Bathroom humor has been a comedy staple for years. Goodness knows there’s nothing funnier than a fart joke - well, not to me, but apparently to many people. For the last several years there’s been an awful lot of barfing going on in the name of comedy. Just last night I happened to catch parts of of Mean Girls and Pitch Perfect, with the pukey scene in the latter especially prominent. A few nights before, I caught Bridesmaids on tv. I had seen it in the theater and wondered if they’d edit the famous bridal salon scene. Nope. All there in its vomitocious entirety; though that one doesn’t really bother me. I don’t remember there being that many scenes revolving around upchucking in the past, and you sure didn’t actually *see *anything. When and why did this trend come about? Do you find it funny? Are you disgusted, or just kind of meh? I find it somewhat disgusting but it won’t stop me from rewatching a movie I like, a la *Bridesmaids *or I Love You Man, but if I’m on the fence about seeing a movie and I happen to hear that there’s a gratuitous vomit scene I’ll skip it.
It doesn’t bother me (it does my wife) but I don’t usually find it funny either. Especially the whole “Guy barfs so now everyone barfs” schtick.
Not always funny, lots of humor falls flat, but there’s nothing wrong with the concept, and sometimes it works well.
Not funny. I figure they can’t come up with interesting dialogue so they put in a barf scene.
It might be a gender thing. My SO thinks bathroom humor is funny. I don’t!
Can you expound?Do you find it funny because it’s relatable? Do you find people throwing up IRL humorous?Are you a fan of bathroom humor in general? Not trying to grill you, I just don’t really get it.
It depends, of course. Vomiting is not inherently funny, but in Team America: World Police the soul-cleansing puking scene is hilarious.
I can see how some people would be put off by the sight and not find it funny at all in any context. I am not one of those people. I can’t think of many instances where it was funny but there are some. The scene in The Meaning of Life made me laugh to the point of pain the first time I saw it.
Anything can be funny in the right circumstances. The trouble with this kind of low level humor is that it’s creators expect people to simply find it funny because vomit! When the situation is set up correctly and the humor is not simply limited to the bodily function itself then you have something. In Pitch Perfect the scene where they’re all flailing around in vomit isn’t very funny because it’s so predictable. We knew there would be more vomit after the opening scene of the movie.
And even if you get it wrong some people will think it’s funny anyway. Those people tend to be quite dim-witted, but even dim-wits ought to get a chance to laugh now and then.
There’s a great vomit scene in the first “Hairspray”.
In general, my rule is that anything CAN be funny, it’s just a question of how it’s executed. And that if one can’t find a particular topic funny in at least some circumstances, then you take it too seriously.
Sure, some people think vomiting, and to a similar extent, farting, defecation, urination, etc are just inherently funny, in a 2nd grade sort of mentality. All of that stuff was hilarious to me at the age, regardless of how it was presented. Unfortunately, a lot of comedy that uses that sort of humor presents it as “farts are inherently funny” sort of way, and it just isn’t to anyone who has grown past. But, that said, I think there’s plenty of ways to use this sort of humor in more clever ways.
I haven’t seen the examples given in the OP, but I can think of a few that use barfing for whatever, but not just in that juvenile sense. One that comes to mind was an episode of Futurama in which Bender is turned into a human. He quickly realizes he can barf and gets fascinated by it and does it several times. I find it funny because there’s an existential quandary about exactly what it might be like for a robot to be human or vice versa, and where we might imagine a robot could be fascinated with sex or food or whatever, he’s immediately drawn to, not only something that is taboo, but something that is generally downright unpleasant.
Or a common example from South Park of Terrance & Philip’s completely fart based humor. Yes, it’s crass, but it’s intentionally so, because I think T&P are, to a large extent, a self-aware satire of how non-viewers of the show see the humor of South Park and it’s viewers. They latch onto the profanity and juvenile aspects of the humor and fail to see the sophisticated aspects of humor and satire that the kids, and the show’s viewers, enjoy as well.
Other times, I think it’s funny in an absurdist sort of perspective. Unfortunately, I think there’s a fine line between going far enough to be absurdist, but not so far as to just be excessive. I think this is often the direction that the comedy is attempting, particularly if it’s vomit related to being drunk, but because it’s such a fine line, I think it’s going to end up missing a lot more than not, because that line is going to be in a different place for each person.
It was pretty hilarious in Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life.
But most vomitous scenes – I mean vomiting scenes – I see are not meant to be funny. It irks me that they never get the sound right.
Okay, this makes sense and must be why I can see the humor in the Bridesmaid’s scene. But I really can’t think of any other one that I find funny.
Regarding the Monty Python scene, I’ve heard it described and am completely baffled(it’s just a guy that eats a bunch and barfs it up all over the place, right?). Is there something in the setup that makes it *actually *funny, as opposed to “so gross it’s funny” ?
It’s that the guy has eaten everything in the restaurant (and maybe the one next door), and he says he’s full. But the waiter pushes “one more wafer-thin mint” on him. And then he explodes.
That’s funny.
The barfing, not so much.
Well, context is almost the whole shebang when it comes to art. It’s far more than how you describe it, and it’s the first example that came to my head as a funny scene involving vomit when reading the OP. I can’t explain why I think it’s funny without ruining it, and I don’t advise watching it out of the context of the rest of the movie.
If that doesn’t help, I’m sorry.
ETA: Yeah, part of it is that the vomit is just a component of the build-up of indignity leading to that moment.
Well, you’re certainly under no obligation to tell me more, but please don’t let it because you might “ruin it” ; I assure you I have no intention of watching the scene, out of context or otherwise. Also, it makes me giggle that I’m having a discussion about gross things with someone named scabpicker 
For me, the hilarity of the Meaning of Life bit comes from the way the head waiter (John Cleese) continues to treat the barfing customer (Terry Jones) with the utmost respect and politeness, virtually ignoring the profuse vomiting. Cleese’s head waiter summons for a bucket, but then continues his spiel of the specials. At one point Cleese casually wipes the vomit off the menus he is holding with his sleeve while continuing to converse politely, at one point apologizing for stepping in the bucket. Meanwhile, the other patrons are disgusted and leave, prompting the waiter to inquire as to why they’re leaving in a hurry and asking if their food was alright.
The disconnect between the unflappable polite waiter and the over-the-top vomiting is what made the scene funny to me.
But the worst thing I ever done — I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa — and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life.
Thank you! I probably still won’t see it but at least it gives me an idea why people think it’s so funny. So, it’s not really the puking guy but John Cleese’s reaction.
For instance, the puke scene in Team America: World Police is funny as hell. Gross, but funny as hell. Same with Meaning of Life.
Personally, I remember that scene as everyone getting the shits (pardon my french) with McBride’s character screaming “It’s coming out of me like lava!” And Maya Rudolph’s character crapping herself in the middle of street in the big wedding gown.
And yes, I do laugh myself stupid at the expression on Rudolph’s face in the middle of the street. (Because that was some great acting.)
Farting and belching and shitting and cursing can all be funny. But they can’t be fallen upon when you’ve run out of ideas. Cursing isn’t funny b/c shock at dirty language. It has to work for the joke.
Farting, in real life, is almost always funny though.
Vomiting isn’t funny for me, except that one Stephen King thing where the kid wins the pie eating contest and makes everyone who has been mean to him barf. That was awesome.