I don't really 'get' American stand up/Comedy

Howdy,

I'm British, and I watch a lot of comedy. If you're into British Comedy, there's a lot to like. Between all the 'classics' like Father Ted/Bottom/Python and into the modern stuff like Peep Show/IT Crowd and so on, there's honestly a lot to like. I think that kinda stuff translates pretty well.

But I don't really get that same impression, as a Brit, from American comedy. It just seems so mean spirited. Everyone in American comedy, specifically stand up, seems to be having a go at someone, making fun of their family, or relating a personal story about belittling another person.

Case in point: I tried to watch this 'Best of Stand-Up in Twenty Two' on Netflix. I watched Bill Burr and Ali Wong, and it just wasn't funny at all. It just seems to be SO America centric. Maybe that's just the audience they're going for, as America seems to be a really insular country, but I just honestly don't think any of it translates well outside of the States.

Even people like Norm McDonald and Conan just don't seem very funny to someone not in America.

Has anyone else outside of America felt this way about stand up/Comedy that comes from the States? Maybe it's just because I grew up watching a lot of the all time great British Comedians/Comedies, but I honestly don't think American humor carries very well outside of America. If anyone has anyone they think does, please let me know in the comments

Do you have a more specific comparison?

I ask because you mostly listed British sitcoms/sketch shows (scripted ensemble shows) and then compared them to American standup comics (solo live performance). I think they’re just very different comedic media, and it’s like comparing apples and oranges.

For some closer comparisons, I think Jimmy Carr’s British standup sets feel about as biting and acerbic as some of the American standup you mentioned. And conversely, there is American scripted comedy that isn’t so mean-spirited or having a go at someone: in recent memory, Modern Family was well received in its early seasons, though like most American sitcoms it definitely got renewed far too many times and didn’t need some of those later seasons.

For context, I’m Canadian which means I’m inundated with American media, and I’ve watched some Monty Python, IT Crowd, Toast of London, uhhh Mr. Bean I’ll throw in as well. I know I’ve seen British standup specials here and there, but for some reasons the names escape me right now aside from Jimmy Carr. My friends were crazy about Eddie Izzard back in the day, but they quoted some of the bits so excessively that it has kinda killed it for me.

@sombre: I would say that there is a pretty wide variety of standup acts and not all of it is based on belittling others. There is standup based on self-reflection, there is standup that is nothing but crowd work, there is stand up that only talks about food. The Mel Brooks movie “History of the World part 1” compared standups with philosophers, and it’s fairly apt, and with that sometimes come disagreement. I would be carful not to assume all of it is like Burr and Wong. They are big, but they are far from the only games in town.

I feel the same way about European comedy and all the fart and toilet jokes. But that's the thing about comedy, some people get it and laugh, others don't and are either indifferent or offended. Sadly, most people get easily offended because of these diverse times, making it really hard for comedians to make a living. I do get dry humor though, when its done well.

Personally, I've always found British comedy to be much more absurdist and American comedy as much more observational. It doesn't surprise me that you don't really "get" American comedians because their comedy tends to be based on such specific observations of American culture that it probably wouldn't make much sense to someone outside the States. (For example, Chris Rock has a bit where he goes after streets named after Martin Luther King Jr. It probably wouldn't make a ton of sense to people outside the States, but as someone who lived a couple of blocks away from the MLK Blvd. in Milwaukee while I was in school, the punch-line is absolutely true.)

And I think that sentiment goes both ways. Monty Python has tons of jokes that go after things like having to learn Latin in traditional English schools or bits where they take digs at the self-importance and factionalism of a lot of socialist movements that probably don't play as well to an American audience.

That goes for the mean-spiritedness, too. I can't even get through an episode of the British version of the The Office, because I find the characters so deeply unpleasant.

Ricky Gervais has made a career out of being a mean spirited arsehole.

I kinda get you, my favourite American stand up tends to be very cultural, as a white brit listening to Bernie Mac or Gabriel Iglesias is an insight into something very far from me and i'm often laughing at the delivery of the joke more than the joke itself, but there's value in hearing their stories beyond the jokes. Whereas my favourite UK comedian is Bill Bailey because of the absurdist humour and musical tangents.

I generally don't really like straight comedy though i prefer when funny things happen, i'm more likely to laugh at a light hearted moment in Die Hard than a joke in The Office.

Give Brian Regan a try! He is hilarious! He is clean and doesn't poke fun at people, has very cleaver jokes as well as dumb ones.

I'm English, but I consider myself culturally American because I grew up with mostly American media and I relate to it more. Because of that, I can't really answer from a truly British perspective, but I didn't visit America until I was an adult and I appreciate the comedy all the same.

American comedies perform very well all over the world so I don't think your observation about them not translating well to foreign audiences is a very accurate one. Meanwhile I find British humor to be a lot more miss than hit. Anyway I once heard someone say that in American comedies everyone is a star - which can sometimes lead to both healthy and unhealthy competition, meanwhile in foreign comedies people are more comfortable being part of a supporting cast for any joke.

None of that really translates to stand up though because you only have one person on stage. I feel like nowadays there are a lot of comedians who ride on identity politics where people laugh not because the jokes are funny, but because they make fun of the right people. But I don't watch a lot of standup and I bet there are a lot of good ones that don't fall into that.

when it comes to matters of comedy- i OVERWHELMINGLY prefer written/sketch comedy to improvisational or stand-up. i think for the most part that simply comes down to matters of taste- it's like trying to explain why one might like heavy metal or chocolate- you can make an argument, but you kinda like it or you don't. i'll take a Matt Berry over a John Mulaney or Mike Birbiglia any day of week.

with that personal bias in mind- speaking as an American i'm right there with you in noting the general aggression and 'mean-spirited' nature of some of the more successful comics. there are exceptions (RIP Mitch Hedberg, you are missed), and the more perspectives that are given opportunities the more engaging the format gets (speaking as a follicly-challenged white man, i think i'm full up on balding middle-aged white man ennui forever)...but a tight-five from a Bill Burr or Dave Chapelle usually ends up annoying me more than making me chuckle.

i will say- despite not liking the form that much- i have come to appreciate the work that goes into building a set, and it can be fun to hear hustling comedians 'talk shop' about the work and experiences that go into it. i'm also massively lucky that i have regular access to places like Comedy Cellar in NYC- and seeing the work in that context (versus millionaires doing a Netflix or arena tour) does change perception of the content.

