# Why is there so much anti Dane Cook sentiment? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116 "2011-04-04T04:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/41 "2011-04-05T16:05:49Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > …in my limited experience, professional comedians are a scummy bunch (apologies to RickJay)… Why do you think comedians are “scummy”? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/42 "2011-04-05T16:23:37Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > For those wondering why joke theft is a big deal, I think of it like this: > > You and your SO are gonna have a child. One of the biggest parts of having a child is naming it… picking a name that is meaningful, and sounds good, and won’t get the kid picked on. You buy books on it, search the web for hours and hours on meanings and spellings and literally stay up at night trying to think of a good name. > > The time has come, you have a name picked out, and it’s great. It’s the perfect name. Sounds good, looks good, balances well with the last name. Pays homage to both sides of the family, and still is unique enough not to be confusing. It’s literally perfect. > > Then, a month later, your friend says it’s such a great name, they are gonna name their kid that too! “Won’t it be great? They’ll be like twins!” > > That annoyance you feel? Imagine that multiplied by a huge amount. As if naming babies was your job, and when someone took a name idea because it was good, you no longer got paid. > > I’m not sure how well this works as an analogy, but how great would the name “Cain Xavier Asskicking Smith” be? Awesome, right? I can’t imagine being upset about that, unless I actually made up a new name that no one had ever used before. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/43 "2011-04-05T16:34:21Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Because Adam Sandler isn’t mean. > > I have one album of Cook’s. I enjoyed it for a while, but then I started to think about the act. One CD has the following: > > 1. A story about Cook cutting in line and then laughing at the person behind him; > 2. A story about Cook getting in a polite-insult match with a fast food cashier because the guy wouldn’t let him cut in line for ketchup; > 3. An exceptionally humorless segment where several guys in the back start getting rowdy and Cook yells at them to shut up or he’ll call security. I’ve only heard one of his stand-up routines on the radio, and I have to agree with this. The routine was about how he usually dates super-special-intelligent-women-with-weird-sexual-hangups, so, he decided to go slumming and date a slut. The routine involved him doing things like putting plastic wrap on the bed before sex so he wouldn’t catch her slut disease. The entire set was him meanly mocking his slut girlfriend that he chose to date because he wanted to date a slut for being…a slut. It wasn’t funny. It was just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/44 "2011-04-05T16:39:25Z")
> [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](#): > > It wasn’t funny. It was just stupid. I believe this sums up his entire act. I really don’t get it. I remember blogging about not understanding his popularity several years ago and the fact that he is still around amazes me. I think he mostly appeals to the fart humor crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/45 "2011-04-05T16:51:06Z")
I was looking forward to his first HBO special, because I heard his name a lot but never seen his act. It was terrible. Unwatchable. I put him in my special Will Farrell category. I am gobsmacked that anyone watches him. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/46 "2011-04-05T17:39:19Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Dane Cook is hot. > > It’s jealousy and spite. > > DC is like when you tell this really hot chick a joke and she sort of politely laughs but you know you just bombed, then DC walks in tells the same woman the same joke and she laughs really loud and immediately leaves with him. > > It’s just hatin’. Or it’s the fact that his jokes are so hacky, and there are tons of funnier comedians out there who don’t have to steal jokes. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/47 "2011-04-05T17:41:04Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Dane Cook is hot. > > It’s jealousy and spite. > > DC is like when you tell this really hot chick a joke and she sort of politely laughs but you know you just bombed, then DC walks in tells the same woman the same joke and she laughs really loud and immediately leaves with him. > > It’s just hatin’. This is miles away funnier than anything Dane Cook has ever said. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/48 "2011-04-05T18:10:24Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Or it’s the fact that his jokes are so hacky, and there are tons of funnier comedians out there who don’t have to steal jokes. So, its the stolen, hacky jokes that get you upset? 🙂 I mean, damn, if you are going to steal jokes, at least steal the good ones 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/49 "2011-04-05T22:02:23Z")
