Laugh and the World Laughs With You
I know a lot of you don’t watch television. I am addicted to Charmed and I’m now re-visiting my love of Star Trek: Voyager, which is now in reruns on Spike. Project Runway will be starting soon and I have been known to Tivo both Gordon Ramsay’s KITCHEN NIGHTMARES and Anthony Bourdain’s NO RESERVATIONS, because I’m a foodie and I find both of these men compelling. (Which is a fancy word for hot, but since neither of these guys are traditional hotties, we won’t go there. Although, what exactly is HOTTER than a man who can cook and funny, too?)
Since I do Tivo quite a bit, I don’t watch a lot of commercials. But this Domino’s ad has thoroughly perplexed me since the first time I saw it. What, exactly, is the point? The girl is cute, but emotionless…and they just blew up her car. Is this supposed to be funny? If so…how? I mean, violence against delivery people is all over the news. How is this at all funny? Or am I just taking it too seriously?
Humor is so subjective. Here’s a commercial I really find funny…
Where do you get your humor? When you need a good laugh, what do you do?
If I want it in book form, I’m going to pick up a Stephanie Bond book. She always totally cracks me up. (Leslie cracks me up, too, of course, but I’ve read all her books!) If I want to watch television, I scour the channels for a rerun of Will & Grace. Funniest. Show. Ever. If can’t find W&G, then I’ll watch Friends or Seinfeld. If it’s a movie, my standby is Arthur. (I just watched the movie trailer while looking for links…I still die laughing.)
I know humor is in the eye of the beholder, but let’s talk about funny things.
So…tell me…what’s the funniest book you’ve read recently?
The funniest television show?
The funniest movie?
The funniest commercial?
The funniest joke?
Feel free to share!
QUICK NOTE: Janelle will be blogging at Riding With the Top Down today, (and giving away a copy of WILD FOR HIM), so if you get the chance, stop by and say hello!
Edited to add…KarenB reminded me of MY FAVORITE COMMERCIAL. Not necessarily for laughter, though it is funny!
Oh, Julie, I know what you mean about a guy who can cook (my ex was a good cook, though a carpenter by trade, which is another thing I find attractive - a man who can build things with his own hands). Not sure about Gordon Ramsey, though I agree that Anthony Bourdain is smokin’ - pardon the pun.
I find certain commercials really funny. My favorite are the ones for Travelocity with the gnome - crack me up - and Comcast with the Slowskis (the turtles) - crack me up even more!
For tv shows, I look for Home Improvement, Roseanne, Friends or Everybody Loves Raymond.
Horton Hears a Who was actually very funny, but I did like Arthur, too. And believe it or not, there was actually a lot of wit in the Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice - and loved The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law.
Comment by Margay — June 4, 2008 @ 6:22 am
I can usually be swayed to re-watch Friends or Two and A Half Men to make me laugh. Home Improvement and MASH are good ones too.
Give me a Mel Brooks movie anytime for out right laughter. I tend to like old movies- Operation Petticoat and Father Goose come to mind immediately and are perennial favorites in this household.
I love to listen to the Stephanie Plum novels on audio- they have one reader who just has the characters down pat and I drive down the road with a big grin on my face everytime.
there are very few ads that I watch. i can’t even think of which ones make me laugh right now.
Comment by ev — June 4, 2008 @ 7:00 am
Someone swinging through the jungle has a birthday today….happy birthday Tina M!!
As for humor…I try to find it anywhere I can! I don’t watch much TV or movies, but any that I do watch has to be funny. I love Everybody Loves Raymond - mostly because I can identify with his wife way, way too much! Like Ev, Stephanie Plum novels always crack me up, I do have them on audio books and I know which reader you’re talking about. The first few did nothing for me, but the later one is awesome!
Stephanie Bond keeps coming up so I think I might have to pick up one of her books and check her out. I’m a huge race fan and there are a few racing commercials that are pretty funny and make me laugh - usually ones involving Michael Waltrip. There used to be one with Carl Edwards and Mark Martin and it didn’t matter how many times I saw it, I laughed.
Well, gotta get ready to go. Hubby’s going back to work parti-time and I need to drop him off and then hit the book store!!! That makes me smile!