Yeah I can see that, being from the UK one of the few scenes I remember from Friends (I only watched a small number of episodes) was a toilet joke of sorts. I'll have to paraphrase because it's been a long time, but Chandler and Joey are in their apartment and it goes a bit like this:

Chandler: "Don't you think it's weird that two grown men share soap in the bathroom?"

Joey: "Um... No, why?"

Chandler: "Well, what's the last part of me I clean, and then the first part of you that you clean?"

<Pregnant pause - Joey's face changes as he works it out>

I kinda like that joke, it is observational, but obviously a bit rude....

I’m British and find Norm hilarious.

I’m looking forward to seeing Tim Heidecker when he tours the UK in March.

I can’t think of a single UK comedian that I’d want to go and see perform live. Stewart Lee perhaps.

@sombre said:

I mean, Ricky Gervais is a piece of shit, as James Acaster so brilliantly points out. But I'll be honest, Gervais is the only currently-performing Brit comedian like that that comes to mind. I could name half a dozen American ones. I am extremely picky when it comes to comedy, and I have no patience whatsoever for wealthy people who get tens of millions of dollars per comedy special complaining about their voices being "silenced." And that is a whole lot of what American comedy is these days.

There's other stuff out there. Hasan Minaj has two incredible comedy specials on Netflix; maybe check those out.

John Mullanney is very much a silly stand-up who doesn't do a great deal of punching down and has some excellent Netflix specials, but even with that in-mind, this seems to be a very narrow view both of American stand-up and English comedy.

Yeah, as others have said, American comedy is as diverse as the country it comes from, and you can find a TON of both popular and lesser known alike that don't punch down, make jokes OF people, etc...If all you watch are the more well known folks, you are probably going to get more cutting shit. Also, comedy here tends to be broad speaking in ways. Like, Chris Rock might say "Black people don't have time to hate Jews, black people hate WHITE PEOPLE." but obviously he doesn't mean every black person hates every white person. It's like when people say "Men are terrible" and someone goes "Not all men." If it doesn't apply, it doesn't apply, and no offense is needed to be taken. But it isn't always easy to hear when a person hears it, so I get it.

I think you just don't like a certain type of stand-up. It's not really an American/British thing. There are a ton of American stand-up comedians who aren't assholes, just like there are a whole bunch of mean-spirited British comedians.

Just like everything else though, there is far more American than anything else so it's easy to come up with a giant list of asshole comedians.

You should check out Finnish comedy!

Actually, I should too! Those emotionless assholes should have some amazing comedians.

I dont think most American comedians are funny either. But that’s cuz I’m 44. Not cuz I’m american

@bukktown: Not gonna lie, I was going to come to the thread and say at least American comedies/comedians aren't as bad as Finnish ones. Finnish comedy has one joke and it's that a person who is drunk is inherently funny. I'm only partially joking.

The problem with American comedy is that much like 99% of American media, the mainstream product is going to be targeted towards the lowest common denominator. It's gonna be loud, shouty, constantly explaining the jokes, going for the obvious punchlines and trying not to make conservatives mad. But just scratching beneath the surface, you're going to find stuff that's not going to be afraid of being introspective, asking the hard questions and just going at a slower pace. I dare anyone to watch the Bear for example and say that show is not earnest.

Also, let's not pretend that British panel shows don't regularly feature people that can only be described as aggressively unfunny.

Lol British comedy has to be some of the most mean-spirited and nihilistic comedy out there. What a weird post. I find every one of your observations to be the complete opposite of mine.

Also, can we just change this title to "I don't get stand-up comedy period". Like don't get me wrong, it takes an insane amount of confidence and courage (that I don't have) to stand up in front of a large crowd of people and to try to be funny, but I just don't really get the appeal. I have never had laugh-out-loud moments watching whatever stand comedy there is, be it British or American. What's funny is that it's become even more popular in non-English speaking parts of the world like Eastern Europe.

To me, the things that I find funny and comedic come from a sudden and unexpected place, usually from non-comedy shows or movies. So the idea of sitting and watching a stand-up comedy routine inherently creates this mental barrier in my brain when watching it since I come with a more aware expectation that thing is supposed to make me laugh., with the sole purpose of just trying to make me laugh.

well, I guess comedy really is in the eye of the beholder! I don't really have personal preferences, but it's interesting to hear different perspectives on comedy. It's true that sometimes humor can be mean-spirited, but I think there's also a lot of American comedy that's lighthearted and silly. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!

I'll offer a perspective from someone that's neither American or British; for a Swede like me, British humor translates a lot less than American. Your examples, while fun (and I recently enjoyed Fresh Meat), actually don't translate as well as the majority of American humor shows. Or to use a left field example; there are more cards in the UK version of Cards Against Humanity that me and my friends leave out because they make zero sense to us, while all of the cards in the US version works just fine.

Also, I absolutely love American stand up.

This reads like an alien has just discovered different forms of [something] and doesn't know why they're different!

@sombre: Maybe the belittling the audience gets more views. there are more types of stand ups than just that