Top 10 Favorite Stand Up Comics

[VashTheStampede]

John Mulaney: He's been getting some blowback the last couple years (mainly due to the parasocial relationships people form with famous people these days) but he's still my guy. One thing I love about stand-up is the craft. How comics will refine their jokes in front of various crowds and hammer bits down to absolute perfection to the point where they innately know exactly how a crowd is going to react to each word of a bit. This guy is one of the best going when it comes to that.

That said, here is the first bit of his that I saw that made me start following him, which might not be the perfect example of the above, but still makes me laugh.

 

[Mark]

I don't mind his comedies, I get people being into those, it's his solo work. Shock comedy for the sake of drawing cheap laughs or made up outrage. The trans thing's a perfect example. I don't take him as an authority on anything trans, because he isn't, but he said it to get those headlines, and what do you know? He got them. People flocked to Netflix to watch his insanely overrated specials. I guess it works for him, but it's that sort of crap that I don't take to.

His standup work is more representative of his personality than his acting credits, as unfortunate as that may be in this case. A lot of what you may dislike about his material could stem from his upbringing in Silver Spring, he had the opportunity to grow up around all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds in an environment where it was okay to trash talk other groups and call out certain things about different groups of people. There are a lot of “east coast” comedians that catch flak for similar jokes about other groups, because it’s a lot more socially acceptable here than it is elsewhere.

I still quote Half Baked on a regular basis.

I lost count of the times I needed a backiotomy.

 

[Crystal]

His standup work is more representative of his personality than his acting credits, as unfortunate as that may be in this case. A lot of what you may dislike about his material could stem from his upbringing in Silver Spring, he had the opportunity to grow up around all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds in an environment where it was okay to trash talk other groups and call out certain things about different groups of people. There are a lot of “east coast” comedians that catch flak for similar jokes about other groups, because it’s a lot more socially acceptable here than it is elsewhere.

Nope, I don't mind comedy that goes after everyone and anyone, just makes the jokes actually funny. His aren't. They're, to steal a wrestling term, cheap heat for the sake of being cheap heat. Plenty of material to go around when it comes to trans jokes, but his are crap.

 

[Mark]

Nope, I don't mind comedy that goes after everyone and anyone, just makes the jokes actually funny. His aren't. They're, to steal a wrestling term, cheap heat for the sake of being cheap heat. Plenty of material to go around when it comes to trans jokes, but his are crap.

Agreed. I think he went with what he felt was the “safest” trans material he could use for a shock laugh, and not the “best” material he could have used for a shock laugh. As an outsider, I see it as what could have netted him the most laughs versus what would have been a more effective laugh that maybe fewer would have laughed at.

 

[Crystal]

Agreed. I think he went with what he felt was the “safest” trans material he could use for a shock laugh, and not the “best” material he could have used for a shock laugh. As an outsider, I see it as what could have netted him the most laughs versus what would have been a more effective laugh that maybe fewer would have laughed at.

Yep, and that's lazy. I don't respect comics that take that route.

 

[Mark]

Yep, and that's lazy. I don't respect comics that take that route.

I wouldn’t categorize it as lazy, I think it was a poor choice… he got the exact reaction he was trying to avoid by speaking so generally. He tried to walk that razor’s edge and failed. It’s not like one of his jokes shitting on black people, he can’t come from a place of experience to know exactly how to tip-toe on that edge. I try to look at it optimistically. The next comedian to make a trans joke should take away a lesson from what happened with him and work on their execution.

 

[Crystal]

I wouldn’t categorize it as lazy, I think it was a poor choice… he got the exact reaction he was trying to avoid by speaking so generally. He tried to walk that razor’s edge and failed. It’s not like one of his jokes shitting on black people, he can’t come from a place of experience to know exactly how to tip-toe on that edge. I try to look at it optimistically. The next comedian to make a trans joke should take away a lesson from what happened with him and work on their execution.

Perhaps, it just feels kind of consistent with him in his later years. Taking the easy route for cheap laughs...just meh.

 

[Mark]

Perhaps, it just feels kind of consistent with him in his later years. Taking the easy route for cheap laughs...just meh.

I can agree with that. You can still see little glimmers of his “old self” sprinkled throughout, but he hasn’t been “the same” since he vacated his celebrity status and went off the radar all those years ago. My thing is… I won’t just cancel someone for telling a shitty joke or two. You gotta do more than that to get stricken off of my list.

 

[Cole]

I'm not a huge stand up fan.

I've really fallen in love with Matt Rife lately (thanks tiktok) he just seems genuinely funny, his crowd work is amazing.

George Carlin is the best of all time.

John Mulaney has one of my favorite bits ever (the n word vs the word midget)

otherwise there's no one I really "pluck out" as being so good I need to see them.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I'm really digging Matt Rife lately. I love good crowd work.

 

[Cole]

good crowd work is amazing, and Matt fucking NAILS it every time.

 

[Benzine]

Not stand up, but I quite enjoy the British panel shows.

One is a game show, where comedians and famous people tell stories and the opposite panel guess if truth or lie.

One such contest is Bob Mortimer, and... well, I wouldn't want to spoil it if someone wants to watching 50 minutes of hilarity. Strongly recommend.

 

[Benzine]

I rewatched the above and it doesn't even have the best fucken ones in it, unbelievable.

Try this one, much shorter:

 

[Tubby23]

Bob is incredible, his work on WILTY, 8 out of 10 Cats and Taskmaster is all incredible

 

[VashTheStampede]

Bill Hicks was definitely a product of his time so I don't know how well it holds up if you weren't there for it, but he was a huge influence on me growing up (for better or worse).

I can definitely draw a direct line from a lot of my formative feelings and opinions of this world to Bill.

Not a "joke" guy as much as a storyteller and commentator, but the man was brilliant.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Not a "joke" guy as much as a storyteller

I like when comedians tell stories. Dane Cook did stories, too. They were really dumb stories and they weren't super common., but the B&E story is good laughs.

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

If you like storytelling check out Mike Birbiglia. He now does one man show residences based on comedy and stories from his life. They pull you in so much that the payoffs only work in this setting. I've wanted to see one of his residencies so bad.