Is British Humor Highly Overrated?
I was pretty excited to see that HBO was going to start showing Little Britain USA. Over the last year or so I heard a lot of positive things about Little Britain. Some people told me that it was “brilliant” and “one of the funniest shows on television”. Three episodes into the season and I have to say that it is pretty bad. Occasionally there are some funny things but the show is like any other bad sketch comedy show but with a little more freedom because it is on HBO.
My failure to laugh at this show continues the strikeout ratio for British humor. Is it me or is British humor highly overrated? People always act that if you don’t get British humor that you are an idiot or low brow. But I think it is just a crutch because people get thrown off by their accent. For some reason when Americans hear a British person speak (as long as they aren’t from Liverpool or Manchester) we think that they are really smart no matter what they are saying.
Russell Brand
While he was pretty funny in Forgetting Sarah Marshall the British stand up comic has been pretty awful otherwise. His hosting gig at the MTV Video Music Awards was considered one of the worst ever. The standup I have seen of his has been really self involved and mostly unfunny. We get that you had a drug problem and liked to screw a lot of girls just like we understand that Margaret Cho has an Asian mother and that she like to hang out with gay guys. (Margaret not her mother.)
Verdict: Overrated
Eddie Izzard
The two stand up specials I have seen were really good and rank as some of my favorites. It doesn’t look like he is doing much if any comedy anymore but he is the funniest Englishmen in my opinion.
Verdict: Funny
Ricky Gervais
The British version of The Office was rather funny although hit or miss sometimes with humor that is really regional. I thought Extras was funny mostly because of Stephen Merchant (check out the Daniel Radcliffe Episode or the Kate Winslet one) but I have to say the series finale was one of the worst things I have ever watched on television. It was painful. However Gervais has shown to have a sharp wit and consistently if pretty funny but I reserve the right to change this if his stand up special blows.
Verdict: Funny
Mr. Bean
Screw you England. We didn’t send over a crap load of Ernest movies to you did we?
Verdict: The worst thing to ever come out of England next to Shepherd’s Pie.
Sacha Baron Cohen
Borat was funny but it was more of a shock comedy where you watch it once and then never again. The Ali G movie was horribly unfunny and did a disservice to his show. So that leaves us with his upcoming movie Bruno to break the tie.
Verdict: Pending
Monty Python
The Holy Grail and Life of Brian were two excellent movies. Also I give them credit for A Fish Called Wanda which I thought was genius. However they also have put out an inordinate amount of shit in their day too. Watching their skit show often left me not laughing in fact I think a lot of their skits beat a single premise into the ground over and over and over again. We get it… the parrot is dead.
Verdict: Overrated
Honorable mention: Ab Fab (funny), Fawlty Towers (haven’t watched it enough), and anything Pete Dougherty or Amy Winehouse does (funny)
Do you think that British humor is overrated?
you’re right on mr bean and little britain, little britain’s got tired over here, people have lost interest. it’s the same jokes each episode. old people like it. Mr Bean is a disgrace, we should be ashamed.
problem is you only get the comedy that yank producers think will cross over, the best british comedy doesn’t work in the states cos as you said, it’s regional humour, only funny for us. just like I don’t get some USA comedy… Ali G was massive here cos we all know people exactly like him, in a town exactly like he lives.
Check out Fonejacker (on youtube), The Inbetweeners, Peep Show (they’re looking to do a US version of this, hope it doesn’t get messed up). and seriously, watch all of Fawlty Towers! Only 7 epoisodes in total I think, all wicked!
In the end, our accent is there to trick you into thinking we’re smart, but we’re just as retarded as everyone else.
I will check out those shoes… Don’t admit to the accent thing you guys have a good thing going.
I totally agree British Comedy is overrated. I was disappointed after seeing ony one episode of Little Britain USA.
Who is worse Carlos Mencia or Mr. Bean. I can’t decide as I think they are both horrible and shouldn’t be allowed on a stage or screen.
Could we let them fight to the death and then give the winner their own show on a station that nobody watches… Lifetime?
Harrumph!
I practically live in Liverpool, you cheeky sod.
I don’t think Little Britain is the funniest show or brilliant, it does make me laugh though.
Monty python is overrated.
Russell Brand is mad as toast and is more famous for shagging anything that moved.
Mr Bean, I hate him with a passion but watching Rowan Atkinson in Blackadder is a totally different experience.
British humour is very regional, especially comedians like Peter Kay, but I am sure the same goes for American comedians too?
Well we have rednecks and everyone else
Eddie Izzard is hilarious! Otherwise I think the Brits should be relegated to playing James Bond or spaceship officers in some Star Wars movie.
