Topic: Extremely small moments in comedy that make you laugh way more than intended

[up_the_hampipe]

From Community, Jeff’s little scream at the end of this https://youtu.be/cRZLiYTtvzU

[Gulftastic]

In Harry & Paul's 'Clarkson Island' sketch, the way Harry says 'Hello Geoff' when he meets Paul's farmer character.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMuO-8S_0Wg

1m 39s in.

[Sebastian Cobb]

The little flinch Mac does when Dennis gets angry that he's not 'getting it' during 'the implication' scene. It's quite easy to overlook it as the scene is so good in itself.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Names will get me, too. On The Hour is full of really funny names but the juxtaposition makes ones like Dawn Sentinel much funnier when the rest of them (Hilliard Halliard, Peter Sisters Christmas etc) are so much more obviously designed to be funny.

Another tiny moment that had me howling the other day is when Partridge doesn't want Pete Durant to see his book stall at the train station, so he rushes up to intercept him and turns him around with a handshake, saying something like "I hope you don't mind if I just turn you around like that", and Pete replies "no, not at all". Both sides of that exchange just crippled me. Pete's matter-of-fact replies to everything are in fact very funny. He gives a very funny memorable performance even though he's essentially another straight person for Alan to interact with (like the Crash Bang Wallop woman or the tax inspectresses).

Bottom's great for this.

Little Jimmy Cartwright from the flats
Dr Wildthroat
Harry "I'll Do Anything For Half a Pint" Grundy
Ted "Unlucky Suicide" McGloomy
Scullcrusher Henderson
Ethel Cardew
Harold the Ironmonger

[Cold Meat Platter]

Chris Morris' leap in the IT crowd. Something about the hands.

[gatchamandave]

Lovely sly withering emphasis from Joan Sims in Don't Lose Your Head when she refers to "My brother, the count."

From the same movie, Peter Gilmore's delivery of "Mon BLEEDIN' dieu !!!" is sublime.

That bit of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry's arguing with Jeff that Junior Soprano catches and thinks that the FBI are filming and broadcasting Bobby and he arguing is superb.

[Cuellar]

Dr Wildthroat

Burst out laughing just reading it, then remembered the delivery of it and burst out laughing again.

Top name.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

From one of the blithely evil suburbanite sketches on Blue Jam:

"They shat in the infants' Sticklebricks."

"Jesus, he's fucked. He's GAS!"

[Tikwid]

I love Steve Coogan playing the guy who's chased down for visiting an illegal dentist on The Day Today. The way he meekly delivers that final line:

"I've only been to an illegal dentist, I hardly think that's a crime."
"Well, it is."
"It's not."
"It is!"
"... Is it?"

"Last night I went with a team to there."

[Dr Rock]

The little flinch Mac does when Dennis gets angry that he's not 'getting it' during 'the implication' scene. It's quite easy to overlook it as the scene is so good in itself.

 

It's very rewatchable partly because there are often five characters all doing something funny, even just an expression, and you can't catch them all the first time.

[Solid Jim]

"He loves crisps, though. He's absolutely obsessed with crisps... More than is normal, I think."

I don't know precisely to what extent we are intended to laugh at this, but it's fairly breezed past in the delivery, giving it the feel of a bonus joke not deemed vital for the overall flow of the routine.

[Chriddof]

The last two seconds of Pee Pee Klette in Brass Eye. It has never failed to cheer me up.
https://youtu.be/ZkF-PImrs6U

I just watched that link - even though I knew what was coming in the end, I still burst out laughing. It's extraordinary how funny that simple action is.

One other thing I noticed - did they somehow arrange to re-use part of the set of Eurotrash there, or was it just a very close copy? Those cardboard cutouts of buildings look pretty similar.

[Replies From View]

There's a moment in Peep Show:

"Listen guys, newsflash.  If you need to shit, shit in the bin."


There's something great about the way she then leaves the room as if she's extremely busy.

[Cuellar]

 

It's very rewatchable partly because there are often five characters all doing something funny, even just an expression, and you can't catch them all the first time.

Thinking of this thread I remembered a bit of Dennis that really tickles me.

