I was a pirate, now I'm a nurse. That's funny.

[cyrano]

Recently a friend of mine and I were discussing movies, and attending the cinema, and I talked about how I didn't like to go, because people were impolite (talking, texting, rampant kids, etc) and I didn't enjoy the movie I was trying to watch. And she made the point that groups of people watching a comedy (the specific film in question was a funny movie, the ending especially so) enjoyed it more. The quote was "Comedy is better shared."
This inspired my usual "Why am I not like other people?" mastication. I know, from my theater experience, that a half empty house meant we'd be working twice as hard for half the response, and the basic theory was not in question. So I tried to go back and remember my responses to things I'd watched alone and with other people.
There was the disastrous "Austin Powers:International Man of Mystery" debacle, where I ended up watching it twice in one weekend with groups of people trying to share the comedy with me, because I was too timid to excuse myself and flee into the night. But I don't think that would have been any less funny watching it on my own. (I just would have turned it off sooner.)
Maybe I was just a misanthrope. God knows there's evidence for that. But would that excuse me from basic human psychology? I didn't think so.
Many times I have been reading and come across a particularly witty passage and laughed until the housemate demanded I share with her, but that came over poorly often enough that she's stopped doing that. A large portion of this reaction can be blamed on lack of context, I think.
When I first saw "Wazzup:Superfriends" I shared it with everybody who would hold still long enough. I think that increased my enjoyment of it. But I watched it 84 times that day on my own, so it's hard to tell for certain.
I suspect I'm just like all the other monkeys at the base. I'm just a snob.
And for those of you who read this far, I will say that the fucking cat just walked in my yogurt. I share this in the hopes that it will become comedy.

Comments

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

Yay cats! That made me laugh.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

See? It's working already! (:

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

I think you must just have retarded cats. Ours are never half so bothersome, or half so amusing. :)

Regarding humour, it's known to be a fickle beast. Some people just don't "get" mainstream humour (Lord knows there are any number of high-grossing 'comedies' out there that I think the world could do without). Personal preferences account for a lot more of any given individual's appreciation than with, say, drama.

That said, enjoying a comedy with others, as with any social interaction, involves a certain level of risk - no one wants to be the sole person laughing. This is why large crowds are so much easier to play than smaller ones - the larger the crowd, the more people you likely have laughing at any given moment, and the more comfortable people feel laughing along. Comedians will often have plants in the audience hired to laugh at their jokes for exactly that reason.

Out of curiousity, did you ever take that humour test I keep linking? I know internet tests are 99.9% pap, but this one's turned out to be remarkably accurate for me and several of my friends. It might be worth seeing if you agree with the results you get. (And if it just tells you that you have no sense of humour whatsoever, well, at least you'll know. :)

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

High grossing. I see what you did there.
As far as the cats, I will leave it to my housemate to debate that. It may just be that they're Turks.

(Taking the test. My usual "Where is none of the above?" is rearing its head.)


Your result for The 3 Variable Funny Test ...the Wit

(57% dark, 23% spontaneous, 21% vulgar)
your humor style: CLEAN | COMPLEX | DARK


You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty--after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?--but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat.

I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer.

Your sense of humor takes the most thought to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion.

You probably loved the Office. Maybe I need to watch this again. It's another "I don't get it."

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

Surprise surprise, that's the one I've always come up with, too.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen descriptions for any of the others, but I cannot imagine you being otherwise. (:
Maybe I should rent the Hangover, then. And invite a lot of friends to watch it.

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I'd go that far. It's definitely closer to Austin Powers than The Daily Show, although it's not *just* dick jokes. It's the kind of thing I have to be in a pretty specific mood to enjoy, and from your descriptions I wouldn't really recommend it to you.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

So noted. (: As much as there's social discomfort being the only one laughing? There's some that goes with being the only one not laughing. Or not giving a standing ovation to a mediocre performance. Or... that whole 'pack animals ostracize the odd element' thing.
I like your over-analytical mind. It makes for chewy conversations that still have me working them over days later.

[pusifoot.livejournal.com]

Shockingly, I got the same result, with slightly different percentages: 52% dark, 31% spontaneous, 26% vulgar. On the other hand, I also know that you and I have wildly different tastes in what's funny. (Read: I'm kind of a comedy slut.)

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I recall many discussions with you and Matt and passersby about "Oh my god! Funniest Movie EVER!" And I listened to the descriptions and was vaguely horrified. But yes, you may be far more accepting in your comedy. And as a result, you have more to enjoy. I envy you a little.

[amanda_lodden.livejournal.com]

In pusifoot's defense, sometimes the descriptions don't do it justice. I distinctly recall looking in horror at a couple of movies and having Tif and Peter say "No, no, you have to watch it!" and discovering that it was, in fact, fairly funny. Not necessarily as funny as they'd made it out to be, but much better than I had expected it to be based on trailers and other people's descriptions.

On the other hand, they also made me watch The Big Lebowski on the grounds that it was funny, and it wasn't.

[amanda_lodden.livejournal.com]

*snort* The cat thing made me laugh, too

Which cat? Because I can see Toast being utterly aghast that there was Stuff! On His Feet! But Arnold... I can see Arnold deciding that the yogurt on his feet was his Best Friend and then proceeding to talk to it for the next three hours.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Initially, it was Toast. Arnold followed a few minutes later. There was a great deal of grooming.