Giving And Taking It In The Comedic Way

Posted on September 13, 2012

A huge number–usually one or two people, typically the same number of people who’ve read one of my novels–have in the past come up to me and asked “Aren’t you that gay author who makes fun of people and takes it up the bum from that extraordinarily cute Asian guy? What makes you laugh?” It’s a loaded question, isn’t it? I mean, do I want to be known as the author who takes it up the bum from that extraordinarily cute Asian guy? It’s honestly not a stretch if you’ve ever met us, but do I want to spread it out in the open and really take a pounding with that kind of a reputation, gyrating up and down and up and down and all around? I swear, the things that go in and out and in and out of someone’s mind sometimes. But I digress. The lesser question they asked is what makes me laugh.

Whew! I worked myself up into such a frenzy writing that introduction that I’m no longer quite sure where I want to start.

Comedy is a tricky thing because everybody’s comedic palate is different. My mother hates things dad and I find funny, and my husband seriously questions my sanity with things I find funny he doesn’t. You’re never going to please everybody and you really shouldn’t even try. The best you can hope for is like-minded people taking a shine to your brand of funny and giving your books a shot based on the impression you left them with…which is hopefully either a positive one or an intrigued one that has a chance of becoming a positive one. Online isn’t the easiest place to get someone’s attention. But in person? When I do a signing or a panel at a convention and get a chance to interact with people, entertain them a bit and let them get to know me, that’s when I see a spike in sales…that whole one to two people thing I mentioned earlier.

So, again, what makes me laugh?

Perhaps the obvious approach is television. I don’t watch TV anymore, so if I catch up on a show, it’s because I’ve rented or bought a season of it on DVD or Blu-Ray. I love Friends, Cheers, Seinfeld, AbFab, Frasier, Are You Being Served?, Fawlty Towers, Big Bang Theory, The IT Crowd, Becker, and The Jeffersons. Those are the ones that come immediately to mind because they find just the right balance between sarcasm and humor in almost any setting. I’m also sure I’m leaving a number of shows out of the list. For talk shows, it’s always been Johnny Carson for his monologues. I don’t know why, but I have a fascination in his ability to work an audience. And comedians? Ellen Degeneres is someone else who I greatly admire for her comedic delivery. I’ll also go out of my way for Wanda Sykes, Eddie Izzard, Dame Edna, Judy Tenuta, Ant, David Brenner, and Suzanne Westenhoefer.

When it comes to movies, wow… I laughed until I cried watching Bridesmaids, absolutely adore The Naked Gun trilogy, yet I fell in love with Broadcast News and Mother (Albert Brooks and Debbie Reynolds were absolutely perfect in it), which are quite different than the first couple I mentioned. I took Mother over to watch with my hubby and his father many years ago and laughed until it hurt…only to discover I was the only one laughing. They either didn’t ‘get it’ or it wasn’t their type of comedy. I ‘got it’ and I loved it. The hubs and I have laughed through Clueless, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Four Weddings & A Funeral, Nottinghill, Miss Congeniality, & The Ice Pirates, but parted gigglish ways during Johnny English: Reborn. He kept staring at me during the film and asking if he could bring out his laptop to watch something else. No.

I’d be totally remiss if I didn’t mention the likes of Burns & Allen, the Thin Man movies, the Trinity westerns, the films of Mel Brooks and even John Hughes. I watched Sixteen Candles the other night and, for the first time, noticed in a dinner scene that actor Gebbe Watanabe is using his knife and fork like chopsticks. It had me rolling! I never noticed that little detail before. Comedy is sometimes totally in the details.

I don’t read much in the way of comedy, though. If I’m not reading a fellow author’s latest project, you can usually find me with my head stuck in an autobiography, which I typically find makes for fascinating reading. Fortunately, I find people fun to watch just in their everyday comings and goings, especially when I can sit back and say to myself “That would have been so much funnier if they’d done ‘this’ instead of ‘that,’ which would have lead to ‘this’ outcome. Gotta remember that.” And so it goes.

Oh, and I find twink porn funny. They have NO idea what they’re doing. None. Zip. Zilch. Not that I watch many adult movies.

So…yeah. Now, let me put the question to you that those one or two people put to me. No, not ‘that’ question. You’ve never been with my husband, so go find your own. The lesser secondary question.

What do you find funny?

________________________
Kristoffer Gair (who formerly wrote under the pseudonym Kage Alan) is the Detroit-based author of Honor Unbound, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To My Sexual Orientation, Andy Stevenson Vs. The Lord Of The Loins, Gaylias: Operation Thunderspell, several short stories featured in anthologies (to be combined in a forthcoming book), the recently re-published novella Falling Awake, its sequel, Falling Awake II: Revenant and Falling Awake III: Requiem.

16 Responses to “Giving And Taking It In The Comedic Way”

Dorien says:
September 13, 2012 at 8:57 am
Hmmmm. Interesting question. I’m often sincerely concerned that as I grow older…much, much older…I do not laugh nearly as much as I used to or wish I would/could. And as for the answer to the question, I guess it would have to be “You have to be there.”

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Kris says:
September 13, 2012 at 9:46 am
I can appreciate the “You have to be there” approach. I’m not sure if you enjoy British comedy at all, but you might get a kick out of Fawlty Towers. Talk about expressive actors!

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Vastine Bondurant says:
September 13, 2012 at 9:33 am
I love quiet, very understated comedy that’s in facial expressions.
I think my fvorite of all time is the I Love Lucy episode with William Holden as the guest.
I saw in a documentary that the scene with Lucy’s ‘burning’ nose was not planned, hence the genuinely stunned look on Holden’s face. Man, that makes me laugh even now, just thinking about it. The ‘reactionary’ stuff in comedy.
Enjoyed your post!