That is pretty much the box they should be put into… and butlers
man we frankly blow the socks off of the rest of the world when it come to comedy. but then i would imagine most americans think that about america and the french about france. Garth Meranghi’s darkplace is sheer genius, the office untoucable (I saw your version :/) we also made black books, peepshow, the life of brian, da Ali G show, spaced, shaun of the dead + hot fuzz, popworld when Simon Amstell did it, the Fast Show, then theres the Two Ronnies + Morecombe and Wise for your oldies, Frankie Boyle (look him up), Dylan Moran, David Doherty and Stewart Lee for your stand ups, to name a few. What you’ve listed is very narrow and not a true or fair reflection of British comedy. It’s like us saying “America’s stupid, they made Friends, Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler” though I did read the rather unfortunate list that made up the 5 movies that influenced you most and the statement that Eddie Izzard is the funniest British person alive makes me devalue your opinion on anything funny. I mightgander ound your site to see if you are but I amn’t holding my breath
I do apoligise for Mr Bean and in particular Little Britain. You’re lucky you didn’t get Bo’ Selecta (a few gems in a pool of shit isn’t worth it)
I suppose where you live depends on if British humour is overrated or not – I’m Canadian, we still have the Queen’s face on our money so that’s comical right there…
as for their comedy being overrated or not, I never heard of the show you mentioned but it does sound brutal — Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Are You Being Served? are old but funny on many levels. Mr Bean being more recent but no longer taped is brilliant.
To this day I’m surprised the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson has survived this long thinking “do Americans understand him with his accent?”
funny you mentioned “we think that they are really smart no matter what they are saying” in regards to their accent, which reminded me of Jeff Foxworthy’s redneck bit about a brain surgeon who sounds like they’re from Boston or… like Jeff Foxworthy
Canada really kind of wins out because you brought us Kids in the Hall
I liked the first season or so of Little Britain but after that, it was a bit tedious.
I am quite fond of Mr. Bean in small doses. Nothing is superior to Eddie Izzard. Ricky Gervais is a fine comedian as well.
Cheers from a Yank
Small doses? Under thirty seconds.
i have to admit i used to watch mr bean to hoping to find it funny, i figured i was broken or something because i never do. my brothers on the other hand (i am convinced they should wear helmets most days) find it horribly funny. i concur with everything.
You should shoot them now and preserve the quality of your gene pool
when i was younger, i use to love watching mr. bean’s show on hbo. i just saw johnny english a few weeks ago and had to stop watching it 5 minutes in.
eddie izzard on the other hand is abso-fucking-lutely hilarious.
The Ali G movie wasn’t that funny, but the show is hysterical. When he does the interviews like when he called Buzz Aldridge Buzz Lightyear- I cried laughing. Some British comedy I love, some I think is meh, but that’s how I feel about our own (American) comedy too.
The show is funny. I will give him that.
P.s. That’s Buzz Aldrin, sorry, looking at one thing while typing another!
Little Britain is horribly unfunny. The laugh track annoys the crap out of me and it starts up the second either of the players come into view…’bloke in a wig hahahahahaha’. No jokes yet, just man in a wig and the crowd goes wild.
Mr. Bean is awful, I’ve never understood that fascination.
I love Ab Fab…Patsy Stone is a bumbling character but a shrew and she pulls it off.
A ‘Wish Called Wanda’ sounds like the porno version.
Actually you wouldn’t need to change the channel if it was based in prison
No arguing that Monty Python and Benny Hill is some funny ass shit.
SBC is pretty funny in other things, like Talladega Nights.
Ricky Gervais’ version of The Office is much better than the US version. Although Dwight Schrute would kick Gareth’s ass any day of the week.
Besides. Any country that has such horseshit on every week (See: Tyler Perry’s House of Payne) has no room to speak.
How dare you insult the comic genius that is Tyler Perry…
(blows head off)
nonsense, the guy that plays him took the idea and went way overboard.
I feel stupider for reading this.
And your comment added a lot… douche
I love Eddie Izzard. Absolutely love him. I used to watch Mr. Bean when I was a kid but after a few minutes I couldn’t take it. I do miss Are You Being Served? That was a good show. I do like British comedy, but it’s pretty much exactly like American comedy – the have Eddie and Rowan, we have Louis CK and Larry the Cable Guy. Hit and miss.
Larry the cable guy is great…. in … uh… nothing
That’s my point. I hate him.
I love Larry the Cable Guy. Want to have his babies.
