# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/101 "2011-05-27T00:22:39Z")
I think they’re both rather funny. I feel Gervais is a tad more mean spirited than Izzard. ---
**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 27, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/102 "2011-05-27T01:15:04Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > 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. Can you tell me another comedian that discusses the spectrum where murder is reprehensible, but you get to the point where genocide is beyond the ability to grasp? Cuz that seems to be kind of a fine line to follow and still be funny. ---
**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 27, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/103 "2011-05-27T02:32:52Z")
I don’t know that anyone has told that exact joke, but the general idea doesn’t seem at all novel to me. A lot of comedians I named touch on issues of morality or social relationships. Even some of Jerry Seinfeld’s stuff touches on this kind of thing. To My previous list you can add Robert Klein, George Carlin, and Lewis Black. And since I didn’t think it was all that funny, I’m not sure how to address the second part. ---
**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 27, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/104 "2011-05-27T03:40:26Z")
Whelp, that the cool thing…some folks like Justin Beiber, too…doesn’t make it right, doesn’t mean you have to understand it, doesn’t t mean there can’t be any other people that sound like him. ---
**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 31, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/105 "2011-05-31T04:49:40Z")
Trying to describe what I mean is surprisingly difficult. I’m talking about someone who doesn’t seem to mind if he’s talking to only a few audience memebers at certain points of the show. George Carlin - yes. I don’t know Klein, and only saw Black’s early stuff. I definitely would have put Black in a completely different category. black made a lot of good points, but they were not abstract conenctions, just thing sthat most Americans don’t pay much attention to. By intellectual I don’t mean “topical” or even “political.” I don’t mean just “not a fart joke.” I’m talking about stuff like UB’s example. A truly difficult to grasp abstraction, here and there, just to keep you on your toes. The kind of stuff that even a smart person may not “get” right away. The stuff that makes you go “wow” three days later. And my home computer is down, which means I’m youtube disabled at the moment, or I’d find some examaples. . . but when I say unapologetically or agressively intellectusl, I mean someone who honest to goodness seems not to give a poop if only one person laughs because by gum _they know it was funny_, what they just said. The stuff that makes you feel like you’ve just been worked over by Will Hunting. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/106 "2011-06-01T00:42:48Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > quoi? ou est le signe? Il ne’est pas sur la branch. Il est disparu! I don’t know any French at all, but that bit was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I’m going with Izzard. ---
**Author:** ![peterbaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@peterbaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peterbaby)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/107 "2011-06-06T23:38:34Z")
I can’t tell if Gervais is actually a comic. Sometimes he’s just annoying and I don’t really get why people love him so much. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/108 "2011-06-07T04:04:52Z")
Well at least R.G. is actually funny. That’s quite unusual for a British person. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/109 "2011-06-07T04:11:09Z")
Izzard is interesting, but I wouldn’t call him funny. Gervais’s insults can sometimes be funny. I guess I’d go with the latter. Unfortunately, I can no longer vote. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/110 "2011-06-07T12:41:44Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Can you tell me another comedian that discusses the spectrum where murder is reprehensible, but you get to the point where genocide is beyond the ability to grasp? > > Cuz that seems to be kind of a fine line to follow and still be funny. Sure, there was a guy doing that bit 60+ years ago. > [@Joseph Stalin](#): > > The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic. Personally I find Izzard’s stand up pretty run-of-the-mill, from what little I’ve seen. That Death Star bit being a prime example. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/111 "2011-06-07T12:45:20Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Sure, there was a guy doing that bit 60+ years ago. > > Personally I find Izzard’s stand up pretty run-of-the-mill, from what little I’ve seen. That Death Star bit being a prime example. Did you watch the french clip? > [@NAF1138](#): > > Or will spend 5 minutes of their routine speaking [almost totally in French](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1sQkEfAdfY) about monkeys. You might not think it’s funny, but I don’t know of anyone else who does stuff like that and I watch a lot of comedy. I suppose you could make a case that he is ripping of Ionesco, but even that is sort of impressive. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/112 "2011-06-07T13:23:10Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Did you watch the french clip? > > You might not think it’s funny, but I don’t know of anyone else who does stuff like that and I watch a lot of comedy. I suppose you could make a case that he is ripping of Ionesco, but even that is sort of impressive. Well, I guess I can’t say I’ve seen someone do precisely that, but I can’t help but think it’s just a jacked up version of “It’s funny if you say it with an accent”, which is pretty common. Basically, Steve Martin nailed it much more concisely with “It’s like those French have a different word for everything!” ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041/113 "2011-06-07T18:32:53Z")
For my money, nothing tops Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington together in a room. I have all their podcasts and xfm shows on mp3 and I never get tired of them. Apart from that, the Office of course was great, but Extras was absolutely brilliant. Gervais and Merchant even top Curb your Enthusiasm for their ability to spin comedy out of awful, uncomfortable situations. I don’t really have strong feelings one way or the other about Izzard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-gervais-or-izzard/583041.md?page=5)