Comedians that are just not funny

Raith_C_Chattonell

PrincessFiona said:

Stuart Lee - nothing funny the whole evening

Could it be this @PrincessFiona?

https://youtu.be/Ru-KASR51kA

DOUCHER

Can't believe this debate is still going - Michael Mcintyre and all female comedians is the answer.  

SporadicAddick

DA9 said:

I saw revolutionary socialist (his words, not mine) Mark Thomas on Friday at a local comedy club.
I went with my partner who wanted to see him, it wouldn't have been my choice, some funny lines but essentially it was a rant against middle class Bexley, anyone with a modicum of success and money, whether earnt or not, and a rather abusive rant about golfers and how they are stealing land. I was not surprised by any of his material as I knew what to expect but had a little chuckle as I saw him leaving the car park in a private plate Mercedes top of the range convertible, power to the people comrade.

Public school as well - probably wears red cords.

Exiled_Addick

Leroy Ambrose said:

RodneyCharltonTrotta said:

Leroy Ambrose said:

Guardy said:

ElliotCAFC said:

I really don't understand how anyone finds Ricky Gervais remotely funny, he's a writer pretending to be a stand-up comic. Every single special of his is the same, the same boring premises that, despite being written with the sole purpose of being edgy, aren't edgy to anyone that isn't the same age as him.  

He then always hides behind "You don't like it because you're offended". It's all so odd. 

I suppose comedy is a personal thing, I find Gervais funny but, as I’m 59, that’s the reason. I’m not easily offended.

Don't think it's that. I'm 52, most of the comedians I like are much more offensive than Gervais (Jeselnik, Glaser, Sadowitz, Boyle (Frankie, not Susan 😏)). I think Gervais is a shit stand up. 

Have seen Sadowitz (and his cock!) a few times. Brilliant (his material...not his cock).

Doug Stanhope, Sadowitz and even, to a lesser degree, Jim Jefferies,  make Gervais' comedy look tame. Still like him a lot though although appreciate he's very marmite as a stand up.

Stanhope is an underappreciated genius. His bit on Nationalism is perfect. 

Saw him at a comedy club here in Edmonton a few years ago. He was very funny and had a terrific bit about the mental health clinic his bipolar girlfriend visited that was in the same strip mall as a liquor store and a gun shop!

meldrew66

Interesting how much distain there is for Michael McIntyre. Margaret and I really find his observational humour very funny as, clearly, many others must do for him to be so popular. We are late 50’s so maybe it’s an age thing when he focuses on things like family-related experiences etc. We found Rob Beckett funny at Tunbridge Wells last week and his humour is on similar lines. The same could be said for Lee Evans in his early years.

Southendaddick

I think a lot of the problem with stand up is the obvious agenda they try to push whether it’s race, left wing, right wing, gay/straight,  woke anti woke etc 

I just want to hear a good joke, give me Mike Reid over Stewart Lee any day and even the harmless stuff from the likes of McIntyre appeal

Silly gags like his routine on ordering wine in a restaurant I can relate to as that’s me at a business lunch every single time you can see why it can appeal to the middle class masses.

Give me that over the political shite any day 

Carter

Southendaddick said:

I think a lot of the problem with stand up is the obvious agenda they try to push whether it’s race, left wing, right wing, gay/straight,  woke anti woke etc 

I just want to hear a good joke, give me Mike Reid over Stewart Lee any day and even the harmless stuff from the likes of McIntyre appeal

Silly gags like his routine on ordering wine in a restaurant I can relate to as that’s me at a business lunch every single time you can see why it can appeal to the middle class masses.

Give me that over the political shite any day 

Not a fan of Michael McIntyre but I agree with where you are coming from 

Thats what puts me off Elliot Steel to be honest, him shoehorning his views into every routine. I love people taking the piss out of politicians though regardless of what colour (blue/red/green etc) same applies to most of the real lefties as comics tend to be leftist by virtue of being in the entertainment game and a lot of it is bone idle to be honest. Kier Starmer and Angela Rayner are two of the biggest open goals for comedians and they get a pass way too often from ones who would rather go after Trump even though he isn't elected by us. I'm probably sailing too close to the wind there but I think you get what I mean 

Dave Rudd

SporadicAddick said:

iainment said:

This is like a debate on Marmite.

