# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/81 "2011-05-26T11:11:06Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Izzard: Cake or Death? > > I like Gervais but he isn’t even in the same league. I don’t get the love for Izzard, to me he’s not that funny or clever. [Cake or Death](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNjcuZ-LiSY&feature=related) just isn’t funny imho. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/82 "2011-05-26T11:17:04Z")
Wow, way lopsided. I guess I’m in the vast minority when I say I never laughed at anything when I saw Izzard. I’ve only seen a couple standup shows, but I never make it far into them. Like ten or so minutes. He was good in The Riches, but I stopped watching that partway into the second season. Louis C.K. and Tim Minchin are my current favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/83 "2011-05-26T11:19:22Z")
Gervais defintely. Izzard was good in his day, but looking back a lot his comedy seems ‘of the moment’. ---
**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 26, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/84 "2011-05-26T11:22:13Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Though I prefer Louis CK and (don’t hurt me) Mitch Hedberg. Hedberberg was a genius who was totally under-appreciated in his time. I would put him in the same echelon as Louis CK and Izzard. (I disagree with you about Izzard not being laugh out loud funny though). ---
**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 26, 2011, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/85 "2011-05-26T11:23:16Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > I don’t get the love for Izzard, to me he’s not that funny or clever. [Cake or Death](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNjcuZ-LiSY&feature=related) just isn’t funny imho. It isn’t the same without the setup about the church and the inquisition, but I still think it’s funny. De gustibus and all that I suppose. ---
**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 26, 2011, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/86 "2011-05-26T11:25:37Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > I don’t get the love for Izzard, to me he’s not that funny or clever. [Cake or Death](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNjcuZ-LiSY&feature=related) just isn’t funny imho. Yeah. Not funny. ---
**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 26, 2011, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/87 "2011-05-26T11:29:34Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > It isn’t the same without the setup about the church and the inquisition, but I still think it’s funny. De gustibus and all that I suppose. [This clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAOLOGGftTY) I like better plus it has the flag bit at the front (and a weird YouTube poster edit cutting them together). Like I said earlier his shows are cumulative and don’t work as well out of context, but if you don’t like it you don’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/88 "2011-05-26T11:41:16Z")
The problem is: Funny is highly subjective…You might as well compare Izzard and Gevais to Larry the Cable Guy. A person could find all of them funny (I do), and another person could find one or more of them completely detestable. I like that Izzard is funny without trainingwheels. You’d better keep up, he’s not going to explain it, and you get the impression that, as manic as he is, his brain is going twice as fast as his mouth. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/89 "2011-05-26T12:29:40Z")
Izzard, hands down. I could watch his stand-up over and over for days on end and still laugh at all the jokes. Gervais has always struck me as the type of comedian who puts a line out there and looks around for everybody to laugh. His type of comedy is slightly annoying to me. ---
**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 26, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/90 "2011-05-26T12:45:11Z")
I’ll have to say izzard has a fantastic voice. ---
**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 26, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/91 "2011-05-26T16:36:57Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > The problem is: Funny is highly subjective…You might as well compare Izzard and Gevais to Larry the Cable Guy. > > A person could find all of them funny (I do), and another person could find one or more of them completely detestable. > > I like that Izzard is funny without trainingwheels. You’d better keep up, he’s not going to explain it, and you get the impression that, as manic as he is, his brain is going twice as fast as his mouth. Right. Izzard strikes me as unapologetically intelligent, which is frighteningly rare in the US. and Gervais is more just sort of “up on the latest pop trends.” ---
**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 26, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/92 "2011-05-26T17:05:04Z")
I can’t say that the Izzard clips I’ve seen strike me as unusually intellectual. The jokes seem rather run-of-the-mill to me. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/93 "2011-05-26T17:08:58Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Right. Izzard strikes me as unapologetically intelligent, which is frighteningly rare in the US. and Gervais is more just sort of “up on the latest pop trends.” Gervais isn’t American. I don’t dislike Izzard I just don’t think he’s funny. The only thing I ask of comedy is to make me laugh. Whether it’s cerebral or not is irrelevant. Though I do tend to like intelligent comedy. Just guessing off the top of my head I’d say that the “unapologetically intelligent” comedian ratio is about the same in the US as it is in the UK. I could compare Dennis Miller to Benny Hill, for example, to reverse your observation. Regardless, I’m not seeing the above intelligence in EI’s comedy. I’m just glad to be alive during the YouTube age so we can all see all the comedy we want when we want it! ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/94 "2011-05-26T17:13:53Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Gervais isn’t American. I don’t dislike Izzard I just don’t think he’s funny. > > The only thing I ask of comedy is to make me laugh. Whether it’s cerebral or not is irrelevant. Though I do tend to like intelligent comedy. Just guessing off the top of my head I’d say that the “unapologetically intelligent” comedian ratio is about the same in the US as it is in the UK. I could compare Dennis Miller to Benny Hill, for example, to reverse your observation. Regardless, I’m not seeing the above intelligence in EI’s comedy. > > I’m just glad to be alive during the YouTube age so we can all see all the comedy we want when we want it! Not really. Izzard is also Brittish 😛 ---
