# Who's Funnier, Gervais or Izzard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041 "2011-05-24T18:18:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/21 "2011-05-24T19:58:28Z")
Izzard, by a mile. Gervais gets tiresome VERY quickly. . ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/22 "2011-05-24T20:10:59Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > Personally cannot stand Gervais on stage, used to listen to him on XFM in London in the 90s and he wasn’t funny then. Great tv writer / performer though. It really is sort of a different skill set isn’t it? In standup I feel like Gervais is doing bad Izzard, but his writing for Television is a totally unique voice and quite funny. Izzard doesn’t really do any TV writing that I know of, and most of his acting is in the serious/dramatic vein rather than the comedic one so it’s hard to compare anything other than their standup. There are only 3 or 4 other comedians total that I would put even in the same area as Izzard’s standup and Gervais isn’t one of them. He is more middle tier. ---
**Author:** ![Pliny\_the\_younger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@Pliny\_the\_younger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pliny_the_younger)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/23 "2011-05-24T20:12:44Z")
Oh my goodness. For me? no contest - Eddie by infinity miles. Love him. Have seen him probably six times live, met him (beyond nice to all his fans) and think if we could use his history material to teach kids, they’d be more interested in it. (Well, take out all the f-words for the offended.) I liked Gervais in The Office but in general, he’s got a mean edge to him that I don’t feel from Eddie. Also, too: where do you think my username came from? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/24 "2011-05-24T20:14:17Z")
Eddie. It’s Izzard all the way in this house. I love me some Executive Transvestite. There’s been moments in his standup that I find Gervais amusing, but on the whole he just doesn’t do it for me. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/25 "2011-05-24T20:20:24Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Izzard, by a mile. Gervais gets tiresome VERY quickly. > > . Agreed. Izzard is funny, smart, and insightful – I love his bit about how there must have been a lot of evil ducks back in the day, because (while sinful) they didn’t need to get on Noah’s Arc. Gervais… man, his “I’m an annoying dick who often gets into awkward situations” schtick on The Office got old midway through the first season. He toned it down on Extras, but he was still the weakest part of that show (and when he turned on the “I’m a sell-out but still a pretentious dick” schtick in the second season, that got old after _one_ episode. I saw about five minutes of him reading stuff a team of writers had written for him on The Golden Globes, and it was kinda funny, so maybe he’s funny in five minute stints, I dunno. But bottom line – Izzard by a LOT. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/26 "2011-05-24T20:31:36Z")
Izzard, not close. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/27 "2011-05-24T21:23:44Z")
I like my comics like I like my coffee - in a paper cup. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/28 "2011-05-24T21:30:18Z")
Izzard by a mile. Ricky is very funny as a writer and “tv guy”, but Izzard has him beat in the stand-up stage. I loved Ricky before he started his schtick of “oh look at me I’m better than you and it’s funny”. I understand he’s doing it in the aire of “I’m the same as you” but it’s such a constant I hate it. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/29 "2011-05-24T21:33:09Z")
I like my coffee like I like my comedians…_covered in bees!_ ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/30 "2011-05-24T21:37:47Z")
Izzard by a mile. No contest. Anyone who votes for Gervais has never seen Izzard’s stand-up - or doesn’t understand his accent. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/31 "2011-05-24T21:41:37Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > I like my comics like I like my coffee - in a paper cup. With the President of Burundi. ---
**Author:** ![Yaxche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8dc957/32.png) [@Yaxche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yaxche)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/32 "2011-05-24T21:45:33Z")
The poll doesn’t ask who the funnier standup is, just who is funnier. I went Gervais, by a nose. I love Izzard, but Ricky has done more things that make me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/33 "2011-05-24T21:48:34Z")
Can’t vote. Izzard’s standups and Gervais’ tv shows are both making me “laughing out loud” (which I very seldom do when watching standups or tv shows); one is the funniest standup I saw, the other is the funniest tv guy – so, both are “funniest”. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/34 "2011-05-24T21:53:53Z")
I thought _Dress to Kill_ was brilliant, but found some of Izzard’s other stand-up to be less compelling. Gervais relies on base humor, crude subject matter, and insults, which are all things I really like. Advantage: Ricky, for now. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/35 "2011-05-24T22:22:04Z")
Izzard, and it’s not even close. Ricky Gervais is funny enough , but he mostly makes me go “heh, that was clever”, while Eddie Izzard is comic genius. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/36 "2011-05-24T22:30:56Z")
While I’ve long known about the existence of Eddie Izzard, I’d never seen any of his stand-up. So I just took a quick tour through youtube. Maybe I picked the wrong clips (Covered in Bees, Cake or Death, something about Stonehenge, a bad Christopher Walken bit, and others), but he just wasn’t funny. Compared to the one Gervaise HBO special I saw, Gervaise easily takes it. ETA: minor typo. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/37 "2011-05-24T22:31:21Z")
Definitely Eddie. I love Eddie. I can’t wait for July, we’re seeing him for the third time. Ricky has his merits and certainly makes me laugh, but he doesn’t come close to Eddie. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/38 "2011-05-24T22:55:38Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > While I’ve long known about the existence of Eddie Izzard, I’d never seen any of his stand-up. So I just took a quick tour through youtube. Maybe I picked the wrong clips (Covered in Bees, Cake or Death, something about Stonehenge, a bad Christopher Walken bit, and others), but he just wasn’t funny. Compared to the one Gervaise HBO special I saw, Gervaise easily takes it. > ETA: minor typo. Cake or death is a classic, but his bits, IMO, don’t work as well out of context as the do in the flow of the whole show. Rent _Dressed to Kill_ (it’s on netflix instant if you do that sort of thing). You will either like it or you won’t, but you will know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/39 "2011-05-24T22:57:57Z")
Eddie, all the way. Ricky has his moments and I found him interesting on Talking Funny with Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Louis C.K. But he isn’t as flat-out funny as Eddie is. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/40 "2011-05-24T23:19:57Z")
Ricky Gervais is alright, I like him best when Karl Pilkington is talking though. Eddie Izzard is hilarious, _Dressed to Kill_ is fantastic and he was great on _The Riches_ and _United States of Tara_. He’s the only entertaining person in _Velvet Goldmine._ Gervais lost a little bit of weight and it seems to have colored his whole act. I recently saw one of his HBO specials and it was mostly fat jokes that weren’t funny, he managed to come off bitter despite the fact that he’s made a positive life change - what an asshole. _Hullo, I’ve got legs. Do ya like bread? I’ve got a French loaf! Whomp! Goodbye, I LOVE you!_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041.md?page=3)