English Humor??

[Goblin]

I LOVE Monty Python and the Holy Grail and I freely admit it is probably because it is such a popular movie and Im following the crowd, but my interest in English humor ends there...

I tried watching Benny Hill as a kid... For obvious reasons... I just didn't get it.

My sociology professor took me and my wife to see Shaun of the Dead in Cleveland because it wasn't showing in Youngstown. I definitly didn't get the humor in that movie.

And I just bought Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This movie has a couple of funny parts, but overall it is pretty stupid. My friend told me the book was good so I thought Id give the movie a try. Pardon if this isn't considered an "English Humor" movie... Im assuming it is because of the accents and such.

Kids in the Hall was a good time passer show, but it was nothing compared to SNL.

My point is that I just spent $20 on this movie (I like to own and not rent.) and it is kinda stupid... I think Im gonna stay away from English Humor movies from now on. >.<

 

[J.T.S.]

English humor? Thats an oxymoron, isn't it?

 

[om3ga]

English humor? Thats an oxymoron, isn't it?

And a "hardy-har-har" to you too, matey-boy......

 

[member2686]

English comedians (like English chefs or dentists) are a bit like Democrats in the southern states in the USA. You don't expect them to be there, but they're really refreshing when you run across one! LOL! :1orglaugh :nanner:

 

[om3ga]

Benny Hill is your average British seaside saucy postcard humour - and he's sadly missed (RIP)......
Compared to some so-called Brit "comics" (take a bow, Jim Davidson), he was a genius.

 

[member2686]

Benny Hill drove me up a fuckin' wall! He was like the redneck TV show "Hee Haw" here in the USA - lame jokes with some tits & ass here and there... lol His post-middle-age pervy skits were puerile at best.

I like Brit comedy classics "Are You Being Served?," "Fawlty Towers," and "Mr. Bean's" stuff far better. "The Young Ones" was a trashy and juvenile show too, but really funny as well! :nanner: :1orglaugh

 

[om3ga]

Benny Hill drove me up a fuckin' wall! He was like the redneck TV show "Hee Haw" here in the USA - lame jokes with some tits & ass here and there... lol His post-middle-age pervy skits were puerile at best.

I like Brit comedy classics "Are You Being Served?," "Fawlty Towers," and "Mr. Bean's" stuff far better. "The Young Ones" was a trashy and juvenile show too, but really funny as well! :nanner: :1orglaugh

Hated "Are You Being Served" - it was shows like that which made me glad when "The Young Ones" & "Five Go Mad" series first appeared.

 

[member2686]

LOL! "Are You Being Served?" is on all the time here on PBS. I just love it. It's cheesy and funny. :thumbsup:

 

[dirac]

I gotta agree "Are you being served" is an English camp classic. BTW have you yanks seen The Royle family, Pheonix Nights, The office or 2DTV yet, cuz they're at the cutting edge of Brittish humour at the moment IMO

 

[om3ga]

LOL! "Are You Being Served?" is on all the time here on PBS. I just love it. It's cheesy and funny. :thumbsup:

Me - I like: "Dad's Army", "Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin", "The New Statesman", "Bottom", "The Real McCoy", "Desmonds", "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Alan Partridge - aha!), "Only Fools & Horses", "Steptoe & Son", "The Goodies", "Up Pompeii" & "Father Ted" (to name but a few).

[edit] Hated: "Keeping Up Appearances", "Are You Being Served", "Terry & June", "Love Thy Neighbour", "Mind Your Language" - and Jim Davidson (grrr)

 

[RogueWolf]

Kids in the Hall was a good time passer show, but it was nothing compared to SNL.

I LOVED Kids in the Hall! (Wasn't that Canadian though?)

 

[dirac]

lol Father Ted, what a brilliant piece of comedy!

 

[member2686]

Kids in the Hall was Canadian - FYI. The "father" of SNL, Lorne Michaels, is also Canadian. lol Those crazy Canucks!

LMAO :thumbsup:

 

[Ric0chet]

Sean of the Dead is a superb movie! Spaced is a great series with the majority of the same cast. This show infact was the catalyst for the movie.

English humour can be bad, same as all humour. What I've noticed is that most of you are bringing up old TV shows. They are classics but are these old shows being compared the current US comedy scene or the old? We can't be making such bad shows, The Office (must see) is being converted into a US series, although I doubt it will have the same impact and probably lose some of the sarcastic edge.

Oh and Nightfly... Mr Bean is awful! I would rather wipe my ass with a broken bottle to simulate the effect of me watching that show and laughing!

 

[aaron]

Blackadder.
Look it up if you're not familiar.

 

[om3ga]

Blackadder.
Look it up if you're not familiar.

They're all good.........

[edit] sheesh! no mention of Red Dwarf..........?

 

[Phil_Mitchell]

Can’t say I enjoyed Shaun of the Dead in the slightest and Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a big disappointment. I think that in the end the comedy in the film had been watered down to appeal to other audiences rather then just us Brits.
The classics like Fawlty Towers and Blackadder are always a favorite and translate well across the world. (on a side note when Fawlty Towers is show in Spain Manwell becomes an Italian as not to offend the Spanish viewers.)
More recent series like The Office and Alan Partridge have been big successes in England.
…also worth a look is “Little Britain”

As for stand up comedians like Benny Hill And Jim Davidson that only work on one basic level, with such jokes as “take my wife” …”…no please take my wife” aren’t on my list of favorite stand-ups. More successful comedians like Lee Evans or Eddy Izzard, who have both done things in America are better received as their humor has more depth.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/profiles/lee_evans.shtml is a good link and may be useful to educate the naïve about British comedy
:hatsoff:

 

[Duke of Venice]

I am being biased, but British comedy is the best in the world. We have produced comic geniuses like Tommy Cooper, Eric Morcambe, Benny Hill and the recently passed on Ronnie Barker. In my opinion Ronnie Barker was the best comedien ever.

Nowadays we have people like Ricky Gervais, Peter Kay, Eddie Izzard and Jack Dee. Gervais and Izzard are both popular in the States and The Office was a huge hit with the American audience.The Simpsons is very similar to British humour though and that is why it is so popular here.

We have had some crap comedians who i'm ashamed of like Jim Davidson, Chubby Brown, Freddie Starr, Bernard Manning and Ben Elton.

 

[tunsty]

I was going to right a few paragraphs on how great I think British humour is..but I can't be arsed.
If you don't get it..don't bother watching it

 

[Tamburlaine]

"And I just bought Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This movie has a couple of funny parts, but overall it is pretty stupid. My friend told me the book was good so I thought Id give the movie a try. Pardon if this isn't considered an "English Humor" movie... Im assuming it is because of the accents and such."

:2 cents: Forget movies! Hollywood has an immensely long history of making a hash of almost eveything, be it humor, Hamlet or history.

I don't believe one can ever be satisified with celluloid versions of any works of 'literature'; our own Peter Jackson did a magnificent job on Tolkien's meisterwork but I've seen on BBs that a lot of people weren't happy, complaining about what he missed out (I'm told the pre-release version of "Dune" was someting like 9 hours long!).

Read. Imagine. Wonder. Laugh. That's what books are for and no number of Lucases, Spielbergs or Tarantinos will ever eclipse them.