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]

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.