Most routines in some way are just reworking of old stuff. I listen to a lot of OTR (old time radio) and it’s amazing the number of direct copies of comedies today and jokes by comic are reworkings. Usually they’re less funny to me as in the days of OTR you had to use innuendo to get your point across. And there’s a good chance that if it was on OTR it was, stolen from Vaudeville, which means it was around for a long time I never found Dane Cook to be anything but average, but he’s a nice looking, guy in that John Davidson/Dick Clark/Ryan Seacrest mode and that irritates people more than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/50 "2011-04-05T22:42:00Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The one thing I’ll say in his favor is this: in my limited experience, professional comedians are a scummy bunch (apologies to RickJay). Hence, it doesn’t bother me much when I hear that So-and-So is hated by his fellow comedians. I figure it’s a GOOD sign when contemptible people don’t like you. I suppose I should take umbrage at this, as I did stand-up professionally for around 6 years. I still consider myself one (just “on hiatus” as I do the responsible things like start a family, though I will still do the occasional corporate show or private party), and, while I’m not the most clean-cut, refined individual, I do not consider myself “scummy.” Why do you consider us “scummy?” ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/51 "2011-04-05T22:46:46Z")
Because this. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/o6m42ZQHTfs/hqdefault.jpg "Dane Cook Friend That Nobody Likes") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6m42ZQHTfs) ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/52 "2011-04-05T22:54:11Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Why do you consider us “scummy?” If I had to guess, it’s because a lot of stand-up comedians are generally those that aren’t musically talented, physically talented or good-looking, or theatrically talented, so they have to fall back on stand-up; it’s sort of like the old joke “If you can’t do, teach. If you can’t teach, teach PE.” They spend most of their time in seedy dives, scraping by on nickels, and are often foul-mouthed and impolite. Hell, the best known injoke in the industry is the Aristocrats. Many of the best comedians have shitty lives from where they get good material. I dunno, I’m just guessing at a possible stereotype, especially since some folk in this thread think Cook’s disliked because he’s a prettyboy. :rolleyes: It’s a load, far as I can tell, other than the last, and that’s not exclusive to comics. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/53 "2011-04-06T04:35:15Z")
Dane Cook is no pretty boy… his face is pockmarked. Speaking of comics who come from a shitty life; look at Christopher Titus. His comedy rocks and everything I’ve heard about him is that he’s a pretty likable guy. I’ve talked to him a few times when he was in the Atlanta area with his act; always easy to talk to. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/54 "2011-04-06T04:48:18Z")
I bought his big double CD–I think it was called “Revenge”–and he told a joke that made me write him off forever. He was fucking a girl doggy-style and happened to look down and notice that her labia looked like cow lips. Next, maybe he can whine about how good servants and first-rate caviar are hard to find. I don’t know. I won’t be listening. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/55 "2011-04-06T11:43:43Z")
Why would I call comedians, as a group, scummy? First, again, I apologize for using a broad brush. OBVIOUSLY, there are wonderful and horrible people in all professions. There are undoubtedly some saintly standup comics, and I’m not happy that I’ve insulted them. Second, I do NOT minimize the talent it takes to be a good (let alone great) comedian. It’s HARD to be funny. It’s HARD to get up on a stage and try to make people laugh. I sure couldn’t do it, and I admire people who can. But… my (limited) exposure to the world of standup comedy led me to believe that a huge percentage of comedians (and an even higher percentage of the really good ones) are deeply screwed up people. More screwed up than people in general? More screwed up than people in other areas of show biz? I think so, yes. The degree of drunkenness and drug abuse was astonishing to me, as was the level of phoniness and casual cruelty. Comedians tend to ACT as if they have some kind of fraternity… but a huge percentage of the ones I’ve met were backstabbing, jealous bastards who’d regularly trash their “friends” (You know I love Eddie, love him like a brother… but between you and me, he sucks"). I know, the plural of anecdote is not data. If your experience has been different, by all means, tell me so, and set me straight. ---