**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 26, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/95 "2011-05-26T17:29:47Z")
> [@Feyrat](#): > > Not really. Izzard is also Brittish 😛 I think PlainJane is referring to TruCelt’s claim that intellectual comedy is rare in the U.S. and that makes Izzard a better comedian than is usually found in America. While there is a strong anti-intellectual current in American society, I’ll have to say that I don’t think that there is any dearth of “unapologetically intellectual” American comedians. Just look at the folks on _The Daily Show_, Bill Maher, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Al Franken, Larry David, Garry Shandling, Louis C.K., Sarah Silverman, David Sedaris (and a ton of other contributors to _This American Life_). Comedy is one place in which there are a lot of intelligent people working. We even have our own version of _The News Quiz_ on public radio (_Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!_. (Although I admit we’ll probably never have something like _My Word_ or _My Music_.) That’s not to say I’m holding it up as being better than British comedy. I’m a big fan of British comedy too. Izzard does seem like a smart person, but I don’t think he stands out as smarter than a lot of American comedians. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/96 "2011-05-26T17:31:34Z")
He is fairly geeky, though. Not many comedians base huge portions of their act around historical events. ---
**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 26, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/97 "2011-05-26T17:40:14Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > He is fairly geeky, though. Not many comedians base huge portions of their act around historical events. Or will spend 5 minutes of their routine speaking [almost totally in French](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1sQkEfAdfY) about monkeys. ---
**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 26, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/98 "2011-05-26T19:43:28Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I think PlainJane is referring to TruCelt’s claim that intellectual comedy is rare in the U.S. and that makes Izzard a better comedian than is usually found in America. > > While there is a strong anti-intellectual current in American society, I’ll have to say that I don’t think that there is any dearth of “unapologetically intellectual” American comedians. Just look at the folks on _The Daily Show_, Bill Maher, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Al Franken, Larry David, Garry Shandling, Louis C.K., Sarah Silverman, David Sedaris (and a ton of other contributors to _This American Life_). Comedy is one place in which there are a lot of intelligent people working. We even have our own version of _The News Quiz_ on public radio (_Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!_. (Although I admit we’ll probably never have something like _My Word_ or _My Music_.) > > That’s not to say I’m holding it up as being better than British comedy. I’m a big fan of British comedy too. Izzard does seem like a smart person, but I don’t think he stands out as smarter than a lot of American comedians. I’ll give you Bill Maher and the majority of the NPR crew. But you’ll notice Bill’s the only one really in the mainstream. Even Steve Martin eventually dummed it down in order to earn money for his Art collection. Chapelle and Rock are smart, and insightful, but I wouldn’t call them assertively intellectual. I’ve only seen Louis C.K. a couple of times, and wouldn’t have put him in that category either, but acknowledge it’s been quite some time since I’ve seen his stuff. I don’t know Silverman. Franken, David, Daily and Shandling I just plain don’t like, so I’m not very familair with their work. I am a big _Wait, Wait_ fan, but I’m not sure I’d call it intellectual. ---
**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 26, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/99 "2011-05-26T20:01:07Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I’ll give you Bill Maher and the majority of the NPR crew. I’d say these are the ones that are _more_ intellectual than Izzard. > [@](#): > > But you’ll notice Bill’s the only one really in the mainstream. Even Steve Martin eventually dummed it down in order to earn money for his Art collection. I’m not sure what your point is here. When did Izzard’s relative degree of success become part of the calculation? > [@](#): > > Chapelle and Rock are smart, and insightful, but I wouldn’t call them assertively intellectual. I’ve only seen Louis C.K. a couple of times, and wouldn’t have put him in that category either, but acknowledge it’s been quite some time since I’ve seen his stuff. I don’t know Silverman. > > I am a big _Wait, Wait_ fan, but I’m not sure I’d call it intellectual. No? Hm. Then I have no idea what you mean by “intellectual,” or even “assertively intellectual,” and how Izzard is intellectual while these aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/100 "2011-05-27T00:19:12Z")
I’ve never understood the point of view that Eddie Izzard’s comedy is somehow “intellectual”. He sometimes takes on Big Ideas in an amusingly naive way, but you never get the impression that he has actually thought deeply about it. The underlying impression is that he really doesn’t know very much about whatever it is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041.md?page=6)