Looking for Laughs in All the Right Places

[seela]

On the TV series front (and speaking of making fun of people with disabilities), has anyone watched Legit?

I loved the first season, the second is about to begin. But I also get it that it's not for everybody.

 

[Netzach]

Stuff you probably missed in the nineties edition: How's belly laughs, magical realism, cartoon NYC's? And Disney going rogue for one brief moment?

The first season of the animated series "The Critic" with the voice of Jon Lovitz. His fifteen minutes of funny were all condensed into this pathetic hysterical little character. No one watched this. Second season nowhere near as good.

The live action "The Tick" - I still don't understand how this got greenlit. One of my favorite things ever. Stick around long enough to get oriented in the demented world. A million times better than "Mystery Men."

Underrated Disney? You heard right.
"The Emperor's New Groove". You probably didn't see this and ordinarily wouldn't. I know I didn't and wouldn't, only that I did. It eked past my dislike of all things Mouse - it's definitely an outlier on their bell curve - much MUCH better than you'd think.

I despise Robin Williams. For the record. I also freaking LOVE "Toys." What a giant gorgeous mess of a movie, completely ahead of its time. He's perfect in this. Bonus: Michael Gambon. Look for the tart subtexts all throughout, I think there's even a little feminist riposte to Tim Burton's parade of virgin girlchild heroines.

 

[graceanne]

Stuff you probably missed in the nineties edition: How's belly laughs, magical realism, cartoon NYC's? And Disney going rogue for one brief moment?

The first season of the animated series "The Critic" with the voice of Jon Lovitz. His fifteen minutes of funny were all condensed into this pathetic hysterical little character. No one watched this. Second season nowhere near as good.

The live action "The Tick" - I still don't understand how this got greenlit. One of my favorite things ever. Stick around long enough to get oriented in the demented world. A million times better than "Mystery Men."

Underrated Disney? You heard right.
"The Emperor's New Groove". You probably didn't see this and ordinarily wouldn't. I know I didn't and wouldn't, only that I did. It eked past my dislike of all things Mouse - it's definitely an outlier on their bell curve - much MUCH better than you'd think.

I despise Robin Williams. For the record. I also freaking LOVE "Toys." What a giant gorgeous mess of a movie, completely ahead of its time. He's perfect in this. Bonus: Michael Gambon. Look for the tart subtexts all throughout, I think there's even a little feminist riposte to Tim Burton's parade of virgin girlchild heroines.

I've seen, and own, the emperors new groove and you're right. It's hilarious, which surprised me as I'm not a David Spade fan.

 

[BiBunny]

Stuff you probably missed in the nineties edition: How's belly laughs, magical realism, cartoon NYC's? And Disney going rogue for one brief moment?

The first season of the animated series "The Critic" with the voice of Jon Lovitz. His fifteen minutes of funny were all condensed into this pathetic hysterical little character. No one watched this. Second season nowhere near as good.

The live action "The Tick" - I still don't understand how this got greenlit. One of my favorite things ever. Stick around long enough to get oriented in the demented world. A million times better than "Mystery Men."

Underrated Disney? You heard right.
"The Emperor's New Groove". You probably didn't see this and ordinarily wouldn't. I know I didn't and wouldn't, only that I did. It eked past my dislike of all things Mouse - it's definitely an outlier on their bell curve - much MUCH better than you'd think.

I despise Robin Williams. For the record. I also freaking LOVE "Toys." What a giant gorgeous mess of a movie, completely ahead of its time. He's perfect in this. Bonus: Michael Gambon. Look for the tart subtexts all throughout, I think there's even a little feminist riposte to Tim Burton's parade of virgin girlchild heroines.

The live action "The Tick" was epic beyond belief. I remember watching it on TV my senior year in high school. Damned shame it didn't last longer than nine episodes.

 

[midwestyankee]

Stuff you probably missed in the nineties edition: How's belly laughs, magical realism, cartoon NYC's? And Disney going rogue for one brief moment?