Comment by Jodie — June 4, 2008 @ 9:07 am
I’m reading “Natural Born Charmer” by Susan Elizabeth Phillips at the moment and loving every word. The humor is wonderful not to mention her incredible characters and dialogue. It’s amazing how she comes up with such unique backstories for her characters. I wonder how she does that. God, if I had a voice like hers I’d really have something.
TV Show - I will occasionally watch a re-run of Will and Grace–which is always hilarious. But for cutting sarcasm I watch House. Burn Notice has on re-runs right now and I’m watching them for the sarcasm and humor as well.
Movie - I haven’t been to a movie at the theater in I can’t remember when. I think it was to see Casino Royale…not sure though. I recently watched Hope Floats on DVD and definitely enjoy the humor in that one. I also love Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. Under the Tuscan Sun is also another good one. Arthur is funny to a point but there’s something about drunks that I don’t find funny.
We have TIVO and have become for the most part commercial snobs. :giggle: I enjoy the cave man commercials when we’re not on TIVO. Especially the one where he’s in the psychiatrist’s office.
Joke - My minds a blank at the moment
Have a great day,
Cher
Comment by Cher — June 4, 2008 @ 9:24 am
I’m a HUGE ST:V fan myself. I love the fact Spike is showing 3 episodes a day. I’ve even got the Amazing Child watching as well. It’s funny to hear her talk about warp cores and the like…
But I’m not a Trekkie–Voyager and TNG are the only ones I’ll watch. The others just don’t interest me.
Comment by Kimberly, AKA Problem Child — June 4, 2008 @ 9:39 am
I love the cooking shows too!
When I think about funny authors, I think Leslie, Shirley Jump, Adrienne Byrd, and one I’ve just stumbled across, Julia Quinn.
Comment by Patricia W — June 4, 2008 @ 9:45 am
I usually tune out the commercials but the Macy’s one with the celebrities always makes me laugh. I think Donald Trump is a PITA but his comments in the ad just crack me up.
Comment by Karen B — June 4, 2008 @ 9:46 am
KarenB! I totally forgot the Macy’s commercial. I love, love, love that one!
I’m going back to YouTube. Stay tuned for some gorgeousness (um, not Trump!)…and funny, too!
Cher, I know it’s harder to find Arthur funny in this age of alcohol awareness. But if you can put that part aside and look at the character himself and how damaged he is, then it becomes funny again. It’s not about laughing at the drunkedness, but at the childish quality of the character. At least to me!
Comment by Julie Leto — June 4, 2008 @ 9:57 am
I don’t understand that Domino’s ad (so confused). I love the Macy’s ad, with Martha Stewart and I can’t remember the other guy (he has fragrances and is a singer). When she is going over her whole line of stuff and then he goes, “Martha, when do you sleep?” Of course, she has admitted for years that she lives on 4 hours a night.
I also loved the Macy’s one around Christmas when they are all ‘decking the halls’ and then Jessica turns off the lights and Martha goes, “Jessica, turn back on the lights”. The ability to laugh at oneself’s persona is good….
I loved the show “Chuck”. I thought it was the dumbest premise, but ended up giggling every week (as in giggling out loud!).
Comment by katie — June 4, 2008 @ 10:10 am
Those are great questions. I LOVE to laugh, so they’re easy to answer for me. The funniest book I’ve read lately is Janet Evanovich’s “Plum Lovin’”. It had me going from the beginning. Funniest television show…hmmmm I’m not a big tv watcher, but I watch House religously, and it makes me laugh constantly. Funniest movie would have to be Blue Collar Comedy Tour-all of them, actually. Being an Okie, I can’t live without Larry the Cable Guy and the others. Funniest joke would be anything by Larry the Cable Guy. I love that he can make fun of anything and have the whole room laughing with him without offending anyone.
Comment by Alicia Tags — June 4, 2008 @ 10:10 am
Funny books - right now, I’d have to say Marta Acosta. I just finished her two books (and I hope I don’t mess up the html coding) Happy Hour at Casa Dracula and Midnigh Brunch Katie McAlister’s Aisling Gray series gave me the giggles because of the demon Sam - wearing the glamour of a Newfoundland dog. Katie has Newf’s down perfectly.
