Members nat whilk II Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 How to define her schtick? Just see if you can put a new twist on raunchy or inappropriate, somehow come up with an unexpected new low? I mean that kind of humor is kinda going around - just poke around OJ for a while.... Of course anyone who's offended just doesn't get it - and displays their own fundamentally uptight nature, etc., etc. I mean it's certainly effective in the sense of just generating a response...the things she says makes you wince, laugh (sort of) in embarrasement, groan, or just shake your head. She's like the girl in your 7th grade class who had a genius for digging your ribs in just the most sensitive spot. Effective. I suppose it takes a certain amount of cleverness and creativity, too, to keep coming up with yet more outrageous things to say and not just become a sort of raunchy sixty-cycle hum. But I don't see how her routine is somehow blasting the bigots/racists/sluts/etc that she portrays in her mercilessly deadpan manner. There has to be a grain of truth in a lampoon to make it funny - exaggerated, sure, but still with just a grain of truth. Her character seems to me to be just pure fantasy...I can't relate her "bad" character to any really "bad" people in the real world. So there's no zing in her barbs. So her "lampoon" just has no target to me. Her barbs just fly out but land nowhere... But back to my original question: Is she funny? Well, sure, there's hardly a more relative term than "funny", so maybe the question is - is she funny to you? If so, what is it about her routine that makes it funny to you? In some ways, she does remind me of Andy Kaufman - the master of the put-on, and how he would carry things to the edge, beyond the edge, and insanely still keep going. But I found Andy killingly funny - not Ms. Silverman. Am I missing something here? nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dean Roddey Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 Actually she's not the New Andy Kaufman, she's the New Lenny Bruce. It's a form of comedy that is intended to push the edge, to make you uncomfortable, to make you see in yourself a certain dark side which makes you laugh but also makes you kind of queasy. There's a place for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mark Vasquez Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 i think shes kinda funny and sorta hot in a goofy way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pipelineaudio Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 was andy kaufman funny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Craigly Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 The same answer applies to Andy as Sara. Yes, in small doses. Sara is kind of a one note wonder. I find myself doing way too much anticipating of the gross out or offensiveness to enjoy her jokes. The surprise is gone. I don't buy the premise anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shniggens Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 She's annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimOBrien Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 She reminds me too much of the pouty little rich girls in college that THINK they are funny. I switch the channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 I think she can be funny. I'd heard her on the radio (heavily bleeped, of course)... but I'd never seen her before I first looked around for the Britney VMA awards vid and caught part of her bit at the MTV movie awards show -- where she was pretty funny. Mighty vulgar. But, you know, that's stand-up these days. I was considerably less impressed by the clip I saw of her at the VMA, where she seemed flat, repeated some of the jokes she'd used at the previous award show, apparently (!?!) and just wasn't hitting stride. That kind of humor doesn't really do that much for me -- but the people she tends to turn it on seem to deserve it so much, maybe there's a broader value. Someone needs to say the things about Lindsay Lohan, Spears, et al, that she says... and really stick it to 'em as Silverman did at the movie award show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Iamtheblues Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 She's somewhat funny, I'd tap that ass though...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Peake Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 She throws into our faces the things we try to ignore in order to feel comfortable. How else are we ever going to be comfortable with those things unless we actually look at them? She's a sociologist and performs an important public service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members antiochband Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 Funny AND hot, plus she'll do regular-looking guys (Jimmy Kimmel) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B Money Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 i don't think her comedy is funny, innovative, edgy or offensive. It's just lame really. She tanked so badly at the Video Music Awards that hopefully even Jimmy Kimmel won't be able to get her any more gigs. What has she done that can be labelled successful? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members antiochband Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 Her comedy is style is more offbeat/quirky/random, which I liike. I feel she does it better than other comedians who attempt it. And what's wrong with looking hot while doing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted September 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 She throws into our faces the things we try to ignore in order to feel comfortable. How else are we ever going to be comfortable with those things unless we actually look at them?She's a sociologist and performs an important public service. I can go with that to a degree...but I don't go with the idea that feeling comfortable about everything is necessarily a good thing... Ok, so we get to where we're totally free and unhindered talking about menstrual blood, details of oral sex, or any insult whatsoever against various religions, races, etc. Where's the gain in that? Now if she makes us uncomfortable yet laughing while she reveals our hypocrisies, bigotries, ethical slop, hidden hatreds, chauvinism, all that...sure, that's a public service. There are lots of comedians that work that angle. But if she just pulls the cover off the dish at a fancy dinner to reveal a bloody turd - I don't see the public service. Are we supposed to somehow feel like such a thing should not make us feel uncomfortable? What's wrong with ignoring such things? Is she on a mission to destroy any and all revulsions and taboos? Or is she doing a really circular thing where, as we try to become "comfortable" with her verbal abominations, the joke is on the audience