I don't understand how anyone likes that stuff.

I have no strong opinion on Marmite.

Pfft!

ThrappersAddick

McIntyre gets a lot of stick but he is seriously good at what he does. 
I first saw him around 2008 at Norwich Playhouse and I have never laughed so hard for two hours straight. There's a lot of snobbery in standup, most of it absolutely ridiculous. Having said that, I probably wouldn't pay to see him nowadays! 

KiwiValley

Has Gervais done his dash? I watched his comedy special about 12 months ago and was really disappointed. Haven’t bothered with his latest. Should I? After Life was a ‘B’ and a shadow of his earlier works 

Can’t believe the hate on Stewart Lee . I love his meta layered routines 

Stephen Fry has never pretended to be a stand up but more a comic actor and raconteur. I’d have him around for dinner.

Crystal Palace always makes me laugh.

ThrappersAddick

Gervais has absolutely run his course. Loved Animals, Politics and Fame and the returns have diminished since. Mortality is absolute shit. Wasted an hour on it over Christmas. Don't bother! You can literally play Gervais Bingo. It's all in there. Trans, check. You can't say anything anymore, tick. I'm rich, double tick. 

church-lane

Cant stand Michael Mcintyre.

One fella I do find funny though is Fin Taylor.  Any other fans?

Swisdom

CaptainBeefheart said:

Josh Widdicombe is just not funny at all

and sounds like Bungle on helium

R0TW

meldrew66 said:

Interesting how much distain there is for Michael McIntyre. Margaret and I really find his observational humour very funny as, clearly, many others must do for him to be so popular. We are late 50’s so maybe it’s an age thing when he focuses on things like family-related experiences etc. We found Rob Beckett funny at Tunbridge Wells last week and his humour is on similar lines. The same could be said for Lee Evans in his early years.

Still hanging onto that late 50s tag Victor.

Like it :-)

Carter

Finn Taylor is brilliant 

Finn Taylor vs the internet is about the sole reason for me having a YouTube account. 

Simon Brodkin is a worthy mention i forgot about earlier, the prank stuff he did years ago was good at a time not everyone was doing stuff like that, not since Dennis Pennis, any variant of Sacha Baron Cohen at least and his stand up, stands up. 

Jimmy Carr another giant of the game
Bill Burr is easily my favourite American comic, that guy has always been legitimate and not afraid to go against the grain 
Jim Jeffries another very decent stand up 
Joe Rogan, strewth, I like his podcasts as much as the next punter but his stand up, nah not for me, probably how unrelatable I find American humour but him, I appreciate he is doing his bit and promoting comedy though 
Nikki Glaser someone mentioned earlier and Amy Schumer are good. 
Andrew Santino, yeah decent 

I remember seeing the guy who played the lead in I, Daniel Blake years before that film was even thought of and he brought the house down 

John Bishop I struggle with, bit of a housewives favourite, Jason Manford similar but his stand up is a bit more for me. Jack Whitehall can be brilliant if I park my resentment at him being handed a lot of opportunities as I don't really begrudge him that and you still have to perform after getting a 5 night run at the O2. He was excellent in fresh meat too

Peter Kay, yeah he's Peter Kay but I much much prefer his tv shows to his newer stand up. Mickey Flanagan nearly made me puke with laughter the first time I rolled the dice and went to see an early tour show of his. He deserves his success that guy. 

R0TW

We are on a similar page.
The early Dennis Pennis stuff was a whole new shock era that many followed

https://youtu.be/LvghEZX9fNs?si=cv1soTNm1wfSpxY6

Blackheathen

carly burn said:

Blackheathen said:

Many years ago we walked out of a Ben Elton show.  Crude beyond belief and simply not funny in the slightest which is strange giving the excellent shows like Black Adder which he has helped write.

