- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Top 5 Comedians - Does Norm Macdonald fall into that discussion
Posted on 9/15/21 at 3:53 pm to texasmason
Posted on 9/15/21 at 3:53 pm to texasmason
Not even close to top 5. I wouldn't even put him top 20.
Norm was a comic's comic rather than a people's comic. His quick wit, out of the box thinking, delivery, and timing were all better than the jokes themselves. Comedians appreciated the things Norm did well that audiences didn't even recognize as talent. I think this is why he's getting such an outpouring from the comic community after he passed.
For instance, someone mentioned the Moth joke. The Moth joke would absolutely suck if anyone else told it but Norm could pull it off because of his intangibles. Even so, a lot of people would watch that and find zero humor in it whatsoever.
Norm was a comic's comic rather than a people's comic. His quick wit, out of the box thinking, delivery, and timing were all better than the jokes themselves. Comedians appreciated the things Norm did well that audiences didn't even recognize as talent. I think this is why he's getting such an outpouring from the comic community after he passed.
For instance, someone mentioned the Moth joke. The Moth joke would absolutely suck if anyone else told it but Norm could pull it off because of his intangibles. Even so, a lot of people would watch that and find zero humor in it whatsoever.
3
Posted on 9/15/21 at 3:57 pm to mmmmmbeeer
quote:
For instance, someone mentioned the Moth joke. The Moth joke would absolutely suck if anyone else told it but Norm could pull it off because of his intangibles. Even so, a lot of people would watch that and find zero humor in it whatsoever.
Your metric for talented comedians is that if anyone can tell their jokes then it's a good joke? That's pretty low brow stuff.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 3:58 pm to mmmmmbeeer
quote:
For instance, someone mentioned the Moth joke. The Moth joke would absolutely suck if anyone else told it but Norm could pull it off because of his intangibles. Even so, a lot of people would watch that and find zero humor in it whatsoever.
I’ve told the Moth joke before and people laughed at it.
Posted on 9/15/21 at 5:02 pm to mmmmmbeeer
quote:
The Moth joke would absolutely suck if anyone else told it but Norm could pull it off because of his intangibles.
That’s the point. He was so good that he would take dad jokes from the 1940’s and make them funny just to prove that he could. His “intangibles” (which is 80% of what makes comedy funny) were so elite and refined that he could turn something as basic and predictable as a joke about moths and light into something legitimately special and fresh.
Plus, let’s not forget that he improvised most of that joke. He didn’t even know he was booked for 8 minutes until he was headed to the stage.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News