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Before & Laughter: A Life-Changing Book by Jimmy Carr (unfunnyman autobiography)

Started by Petey Pate, September 29, 2021, 01:34:37 PM

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Twit 2

I saw Jimmy Carr in 2003 when he was fairly unknown. I never heckle comedians but I did heckle him and he said it was the most highbrow heckle he'd ever had.


jobotic

Quote from: rue the polywhirl on September 29, 2021, 06:51:06 PM
My girlfriend went to see a stand-up yesterday.

'Jimmy Carr?'

No, she wanted to go...

Is there an accent in which "Jimmy Carr" would sound like "jammy cow"?

Cuellar


C_Larence

Quote from: Twit 2 on September 29, 2021, 07:37:59 PM
I saw Jimmy Carr in 2003 when he was fairly unknown. I never heckle comedians but I did heckle him and he said it was the most highbrow heckle he'd ever had.

You can't tell us that without letting us know what you said!

Twit 2

Quote from: C_Larence on September 29, 2021, 08:10:12 PM
You can't tell us that without letting us know what you said!

There was a segment where he got someone from the audience to ask him questions. Can't remember why or why it was funny. Anyway one of the questions was what is your favourite book. He replied with "Being and Time by Sartre."[nb]He'd confused it with Being & Nothingness.[/nb] I shouted "Heidegger!" at him, which seemed to throw him off for a sec. Then he looked pleased and said it was the most highbrow heckle ever. In my defence, it was a uni campus gig and I was a 1st year student.


poodlefaker

Quote from: Autopsy Turvey on September 29, 2021, 04:47:00 PM
If Syd Little is the way to go, which it is, it should have been A Carr Goes A Long Way. At least Before & Laughter is an attempt at a pun,

"Carr Journeys" maybe? "Before and Laughter" as a phrase is meaningless; it's not something anyone would ever say, whereas "Little Goes a Long Way" makes sense meaningfully and grammatically in either context.

Vic Reeves's "Me: Moir" is perhaps the best comedian autobiography title.

Rolf Lundgren

I sort of want to like Jimmy Carr because whenever I've seen him live I've been pleasantly surprised and he is sincerely interested in jokes and finding out what makes something funny. But on television I find it impossible to warm to him and can't think of a more articulate way to say he comes across like a phony. In book form, I'm sure he's fine.

Quote from: wrec on September 29, 2021, 06:46:50 PM
The laugh is beyond irritating and so obviously contrived, and also am I correct in thinking he only adopted it a few years into his career?

Yes and not enough is made about this. It's definitely mannered and if one of your mates in real life started doing this you'd have to have a word.

Bennett Brauer

Quote from: wrec on September 29, 2021, 06:46:50 PMThe laugh is beyond irritating and so obviously contrived, and also am I correct in thinking he only adopted it a few years into his career?

Quote from: Bennett Brauer on September 29, 2021, 04:03:59 PM
Probably stating the obvious but the annoying laugh started very soon after the tax debacle. As if he was told the deadpan superiority wouldn't fly and he needed to appear more human.

He definitely should have gone for a more infectious and likeable laugh - like Stuart Hall on It's a Knockout.

shiftwork2



Ray Travez

Quote from: Elderly Sumo Prophecy on September 29, 2021, 06:42:45 PM
He looks like a ventriloquist's dummy.

That reminds me- that immense and disturbing Jimmy Carr head looks even more marionette-like.


I'd quite like to leave this post without a photo so at least one person will think I've gone mad, but no here it is





neov1974

i'm no fan of the man's work and despite the weirdness of seemingly writing a self-help book / memoir, that Guardian interview with him painted quite an interesting picture.

like: he's evidently not a bad guy, he's not the enemy, just a slightly outsider dude who was motivated and hit paydirt

Ray Travez

Quote from: Jerzy Bondov on September 29, 2021, 03:16:00 PM
Anyone else read his previous book The Naked Jape? Written with Lucy Greeves and her name is admirably large on the cover, suggesting he doesn't (or didn't - this was 2006) have a big ego. Anyway I thought it was good.

I had it and read one chapter, then sort of lost momentum. I'm thinking of buying it again and making more of an effort this time. It's interesting and well put-together.

I heard Carr talking about his comedy influences in a half hour radio show, possibly radio two. He said, "I'm not very likeable in my comedy... or in my life either," which made me feel quite sorry for him. I suppose I've liked him since then, though I've no interest in his stand-up. I think he's more intelligent than he lets on. His comedy choices were impeccable, though I can't remember any of them now. 



Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Paying the Carr Tax.

Quote from: Rolf Lundgren on September 29, 2021, 10:31:00 PM
I sort of want to like Jimmy Carr because whenever I've seen him live I've been pleasantly surprised and he is sincerely interested in jokes and finding out what makes something funny. But on television I find it impossible to warm to him and can't think of a more articulate way to say he comes across like a phony. In book form, I'm sure he's fine.
Conversely, I've no particular interest in checking out his stand up, but I think he seems quick witted and amiable enough on panel shows. That laugh and the tax avoision aside, I'm not sure why people seem to hate him so much.

Quote from: Elderly Sumo Prophecy on September 29, 2021, 06:42:45 PM
He looks like a ventriloquist's dummy.
... of Richard Nixon


dissolute ocelot



Gurke and Hare

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on September 30, 2021, 12:59:25 PM
That laugh and the tax avoision aside, I'm not sure why people seem to hate him so much.

I suspect a particular issue people on here would have an issue with him is that he has clearly - and I'm sure he's admitted as much in the past - has treated comedy as a stepping stone to a TV presenting career, rather than as an end in itself.

BeardFaceMan

Quote from: Gurke and Hare on September 30, 2021, 02:36:02 PM
I suspect a particular issue people on here would have an issue with him is that he has clearly - and I'm sure he's admitted as much in the past - has treated comedy as a stepping stone to a TV presenting career, rather than as an end in itself.

Don't forget his shit jokes, that's a pretty big reason for me.

Alberon

I've seen Carr in stand up and it was okay. I wasn't counting the lights like I was when my wife dragged me along to see Jason Manford. But very technical and calculated, which I know most stand-up is, but it seemed more obvious and up front. There's no soul to his act.

BeardFaceMan

He keeps making the claim that he had no comedy knowledge when he started, it's just a learnable skill that he decided he wanted to learn and literally anyone can do it, it makes his 'joke-telling robot' persona make a lot more sense when you hear him talk like that. He displays zero personality in his act, especially the early days when he didn't laugh on stage (I think a lot of the hate comes from the pre-laugh days too, when he wasn't making it clear every 5 minutes he was just telling jokes, he came across as a lot nastier back then), he's just not a performer really, he's a writer having a go on stage.