Comedy Cliches

[The Widow of Brid]

Ooh! I didn't make up the Barry and Yvonne backstory then. Unless I also put all that on wikipedia. Which I doubt, as I thought it was strongly suggested that they were never lovers and that a lot of their bitterness stemmed from her having lost the baby and thus failed to hold up her end of the 'marrying to provide mutual respectability' bargain, so I would have written that.

[lipsink]

One of the few jokes I enjoyed in 'The IT Crowd' was when Chris Morris' character was congratulating everyone at work except the three IT members. The way he kept making out as if he was going to congratulate them by approaching them: "And of course...(pours some champagne for them)..last but not least...we couldn't have done this without....SOME OTHER PEOPLE!!!" (or something) and runs off to congratulate someone else on the other side of the room.

It seemed to do it quite a few times and I found it quite enjoyable precisely because it was a cliche.

[neveragain]

If memory serves, what made that so funny for me at least was Morris giving Moss a fatherly grab-of-the-chin at one point, before then turning to someone else. Apologies for not knowing the word, which must be out there, to adequately sum up that aforementioned action.

[James "End-To-End" Benton]

A 'chuck'

[Wadded Bliss]

What was the earliest use of the 'rubs eyes/throws away booze' joke? I'm sure I can (very vaguely) remember it used in a Laurel and Hardy film. It was the guy with the funny eyes and the bald head that did the rubbing.

[Ignatius_S]

What was the earliest use of the 'rubs eyes/throws away booze' joke? I'm sure I can (very vaguely) remember it used in a Laurel and Hardy film. It was the guy with the funny eyes and the bald head that did the rubbing.

I first thought of Ben Turpin, but maybe you meant James Finlayson, he of the double-take and one-eyed stare? In Our Relations, where L&H played long-lost twins, there was quite a bit of this kind of thing, although the reaction of a friendly drunk two of them befriend is just to desperately drink more booze.

As to how old it is, well I've seen it in silent films and read similar variations in stories that would have preceded these. Pretty sure in Shakespeare there are 'funny' bits where drunken servants explain what they see due to their condition rather than reality - not exactly the same visual humour, but in the same area.

[non capisco]

As on last night's 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks', a special anniversary edition of a show for when it reaches an insignificant number of episodes eg. 158. I think 'The Simpsons' may have done this first, but it seen it a lot since then, certainly to the extent that when Amstell and co did it last night I thought "not that old one again"

[Ocho]

What was the earliest use of the 'rubs eyes/throws away booze' joke? I'm sure I can (very vaguely) remember it used in a Laurel and Hardy film. It was the guy with the funny eyes and the bald head that did the rubbing.

While he didn't have a bald head, that sounds like a Arthur Housman kind of gag.  If there's a drunk gag in a Laurel & Hardy film, there's a good chance he's the drunk in question.

[George Oscar Bluth II]

As on last night's 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks', a special anniversary edition of a show for when it reaches an insignificant number of episodes eg. 158. I think 'The Simpsons' may have done this first, but it seen it a lot since then, certainly to the extent that when Amstell and co did it last night I thought "not that old one again"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/138th_episode_spectacular

[Jemble Fred]

Yes, ISIRTA and ISIHAC were doing those 'pointless anniversary' shows in the 60s and 70s too.

[Ignatius_S]

While he didn't have a bald head, that sounds like a Arthur Housman kind of gag.  If there's a drunk gag in a Laurel & Hardy film, there's a good chance he's the drunk in question.

Good call! He was certainly the amiable drunk in Our Relations.

[aaaaaaaaaargh!]

Sounds like Victor Tourjansky in The Spy Who Loved Me



and Moonraker



and For Your Eyes Only

That's amazing!  How/where did you spot that?

[lipsink]

Another comedy cliche: Man gets nervous in changing room while other man takes clothes off in front of him, usually if he's talking to him about sex. The most recent example I saw it in was 'Run Fatboy Run'.

[Jemble Fred]

To be fair, Pegg & Azaria do carry off the cliché pretty damn well though.

[James "End-To-End" Benton]

That's amazing!  How/where did you spot that?

I cheated, and took those from the Inside The Spy Who Loved Me documentary. Victor Tourjansky was the Assistant Director on the Italian unit, and he'd often fill in for other actors (I assume as a double, rather than on-screen). When working on The Spy Who Loved Me he was told to freestyle a reaction to the Lotus driving out of the sea, so he improvised the wine bottle double-take. This became what Bill Cartlidge calls a 'ghastly in-joke' between himself and Lewis Gilbert, which is why Tourjansky appears as Man With Bottle and Man With Wine Glass in three yes-consecutive Bond films

[CaledonianGonzo]

I cheated, and took those from the Inside The Spy Who Loved Me documentary. Victor Tourjansky was the Assistant Director on the Italian unit, and he'd often fill in for other actors (I assume as a double, rather than on-screen). When working on The Spy Who Loved Me he was told to freestyle a reaction to the Lotus driving out of the sea, so he improvised the wine bottle double-take. This became what Bill Cartlidge calls a 'ghastly in-joke' between himself and Lewis Gilbert, which is why Tourjansky appears as Man With Bottle and Man With Wine Glass in three yes-consecutive Bond films

Moonraker also has the added bonus of double-taking pigeons.