The first season of the animated series "The Critic" with the voice of Jon Lovitz. His fifteen minutes of funny were all condensed into this pathetic hysterical little character. No one watched this. Second season nowhere near as good.

It's now in the DVD queue.

The live action "The Tick" - I still don't understand how this got greenlit. One of my favorite things ever. Stick around long enough to get oriented in the demented world. A million times better than "Mystery Men."

[

I really enjoyed Mystery Men, so I'm looking forward to this. To be clear, we're talking the piece with Patrick Warburton, right?

Underrated Disney? You heard right.
"The Emperor's New Groove". You probably didn't see this and ordinarily wouldn't. I know I didn't and wouldn't, only that I did. It eked past my dislike of all things Mouse - it's definitely an outlier on their bell curve - much MUCH better than you'd think.

I'm pretty sure I watched this a couple of times when our youngest was a kid. But it might be worth another watch when I'm in that kind of mood.

I despise Robin Williams. For the record. I also freaking LOVE "Toys." What a giant gorgeous mess of a movie, completely ahead of its time. He's perfect in this. Bonus: Michael Gambon. Look for the tart subtexts all throughout, I think there's even a little feminist riposte to Tim Burton's parade of virgin girlchild heroines.

Toys is now in the streaming list. Thank you so much for these suggestions; they're a wonderful eclectic mix and I love that.

 

[Netzach]

The live action "The Tick" was epic beyond belief. I remember watching it on TV my senior year in high school. Damned shame it didn't last longer than nine episodes.

Totally. Though considering how most things suck in season 2 and on....

 

[Netzach]

It's now in the DVD queue.

[

I really enjoyed Mystery Men, so I'm looking forward to this. To be clear, we're talking the piece with Patrick Warburton, right?

That's the one. The animated one is cute too, but this really kicks the weirdness up a notch.

 

[midwestyankee]

That's the one. The animated one is cute too, but this really kicks the weirdness up a notch.

"Gravity is a harsh mistress."

 

[midwestyankee]

Bumpity bump bump.

Maybe it's completely appropriate that on the day we all lost Leonard Nimoy, I gained Mr. Brainwash. Seela, Exit through the Gift Shop was remarkably bizarre, completely compelling, and I'm still shaking my head. It was fascinating to learn more about Shepard Faerie (whose work I knew mostly from what came out when the Obama poster became iconic 6 years ago) and Banksy, about whom I'd only heard tiny snippets. Thank you so much for the recommendation. It finally hit the top of my Netflix queue a week or so ago and it was just today that I had the time to watch it. Superb.

 

[JustaSCOUNDREL]

Ya know Yankee that sophisticated gentleman image I have always had when I thought of you, sad to say, but right down the crapper pal.

Walks off shaking head and muttering. "Aw dang." While cuffing boots in the dust.

 

[midwestyankee]

Ya know Yankee that sophisticated gentleman image I have always had when I thought of you, sad to say, but right down the crapper pal.

Walks off shaking head and muttering. "Aw dang." While cuffing boots in the dust.

Sorry to disappoint you, pal. But there's a Mad Magazine fan lurking behind almost every guy in my generation.

 

[seela]

Bumpity bump bump.

Maybe it's completely appropriate that on the day we all lost Leonard Nimoy, I gained Mr. Brainwash. Seela, Exit through the Gift Shop was remarkably bizarre, completely compelling, and I'm still shaking my head. It was fascinating to learn more about Shepard Faerie (whose work I knew mostly from what came out when the Obama poster became iconic 6 years ago) and Banksy, about whom I'd only heard tiny snippets. Thank you so much for the recommendation. It finally hit the top of my Netflix queue a week or so ago and it was just today that I had the time to watch it. Superb.

Awesome! I'm glad you liked it.

I had completely forgotten about this thread, but I'm happy you bumped it. I need some laughs right now.

Another suggestion would be Please Like Me. It's an Australian TV series and I've thoroughly enjoyed watching the two seasons they've now aired. I wrote about it here.

Movies that come to mind right now are Grand Budapest Hotel and Clue

 

[IrisAlthea]

Sorry to disappoint you, pal. But there's a Mad Magazine fan lurking behind almost every guy in my generation.

