# Who's Funnier? Maria Bamford or Sarah Silverman? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144 "2011-05-25T13:22:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dietrich\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@Dietrich\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dietrich_K)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/21 "2011-05-26T13:36:12Z")
Sarah Silverman, by a country mile. Bamford elicits only two reactions in me: straight-faced apathy or let’s-get-all-stabby irritation. ---
**Author:** ![Dietrich\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@Dietrich\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dietrich_K)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/22 "2011-05-26T13:38:42Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > They’re both playing characters, but Silverman at least doesn’t keep that voice the entire time… This. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/23 "2011-05-26T16:22:30Z")
Bamford is brilliant, but uneven. Still one of my current favorites. People complain about her voice, but I saw The Comedians of Comedy before I saw much of her work. She talks like that because she’s truly an anxiety riddled wreck. I kind of see it as a coping mechanism. She talks about it in her act [here](http://comedians.jokes.com/maria-bamford/videos/maria-bamford---half-empty). I like the Anxiety Song at the end (~1:50). Ironically, I think she does some great voices in her act. For example, one of my favorite bits was from the more recent John Oliver Special when she talks about what she [worships](http://comedians.jokes.com/maria-bamford/videos/maria-bamford---gotta-believe-in-something). ---
**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, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/24 "2011-05-26T16:58:42Z")
I like them both, but Silverman is a real pioneer. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/25 "2011-05-26T18:13:13Z")
Silverman is funny for about ten minutes. Then she’s just boring. Bamford is “funny, for a girl”, which translates to “okay, I guess” if you factor in both male and female comedians when you rate her. ---
**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, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/26 "2011-05-26T18:27:47Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I think I almost peed myself, I was laughing so hard at [Dark](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCqDReW8f_s). :dubious: As pointed out in the other thread, comedy is very subjective. > [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > That was awful. I turned it off after two minutes. Did it get better? I took one for the team, no. ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/27 "2011-05-26T20:34:55Z")
You guys are all entitled to your opinions, but in _my_ opinion, anybody who doesn’t think “The Sarah Silverman Program” is funny has no clue. I think the episode where she dated God was the funniest thing on TV that year. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/28 "2011-05-26T20:38:43Z")
I watched it like 3 times and didn’t really find it all that funny. She seemed like a woman-child who’s raunchy. I’m f\*\*king Matt Damon was funny though. Jain, I’ll be the first to tell you that I have a strange sense of humor. I also thought Where’s the Chapstick was hilarious and I have yet to meet someone who so much as cracked a smile at it. ---
**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, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/29 "2011-05-26T20:58:47Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Jain, I’ll be the first to tell you that I have a strange sense of humor. Same here. I’m posting from the luxurious position of commenting on what’s been asked. I doubt my personal preferences for funny would be all that popular. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Cheech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Mister\_Cheech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Cheech)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/30 "2011-05-27T02:27:49Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That’s what I thought until I saw that video. Silverman may not make me laugh, but she’s never made me turn off a video out of annoyance. I even watched Silverman’s show sometimes. > > They’re both playing characters, but Silverman at least doesn’t keep that voice the entire time… That’s how Bamford talks in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/31 "2011-05-27T02:38:12Z")
That’s what I thought. Don’t have an opinion about her being anxiety-riddled. I like Maria Bamford’s weird level. I think she’s funny. Sarah Silverman is sorta like the dorky girl trying to be badass and vulgar but trying to hard. And it shows. Not funny. Besides, Maria’s cuter. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/32 "2011-05-27T06:28:50Z")
Without knowing who Maria Bramford is, I know she’s funnier than Sarah Silverman. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/33 "2011-05-27T15:09:58Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Without knowing who Maria Bramford is, I know she’s funnier than Sarah Silverman. I thought this too. Almost word for word. Then I watched a couple of the Bamford links. Now I’m thinking of posting my own poll: What do you like better, gout or shingles? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/34 "2011-05-27T15:14:39Z")
Because of **mmm** ’s post, I went and watched a couple of clips of Maria Bramford. I would now like to retract my previous post, and state categorically that neither of these women is funnier than the other because neither of them is funny. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/35 "2011-05-27T15:49:39Z")
I agree with Snowboarder Bo. I only voted Bamford because she’s cute. ---
**Author:** ![beartato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@beartato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beartato)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144/36 "2011-05-27T15:52:55Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Because of **mmm** ’s post, I went and watched a couple of clips of Maria Bramford. > > I would now like to retract my previous post, and state categorically that neither of these women is funnier than the other because neither of them is funny. I did the same. Basically, this poll is pretty much “Herpes or chlamydia?” to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-funnier-maria-bamford-or-sarah-silverman/583144.md?page=1)