Your favorite comedian
I don’t think Kathy Griffin is very funny. But I do find her entertaining. I especially love how she makes fun of celebrity. And some of the pranks she pulls remind me a tiny bit of Andy Kaufman. Of course no one could ever come close to his level of genius. But Kathy swore at the Extreme Home Makeover team when they beat her at the Emmys and stormed out. And she arranged a bunch of dates with other celebrities just for the publicity. This is good stuff.
But my favorite current comedian would have to be Jim Gaffigan.
I’m actually not too up on current comedians. I don’t like swearing so I rarely go see any live. My faves of all time would have to be Steven Wright and Emo Philips, both of whom I’ve seen live. I wish I could’ve seen Mitch Hedberg before he died.
Jim Gaffigan’s stand up that aired on the Comedy channel had me rolling. It’s not so much what he says but how he says it. I can’t walk down the frozen junk food isle in the grocery store now without singing “Hot Pockets” in a high pitched voice. See here.
Who else is good?
Brian Regan.
Comment by cantinflas — June 13, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
Yeah, I love Gaffigan. But most of my favorites aren’t stand-up; David Cross, for example.
Comment by Supergenius — June 13, 2007 @ 12:11 pm
I’ve caught a few minutes of Brian Regan’s stand up on Comedy Central. I thought he had everything down pat, except for the writing. Didn’t think he was very funny. But he may be one of those comedians you have to see his whole act to get it. Jim Gaffigan is sort of like that. Recurring jokes he builds on.
Comment by Susan M — June 13, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
I haven’t really watched much standup since I got married. And I’ve not really watch SNL for a long time either. (Let’s be honest, despite the occasional great actor like Will Ferrel, SNL has sucked since the mid-90’s)
So I’m really trying to figure out who I find the funniest. Ferrell is pretty funny although most of his movies are so-so. (The problem is most are modeled on SNL skits which doesn’t always work for a movie - witness Talegeda Nights)
(And yeah, I know I’m misspelling right and left — I’m too lazy to look up how to spell these names)
Comment by Clark — June 13, 2007 @ 12:18 pm
As far as standups go, there aren’t really that many I like. But I do love Lewis Black.
Comment by RoastedTomatoes — June 13, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
I don’t watch stand up comedians, but I think Ricky Gervais is really funny.
Comment by Rebecca — June 13, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
Lewis Black can be funny. I found his Daily Show stuff funnier than his stand up myself.
Comment by Clark — June 13, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
I’m a big fan of Frank Caliendo.
Comment by John Scherer — June 13, 2007 @ 12:50 pm
To those of you who don’t watch stand-up: why not?
Comment by Susan M — June 13, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
Austrian TV is insanely crap, and even if I did see some, I don’t speak good enough German!
Comment by Rebecca — June 13, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
I love stand-up. And I agree Regan is the best. I especially like hime because he’s clean. He doesn’t stoop to sex jokes or swearing for shock value. His facial expressions are golden. And yes, you probably need to see the whole act. His doctor bit and his Pop-Tart bit are priceless.
Comment by Tim J — June 13, 2007 @ 2:47 pm
Demetri Martin, now a Daily Show correspondent is also very, very funny.
Comment by Tim J — June 13, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
Greg Behrendt. Before the talk show. I quote his stand up stuff ALL THE TIME. However, Jim Gaffigan is also very, very funny.
Comment by gabby — June 13, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
Wow that Demetri Martin clip reminds me a lot of Mitch Hedberg. Same sort of rhythm to the jokes I guess.
Comment by Susan M — June 13, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
I guess there’s just not a lot of stand-up on main TV anymore.
Comment by Supergenius — June 13, 2007 @ 3:40 pm
Comedy Central shows a fair amount.
Comment by Susan M — June 13, 2007 @ 3:52 pm
You can watch Last COmic Standing tonight on NBC.
Comment by Tim J. — June 13, 2007 @ 4:49 pm
That show sucks. Ever since they manipulated the show’s results in season 2, I’ve boycotted it.
Comment by Supergenius — June 13, 2007 @ 4:58 pm
My favorite current comic is either Patton Oswalt or Eddie Izzard (though, sadly, I think he may’ve given up stand-up in hopes of making it as an actor). I also really like Robert Schimmel, Brian Posehn and Eugene Mirman.
As for classic comedians, I love Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and Rodney Dangerfield.
Comment by Brian V — June 13, 2007 @ 6:29 pm
SG, that was really bad. Putting someone in the house based on how much drama they would cause as opposed to how talented a comedian they were was stupid.
Comment by Tim J. — June 13, 2007 @ 10:02 pm
I just saw the Brian Regan special on Comedy Central. I think the guy is solid. I laughed at most of his stuff.
Comment by Geoff J — June 14, 2007 @ 12:38 am
I like Mike Birbiglia
Comment by Mephibosheth — June 14, 2007 @ 3:09 am
Dave Chappel, Patton Oswalt and Lewis Black are my favorite stand-ups right now. Patton Oswalt is the perfect geek comedian, his jokes are like he hangs out on blogs and message boards all day.
Comment by jjohnsen — June 14, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
Funny you should mention Patton Oswalt — I’ll be reviewing his new album set soon.
Comment by Supergenius — June 15, 2007 @ 8:21 am
Anytime Patton Oswalt is on Conan, it’s Must-See TV.
Comment by Tim J — June 15, 2007 @ 8:25 am
we like gaffigan, too. i love his manatee and catholic stuff. but my hands-down fave is eddie izzard. i dig intelligent humor and love how well he does it. his “dress to kill” is phenomenal.
Comment by makakona — June 15, 2007 @ 11:24 am
i actually really like Kathy Griffin. in the last couple of years i’ve seen a couple of stand up shows Chris Rock, George Lopez and Kathy Griffin. and David Sedaris who isn’t a stand up but is easily the funniest person i have ever seen live hands down!! but Chris Rock was funny for a little while, then got tired. George Lopez was funny but mainly because i grew up with a mexican dad and never realized just how “mexican” he was until i saw George Lopez, and Kathy Griffin is just a riot because she totally calls all celebrities on their ridiculousness!!
Comment by Jen — June 15, 2007 @ 2:45 pm