Dear old MAD!
The Swedish edition had a forum for letters from readers. In the eighties there was a discussion for several years about the optimal angle at the point of intersection between two tangents of the curve of a banana.
Many of us who grew up with that almost died when the EU started discussing the curvature of cucumbers.

 

[Cumference]

One of the few who can bear re-visiting IMHO is the Blackadder series.

It is so wonderfully dark, twisted and faceted ( along with some really primitive humor).

 

[midwestyankee]

Awesome! I'm glad you liked it.

I had completely forgotten about this thread, but I'm happy you bumped it. I need some laughs right now.

Another suggestion would be Please Like Me. It's an Australian TV series and I've thoroughly enjoyed watching the two seasons they've now aired. I wrote about it here.

Movies that come to mind right now are Grand Budapest Hotel and Clue

Grand Budapest is definitely on the list for when it hits the second-run theater. I think I watched Clue with my youngest when he was in elementary school. Wasn't overly impressed.

Dear old MAD!
The Swedish edition had a forum for letters from readers. In the eighties there was a discussion for several years about the optimal angle at the point of intersection between two tangents of the curve of a banana.
Many of us who grew up with that almost died when the EU started discussing the curvature of cucumbers.

For some reason, I have attracted women who hate bananas. It must be a genetic thing, for I love them and eat them year-round.

One of the few who can bear re-visiting IMHO is the Blackadder series.

It is so wonderfully dark, twisted and faceted ( along with some really primitive humor).

I gave Blackadder a fair try last year but it felt flat and limited to me. Yet I absolutely love most other British humor. Again, maybe my DNA chose poorly at some point.

 

[Netzach]

I gave Blackadder a fair try last year but it felt flat and limited to me. Yet I absolutely love most other British humor. Again, maybe my DNA chose poorly at some point.

Were you going in order and did you get past season 1? Seasons 2 and 3 are where it's at and season 4 is tragicomic and fascinating. Season 1 doesn't have the same writers and it's just a weird Richard III parody.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Were you going in order and did you get past season 1? Seasons 2 and 3 are where it's at and season 4 is tragicomic and fascinating. Season 1 doesn't have the same writers and it's just a weird Richard III parody.

Seconding this. I enjoyed season 1 but it's certainly the weakest of the four.

 

[midwestyankee]

Were you going in order and did you get past season 1? Seasons 2 and 3 are where it's at and season 4 is tragicomic and fascinating. Season 1 doesn't have the same writers and it's just a weird Richard III parody.

Seconding this. I enjoyed season 1 but it's certainly the weakest of the four.

I gave up about 2/3 of the way through Season 1 because it was absolutely awful. Honestly, I'm still not sure I want to try any of the later work despite these recommendations. I expect comedy to be, you know, funny.

 

[Netzach]

I gave up about 2/3 of the way through Season 1 because it was absolutely awful. Honestly, I'm still not sure I want to try any of the later work despite these recommendations. I expect comedy to be, you know, funny.

Skip ahead, and give it a whirl. I promise, scouts honor, you enjoy these, mucho bonus goodness if you've enjoyed or suffered through Elizabethan and Regency history. They are funny, and funny in a way that goes slapstick, absurd, and also devastatingly verbal.

Season one hurts me, I only enjoy it as a kind of BBC early 80's in-joke. It's all low humor, pantomime crap. Worlds away. Being guided into skipping and coming back out of idle curiosity was the only way I got into these. Although I kind of semi laughed at the Peter Cook bits. The writing is totally overhauled, the character completely re-drawn and the whole thing literally feels like some other show.

But speaking of Ben Elton, I've been watching the Young Ones. This is really really fringe and insane stuff, (as in puppets of inanimate objects and digressions with puppet rats and even variety punk and ska acts) though if a person has ever lived in an idealistic marxist unkempt group living situation in college, well I've never seen a better representation of that experience or funnier. Eat your heart out early Doonesbury.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Skip ahead, and give it a whirl. I promise, scouts honor, you enjoy these, mucho bonus goodness if you've enjoyed or suffered through Elizabethan and Regency history. They are funny, and funny in a way that goes slapstick, absurd, and also devastatingly verbal.