Movies…and TV….hrm…that’s tougher. I tend to watch with only a small part of my brain as I’m usually reading or writing or visiting with friends on line. And then its usually baseball.
Commercials - PC vs. Mac. They crack me up. The whole series. As I have a PC for my desktop and a Macbook for my laptop….I live those commercials. And beer commercials (beer - baseball…yeah. My view is limited. *snorfle*)
Oh, and I did finish Phantom Pleasures, Julie! How long until December??!!? LOVED it! And you made me grin a time or two so add you to the list!
Comment by Silver J. — June 4, 2008 @ 10:49 am
So…tell me…what’s the funniest book you’ve read recently? hUMM probably the most recent funny book was DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE by Deeanne Gist.
The funniest television show?
Now that’s harder. We always watch HOME IMPROVEMENT for laughs. We’ve probably seen it hundreds of times.LOL
The funniest movie?
Personally I thought WILD HOGS was too funny. And it’s the most recent released movie I’ve seen.
The funniest commercial?
I like the Cashew one. There is another one but for the life of me I can’t think what it is.
The funniest joke?
Okay I can’t tell you.LOL Actually I can’t because I can never remember it right. But it’s something about Peeing and the punchline is “Your a Peeing” meaning Europe. An old boyfriend told it to me and I still can’t help but laugh over it. I know that’s sad huh?
I have a sick sense of humor. I have a nurse, a cop, and a military man in my family. Plus hubby is in construction. We all tend to have sick senses of humor. What most wouldn’t find funny we find hilarious. But we don’t like to see anyone hurt.
hugs,
WendyK
Comment by WendyK — June 4, 2008 @ 10:59 am
Katie, the guy you’re talking about is Usher, if we’re thinking the same commercial, which I think we are.
One of the funniest things I’ve read recently was Shelley Laurenston’s The Beast in Him. The pithy comments between the characters, especially from the lead Alpha, Bobby Ray, had me laughing through the majority of the book.
I don’t usually see many commercials as I don’t watch a lot of television, but the ones here are pretty funny, especially the one for cashews. Of course, after seeing it, I had to turn to my mom and say, “Maybe that’s why I can’t get a date. I’m not using cashews.”
I’m with Katie about Chuck being one of the funniest TV shows. I laughed every time I watched it. Of course, anything by Monty Python, from their movies to their TV show, is absolutely hysterical. I absolutely love watching them.
Comment by Karin — June 4, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
I love all of the Macy’s commercials, but the best is the one you posted. I’m totally blanking out on funniest book, but I always laugh watching Chuck and Friends, and even with the sad ending, Steel Magnolias makes me laugh out loud. I love the movie Arthur! Dudley Moore is so funny, even if you take out the drunk guy stuff.
Comment by Liza — June 4, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
Karin…it is Usher…I keep wanting to call him somebody else. They are so funny together. What I love about those Macy’s commercials is that they all make fun of their public persona. Even Martha laughs at herself…shows she does have a sense of humor….
Comment by katie — June 4, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
I find those Geico commercials with the cavemen funny. 30 Rock is one of the funniest shows. For movies I choose Old School and Dodge Ball.
Comment by Jane — June 4, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
I love those Macy’s commercials, too, especially the one where the hunky guy walks through the store and all the women follow him.
As for movies, I go from liking really intelligent humor to flat-out body humor like Mel Brooks stuff! Probably my favorite funny movie is A Fish Called Wanda. (And yes, I’m a dog lover, and I still love that movie!)
TV shows–love Chuck too. Reaper’s probably my favorite current funny.
Arthur has become a big joke in our house. Middle daughter sometimes just bursts out laughing and my hubby started asking her if she was just “thinking funny thoughts.” Finally we got Arthur and made them watch hit so she’d understand why.