When he and Charlie are talking about Dee's new 'boyfriend' the stripper and how lucky he is that he 'gets' to take his clothes of in front of horny women, and Charlie derails it by talking about Dennis's rape by the school librarian. Dennis ends a rambling defence of that by saying

Dennis: "So yeah, I'll do it"
Charlie: "Do what?"
Dennis: "Strip"
Charlie: "Oh, you were talking about stripping? That's what this was about?"
Dennis: "Yeah yeah yeah yeah"

It's the way he delivers the final line, sort of frowning and biting his bottom lip. Can't find the clip anywhere, because why would anyone bother isolating that moment (Season 12 episode "PTSDee", if anyone wants to find it)? But I crack up every time. Love it to bits. So many little tics/quirks of phrasing from Glenn Howerton in that show really make me laugh.

[Catalogue Trousers]

In Cash, Mike smugging straight to camera while brandishing a huge cigar and smarming, 'Jamesh Bond shmokesh theshe, y'know...' in his best cod-Connery. Overshadowed by Vyvyan piling ketchup on his caviar, but much funnier.

[Misspent Boners]

When the Inland Revenue women call at Alan's caravan while he's deep into his air bass performance

"Hi Alan we're from the Inland Revenue "

"No you're not"

Just the defiance in his voice makes me have a laugh; what's he hoping for? That they'll go "oh right, yeah actually you're right we do appear not to be our apologies we'll be on leaving"

[finnquark]

The way Cook says 'Squatter Madras?' in Squatter and the Ant makes me hysterical every time for some reason.

[Replies From View]

The moment in The Office when Andy is floating down a river in a fat suit, screaming at Angela to get help, and Angela is pretending not to understand what is wrong.



Andy:  Go tell them I am floating away, obviously!
Angela:  I don’t understand what you want from me.
Andy:  Angela it’s pretty simple. Look at what I am doing and go tell somebody it.
Angela:  Sorry! Bye, Andy! 
Andy:  Angela!

[to infect aside]

The tiny hoover from the cleaner sketch in Jam having a power-cord of normal diameter.

[Glebe]

The audience kind of laugh at the previous line over that line.

[neveragain]

Could be to do with Coogan et al not being able to judge the audience's reaction (the set being closed off and displayed on monitors).

[Ghughesarch]

Melvyn Bragg's plaintive "can I get out, please?" while interviewing and being driven by Norbert Smith (still the best thing Harry Enfield ever did IMHO)

[Kelvin]

There's a moment in one of the Morris radio shows where he and Baynham are talking about Johnny Walker's corpse (I think), and one of them just presses the keys on a keyboard, making a little fart of notes. I've always assumed it was intentional, as it undercuts the moment, and highlights the silliness of it all so perfectly.

[Twit 2]

The look on Dennis’s face as he’s holding up his hand to the dartboard in the Chardee MacDennis episode is sublime. I can’t really describe what the facial expression is actually showing but it’s one of those amazing bits of spot-on characterisaton in Always Sunny. It’s just the perfect face for him to pull in the context of the episode. The best I can describe it as is ‘demented concentration out of a petty desire to win as opposed to anything wholesome or Zen-like’. Anyway, it makes me laugh so much even though it’s such a small part of the episode.

[DrGreggles]

Melvyn Bragg's plaintive "can I get out, please?" while interviewing and being driven by Norbert Smith (still the best thing Harry Enfield ever did IMHO)

Aye

[Tikwid]

There's a moment in one of the Morris radio shows where he and Baynham are talking about Johnny Walker's corpse (I think), and one of them just presses the keys on a keyboard, making a little fart of notes. I've always assumed it was intentional, as it undercuts the moment, and highlights the silliness of it all so perfectly.

[after Baynham's unsuccessful attempt to revive Walker by slapping the corpse's face] "...you SICK!"

[neveragain]

(still the best thing Harry Enfield ever did IMHO)

Well, that or Smashie & Nicey: End of an Era, but I always mentally group those two shows together.
Actually, Norman Ormal and the Story of The Twos are pretty fucking great as well.

[weaseldust]

speaking of the morris radio shows, i love the bit in 'taxi bothering' where chris morris immediately laughs at the absurdity of the phrase 'verbal earache'

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

This part of Alpha Papa:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pir1te3gT6Q

[Ghost Dad]

Brass Eye - Drugs

"God"