When “Jokers” Go Wild In A Full House
There’s a point when a comedian stops being funny and starts being crude. In last night’s Roast of Bob Saget, the traditional group of roasters - like Jeff Ross - crossed the line, as they usually do in these shows. Bob Saget has reportedly taken offense to how the Olsen twins were ridiculed by these acquaintances, and I’m inclined to agree with him.
Bob Saget at the Comedy
Central Roast of Bob Saget
which aired 8-17-08.
The comedians present would mock Saget and each other, but some people got it worse than others. Like Andy Dick in previous Roasts, Norm McDonald was attacked viciously and should have stormed out of the room after telling the speakers what spiritual plane they could go to. The humor was vulgar for vulgarity’s sake, and that shock value was meant to be funny, when really comedian like Sarah Silverman and Jeff Ross just came off as lazy and unnecessarily offensive.
There’s a gracefulness to humor, where you have to pull your punches and make vulgar jokes with the right timing and when it fits the flow of the bit. Throwing out f&%^ and c*%& like a Rambo machine gun is immature at its best, and boring at its worst. Cloris Leachman stole the show, I thought, because her humor was dirty when it needed to be, cheesy when it was called for. Her jokes were based on cliché and sometimes personal attacks, but with restraint and varied placement.
Hopefully the “comedians” that hover around the Roasts like vultures will wise up or get a new job, because shock value humor has made itself irrelevant in the past few years, and if these guys don’t evolve, they’re going to go extinct.
But then again, this is perfect humor for nine-year-olds who stay up late to sneak peaks at “adult” shows when they’re parents think they’re asleep.
Matt Knicl: My name is Matt Knicl. I'm a U of I alumn and one of those unemployed English majors Garrison Keillor likes to make fun of. I've been reading comics since high school and one day I would like to write them. My goal is to expose readers to what is out there in the world of comics and using my English powers, show what is worth reading or not. I can be reached at buzz.comics@gmail.com.
Comments
steve (steve) says:
(Posted August 19th, 2008 at 11:51 am)
I thought Posehn did great. He was hilarious.
Overall I thought the lineup was weak and was one of the better roasts I’ve seen.
Mary Z. (Mary Z.) says:
(Posted August 19th, 2008 at 12:15 pm)
Norm MacDonald was the best, hands down.
Dan Hargens (Dan Hargens) says:
(Posted August 19th, 2008 at 6:56 pm)
I believe you’re missing the point of the ‘blue’ language and Saget. In the movie “The Aristocrats”, Saget had the most outrageous and filthiest version of the joke in the whole movie! And as he’s a natural potty-mouth, it further shocks you - and benefits the telling of the joke - as his TV personna is quite the opposite. Therefore, the roast accentuated where he lives comedy-wise. Yes, the roasters naturally lean toward crude humor, but here it works. Don’t forget, there’s an art to swearing, and if you’re good at it and it’s a part of you then it simply comes naturally to you.
And I will resist telling you if you disagree then you can screw yourself and your mode of transportation.
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Matt Knicl
My name is Matt Knicl. I'm a U of I alumn and one of those unemployed English majors Garrison Keillor likes to make fun of. I've been reading comics since high school and one day I would like to write them. My goal is to expose readers to what is out there in the world of comics and using my English powers, show what is worth reading or not. I can be reached at buzz.comics@gmail.com.
Jeff Brandt (Jeff Brandt) says:
(Posted August 19th, 2008 at 11:06 am)
How was Brian Posehn? I saw he was on the roasters lineup, but I missed the roast. I actually met him after a show at the Punchline in San Francisco a couple years ago. Pretty down-to-earth guy when you talk to him one-on-one.