Seriously, I know this comment is probably gonna make you lose all respect for me (not that you had any), but I think he’s sexy.
Okay. There. Admitted it. Phew.
So you thought A Wish Called Wanda was genius, eh? Was it so genius that it made you forget the film’s actual name, that being A Fish Called Wanda? Eh? EH? EHHH?
Anyway: I agree with you on Brand and Bean, piss on a stick both. Unsurprisingly, Britain – like any other nation on earth – produces both shit and good. You might want to call the newspapers.
Also: you DID send us over a load of Ernest films, you bastards! The horror I endured from watching Ernest Goes to Jail still lingers, you know.
The horror…the horror…
It was a total typo… I have to stop writing before I am awake and functional.
I just figured everything from England was high quality because you were from there…
Here’s a pitch for the greatest movie of all time:
We basically rip off My Two Dads, but the dads are played by…wait for it…Rowan Atkinson and Larry the Cable Guy.
I think the daughter should be played by Brooke Hogan to round out the cast nicely.
I was about to call you a complete douchebag for saying Monty Python was overrated…but then I thought about it and maybe a little. A hair, perhaps.
On the whole, I love British comedy. You should defineitley check out ‘Black Books’ and ‘The IT Crowd’. Both hilarious, especially ‘The IT Crowd’. In fact, NBC planeed an American remake of ITC with that Talk Soup guy, but I think it died.
As for The Office (UK version), it was incredible. While I love the American version, David Brent is way more interesting a character than Michael Scott. Also, our Pam is way hotter than their Dawn.
All sketch comedy is the same.70% shit 30% awesomeness, and that’s each episode. This is never truer than SCTV, SNL, and Kids In The Hall
The movie looks like its going to be really good. From seeing those behind the scenes videos already I can’t wait to see the
OK – I’m generally a fan of British humor; but here’s my rundown after reading the post and all the comments:
Little Britain: I have not watched the US version because after everything I’ve heard, I’m afraid. I thought the original was pretty funny, but I was wary about the translation over to this side of the Atlantic.
Russell Brand: Although he shitbombed at the MTV Awards, he’s generally very funny. I download podcasts of his BBC Radio 1 show, and he’s hilarious (especially when Noel Gallagher is on the show, which is quite often).
Eddie Izzard: Love him. He’s funny as hell. If you haven’t already, watch Death Star Canteen.
Rowan Atkinson: Mr. Bean – not funny. Blackadder – very funny. Plus House in Blackadder.
Monty Python: OK, I’ll give you that a good portion of Flying Circus isn’t particularly funny; but there are some gems. The movies are awesome.
I highly recommend checking out That Mitchell & Webb Look, Father Ted (extremely funny), and The Vicar of Dibley.
Cake or death? CAKE OR DEATH?!
Peep Show is fucking priceless, you definitely should check it out if you haven’t already!
A Fish Called Wanda is amazing, Fawlty Towers is bloody fantastic.
I still have my American accent after all this time. It’s funny, after being in London so long, I found that anyone with an English accent doesn’t sound smart, they sound (ahemmoredaftahem).
The most painful thing though is seeing American tourists on the tube or running around. I cringe when I hear their voices, even though I know I sound just the same.
I’m such a traitor.
Eddie Izzard is my current favorite Brit. I grew up on Monty Python, so I have a hard time being objective. As for Mr. Bean, I have no idea why that particular Rowan Atkinson character is so funny. If you get a chance to watch Black Adder (specifically the 2nd and 3rd seasons) I’d recommend it. R.A. plays the Black Adder and not only is a complete bastard, the show is pretty funny.
I hate Little Britain. I don’t understand the humor of the British version…compared to the Office and other popular Brits like Simon Pegg, it sucks.
What I do find interesting is how often American tv develops a show based off of Brit Tv (the Office, Coupling, Life on Mars, etc)
I don’t know. I think that Mr. Bean guy is a genius!
Monty Python is awesome. Benny Hill = horribly overrated. NOT FUNNY AT ALL.
Tyler Perry, however, is pure comic genius.
No, it’s nothing to do with British humo(u)r – Little Britain USA is also terrible and unfunny, imho, even by British standards. Blame the quality control of the US network that produced the rubbish.
I’m watching it in the UK and I have to say that it is an embarrassing attempt to be funny at best. It makes me cringe and so far I haven’t even managed to smile.
It’s a question of who you know and not what you know unfortunately: the “comedians” involved produced some terrible television in the UK as well but as a result, it seems, of personal connections with a friend from university (who was in a powerful position in terms of commissioning programmes in the UK) were given another chance to demonstrate their “talent”. I wonder if the same thing will happen again.