We have just discovered Have I Got News For You with Ian Hislop and Paul Merton which is so varied and funny with great guests - many of whom are not comedians - and we watch a clip most nights.

Just discovered it !!??!!
Now that is funny!

We live in NZ.  When does my News Chronicle arrive?

shine166

Joe Wilkinson is very funny, just very silly comedy with no agenda. 

carly burn

ThrappersAddick said:

Gervais has absolutely run his course. Loved Animals, Politics and Fame and the returns have diminished since. Mortality is absolute shit. Wasted an hour on it over Christmas. Don't bother! You can literally play Gervais Bingo. It's all in there. Trans, check. You can't say anything anymore, tick. I'm rich, double tick. 

Gervais hasn't been any good since the 11 o'clock show!

MuttleyCAFC

I like Henning Wehn. He could read the news and it would be funny.

JohnBoyUK

Has anyone seen much of a scouse fella called Paul 'Pablo' Smith? 

I hadn't even heard of him until a reel appeared on my insta feed about 2 months ago now I'm literally inundated with reels of him at the Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool.

Now, at first, the first couple of reels I watched got a bit of a stifled giggle....but his act seems to be to absolutely roast his audience and I mean roast them.  It's very OTT.

For example: https://tinyurl.com/yp5fwsxc

I guess its a new age of comedy.  More offensive than funny.

jose

Peter Handke wrote a play ‘Insulting the Audience’ sixty years ago.
The ‘roasting’ concept is now old hat.

Leroy Ambrose

JohnBoyUK said:

Has anyone seen much of a scouse fella called Paul 'Pablo' Smith? 

I hadn't even heard of him until a reel appeared on my insta feed about 2 months ago now I'm literally inundated with reels of him at the Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool.

Now, at first, the first couple of reels I watched got a bit of a stifled giggle....but his act seems to be to absolutely roast his audience and I mean roast them.  It's very OTT.

For example: https://tinyurl.com/yp5fwsxc

I guess its a new age of comedy.  More offensive than funny.

Not seen the twenty or so other posts above about him John? 🤣

lordromford

ThrappersAddick said:

McIntyre gets a lot of stick but he is seriously good at what he does. 
I first saw him around 2008 at Norwich Playhouse and I have never laughed so hard for two hours straight. There's a lot of snobbery in standup, most of it absolutely ridiculous. Having said that, I probably wouldn't pay to see him nowadays! 

I will hold my hands up and admit I haven’t seen enough of Michael McIntyre to know whether he’s funny or not.
This is because I can’t bear to watch or listen to him for more than about 5 seconds without getting an urge to punch him in the face. It’s everything about him: his face, his voice, his mannerisms, everything. 

I’ve only ever caught tiny snippets of his material, so maybe this is unfair, but it appears to be “observational” material where he yells “DARLING!” to his wife because some “hilarious” situation has unfolded between them or something. Basically 1970s sitcom style observational humour.

Maybe I’m missing out, but frankly:
a) I doubt it. and
b) If I am missing out, I’m happy to live with that.

ElliotCAFC

JohnBoyUK said:

Has anyone seen much of a scouse fella called Paul 'Pablo' Smith? 

I hadn't even heard of him until a reel appeared on my insta feed about 2 months ago now I'm literally inundated with reels of him at the Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool.

Now, at first, the first couple of reels I watched got a bit of a stifled giggle....but his act seems to be to absolutely roast his audience and I mean roast them.  It's very OTT.

For example: https://tinyurl.com/yp5fwsxc

I guess its a new age of comedy.  More offensive than funny.

"What do you do for work la?"

"I'm a teacher"

"Oh you're a bad nonce you"

That's essentially his entire set. 

boggzy

DA9 said:

I saw revolutionary socialist (his words, not mine) Mark Thomas on Friday at a local comedy club.
I went with my partner who wanted to see him, it wouldn't have been my choice, some funny lines but essentially it was a rant against middle class Bexley, anyone with a modicum of success and money, whether earnt or not, and a rather abusive rant about golfers and how they are stealing land. I was not surprised by any of his material as I knew what to expect but had a little chuckle as I saw him leaving the car park in a private plate Mercedes top of the range convertible, power to the people comrade.

