# Painfully unfunny stand-up comics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176 "2006-01-09T17:26:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![hopesperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@hopesperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hopesperson)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/101 "2006-01-11T16:14:49Z")
I’ve had the misfortune of stumbling across Jim Breur (of SNL Goat-Boy “fame”) doing standup on one or two ocassions. Not funny in the least. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/102 "2006-01-11T16:57:36Z")
For females, I find Ellen, Bonnie McFarlane and Sarah Silverman all original and funny. Ellen’s last stand up special on HBO was better than any man that’s had one in the last couple years. . .Carlin, Miller, Mahre, Klein, and that brings me to a comedian I don’t think is funny, ever: Louis Black. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/103 "2006-01-11T17:20:33Z")
> [@hopesperson](#): > > I’ve had the misfortune of stumbling across Jim Breur (of SNL Goat-Boy “fame”) doing standup on one or two ocassions. Not funny in the least. I’ve seen him in person, and he wasn’t funny then either. I like Lewis Black, but his humor is more in the way he says things than what he actually says. Watching him freak out can be very cathartic. I do think he’s not as sharp now as he was a few years ago. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/104 "2006-01-11T17:22:59Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Huh. I saw this thread, and I figured the first ten posts would consist of nothing but the name “Colin Quinn” over and over again. … and his pal Rich Vos. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/105 "2006-01-11T17:25:32Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > Lea Delaria, Elvira Kurt and Sabrina Matthews are pretty funny. Kathleen Madigan ain’t bad either. And Maria Bamford is good in small doses. And Sarah Silverman. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/106 "2006-01-11T17:27:34Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > And Sarah Silverman. And Janeane Garofalo used to be pretty good too. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/107 "2006-01-11T17:30:46Z")
> [@jellyblue](#): > > Actually the only _male_ comic I ever find amusing is\*\* Eddie Izzard\*\*. So there! 😉 Oh, man, there’s one I should have brought up. How on earth anybody can enjoy Izzard is beyond me. His act reminds me of some old vaudeville hack or the type of comedy that was performed in the Catskills in the 60s. I guess when you’ve got an English accent and wear a dress you’re gimmicky enough to make a splash over here. I’ve never laughed once at anything that’s come out of his mouth (no pun intended). Also, I find George Carlin extremely unfunny. I’m sure I’d enjoy having a conversation with him at a party or something, but as far as stand-up goes, he’s lost it. ---
**Author:** ![hopesperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@hopesperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hopesperson)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/108 "2006-01-11T17:31:50Z")
> [@hopesperson](#): > > I’ve had the misfortune of stumbling across Jim Breur (of SNL Goat-Boy “fame”) doing standup on one or two ocassions. Not funny in the least. Make that “ **occasions**.” :smack: ---
**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:** [January 11, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/109 "2006-01-11T17:31:57Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > And I feel the same way about Sarah Silverman, who tries so hard to make everyone see how CUTE she is, and watch her say these shocking, nasty, mean things which are extra-shocking because she’s so CUTE! Now I don’t find her cute at all, so her entire schtick fails with me. She’s about one step removed from second-graders cursing and hoping to get away with it because they think they’re cute. I find Sarah Silverman to be the standup comedy version of what Randy Newman is for pop music – playing the role of the very self-satisfied assholes who get whatever they want. I find it to be devastating satire. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/110 "2006-01-11T17:35:06Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > For me, the funniest thing about the Blue Collar Comedy Tour is imagining the guy who had the job of translating these jokes for the DVD’s French-language track. > > “What eeeez … how you say … ‘trailer park’?” Do they really do that? I don’t think a Frenchman or Quebecois would even get the comedy. That would be like translating a comedy about French regional stereotypes to English: there’s no point to watching it unless you understand the language and the culture, IMO. (Or even if you do.) > [@Stark Raven Mad](#): > > I thought Ellen Degeneres did a wonderful job in Finding Nemo, especially the bits where she spoke whale. I’ve only heard a bit of her standup, though - which wasn’t half-bad either it’ll need to see/hear more before I make a final judgment. I too thought she was hilarious in Finding Nemo. Then again, both I and my best friend at the time who I was watching it with, were higher than satellites at the time, so take that as you will. Same friend rented a DVD of Ms. DeGeneres’ standup and I didn’t see much of it but I thought it was brilliant. > [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Fuck Jay Leno. Thank you! I hate that unfunny ass. I can’t believe people spend their nights watching him. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/111 "2006-01-11T17:42:49Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I find Sarah Silverman to be the standup comedy version of what Randy Newman is for pop music – playing the role of the very self-satisfied assholes who get whatever they want. I find it to be devastating satire. That’s my take on her, too. Of course, whenever you do satire, you run the risk of a large percentage of the people taking you at face value. But I think you’re dead on about Silverman. