You can now rent stand-up comedy DVDs in my local video shop. This is a serious surprise.
I can see how people might prefer a night in with 90 minutes of stand-up comedy instead of some of the "comedy" films on the shelves (one day, if you're unlucky, I might be able to bring myself to write about "Just Go With It") but, given how much cheaper it is, I can't really see much in it for the comedian.
Of course, renting a John Bishop DVD for a fraction of the cost of buying it (and, I'm guessing, an even smaller fraction of the cost of seeing him live) might be cheaper but it is obviously not the same experience as seeing the show. The real problem for comics is that, while the experience might not be the same, the jokes probably are.
I don't think it's a coincidence that comedy DVDs often seem to be released at the culmination of a tour. By the time the material has been round the country a) it should be honed and b) everyone who was going to see it live, has done. So the DVD is a way to extend a comedy show's comparatively short shelf life.
Because comedy is arguably one of the least recyclable and most energy-consuming forms of performance art. Great comedy shows insatiably eat up excellent material. The jokes come thick and fast. When things are going extremely well, some are literally thrown away.
And unlike aging rock bands endlessly re-playing the same songs, comedians can't go around re-playing their amazing first routine. Even if their comedy isn't particularly topical, people expect a new tour to mean a new show, which means new jokes.
So committing a comedy show to DVD is like pressing 'save' on the great comedy computer. The sad thing is you can only save that performance that night in that venue (probably the biggest one of the entire tour) which means that something of the show is inevitably lost. The material might be saved but the show is definitely over.
And I think that sense of being 'over' suffuses the DVD itself. I rarely re-watch my Dylan Moran and Tim Minchin DVDs for the same reason that I have only ever seen a second show on the same tour once (also Tiim Minchin but I put that down to the songs). They might still make you laugh but jokes are never as funny the second time round or, in my experience, on the DVD.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Monday, 21 November 2011
You can make comedy funnier
When a comedy gig has gone well, I've often heard people (and the comedians themselves) say "the audience were great".
And I don't think that means the heckles were hilarious or the 'getting-to-know-you' bits at the beginning of the show revealed that some particularly funny people were sitting on the front row (see earlier post on impro...). I think it means the audience did a great job of working with the comedian to create a great atmosphere.
An atmosphere which made the comedian better and the jokes funnier.
The fact is that, however funny and experienced a comedian is, they can't create that atmosphere on their own. The audience has to be willing to contribute. And I would argue that the more willing the audience is to do that, the funnier the show ultimately becomes. So I always go ready to laugh.
Because one thing I've learned from going to comedy gigs is that the more I laugh, the funnier the comedian gets - whoever they are. And it's not just that I find them funnier because I'm in the mood for laughing, I think they really are funnier because comedy relies on confidence. And if the comic, and the audience, are both convinced the show is going well, the show will go well.
A comedian who is enjoying a gig is completely different to a comedian who keeps checking their watch. In a good gig, comedians tend to take more time and develop the delivery. This is when (despite my previous post) the odd improvised comment really works - when it's an obviously spontaneous riff on a storming routine.
Meanwhile if enough people in the audience are in the mood for laughing, then the audience seems to collectively decide they are in for a great night - and that means they probably are.
So if you want to make every comedy gig you go to even funnier - turn up ready to laugh. Laugh at the first funny thing the comedian says and clap the funniest joke you hear in the first five minutes. I bet you the next ninety-five minutes will be better for it.
And I don't think that means the heckles were hilarious or the 'getting-to-know-you' bits at the beginning of the show revealed that some particularly funny people were sitting on the front row (see earlier post on impro...). I think it means the audience did a great job of working with the comedian to create a great atmosphere.
An atmosphere which made the comedian better and the jokes funnier.
The fact is that, however funny and experienced a comedian is, they can't create that atmosphere on their own. The audience has to be willing to contribute. And I would argue that the more willing the audience is to do that, the funnier the show ultimately becomes. So I always go ready to laugh.
Because one thing I've learned from going to comedy gigs is that the more I laugh, the funnier the comedian gets - whoever they are. And it's not just that I find them funnier because I'm in the mood for laughing, I think they really are funnier because comedy relies on confidence. And if the comic, and the audience, are both convinced the show is going well, the show will go well.
A comedian who is enjoying a gig is completely different to a comedian who keeps checking their watch. In a good gig, comedians tend to take more time and develop the delivery. This is when (despite my previous post) the odd improvised comment really works - when it's an obviously spontaneous riff on a storming routine.
Meanwhile if enough people in the audience are in the mood for laughing, then the audience seems to collectively decide they are in for a great night - and that means they probably are.
So if you want to make every comedy gig you go to even funnier - turn up ready to laugh. Laugh at the first funny thing the comedian says and clap the funniest joke you hear in the first five minutes. I bet you the next ninety-five minutes will be better for it.
Monday, 14 November 2011
A good comedy with a bad title
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to spot a really good comedy film? It's easy to spot funny bits in films but much harder to judge when a whole film is funny enough to warrant being called a good comedy.
I think it's because we're blinded by the marketing. So often films are sold to us as comedies when all they really contain is the ten funny jokes we just saw in the trailer. The set up might be funny but, as sitcom writers know, you need to keep 'em coming to keep 'em laughing through ninety minutes.
In fact, it's not really until you've sat through a whole film and realised it has consistently kept you entertained, amused and possibly even laughing that you realise you've just watched a good comedy.
But I am ready to put my hand up to say that "Bad Teacher" is a good comedy film.
If you can get past the terrible title and the fact that the front cover features Justin Timberlake in very unconvincing librarian-glasses and actually take the DVD to the rental counter, you're could be in for some fun.
