# Why do people think Rick Morranis is funny?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2000, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041 "2000-02-20T15:06:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/1 "2000-02-20T15:06:00Z")
I don’t get it. He’s never had a funny nanosecond in his whole life. * * * – “it’s all real” “I KNEW IT!!!” O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Normal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@Abner\_Normal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Normal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/2 "2000-02-20T15:31:00Z")
You never watched ‘The Great White North’?? Funny stuff. * * * In history they will not fill their heads with battles, nor in geography with fortresses, for it becomes them just as little to reek of gunpowder as it does the males to reek of musk. ``` - Immanuel Kant ``` ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/3 "2000-02-20T15:33:00Z")
Judging by his complete lack of success recently, I don’t think people do–at least, not anymore. * * * Teaching: The ultimate birth control method. [Laura’s Stuff and Things](http://members.aol.com/lrconaway) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/4 "2000-02-20T15:38:00Z")
Why do people think Regis Philbman is funny? Or Rosie 'O Donnell? How about Tom Arnold? Pauly Shore? Jay Leno? That whiny prick from Mad About You? People are stupid, that’s why. ---
**Author:** ![missdavis102](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@missdavis102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missdavis102)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/5 "2000-02-20T16:30:00Z")
Well, he **used** to be what approached sort of funny in a dumb way back in the days of Strange Brew, but that was only if you particularly liked illiterate Canadians in search of free beer. I remember my dad always let me rent that movie when I was a kid and would have custodial visits with him (but he would’ve let me rent anything, so that doesn’t mean much), so I have kind of a fond place for it in my heart, but I probably wouldn’t think it funny now. Nor do I think anything Morranis has done since then is remotely funny. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/6 "2000-02-20T16:39:00Z")
Honey, I Shrunk series was funny. Seems to be a bit more serious funny, you know Disney like, all around mild funny person. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/7 "2000-02-20T17:05:00Z")
1 - Rick Moranis is awesome. 2 - Suddenly Seymour is, seriously, one of the most romantic songs out there. I love that song. * * * Mayor of [Snerdville](http://fathom.org/snerdville), the home of Mortimer Snerd “I’m just too much for human existence – I should be animated.” –Wayne Knight ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/8 "2000-02-20T17:09:00Z")
I’m getting the feeling that it’s _who you surround him with_ that determines his worth. ---
**Author:** ![Wicked\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wicked\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wicked_Blue)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/9 "2000-02-20T17:47:00Z")
I always call him Rick More Anus. 😉 Rose * * * I told you not to be stupid, you moron. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2000, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/10 "2000-02-21T06:06:00Z")
Rick Moranis did some good stuff during his days with _SCTV_. Granted, that’s mostly 20 years ago now. There’s a hilarious segment from _SCTV_ in which they preview a supposed upcoming movie, a remake of _Taxi Driver_ that stars Woody Allen as Travis Bickle. (O.K., to understand this, you have to imagine Woody Allen 20 years younger.) ---
**Author:** ![mega\_the\_roo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mega\_the\_roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mega_the_roo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/11 "2000-02-20T19:08:00Z")
have any of you ever heard him sing Lewis Carol’s “Jabberwocky”? Bahahhahah! * * * “If anybody wants a sheep, that is proof that he exists.” ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/12 "2000-02-20T19:51:00Z")
It’s unfair to say this about Rick. If all Jim Carrey did was movies like “The Truman Show” you wouldn’t think him particularly funny. Rick’s brand of humor (SCTV, Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors) is not usually used Hollywood movies. Blame the writers and viewers. * * * pweetman ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/13 "2000-02-20T20:24:00Z")
Well, most of the people who think Moranis is funny do so because they laugh at the things he does and says; I would think that’s pretty obvious. The fact that _you_ don’t laugh doesn’t make him **NOT FUNNY** (unless you’ve suddenly become The Comedy Goddess without the rest of us noticing); it makes him not funny to you. Only those poor benighted souls who never ever make anyone laugh are purely **NOT FUNNY**. (Yeah, I know this is MPSIMS, but if you’re going to attack somebody, at least start off like “Moranis is not only a short dweeb who’s been attacked repeatedly with an Ugly Stick, he couldn’t make Satan laugh with a joke about the Backstreet Boys gang-felching a goat!”) * * * …but when you get blue, and you’ve lost all your dreams, there’s nothing like a campfire and a can of beans! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/14 "2000-02-20T20:57:00Z")
I’ve always thought of Moranis as a comic character actor…her was very good in STRANGE BREW, and perfectly adequate in GHOSTBUSTERS. He certainly doesn’t carry the show. I’d never go out of my way to see him in someting, but I don’t avoid things he’s in, either. * * * Uke ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/15 "2000-02-20T21:16:00Z")
Ike said > [@](#): > > I’ve always thought of Moranis as a comic character actor…her was very good in STRANGE BREW, and perfectly adequate in GHOSTBUSTERS. He certainly doesn’t carry the show. Yeah, I would agree with that. It seems there are lots of commedians that are hilarious in TV skits (like most of the actors in SCTV , Kids in the Hall, even SNL) and some sitcoms, but very few seem to be able to carry that to the big screen. Wonder why? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/16 "2000-02-20T23:33:00Z")
Da Ace: you obviously don’t “get” the way things go around here. Deal. I saw Rick Morranis hosting SNL the other night (rerun on Comedy Central) and every single sketch he did he SUCKED. This just reaffirmed for me that those occassions where he seemed to do ok was probably attributable to good writing, directing, and freak chance. * * * – “it’s all real” “I KNEW IT!!!” O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![lovelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@lovelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lovelee)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2000, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/17 "2000-02-21T00:35:00Z")
Two words: Dark Helmet For this, the rest of his career may be excused. Well, that and “a beer… in a tree.” ---
**Author:** ![Mikewrite1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Mikewrite1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikewrite1)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2000, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/18 "2000-02-21T01:33:00Z")
Opal: not fair! Everything on SNL sucks these days 🙂 Darn show hasn’t been been more than 5 % funny per show in ten years. Kinda sad, all things considered. Mike (who hasn’t yet thought of an appropiate saying yet, but is leaning towards Swifts “When a true genius appears in this world you will know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in confederacy against him.”) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2000, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/19 "2000-02-21T06:41:00Z")
Most of you probably never saw much of the old SCTV back when it was in Edmonton, but Moranis was hilarious. He did a lot of awesome ‘opinion pieces’ as a drugged-out or drunk David Brinkley (“Why does pot make you so hungry? Perhaps it should be taxed, and the money used to fund that research.”). He had a lot of great characters back then. Unlike SNL, most of the SCTV people didn’t really make it big. Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, Harold Ramis, Andrea Martin… Most of them wound up in bit parts, although Harold Ramis has had huge success as a writer and producer. ---
**Author:** ![Snark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Snark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snark)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2000, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041/20 "2000-02-21T13:58:00Z")
I have to say I loved him in the Ghostbuster movies, both as a harrassing neighbor to Sigourney Weaver (classic!) and as an incompetent attorney (“One time I turned into a dog, and they helped me!”). Come on, tell me you kept a straight face when he said _that_ line. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-rick-morranis-is-funny/14041.md?page=2)