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/112 "2006-01-11T17:43:51Z")
> [@Kaspar Hauser](#): > > A strange situation: Jerry Seinfeld was an absolutely hysterical stand-up comic before his eponymous show. In fact, his HBO special is what made me want to watch _The Seinfeld Chronicles_ in the first place, when NBC slipped it, unheralded, into the schedule. But when the show became _Seinfeld_ and took off, the stand-up parts were easily the least funny parts of the show (“Pardon me, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to _whack_ you”). My friends and I, while watching the show religiously, would make fun of how bad the stand-up interludes were. I always thought that it was on purpose – it seemed to me that a major part of the show was that whenever they showed him performing, it was never funny. Notice how Elaine and George always scoffed at his act. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/113 "2006-01-11T17:57:34Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I always thought that it was on purpose – it seemed to me that a major part of the show was that whenever they showed him performing, it was never funny. Notice how Elaine and George always scoffed at his act. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’ve got a point. (typical conversation) Jerry: You coming to the club tonight? George/Elaine: You doing new material? Jerry: No. George/Elaine: Eh. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/114 "2006-01-11T17:58:52Z")
You can plot Bill Mahr’s unfunniness on a chart along with his ego. As his ego got bigger his talent got smaller. He used to be one of my favorite stand-ups. I liked the Comedy Central version of PI. When he started he was a good host. That’s what he was, a host. He had a few equally matched people of opposing view points and he steered the conversation while throwing in a few good lines. He didn’t try to hide his viewpoint but it wasn’t all about him. It was fun show to watch sort of like the daily show. Important issues were disscussed in a funny way. When he moved to ABC it became all about Bill. Bill and his friends would verbally beat up a conservative nightly. Not really fair, very few people can compete with a couple of stand-ups in a contest of off the cuffs remarks. Seeing someone shouted down every night was tiresome. I tuned out and I was someone who watched his show every night on CC. I did come in to mention Kevin Meany. He has been doing the same horrible routine for 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/115 "2006-01-11T18:53:28Z")
I think that Maher makes a real effort NOT to have his HBO show all about liberals beating up conservatives. He’s tried to have more conservatives on the panel and tries to discourage the audience from booing them down. He’s also unaccountably friendly with some real arch-conservatives. He has frequently said that Ann Coulter, for instance, is a close, personal friend of his (In his Hbo show, he answered the boos from the audience after mentioning this by saying, “I know, I know…but she’s different when she’s coming.”) I have seen him make an effort to be respectful of conservatives many times and an especially classy move he once made on PI was to leave on open seat for a week in honor of Barbara Olson, a frequent conservative guest who was killed on 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/116 "2006-01-11T19:09:18Z")
Bill Hicks. I don’t get the circle jerk around this guy. Dreadfully unfunny and whoever mixed that “Arizona Bay” album around the music should be strung up. Half of the time the bland music and beach noises pushed over the “comedy”. Yes, there are worse, but it’s the combination of suck and fandom that put this guy at the bottom of my pile. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/117 "2006-01-11T19:17:08Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I think that Maher makes a real effort NOT to have his HBO show all about liberals beating up conservatives. He’s tried to have more conservatives on the panel and tries to discourage the audience from booing them down. He’s also unaccountably friendly with some real arch-conservatives. He has frequently said that Ann Coulter, for instance, is a close, personal friend of his (In his Hbo show, he answered the boos from the audience after mentioning this by saying, “I know, I know…but she’s different when she’s coming.”) > > I have seen him make an effort to be respectful of conservatives many times and an especially classy move he once made on PI was to leave on open seat for a week in honor of Barbara Olson, a frequent conservative guest who was killed on 9/11. He lost me on ABC. I have not given him much of a chance on HBO. There does seem to be less shouting but not any more funny. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/118 "2006-01-11T20:07:20Z")
Jay London. If you saw Last Comic Standing, enough said. If not, go the the previous page and see my last two posts. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/119 "2006-01-11T22:10:44Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Bill Hicks. > > I don’t get the circle jerk around this guy. Dreadfully unfunny and whoever mixed that “Arizona Bay” album around the music should be strung up. Half of the time the bland music and beach noises pushed over the “comedy”. Yes, there are worse, but it’s the combination of suck and fandom that put this guy at the bottom of my pile. Another one I agree with. Like Eddie Izzard, I’m at a loss to account for his rabid fan base (though the fact that Hicks is dead probably has something to do with his popularity). Same thing as Carlin, to me - too much ranting, not nearly enough funny. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176/120 "2006-01-12T00:20:40Z")
I used to be a regular at the comedy clubs in the 80’s when they were plentiful, and I saw a lot of stand-up. So I think I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the absolute least funniest “comedian” is… **Lenny Schultz** He was on Laugh-In for a while, and was (in)famous for his Bionic Chicken routine. I saw him headline a show once. And there I sat. For an hour. Waiting for something - anything - funny to happen. He did a prop act, but it lacked the subtlety and sublime grace of say, Carrot Top, who by comparison is the Mozart of slapstick. I still want that hour of my life back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painfully-unfunny-stand-up-comics/339176.md?page=7)