Cameron Diaz plays both to, and against, type as a gorgeous female teacher who cares much more about money than she does about kids - a fact which is recognised (and appreciated) by Jason Segel's gym teacher while Justin Timberlake's dull-but-minted supply teacher cannot see through her (despite the see-through glasses).
It's edgier than you'd think, it's cruder than you'd think and it's far funnier than you'd think too.
I think that's because Cameron Diaz's character, and subsequently the story, constantly surprises. Only the surprise is how far she, and the story, are prepared to go.
The fact that this film has drugs, stealing and cheating but the most shocking thing about this bad teacher is she spends days on end making her bored students watch movies because she can't be bothered to teach them - is just one of the surprises. I won't spoil any of the others.
I think it's because we're blinded by the marketing. So often films are sold to us as comedies when all they really contain is the ten funny jokes we just saw in the trailer. The set up might be funny but, as sitcom writers know, you need to keep 'em coming to keep 'em laughing through ninety minutes.
In fact, it's not really until you've sat through a whole film and realised it has consistently kept you entertained, amused and possibly even laughing that you realise you've just watched a good comedy.
But I am ready to put my hand up to say that "Bad Teacher" is a good comedy film.
If you can get past the terrible title and the fact that the front cover features Justin Timberlake in very unconvincing librarian-glasses and actually take the DVD to the rental counter, you're could be in for some fun.
Cameron Diaz plays both to, and against, type as a gorgeous female teacher who cares much more about money than she does about kids - a fact which is recognised (and appreciated) by Jason Segel's gym teacher while Justin Timberlake's dull-but-minted supply teacher cannot see through her (despite the see-through glasses).
It's edgier than you'd think, it's cruder than you'd think and it's far funnier than you'd think too.
I think that's because Cameron Diaz's character, and subsequently the story, constantly surprises. Only the surprise is how far she, and the story, are prepared to go.
The fact that this film has drugs, stealing and cheating but the most shocking thing about this bad teacher is she spends days on end making her bored students watch movies because she can't be bothered to teach them - is just one of the surprises. I won't spoil any of the others.
Monday, 7 November 2011
The furthest point on the comedy triangle: Melbourne
Edinburgh, Montreal and Melbourne are arguably the three best comedy festivals in the world.
It's not surprising that Edinburgh is the best-known in the UK, because it's in the UK. Plus, winning the (former) Perrier award is the benchmark for UK comics.
And Montreal has snuck into the UK's consciousness too, thanks to the 'Just for Laughs' TV programmes which showcase the best of the international talent there.
But Melbourne?
In Melbourne, the International Comedy Festival is massive. In Australia, it's a pretty big deal. In the international comedy world, doing well in Melbourne is a mark of making it. But in the UK, my straw-poll-of-people-I-know suggests it's still almost completely unknown.
And I think I know why.
Before I went to Australia in 2002 I had only ever come across two Australian comics. I had seen Dame Edna on TV and I had heard Adam Hills on the radio. So I didn't have a clue what to expect from the 2003 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
In fact what I found was an absolutely thriving festival which, unlike Edinburgh, was solely dedicated to comedy. Okay, the year I was there the 'Barry' (Melbourne's equivalent of the 'Perrier') was won by Mike Wilmot (a Canadian) but the Best Newcomers were at least antipodean; they were Flight of the Conchords.
Melbourne was where I first came across young-gun Glenn Wool and baby-faced Andrew Maxwell. It was where I first heard about future-Conchords-collaborator Arj Barker and hottest-Brit-ticket-in-town Ross Noble. Melbourne was also where I discovered that two Australians had actually once won the Perrier when it was still the Perrier (Lano and Woodley in 1994).
And since coming back to the UK in 2003, I seem to have been pursued by Australian comics. Tim Minchin and Adam Hills are both successfully established in the UK now.
And that's really why I think the Melbourne Comedy Festival still isn't very well known over here; because some of the best Australian comics have settled in UK. And if we want to see the rest, well, we can go to Edinburgh.
It's not surprising that Edinburgh is the best-known in the UK, because it's in the UK. Plus, winning the (former) Perrier award is the benchmark for UK comics.
And Montreal has snuck into the UK's consciousness too, thanks to the 'Just for Laughs' TV programmes which showcase the best of the international talent there.
But Melbourne?
In Melbourne, the International Comedy Festival is massive. In Australia, it's a pretty big deal. In the international comedy world, doing well in Melbourne is a mark of making it. But in the UK, my straw-poll-of-people-I-know suggests it's still almost completely unknown.
And I think I know why.
Before I went to Australia in 2002 I had only ever come across two Australian comics. I had seen Dame Edna on TV and I had heard Adam Hills on the radio. So I didn't have a clue what to expect from the 2003 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
In fact what I found was an absolutely thriving festival which, unlike Edinburgh, was solely dedicated to comedy. Okay, the year I was there the 'Barry' (Melbourne's equivalent of the 'Perrier') was won by Mike Wilmot (a Canadian) but the Best Newcomers were at least antipodean; they were Flight of the Conchords.
Melbourne was where I first came across young-gun Glenn Wool and baby-faced Andrew Maxwell. It was where I first heard about future-Conchords-collaborator Arj Barker and hottest-Brit-ticket-in-town Ross Noble. Melbourne was also where I discovered that two Australians had actually once won the Perrier when it was still the Perrier (Lano and Woodley in 1994).
And since coming back to the UK in 2003, I seem to have been pursued by Australian comics. Tim Minchin and Adam Hills are both successfully established in the UK now.
And that's really why I think the Melbourne Comedy Festival still isn't very well known over here; because some of the best Australian comics have settled in UK. And if we want to see the rest, well, we can go to Edinburgh.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)