# Robin Williams - Not Funny **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928 "2009-01-19T02:34:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/1 "2009-01-19T02:34:52Z")
Hey, don’t get me wrong, I love RW in Dead Poet’s Society and Good Morning Vietnam, but the guy in his stand up routines, and his talk show appearances has never made me laugh. The rapid-fire jokes, the ridiculous mugging, for me pretty much justs adds up to a bucket of suck. And please, rolling around in a swimming pool of spaghetti, what demented agent advised him on taking that role? Resolved: Robin Williams, not funny! ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/2 "2009-01-19T02:38:31Z")
Seconded. But what are we going to do about it? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/3 "2009-01-19T02:49:40Z")
Well, we’ve got this facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which should be shortly looking for new tenants… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/4 "2009-01-19T02:54:25Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > Well, we’ve got this facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which should be shortly looking for new tenants… I thought we were not going to torture the prisoners anymore. ---
**Author:** ![2ply](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/b2d939/32.png) [@2ply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ply)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/5 "2009-01-19T02:57:18Z")
I concur with the sentiment.[Word on the street is he steals jokes.](http://www.radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2007/02/take_the_funny_and_run_1.php) Even if he doesn’t, I’ve never found anything he says to be funny, it all comes off like a long stream of unclever gook. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/6 "2009-01-19T03:00:04Z")
Someone on Howard Stern once said that William’s idea of comedy is that “everything is funny if you just say it in a funny voice!” ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/7 "2009-01-19T03:00:51Z")
Thirded (?) Before I started changing the channel anytime he was a guest on a talk show, I would turn into Howard Stern’s father, screaming at him, “Sit down! Shut up!” ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/8 "2009-01-19T03:08:10Z")
I never got him either. He reminds me of a five year old jumping up and down saying “Look at me,” hoping if he says enough stupid things, eventually something he yells will pass for funny ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/9 "2009-01-19T03:18:08Z")
Back about 1979, when Robin was still best known as Mork, he had a pretty hilarious Lp entitled _Reality, What A Concept._ This gave me many happy hours of listening as a pre-teen. Since then, yeah, he mostly sucks. Seems like what he really wanted all along was just to be Taken Seriously as a Serious Actor…which, when you’re a gonzo standup comedian, basically means, “Time to sell out and become a schmalzy latter-day Danny Kaye, a defanged satyr figure beloved of The Industry and free of any disturbing creativity.” ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/10 "2009-01-19T03:27:47Z")
Actually, he’s quite funny. But you have to be intelligent to get it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/11 "2009-01-19T03:33:13Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I thought we were not going to torture the prisoners anymore. It wouldn’t be torture for any other prisoners since Williams would be the only prisoner there. The guards would be tortured though. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/12 "2009-01-19T03:34:12Z")
I think he’s had his moments. He hasn’t been terribly funny recently, but isn’t that the way most comedians go. They are always funniest in their coked up youth. They never recapture it once they’ve lost it. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/13 "2009-01-19T03:35:31Z")
> [@2ply](#): > > I concur with the sentiment.[Word on the street is he steals jokes.](http://www.radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2007/02/take_the_funny_and_run_1.php) Even if he doesn’t, I’ve never found anything he says to be funny, it all comes off like a long stream of unclever gook. Unclever Gook. Yes, the best description of RW that I have ever heard. Unclever Gook" band name! ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/14 "2009-01-19T03:36:34Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Actually, he’s quite funny. But you have to be intelligent to get it. 😉 Guess I’m a total dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/15 "2009-01-19T03:38:11Z")
I’m glad someone finally said it; the man is not funny. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/16 "2009-01-19T04:35:59Z")
Yes, thank you. Count me in the “RW not funny” group. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/17 "2009-01-19T04:37:06Z")
It’s all taste. Some people love the antic stuff, others the [more drawn out skits](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPCB5sAQKa0). ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/18 "2009-01-19T05:43:42Z")
Hah! You guys are late. I’ve been wondering what the attraction is for Robin Williams for years, and [posted as much here in June of 2006](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7505623&postcount=68). He’s horrible in any comedic situation or movie. The man is simply not funny. Period. Whatever comedic ability he did have died with Mork and Mindy. His career’s running on fumes. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/19 "2009-01-19T06:11:33Z")
I think he has moments. I was watching a DVD of his recently that my boyfriend owns, and he did this bit about the Crusades, where (I’m paraphrasing from memory) he said the residents of Jerusalem reacted to the Christians by saying “Hide the women and the children and the number zero!” That bit cracked me up. But I think his moments are few and far between. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928/20 "2009-01-19T06:38:08Z")
He’s one of those bizarro guys who kicks ass at dramatic roles (I have loved him in every film where he plays a character that is not Robin Williams) but he strikes me as a hairy, criminally unfunny presence. He’s got the lisping gay voice, the sassy black woman voice… and am I missing any others? The stream of consciousness coked-up one liners grate. If that’s how people on coke really act, I think you have the best possible anti-drug message in Mr. Williams. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-not-funny/481928.md?page=2)