It still tickles me… I must have seen it a dozen times… The young female reporter fighting the elements, doing her best… hanging on for dear life whilst trying to stay in camera shot, trying to deliver her storm report…. GREAT STUFF…. I giggle because I know what’s coming… it’s the anticipation… the awkwardness… knowing, if she let’s go the next stop is Havana…And then out of left screen… the huge fish…just at the right height, just at the right rate of knots…flying, well at least being blown at near sonic speed, slaps her straight in the chops… It’s comedy gold as far as I’m concerned…I kack m’self every time.
See that’s the thing… it’s alright to laugh…as long as it isn’t you. I like a good laugh, not in a morbid or cruel way… But you have to admit, somethings do tickle. I think it’s the unexpected stuff, the clever one liners or just plain absurd that sets me off… Mind you I don’t think standup comedy is as nearly as funny as it used to be… I grew up watching THE COMEDIANS show, back in the seventies. I think life is much funnier when you are young, before the cynicism kicks in. I grew up watching CARTOON CAVALCADE, BUSTER KEATON, ABBOT AND COSTELLO, THE MARX BROS… listening TO THE GOONSHOW…. and then … BILLY CONNOLLY.
Nowadays it’s all observational humour and female comediens talking about their Lady parts and how dumb we men are. I guess you can call me a misogynist… But I don’t think it’s particularly funny. Each to their own… Again… as long as it‘s not you…In saying that, PETER KAY is a master… I have to say, I prefer British humour. It’s what I grew up with and understand… I don’t expect Bangladeshi’s or North Koreans to get it…I have noticed MR BEAN travels very well though…And of course we get a good belly laugh at the Americans…with the Americans.
Who doesn’t like to see someone get a pie in the face sometimes…Well that’s what happened to me at a wedding once…My wife (being a hoot) took it upon herself to liven up the party by pushing a cream cake in my moosh… and to tell you the truth, It was a great icebreaker if there ever was of, (too many people trying to stay prim and proper.)… I was shocked…very shocked as you can imagine, but I didn’t mind… even I could see that the party needed some livening up. And that’s what comedy does, it sometimes shocks, and sometimes livens up the mood.
I remember being at school, maybe being 15 years old. It was lunch time and I was in the Gym practicing some new tumbles on the trampoline. My concentration was broken by the gaggling of some teenage girls pouring into the Gymnasium and setting up to practice netball next to me….Let me put you in the picture in case you have forgotten ever being a teenager…Here’s me … boy shorts on, fairly well built body for such a tender age … and a dozen girls, same age, definitely well built for such a tender age…short skirts on, distracting I would say…
And being a semi confident chap that I was, I started showing off in front of the girls … it went well for five minutes or so, until ambition collided with reality…To be honest, I don’t know if any of these young ladies would have taken a second notice my attempt at a double forward tuck somersault with half twist… However they did take an interest in the high caterwauling scream as I called out in total terror, I travelled across the matt from a great height dropping quickly and somehow finding a way through the springs catching my thighs and ripping my shorts up into my midriff, the only problem was … my testicles were still attached somewhere in there… I almost fainted with the pain(and embarrassment)… Now DEEP PURPLE was one of my favourite bands of the day… and I guess that will answer any questions.
Of course the young ladies gathered around, coming to aid this poor pathetic groaning attempt of an athlete hanging upside down on the end of the trampoline. I’m sure I heard a few sniggers as I tried to place my near castrated boyhood back in place…
Again comedy comes out of left field…was it shocking? …definitely…was it lively? … I’d say so… was it clever?…absolutely not!…was it funny?… well that is a perspective thing… me personally…I would have preferred a slap in the chops from a low flying fish
Catch ya later