever she might be. Melissa Something or Other. With any luck, she will some day discover Anorexia and lose enough weight so that when she turns sideways, she will disappear to the audience’s view. I hated Jonah Hill in everything I’ve ever seen him do with the slightly marginal and single exception of the movie “Observe & Report”. I thought most of the supporting cast really ruined that movie with their lack of talent or lack of effort. There was a blonde lady in that movie who was the supposed sex symbol. I am certain that I’ve seen her in other movies and she was quite good in them. But for some reason, (perhaps the director or wardrobe people or writers or makeup people), she was awful in Observe & Report which was a shame because if they had cast a different actress or if they asked her to try a little harder, or try something a little different, she could have helped transform that move from “terrible” to “marginally bearable”. In addition, there was Ray Liotta who was excellent in most all of his other films. I have no idea why he was so awful in this one. He just kind of laid back and the result was that movie stunk up the place. It was a real shame because if Jonah Hill would have gotten even a little bit of help from the supporting cast or the director, that movie could have turned out to be fairly good. I feel sorry for Jonah. Really and truly. He got got on that one. Yes indeed! And yet, he just keeps plugging along. His career just keeps on chugging forward. How can that be? I’m guessing the reason is that he has friends in high places - like maybe Seth Rogen or Judd Appatow? Or maybe he keeps his friends high? How else can this apparent successful career be explained? It beats me! It surely does. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/43 "2014-05-17T02:48:31Z")
Jonah Hill is a fine comedic actor and was appropriately cast in every role in which I’ve seen him. As for his being a “troll” — Not all people are beautiful; not all actors need be so. > [@control-z](#): > > To each his own. I think Superbad is one of the funniest movies ever. I agree. > [@Chefguy](#): > > How about Melissa McCarthy? Another one-trick pony. Hi, I’m fat and foul-mouthed; funny, right? Which might be perfect for certain roles, like in _This Is 40_. Her brief performance was fantastic. > [@Chefguy](#): > > Nope. I’ve never had any interest in her. Actually, that’s applied to pretty much all network comedies since The Office jumped the shark many moons ago. I don’t understand this kind of categoric pronouncement. Some more recent comedies—_Modern Family_, _Parks and Recreation_, _Community_, for example—are among the best sitcoms ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/44 "2014-05-17T03:03:46Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > \ > I just saw that he is in another upcoming movie called “22 Jump Street” > \ I watched parts of that movie. I started at the beginning but found it all so terrible that I had to FF through it and eventually, I only wound up watching about 20 percent of it. That was enough to leave me convinced that overall, it was absolutely dreadful. It may have been funny - in places - but only for people in possession of an extremely juvenile sense of humor. It is my opinion that for anyone with an average sense of humor, this movie was only good as an aid to vomiting. IMO, it was so bad that it would induce vomiting. I respect Acsenray’s opinions. His post was very well written and very well reasoned. I disagree with him. But I do respect his opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/45 "2014-05-17T05:20:13Z")
Hill was excellent in a slightly creepy serious role in _Cyrus_. As a believably maladjusted man-child, he gave off a disturbed yet engaging affect, resisting the easy route of going over the top with the part. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/46 "2014-05-17T06:11:41Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Hill was excellent in a slightly creepy serious role in _Cyrus_. As a believably maladjusted man-child, he gave off a disturbed yet engaging affect, resisting the easy route of going over the top with the part. I agree, he did a good job with that role. _Cyrus_ was another interesting film from the Duplass brothers. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/47 "2014-05-17T11:24:08Z")
Another who either knows where the bodies are buried or has a very good connection in Bolivia. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/48 "2014-05-17T15:07:04Z")
I have long been in the same boat as the OP - why Jonah Hill? For a while earlier in his career it seemed as if he was a hollywood “mascot” whereas everyone found some small part in their movie for him. He didn’t really add anything specific, but he showed up for a day or two, shot his scenes, and got out - some felt like they were written specifically for him. It really could have been anyone, but he was chosen again and again and again. So now he’s a movie star. Go figure. As for him being funny, I get that he was supposed to be funny, but his underlying character always had a dick-ish side which I don’t find funny. Why do so many people think simply being a dick to another person is comedy? YMMV. Now, eventually, he developed some actual acting chops and started getting into bigger more serious roles. I give him credit for that, essentially. But again I’m still seeing the hollywood mascot thing. Except now, instead of the Apatow/Farrell crowd adopting him, it’s the A-lister crowd (Pitt/DiCarprio). I fully expect that he’ll be in a Tom Cruise action/sci-fi flick soon. The Oscars are a bit tricky, I’ll give him Wolf of Wall Street - that role was written for a Supporting Oscar, no surprise there. Moneyball on the other hand, yeah, I don’t get that one. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/49 "2014-05-17T15:25:31Z")