[lipsink]

Moonraker also has the added bonus of double-taking pigeons.

There's also the double-take man-in office who sees something happen past his window.

Plus, I'm sure a bit of the Batmobile chase in Batman Begins has been done countless times:

Police Chief (impatiently, into handset): "Just tell me what it LOOKS like!"

Batmobile goes roaring past Police Chief

"Police Chief (now looking disshelvelled, into handset): "Nevermind".

Plus, big explosive car chase goes past kids. Usually a little kid in the back of the car will try to tell his parents but they'll say: "What did I tell you about speaking when mommy's on the phone!" but then look back and change their expression to one of awe.

Don't the Michael Bay/Bruckheimer films use a lot of these?

[Ignatius_S]

...Don't the Michael Bay/Bruckheimer films use a lot of these?

Only every other scene.

[Sexton Brackets Drugbust]

Lots of American comedy - usually sitcoms - use a phrase with a particular cadance, which via the medium of formula, I explain thusly:

"You x-ed a/the y... You're a y x-er"

Eg.
"Oh my God, you punched the Pope... You're a Pope puncher"
"Hey! You stole my seat! You're a seat stealer!"

[neveragain]

Seinfeld is the only sitcom which produces laughter from that trope, mainly because they're pouring scorn on the type of people who would use such language.

[lipsink]

"I am speechless! I am without speech!"

[Brundle-Fly]

Moonraker also has the added bonus of double-taking pigeons.

And a confused Alfie Bass.

[kngen]

Lots of American comedy - usually sitcoms - use a phrase with a particular cadance, which via the medium of formula, I explain thusly:

"You x-ed a/the y... You're a y x-er"

Eg.
"Oh my God, you punched the Pope... You're a Pope puncher"
"Hey! You stole my seat! You're a seat stealer!"

That set-up does however give the world the greatest line Keanu Reeves has ever delivered:

(In River's Edge, addressing his slovenly stepfather)

"All you do is lie around here, eat our food and fuck my mother  ... Motherfucker! .... FOOD-EATER!!"

[QDRPHNC]

Seinfeld is the only sitcom which produces laughter from that trope, mainly because they're pouring scorn on the type of people who would use such language.

Isn't Seinfeld the show that popularised that joke?

[Jemble Fred]

I nearly started this as a thread, but fuck it.

COMEDY CHARACTERS WE'VE ALL HAD QUITE ENOUGH OF FOR FIFTY YEARS, THANKS.

1) A drunken or otherwise mad old Music Hall entertainer, talking about the old days, getting things wrong, and usually having never quite made it in showbusiness how they wanted.

2) A drunken, sexually perverted or otherwise mad children's entertainer or kids' TV presenter, getting things wrong, and usually having never quite made it in showbusiness how they wanted.

3) A schoolgirl with attitude/Chav character, all sassy-like.

4) A spooky smoking jacket-wearing storyteller or poet, usually telling oh-so inept horror stories, or reading oh-so heartfelt poems.

5) Any extremely crass middle-aged woman who think they're being friendly or helpful, but who actually just showers people with abuse.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

So all of Little Britain, basically? Sounds good to me.

[Jemble Fred]

So all of Little Britain, basically? Sounds good to me.

Well yep, so it seems – but ones I had in mind when writing the list were Count Arthur Strong, Jeremy Lion, Tate's schoolgirl, and lots of tiresome acts I've had to sigh through on the comedy circuit generally. If anything, though I hate to say it, LB got in just in time with their characters, and it's those that have come after them that should have thought a bit harder.

[Godzilla Bankrolls]

If you are going to use those off-the-peg characters, the material and performance had better be good enough to justify it. Neil Hamburger doing the first category, or John Finnemore doing the fifth, for example.

[neveragain]

Isn't Seinfeld the show that popularised that joke?

It is indeed but the shows that followed missed the point, to my mind anyway. Friends and the like seem to use the 'joke' in a way that tries to endear the characters to the audience (creating a term for something that people already do) whereas the Sein created a number of bizarre scenarios and made them sillier through the self-important namings ('You're a potato-teaser', et cetera). That's how I take it anyhoo.

[scarecrow]

sorry if this has been pointed out:

a man needs to sabotage something by doing something really awful or something that's doomed to failure, someone makes a suggestion... "that is the stupidest, most awful thing I have ever heard.... it's perfect!!!!"