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Kris says:
September 13, 2012 at 9:47 am
Physical comedy is fantastic, especially the reactionary shots! I wish it was easier to write when it comes to physical comedy, but I think as long as the dialogue is solid, the reader will find they’re reacting physically to it in the same way an actor might.

Thanx for reading. =)

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CR Guiliano says:
September 13, 2012 at 10:26 am
I am absolutely sure that I cannot get through a Carol Burnett episode without nearly peeing my pants. When Tim Conway gets Carol or Harvey Korman to crack up, it just makes my day. Love the episode where they get him back and he’s laughing so hard, he can’t talk.

I also adore reactionary comedy. And stand-up. Adore Ellen. She has a joke about fish that gets me everytime. Love Jeff Dunham too. Usually can’t breath by the time his show is over. 🙂

Lovely post Kris!

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Kris says:
September 13, 2012 at 11:14 am
Have you watched the two bloopers shows Carol Burnett put out? They’re a total stitch! In fact, there was an announcement that the original shows are being released on DVD in a month or two. Would make a nice set to own.

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Kayelle Allen says:
September 13, 2012 at 10:32 am
I am not a sitcom fan, and rarely watch comedic film, but I enjoy Big Bang Theory. They aren’t going out of their way to be funny — it’s just life in the geek lane. I loved The Closer for the same reason. They weren’t trying to be funny, they just had characters (Provenza and Flynn) who could not help but do funny things. Perhaps it’s the “organic humor” of people being themselves. My house has always been full of laughs and laughing people who enjoy life. I don’t like things that are played for laughs, and humor that is dumbed down. I want something that makes me think along with making me laugh. Which is why I like reading your blog. ^_^

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Kris says:
September 13, 2012 at 11:15 am
You always say the sweetest things! It’s just one more reason why I love hanging out with you at conventions. =)

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Jesse Fox says:
September 13, 2012 at 11:19 am
I’m a bit of a lurker, never sure what to say, but this particular entry made me smile like no one’s business. A friend and I were having a similar conversation just a few weeks ago. One of the things we share is our love of British comedy. As a kid, I grew up watching Benny Hill and to this day get in moods where a little bit of Benny is the absolute cure for what ails me. This same friend introduced me to the duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz & Shaun of the Dead).

Often as with this conversation I find myself bemoaning the lack of what I consider genuinely funny comedy in the US. Britain seems my best source for now, but every once and awhile I stumble across a new comic from the US such as Gabriel Inglesius (hope I spelled that right) who had me in tears I was laughing so hard.

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Kris says:
September 13, 2012 at 9:36 pm
I LOVE Simon Pegg and Nick Frost! What’s nice about them, too, is that they can do wonderful comedy, but can play it perfectly dramatic when called for. They’re actually quite good actors.

And I forgot to mention the Vicar of Dibley. Talk about a show that had a perfect end!

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Sue Brown says:
September 13, 2012 at 12:44 pm
I wonder if humour passed me by. I hate slapstick and practical joking and yet I love Brit humour like The Two Ronnies or Morcambe and Wise.
I like fast humour from The West Wing.

I think it’s the clever use of language that I love now. I hate humiliation or things that make me cringe. I also like observation on life.

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Kris says:
September 13, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Humor is a very personal thing. Slapstick doesn’t bother me as long as it’s Zuckeresque slapstick (The Naked Gun, Hot Shots, etc). Have you ever watched House Calls or Hopscotch with Walter Matthau? If you haven’t, I think you might really enjoy those. They aren’t slapstick, but they are genuinely funny.

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Patricia Logan says:
September 13, 2012 at 8:59 pm
What’s up Doc is the first funny movie I saw as a kid. I adored Barbara Streisand and laughed, though I was only a tot… hey practically, a twice divided zygote, but Kris will of course, beg to differ… A..hole. Next, surprisingly, “Stir Crazy” with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, Oh and then… Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety… Mel Brooks gave me a new lease on life and I can repeat every damn line in High Anxiety… don’t get me started… then along came stand up… George Carlin, Richard Prior, and more recently, Louis Black, who has me crying!!! I love these guys… no wonder, me and the wonder bottom get along! 🙂

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Kris says:
September 13, 2012 at 9:41 pm
I had the hubby watch The Pink Panther with me a couple of years ago. He had zero interest in it, then laughed his head off never realizing it would actually be funny. I try to watch some of the older films with him like My Man Godfrey or the Thin Man series. Sometimes it’s nice to sit back, watch something funny the way they used to make them and fondle him.

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Tom says:
September 14, 2012 at 2:37 pm
I totally get it. I laugh at inappropriate times and always get stares.

My girlfriend Carol (yes, this was WAY back in the day) and I went to see Gremlins, and I was in the floor I was laughing so hard at Phoebe Cates talking about how her father died on Christmas Day, something about coming down the chimney to surprise the kids.

Needless to say Carol was an ex-girlfriend shortly thereafter.

You crack me the hell up.

Tom

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Kris says:
September 14, 2012 at 4:24 pm
A friend took me to see Titanic and I laughed when Kate tells Leo “I’ll never let go.” Why? Because that’s exactly what she did and he sunk like a rock. I was howling I was laughing so hard! Tooooooootally pissed off just everybody in the audience.

________________________
Kristoffer Gair (who formerly wrote under the pseudonym Kage Alan) is the Detroit-based author of Honor Unbound, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To My Sexual Orientation, Andy Stevenson Vs. The Lord Of The Loins, Gaylias: Operation Thunderspell, several short stories featured in anthologies (to be combined in a forthcoming book), the recently re-published novella Falling Awake, its sequel, Falling Awake II: Revenant and Falling Awake III: Requiem.