Nobody thinks that “simply being a dick” is funny. Sometimes it’s just possible to be dickish and funny at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/50 "2014-05-17T16:00:48Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Sure, I’ll explain it to you. He’s fucking funny. That doesn’t explain the acclaim for him in _Wolf of Wall Street_. And furthermore IMHO his acting was not only just average, but he didn’t even remotely project the look of the real Danny Porush, who totally looks like the slimy sleazebag that he actually is. Hill just looks like the local class clown. I can see how he might be funny in the right kind of comedy, but I found his entire characterization in that film annoying. Actually, I wasn’t all that impressed by DiCaprio, either. In terms of other actors mentioned, DeNiro has been great in some films but has a habit of sometimes doing roles that are beneath him. In the recent crop of Oscars, no one deserved one more that Cate Blanchett for her role in _Blue Jasmine_ – she just totally lives and breathes that role. Now **that’s** acting. It makes DiCaprio look like an amateur, and Hill isn’t even on the same acting planet. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/51 "2014-05-17T16:27:04Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Nobody thinks that “simply being a dick” is funny. Sometimes it’s just possible to be dickish and funny at the same time. Hey, as I said, YMMV. I’m a big fan of funny, but my personal venn diagram of funny doesn’t include dick-ish or cruelty. You are welcome to have a different opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/52 "2014-05-17T16:38:56Z")
[Spottswoode]C’mon Jonah, act! You have the power.[/Spottswoode] ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/53 "2014-05-17T16:50:06Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Hey, as I said, YMMV. I’m a big fan of funny, but my personal venn diagram of funny doesn’t include dick-ish or cruelty. You are welcome to have a different opinion. I was responding to you assertion that people just find dickishness to be funny in and of itself. That isn’t the case. If you don’t like any level of dickishness at all, that’s on you. Most jokes include a butt. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/54 "2014-05-17T23:07:47Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I don’t mind him because he’s a helpful metric. “Oh, is Jonah Hill in this movie? Then I will pass, thank you.” I feel the same way about his buddy Seth Rogen. And James Franco. And Michael Cera. Obviously, I didn’t enjoy This Is the End, but I guess if Michael Cera’s gone it’s not a total loss, huh? > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I give Hill credit for working in a range of films like this. Too many actors are willing to fall into a niche. The range of films is large, but he always plays Jonah Hill. Poorly. He fell into a niche when he was born and has stayed in it. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/55 "2014-05-17T23:17:15Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I hated Jonah Hill in everything I’ve ever seen him do with the slightly marginal and single exception of the movie “Observe & Report”. I thought most of the supporting cast really ruined that movie with their lack of talent or lack of effort. Jonah Hill wasn’t in [“Observe and Report.”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1197628/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) > [@](#): > > There was a blonde lady in that movie who was the supposed sex symbol. I am certain that I’ve seen her in other movies and she was quite good in them. But for some reason, (perhaps the director or wardrobe people or writers or makeup people), she was awful in Observe & Report which was a shame because if they had cast a different actress or if they asked her to try a little harder, or try something a little different, she could have helped transform that move from “terrible” to “marginally bearable”. You’re talking about the future **Girl Wonder** , [Anna Faris](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267506/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t4), star of the “Scary Movie” franchise (though she had black hair in those). She has a sitcom on network TV currently called [“Mom,”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2660806/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1) and was also in _Waiting_, _The Hot Chick_, and _The House Bunny_. I will listen to differing opinions about her acting. But if you would dare besmirch the good name of my future bride, sirrah, then I shall slap you across the face with this glove and challenge you to a duel! And then, when I stand over your dying body, as your life essence slips away, you shall rue the day that you insulted the woman of a Southern Man, and I bid you good day! ---
**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:** [May 17, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/56 "2014-05-17T23:38:27Z")
Then I get Allison Janney, my new son! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408/57 "2014-05-18T00:11:10Z")
I can handle that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonah-hill/688408.md?page=2)