It’s just a flop plain and simple.
I like some British comedies: Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served?, The Young Ones, and Red Dwarf. Red Dwarf is a long love of mine.
To make up for the pain and misery of Mr Bean, watch the League Of Gentlemen! Brilliant storylines, gruesome characters and horribly funny.
And the 1950s radio show The Goon Show (Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers) is possibly the funniset thing you’ll ever hear. Without it, there would have been no Monty Python!
While I have to agree about Mr. Bean, I’m a bit dismayed that Rowan Atkinson’s masterworkd, The Blackadder, isn’t even on this list.
Blackadder, especially the fourth season (though you could probably skip season one altogether), is some of the most intelligent, enlightened, urbane and deftly delivered comedy in the last half century.
I have never watched it. I did find it on tv and am going to start tivo’ing some episodes.
I’m surprised Friday Night with Jonathan Ross hasn’t caught on over there, I know you Yanks love talk shows and this is a great one – plus loads of American guests appear on it, and it’s hilarious.
Also Alan Carr is really quite a funny stand-up, Jimmy Carr and Peter Kay aren’t bad either. Over here, the funniest shit on TV tends to be played out in a quiz show format these days, for some strange reason. Mock the Week, Have I Got News for You, 8 out of 10 Cats and QI probably best portray British humour, so they’re worth a watch – I’m sure you can find them on YouTube – don’t know if you guys can access BBC iPlayer or 4onDemand from Channel 4.
Also, check out Peep Show, Fonejacker and Harry and Paul.
Little Britain is ok for the first episode, maybe the second too, but it gets very repetitive and you can almost see the 2 guys running out of ideas as each series progresses.
Sacha Baron Cohen is hilarious – yes, the Ali G film was shit, but everything else he’s done so far has been comedy gold. And to help you make up your mind about Ricky Gervais, check out his podcast – the guy’s too funny.
ANYTHING BRITISH REALLY TICKLES MY STRAP-ON PICKLE.
WHAT CAN I SAY?
I’M A SUCKER FOR MR.BEAN.
BUT THEN AGAIN, I’M EASILY AMUSED AND EASY TO PLEASE.
I WATCHED THE MOVIE “THE LOVE GURU” AND ALTHOUGH THE PEOPLE AROUND DID NOT LAUGH, I WONDER…IS IT THEM THAT JUST DONT GET HUMOR OR DO I LACK TRUE COMEDIC INSIGHT?
I ARRIVED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT IS THEM.
I LIKE JEFF DUNHAM AND CARLOS MENCIA.
To me Chris Morris trumps all British comedians- the day today, brass eye and jam are my desert island discs. Plus most of the things that any of the cast has been involved with since- Julia Davis, Kevin Eldon, Steve Coogan, Stewart Lee, Armando Iannucci…
All of that plus the league of gentlemen and Mark Wootton make up the best of British comedy today.
Agreed Little Britain is appallingly written (but i still quite like them both as performers)
Little Britain USA is godawful. I literally don’t think I laughed even once, and I gave it a shot with 3 episodes thinking maybe they’d find their way. Now I think I will watch them all because it’s like a gory car wreck and I can’t look away. But the overriding question I have is, who is this show written for? americans? british? do they really think saying all americans are fat and stupid over and over is funny? to who? I don’t know… I would be shocked if they renew this abortion.
litte britain is absolute shit, only retards seem to like it, im british btw and ive never really met anyone that liked it who wasnt under 10 years old, or an ugly teenage girl (strange combination), Russell Brand to is shit, not funny one bit, women seem to be attracted to him and laugh flirtatiously during his shows, men dont seem to show much of a reaction, mr bean is shit but amazing compared to the previous 2, sasha baron cohen is funny, although he has made some bad stuff, just going back and watching his show, you’ll know hes funny, eddie izzard takes a while to get to his punchlines but he is funny, ricky gervais ive never thought was funny but alot of people seem to like him, so whateva… hes not exactly funny but hes not really unfunny either, kinda in the middle, and then monty python ive never seen because im born after the 1960s, so i dont know
Hated red dwarf, what the hell was going on when that guy took the test, like he acted all weird, like he was dying, then slapped his hand print on the paper and passed out, what the hell???????? Someone wanna explain that?
I’m British and Little Britain USA is bad ( not without some funny moments however). But Little Britain (the first few series’) is good, so not really a relfection on British humour. Russell Brand is shit and a waste of space. Jonathan Ross is also a talentless shit. Alan Carr is the best out there.