Season one hurts me, I only enjoy it as a kind of BBC early 80's in-joke. It's all low humor, pantomime crap. Worlds away. Being guided into skipping and coming back out of idle curiosity was the only way I got into these. Although I kind of semi laughed at the Peter Cook bits. The writing is totally overhauled, the character completely re-drawn and the whole thing literally feels like some other show.

But speaking of Ben Elton, I've been watching the Young Ones. This is really really fringe and insane stuff, (as in puppets of inanimate objects and digressions with puppet rats and even variety punk and ska acts) though if a person has ever lived in an idealistic marxist unkempt group living situation in college, well I've never seen a better representation of that experience or funnier. Eat your heart out early Doonesbury.

I loved The young ones when it aired here.
A few years ago, my brother gave me a DVD box with it.
I thought it would be mostly nostalgia to watch and was prepared to be disappointed but it's still makes me cry with laughter at times.

 

[seela]

I gave Blackadder a fair try last year but it felt flat and limited to me. Yet I absolutely love most other British humor. Again, maybe my DNA chose poorly at some point.

I don't like Blackadder either, even though I do enjoy British comedies in general. My roommate made her Master's thesis about translation strategies of Blackadder's humor and I've watched the whole series because of that. Still did nothing to me.

It must be because of Rowan Atkinson. I've never liked anything he's been in. He's like the British Jim Carrey for me -- cannot watch.

 

[LallyH]

Speaking as a Brit, I struggle finding Rowan Atkinson funny too....I have never managed to get through an entire episode of Mr Bean. Blackadder Season One is known here as a ratings disaster, hence the writer change after that, bringing Ben Elton in. Blackadder 4 is the best, IMVHO, simply because of the undercurrent of tragedy, which gets more intense as the season goes on. And the ending reduces me to tears every time I see it.

I've enjoyed watching the Young Ones too, mainly out of fascination of seeing those bands again, but the slapstick gets a bit much. And although I love Rik Mayall in this, I didn't like much of his later, pure slapstick, stuff with Ade Edmondson.

I apologise, and freely admit that I've not read this thread right the way through so I may be guilty of repetition, but if you want some very gentle British humour, I would recommend the Vicar of Dibley and Dinnerladies

 

[midwestyankee]

Speaking as a Brit, I struggle finding Rowan Atkinson funny too....I have never managed to get through an entire episode of Mr Bean. Blackadder Season One is known here as a ratings disaster, hence the writer change after that, bringing Ben Elton in. Blackadder 4 is the best, IMVHO, simply because of the undercurrent of tragedy, which gets more intense as the season goes on. And the ending reduces me to tears every time I see it.

I've enjoyed watching the Young Ones too, mainly out of fascination of seeing those bands again, but the slapstick gets a bit much. And although I love Rik Mayall in this, I didn't like much of his later, pure slapstick, stuff with Ade Edmondson.

I apologise, and freely admit that I've not read this thread right the way through so I may be guilty of repetition, but if you want some very gentle British humour, I would recommend the Vicar of Dibley and Dinnerladies

I rather enjoyed "Are You Being Served?" and the one about the older couple in which the wife is constantly trying to appear more sophisticated than she is (can't recall the title, obviously). For some reason I completely missed out on Fawlty Towers - perhaps because I didn't own a television set when it was in first run here. Your two gentler suggestions are completely new to the thread, btw.

 

[LallyH]

I rather enjoyed "Are You Being Served?" and the one about the older couple in which the wife is constantly trying to appear more sophisticated than she is (can't recall the title, obviously). For some reason I completely missed out on Fawlty Towers - perhaps because I didn't own a television set when it was in first run here. Your two gentler suggestions are completely new to the thread, btw.

You're thinking of Keeping Up Appearances

 

[midwestyankee]

You're thinking of Keeping Up Appearances

Yes, that's it! It was charming and sweet. Lots of fun.