Poll: Who's better at comedy? Brits or Americans?

[Vanguard_Ex]

for me its not so much a nationality thing.brits and americans are both funny. but women seem to not be funny.

This is a fact. Women comedians are, overall, dreadful.

 

[solad_nathair]

American Dad!, South Park, all the adult swim stuff, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Scrubs, that 70's show, Arrested Development, Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Arrested Development and Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia are great but Scrubs and That 70's Show started out good but got really shit at the end. How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory are ok but not even close to Fawlty Towers, Blackaddar or Red Dwarf

 

[Sethzard]

Brits, we have that Mitchel and Webb look, and the radio 4 comedy as well as a lot of others. (No-body mention the inbetweeners.)

 

[ManimalR]

Brits definitely, although I'm probably a little biased, but seriously:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7RJYsnRuYA

 

[Barziboy]

Where does that put the Talented works of the Irish?

*Chough* Dylan Moran *Cough**Choke*

 

[solad_nathair]

for me its not so much a nationality thing.brits and americans are both funny. but women seem to not be funny.

This is a fact. Women comedians are, overall, dreadful.

What? You mean you dont like jokes about men being crap?

 

[JasonKaotic]

I've personally never really found American humour funny. Nothing against America, it's just not my sort of humour, with some exceptions. I mainly prefer our humour.

 

[mrF00bar]

Brits. 20-30 years ago they were funny. Nowdays, neither British or USAlien comedians are that funny.

So, that's sorta a win for the British.

You must have a terrible sense of humor or you just haven't found a comedian that you like, personally I think British comedians are funnier because I find them funnier when I watch them do stand up. I just don't find many American stand ups that funny.

 

[gorfias]

I think the Americans have been taking it for some time. I don't know of many British movie comedies of late. Mr. Bean's about it.

Americans: Bridesmaids, Dodgeball, Blades of Glory, 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Observe and Report, Pineapple Express all in the last 10 years or so.

TV: Scrubs was about as good as it gets.

EDIT: Two more words. South Park.

 

[t00bz]

Two words. George Carlin. /thread

 

[liquidsolid]

for me its not so much a nationality thing.brits and americans are both funny. but women seem to not be funny.

HAHA I'm glad someone else noticed that about women comics. Most of them aren't any good and I can't figure out why. However there are some women who I think are relatively funny. Bea Arthur, Wanda Sykes, and...well that's about all I can think of off the top of my head.

OT: I personally pick America but not for Larry the Cable guy, I like Jewish comics. They are the funniest in my opinion. Larry David, Adam Sandler, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, and Andy Kaufman. I also really love George Carlin. I have to hand this to the Americans.

EDIT: I changed around the comedians I listed adding Andy Kaufman

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I've always found American comedy to mostly be a little simplistic and often childish.
Whereas British comedy is often very subtle and dry and can be quite complex.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

If we're going by standup, America wins by a landslide. Kennison, Bruce, Pryor, Carlin, C.K., Sagat, Murphy, Rock, Black, Brooks, etc are untouchable. Britain arguably has better comedy in television and film right now, but America's comedic legacy is unmatched.

 

[ferd mertz]

Seriously? 80% say British?

When I think of comedy two things come to mind, movies/tv shows and stand up. Americas stand up alone demands that this poll be less slanted.

Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, George Carlin, Seinfield, Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby, to name a few. All the legendary stand ups are american. I might be a biased american but who do the brits have, Eddie Izzard (sorry, SP?)?

Now I'm about as big a Monty Pyton fan as you can get but nothing beats Married.....with Children! No Maam!

 

[goodman528]

The french are also very good.

 

[peruvianskys]

I enjoy American comedy because it's always seemed very proletariat, whereas British comedy comes off to me as a little haughty and self-congratulatory a lot of the time. However, sometimes the American side can dip into a little too "working class" and then you get shit like Larry the Cable Guy. But David Cross, George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Patton Oswalt, Brian Regan, etc. are all great examples of intelligent but not stuck-up comedy; I don't find that same kind of approach in too much British humor.

There are some television shows and comedians from Britain that I do like but it's America for me!

 

[solad_nathair]

I've always found American comedy to mostly be a little simplistic and often childish.
Whereas British comedy is often very subtle and dry and can be quite complex.

Sometimes childish is good. Subtle and dry can sometimes mean unfunny

 

[runnernda]

I said none of the above, since I think American comedy and British comedy are so different that you can't really compare them. I like both, personally, but for different reasons.

 

[solad_nathair]

Has anyone seen that Irish show The Savage Eye