Comment by Leslie — June 4, 2008 @ 4:03 pm
Guess my sense of humor is different than most as I hate the Caveman commercials! Sorry folks! My favorite one right now is the Disney commercial where the little boy goes to his sisters room because he is to excited to sleep. The commercial ends showing the parents in bed, the wife says to her husband, “Are you asleep” & he answers “No, I’m too excited”. One of the children says “I heard that.” There is just something about it that always gives me a chuckle & I’ve seen it more times than I can think about!!
Favorite TV shows, I Love Lucy just can’t be beat for good laughs! It doesn’t seem to matter that they are old but the humor of them is still there. Most of the TV shows I watch now are more serious. The ads I am seeing for summer shows are depressing, mostly unreal “reality shows”. It looks like I will be watching HGTV, reruns & DVD’s cause I can’t think of any show right now that I want to see. In checking back to make sure there are no glaring typos I do love Two & A Half Men for laughs! Charlie Sheen is so convincing as the uncle & I love the kid!
Off hand I can’t think of any books or movies that I love for the humor. I know there are books I read because I love the humor of that author but other than Leslie & Jill Shalvis my mind is a blank. Maybe it is because I am not at home surrounded by all those books I read!!
Fun subject Julie, thanks. There can never be to much laughter in our lives.
Comment by Donna M — June 4, 2008 @ 4:19 pm
:giggle:I just finished Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and it is very funny. The plot, characters, and dialog are absolutely delightful!
Comment by cheryl c. — June 4, 2008 @ 5:41 pm
Hm… I recently caught my first episode of The Office. I like sitcoms - they’;re old school but I love them. I don’t read much humor - or, solely humor, so I can’t remember :X - but a lot of the blogs I visit are funny.
Comment by limecello — June 4, 2008 @ 8:12 pm
Oh the commercial I love right now is where this cave man picks up a club to hit a little gopher with. Then the gopher says to the caveman in this little squeaky voice, I - LOVE - YOU. I love it!
My all time favorite tv shows are Home Improvement, Everybody Loves Raymond, 2 and a Half Men, Frasier, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Soap, and Alf.
I love the animated movies like ICE AGE, FINDING NEMO, TOY STORY, TOY STORY 2, MONSTERS INC., etc. I just recently saw THE BEE MOVIE. That was so cute! Jerry Seinfeld does a good job as the main bee. As for other funny movies there are MRS. DOUBTFIRE, ANIMAL HOUSE, TOOTSIE, ROMANCING THE STONE, (Danny Divito is in this movie and is hilarous!) and so many others!
Here is a cute joke that I will try to condense,
A guy was driving along and a cop pulls him over for a traffic violation. The cop looks in the car and notices a bunch of penguins in the back seat. The cop asks him what he is doing with the penguins. The guy says he is just driving around. The cop tells him, “I want you to take those penguins to the zoo!” The guy says, “O.k.”
It is the next day and the cop sees the same car making a traffic violation again. He pulls the guy over and looks in the back seat. The penguins are still back there and they are wearing sunglasses this time. The cop yells at the guy, “I thought I told you to take them to the zoo!” The guy answers back, “I did! Today we are going to the beach!”
Here is another old little joke,
Two little bunnies are hopping around in a field of clover. The one rabbit says to the other rabbit, “Oooo this clover tastes pithy!” The other rabbit says to the 1st rabbit, “That’s because I just pithed on it!”
My mom told me this years ago! Ha, ha!
That’s all the humor I can remember for the day!
Comment by Melis L. — June 4, 2008 @ 8:58 pm
Oh yeah forgot to mention my favorite funny books! Stephanie Bond is excellent especially her Body Mover series! Then there is Vicki Lewis Thompson’s NERD series. GETTING RID OF BRADLEY by Jennifer Crusie was pretty hilarious also! Oh yeah, and there is the Sophie Kinsella’s book series that all began with a book called CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC. They are hysterical! Oh gosh there have been many others but can’t think of them all right now.
Comment by Melis L. — June 4, 2008 @ 9:07 pm
Ohh Donna, I hate those Geico commericals as well. The ones with the Caveman and the ones with the Gecko. We raised Geckos and they gave a wrong impression. We really hate them.
And I love the old I LOVE LUCY, Beaver and so on shows.
hugs,
Wendy
Comment by WendyK — June 4, 2008 @ 9:51 pm