itself, as it look ridiculous trying to be "cool" about things that are so blatantly uncool... I had an English prof who used to make the grossest, cruelest jokes he could during class, so if he could catch any self-professed Christians laughing in spite of themselves, he felt he had nailed them. Is Silverman nailing the audience in this way? Yeah, I know I'm probably over-analyzing, but everyone who knows me has to put up with that from time to time... nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chipmcdonald Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 She's not the "new" anything. She's funny oftentimes, and witty in a unique way, but she's falling prey to what everyone is these days - the pressure to succeed is so tight now that everyone is going to extremes, including comedians. It's like we've entered a sociological culling phase, whose outcome is only determined by some Darwinian pressure to do something extreme someone else is scared to do. Has nothing to do with art or inherent value, but bravery. Bravery is oftentimes more rewarded today than anything else, and social pressure is making it the dominant choice - whether it's to try to do two backflips 50' in the air on a dirt bike, play guitar faster, or to try to push taboo buttons in Hollywood. Additionally, there's YouTube to keep score for everyone, amplifying the effect. / tired of extremes being the answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jotown Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 There is funny, and there is sociological humor, there is political humor, but comparing her to Lenny Bruce is pretty funny in itself. Lenny Bruce was pushing at the edges to make people aware of social issues by making them uncomfortable through humor. I don't get any social consciousness from her; only meanspirited inusulting deadpan. She does not make me laugh or think. She makes me wonder how she gets the gig she gets. But thats just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 She does what Stephen Colbert does: pretends to endorse one set of beliefs (on politics, sex, feminism, beauty, Judaism, etc.) while implying exactly the polar opposite. It's that old Jonathan Swift "Let's eat the children" shtick. If you take Silverman literally, she may not be funny.... you have to see that 180deg irony. She wants to see how many people are gonna take the bait.... and that's the funny part. BTW, She and Margaret Cho used to come hear me perform at my club in SF before they were famous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Peake Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 I can go with that to a degree...but I don't go with the idea that feeling comfortable about everything is necessarily a good thing...Ok, so we get to where we're totally free and unhindered talking about menstrual blood, details of oral sex, or any insult whatsoever against various religions, races, etc. Where's the gain in that?Now if she makes us uncomfortable yet laughing while she reveals our hypocrisies, bigotries, ethical slop, hidden hatreds, chauvinism, all that...sure, that's a public service. There are lots of comedians that work that angle.(Unfair snip of a good post...)nat whilk ii Hi Nat, there is a place in spirituality called non-duality that is especially taught by Buddhists, that I only know of through reading, that implies that on the path to freedom, the dynamic of good/evil is surpassed. I'd really like to know about this firsthand. And in general, if we are uncomfortable with things like dying, disease, etc., we'll suffer as a result, so there is of course merit in understanding and transcending the things that trouble us, as our perceptions are all that matter. On a more normal level.. I agree with you. I've only seen her movie "Jesus is Magic" and found it a much-needed kick in the groin. I don't know if her other work is as useful, per my description. I could be supporting someone who has since, unknown to me, descended to Britney levels. Hopefully not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dean Roddey Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 There is funny, and there is sociological humor, there is political humor, but comparing her to Lenny Bruce is pretty funny in itself.Lenny Bruce was pushing at the edges to make people aware of social issues by making them uncomfortable through humor.I don't get any social consciousness from her; only meanspirited inusulting deadpan. Lots of people probably felt the same about Lenny Bruce, hence the Lenny Bruce comparison, just adjusted for another century's great latitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hard Truth Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 I think she is very funny 75% of the time. I find her most similar to Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm. He seems like such a jerk, but I realized that in reality he has to have a sense of decency and social awareness to be able to observe and mock his character's bad attitudes and behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members angstwulf Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 She's a very talented and funny smartass. But, no, she doesn't rise to the level of a Lenny Bruce because there is nothing political or social behind it. Her schtick is that she is so uncompromisingly obnoxious (and pretty clever about it) that you can't help but laugh and squirm at the same time. It doesn't hurt that she's cute. But that is a really hard game to play in comedy - you can't ever drop it or you lose your effectiveness (eg. Andrew Dice Clay, not that he was funny, but when he tried to be sensitve, oi vey). And if you don't eventually change, you can become kind of irrelevant. Of course, there's always Sam Kinison... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kenlacam Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 I think that she is funny. Also funny is Lisa Lampinelli. This type of humor is not for the easily offended, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kenlacam Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 I think she is very funny 75% of the time. I find her most similar to Larry Charles in Curb Your Enthusiasm. He seems like such a jerk, but I realized that in reality he has to have a sense of decency and social awareness to be able to observe and mock his character's bad attitudes and behavior. Is Larry Charles related to Larry David? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hard Truth Posted September 13, 2007 Members Share Posted September 13, 2007 Opps, I get them confused. They were partners when they worked on Seinfeld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryst Posted September 13, 2007 Members Share Posted September 13, 2007 She should do porn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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