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

[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.