Textbook behaviour.

Mark Steel is very similar in terms of hypocrisy.

Carter

ElliotCAFC said:

JohnBoyUK said:

Has anyone seen much of a scouse fella called Paul 'Pablo' Smith? 

I hadn't even heard of him until a reel appeared on my insta feed about 2 months ago now I'm literally inundated with reels of him at the Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool.

Now, at first, the first couple of reels I watched got a bit of a stifled giggle....but his act seems to be to absolutely roast his audience and I mean roast them.  It's very OTT.

For example: https://tinyurl.com/yp5fwsxc

I guess its a new age of comedy.  More offensive than funny.

"What do you do for work la?"

"I'm a teacher"

"Oh you're a bad nonce you"

That's essentially his entire set. 

There is a whole scene in the North West that is essentially the remoura fish to Paul smiths shark 

Its very insular abit but like American comics 

Adam Rowe and Dan Nightingale do a very successful podcast and fill it with their mates from this scene. Those two are decent comedians but they have also spawned a load of their pals doing podcasts with the express intention of trying to out-edge each other. For me, nothing is off the table when it comes to comedy but crucially has to be funny. 

You can fill a bingo card pretty quickly. 

Bad nonce 
Goth 
9/11
Princess Diana 
Jimmy Saville 

But god forbid anyone comes on with objective views on anything or even comes on and just tells funny stories but by virtue of not being one of the clan there is uproar from their red-meat loving masses. Thats before someone like Andrew Lawrence makes a badly timed and not hugely funny joke about the guy driving his car into the Liverpool fans. Scouser outrage ensues, "thats not comedy" "he's a nonce him" "i had friends who were there" without seeing the irony 

Anyway. 

Adam Rowe 
Jamie Hutchinson 
Dan Nightingale 

All decent comics but the fans are pricks 

JohnBoyUK

Leroy Ambrose said:

JohnBoyUK said:

Has anyone seen much of a scouse fella called Paul 'Pablo' Smith? 

I hadn't even heard of him until a reel appeared on my insta feed about 2 months ago now I'm literally inundated with reels of him at the Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool.

Now, at first, the first couple of reels I watched got a bit of a stifled giggle....but his act seems to be to absolutely roast his audience and I mean roast them.  It's very OTT.

For example: https://tinyurl.com/yp5fwsxc

I guess its a new age of comedy.  More offensive than funny.

Not seen the twenty or so other posts above about him John? 🤣

Erm...ooops.  I hang my head in shame, wearing the dunces spurs cap in the corner!

KBslittlesis

ElliotCAFC said:

I really don't understand how anyone finds Ricky Gervais remotely funny, he's a writer pretending to be a stand-up comic. Every single special of his is the same, the same boring premises that, despite being written with the sole purpose of being edgy, aren't edgy to anyone that isn't the same age as him.  

He then always hides behind "You don't like it because you're offended". It's all so odd. 

I have no idea if he’s funny. Can’t watch him for more than 3 seconds without being completely grossed out. He just gives me the ultimate creeps 😳🤢

JohnBoyUK

Leroy Ambrose said:

North Lower Neil said:

Paul Smith, the ginger scouse bloke who theres a lot of clips online in the comedy club up there.

"What do you do mate? Bus driver? Haha, drive busses is it?  Drive it here tonight did yeh?   Hahahaha, buses this lad, what are yeh, 6?  That's f***ing sh*t that is, lad.

And you with him?  This yer girlfriend?  What do you do, love?  What's that?  Work in accounts?  Yeh boring cow, haha!  Write yer little numbers down do yer?  The numbers of his buses hahahahahahaha!  That's f***ing sh*t that is, love."

And you, row behind, what do you do?"

Tiktok generation comedian. Looks funny for two clips. Then you see him and realise it's 75% of his act, novelty wears off five minutes in, and the rest of it isn't funny. 

I've read back now.  Yes, totally agree!!!

Oh btw, @Swisdom, +1 to Leroy's recommendation of Nikki Glaser, she is proper funny.