Jump to content

US vs UK Stand Up


Kamikaze

Recommended Posts

I like watching the odd Stand Up on Youtube, but in general I'm not that into US stand ups. I'm English, so maybe a cultrual thing, but I can't help thinking some of the career standups are over rated. Bill Burr is one. I'm not offended by his humour, in fact I don't see him as edgy as maybe he sees himself.  He just makes observations sometime these are amusing  sometimes, him doing a silly voice is just annoying, but I never find myself cracking up. The same with Louie CK, I really don't get how people in the audience are loosing it to him.

So I guess this is because I'm British so maybe it doesn't come across the same way.

Recently I've been watching Micky Flanagan, which may be the antithesis being very English and very London in particular. Cracks me up.

Frankie Boyle really does do offensive, cracks me up too.

Stewart Lee,   in a class of his own.

Even Australian humour is similar, Jim Jeffries, and Steve Hughs both get my laughing out loud.

 

Do Americans find Brits that Funny, and vs versa?

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that the cultural thing definitely plays a part, but some are good enough to transcend that.

Loiue CK has his moments, his babies on planes routine is one that springs to mind, but I watched one of his shows on Netflix recently and it was a bit slow to say the least. Joe Rogan's "strange times" is pretty funny IMO and somewhere on YT there is a routine he does about how people think they're smart, but they're not really which is very good. Chris Rock can be good, I watched his latest show the other week and it was a bit slow to begin with, but once he gets into his stride it was good. Going back in time, Eddie Murphy's "Delirious" was pant wettingly funny.

Of the current UK crop I agree that Micky Flanagan is hard not to find funny and I also like Ricky Gervais, John Bishop, Jason Manford and away from the TV cheese Michael McIntryre is pretty good too, although I do get why some can't take to him. Frankie Boyle I can take for 20 minutes, but he becomes a bit boring IMO.  Eddie Izzard used to be great, but seems to have lost it once he lost the make up.

I agree that Stewart Lee is in a league of his own. However, it's not a league you'd want to be in.

One thing I really struggle to find funny is most female stand-ups. I did watch Katherine Ryan recently and she was pretty good, but most of them seem to base their acts on some kind of agenda and I find that tiresome, especially as it's usually the same agenda as all the others.  Nina Conti, the ventriloquist,  is funny, but I've never seen more than a 10/15 minute slot, so I don't know if it would still be funny after an hour or so.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, James G said:

Stewart Lee, Bill Bailey, Lee Evans (retired sadly) Peter Kay. All have had me crying with laughter. 

 

I didn't know Lee Evans had retired. That's a shame. (well, not for him I guess)  I always wondered why he used to wear suits all the time when he was clearly dripping with sweat after about 10 minutes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, paulo said:

 

I didn't know Lee Evans had retired. That's a shame. (well, not for him I guess)  I always wondered why he used to wear suits all the time when he was clearly dripping with sweat after about 10 minutes.

Saw an interview with him where he said that he had his stage suits made with double sewn seams otherwise they'd just fall apart after a couple of gigs. Never seen anyone sweat as much as him. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Eddie Izzard, Billy Connolly, Peter Kay all good but how about Joe Brand or Kevin Bridges in the mix ... all U'K,ies, but the US has (had) Richard  Pryor, David Chapelle among the greats and can crack me up ... how about the worst ?? WOe  ( Kudos to Bill Bailey..  respect !!) To get ya started Nina Conti (Nice NF)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, SPAK said:

 Eddie Izzard, Billy Connolly, Peter Kay all good but how about Joe Brand or Kevin Bridges in the mix ... all U'K,ies, but the US has (had) Richard  Pryor, David Chapelle among the greats and can crack me up ... how about the worst ?? WOe  ( Kudos to Bill Bailey..  respect !!) To get ya started Nina Conti (Nice NF)

 

 

I like Kevin Bridges, funny bloke. Never found Pryor funny tbh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/5/2019 at 12:07 PM, SPAK said:

 To get ya started Nina Conti (Nice NF)

 

 

Yeah, I saw her on YT videos a few years ago and thought she was great. Having said that, I don't care for many UK comedians. According to my Ancestry DNA test (which I just got the results of yesterday), I'm 56% British and 19% Scots-Irish (blimey I'm a limey!), but I guess the gene that makes you like UK comedy skipped me. Most of my favorite writers are from the British Isles--GK Chesterton, CS Lewis, Charles Williams, George MacDonald, Arthur C Clarke, Susanna Clarke, on and on, and I like their subtle humor, but the stand-up guys just don't do it for me.

With Americans, Steven Wright is still my favorite.

Edited by Will Hackett
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Benny Hill had a funny tv show that was pretty popular in the US back in the day.  I enjoyed Paul Hogan in his tv show and as Crocodile Dundee.  A current comedian I enjoy is Tim Hawkins.  Here is a routine featuring Tim and Johnnie W:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f41voxhY3w

Here is a Christmas parody of the song "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year": https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=xYywjfFhbpk

 

Edited by fogle622
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tend to agree. I'm Australian and we grew up watching Benny Hill, Dave Allen (brilliant story teller) The Two Ronnies, and shows like On The Busses and Love Thy Neighbour. I definitely relate more to Pommie humour than American. Having said that, Arj Barker is a seriously clever comedian! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...