**Author:** ![beartato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@beartato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beartato)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/56 "2011-04-06T12:26:27Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Dane Cook is hot. > > It’s jealousy and spite. > > DC is like when you tell this really hot chick a joke and she sort of politely laughs but you know you just bombed, then DC walks in tells the same woman the same joke and she laughs really loud and immediately leaves with him. > > It’s just hatin’. I feel like that would require the dude to be able to tell a joke. Most comedians are able to, you know, set up a joke, then deliver a punchline. Many are able to tell humorous stories. Dane Cook seems unable to do much besides mugging for the camera, saying dirty things and thinking they are clever, intermittently yelling, repeating the same words over and over, and being the best example known to man of a complete douchebag. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/57 "2011-04-06T13:52:57Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Why would I call comedians, as a group, scummy? > > First, again, I apologize for using a broad brush. OBVIOUSLY, there are wonderful and horrible people in all professions. There are undoubtedly some saintly standup comics, and I’m not happy that I’ve insulted them. > > Second, I do NOT minimize the talent it takes to be a good (let alone great) comedian. It’s HARD to be funny. It’s HARD to get up on a stage and try to make people laugh. I sure couldn’t do it, and I admire people who can. > > But… my (limited) exposure to the world of standup comedy led me to believe that a huge percentage of comedians (and an even higher percentage of the really good ones) are deeply screwed up people. More screwed up than people in general? More screwed up than people in other areas of show biz? I think so, yes. The degree of drunkenness and drug abuse was astonishing to me, as was the level of phoniness and casual cruelty. > > Comedians tend to ACT as if they have some kind of fraternity… but a huge percentage of the ones I’ve met were backstabbing, jealous bastards who’d regularly trash their “friends” (You know I love Eddie, love him like a brother… but between you and me, he sucks"). > > I know, the plural of anecdote is not data. If your experience has been different, by all means, tell me so, and set me straight. Comics are, by their very nature, more cynical and bitter (in some cases \*a lot \* more cynical and bitter) than most people, and as another poster pointed out here, they also much more casually pepper their conversations with obscenities. I can definitely see how those things would rub someone the wrong way. But, a lot of the comics I hung out with back in the day actually struck me as fairly cool people. Yeah, I encountered more than a few douchebags, but that’s not unusual when you’re dealing with the entertainment industry in general. I never felt that stand-ups comics, overall, were likely to be “deeply screwed up” or clowns who are crying in the inside. I will grant you that the kid who was popular in school, got good grades and managed to get regularly laid by cheerleaders isn’t likely to go into this profession. As I said above, comics tend to have a more cynical view of the world, and you don’t get to be an overly cynical person if everything in your life goes right. But I’ve known comedians who in their previous careers (or ongoing careers, if they’re only doing comedy part time) were successful engineers, lawyers and journalists, and many others who offstage came off as fairly typical family men. They have their personal demons like everyone else, but the stage is their way of exorcising them. That doesn’t mean they’re deeply disturbed and it certainly doesn’t mean they’re scummy. They just have a different way of getting their problems off their chest. Now, as for comedy club owners, well that’s a different story… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/58 "2011-04-06T16:33:18Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I can’t imagine being upset about that, unless I actually made up a new name that no one had ever used before. Oh, thank god, because we just named our kid “BoyJimboJackieGleasonJimBoYoMamaBob” because he looks just like you. And my wife was afraid you’d find out… But I agree – inadequate analogy. Doesn’t really address the gut feeling. How about “You write a great joke and Dane Cook steals it from you?” That’s more how it would feel. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2011, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/59 "2011-04-08T08:41:10Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Oh, thank god, because we just named our kid “BoyJimboJackieGleasonJimBoYoMamaBob” because he looks just like you. And my wife was afraid you’d find out… > > But I agree – inadequate analogy. Doesn’t really address the gut feeling. How about “You write a great joke and Dane Cook steals it from you?” That’s more how it would feel. How about you write a book, and someone else changes the characters names, gives it a different title, and then sells it as their own? And that person’s sells much better than yours, gets critical, acclaim, etc. You worked hard on something that is yours, and someone else, who did no work, takes what you have done without permission and gets all the glory. I agree–no one should need an analogy for that. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116/60 "2011-04-09T01:26:47Z")
I hate his whole stage persona, the way he talks, uses his voice, his pauses, the way he stands and gestures. It all makes me want to kick him in the face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-so-much-anti-dane-cook-sentiment/577116.md?page=4)