MY GOD CHEF, these are fantastic, are they trolling?

It might be funnier if they aren't. but it would also be kind of depressing.


EDIT: oh god shit, I can't get past the 1 minute mark on that first video without cringing. ffffuuucking... agh.

Well even if that's the case, I don't think the female comedians mind.

I mean, why would a female even want to become a comedian if it's not to get other men to relate to her better?

Good point. Women should just stay in the kitchen where they belong 

However I can't think right now of any funny female comedians.  Shoot me in the face.

Wanda Sykes.

BLAM!

I dont feel that this applies only to women. It also applies to Americans, if you ask me. Now I don't want to come across like an anti-american asshole, because you stinky yanks outnumber me about 50 to 1 on here. So I'm gonna skip the rhetoric and jump straight to it: do Americans have trouble understanding subtle humour?

I've seen alot of American comics try and fail miserably at irony, for example, but irony is a harder thing to achieve than one might think so that is understandable. I never see American satirists though. I'm sure they must exist, but not in vast numbers. There are two exceptions I know of. The first is Jon Stweart, I watch the daily show occasionally and I usually enjoy it although it's a bit too wrapped up in American politics for a foreigner like me to fully appreciate it. The second is Larry David, again there are a few jokes where I think some things have been lost on the journey overseas but I think its a friggin hilarious show.

My third and final example would be The Office: An American workplace. You may or may not know that the concept for this show was bought from a UK sitcom called simply The Office. They recreated it and the immitation wasn't as good. While I found the American office to have some funny moments, on the whole I think it lacked sincerity and they were trying too hard, hence the subtle comedy tones that tickled my ribs in the UK series weren't as strong.

I've seen alot of HBO specials and American standups, and don't get me wrong for the first 20 minutes I'm usually in stitches with the good comedians. But... it gets to be too much for my tastes. American stand ups seem to follow this trend of commenting on a situation that the average person might find themselves in, pointing out some particular aspect of this situation, applying a funny line or catchphrase, and shouting really loud.

"You ever get your dick caught in your zipper?"
"I love women with big breasts!"
"You know what mice are? I'mma tell ya what mice are... fag rats!"

I seriously think I could get on HBO if i had more material like that and an energetic stage presence. I watched this one stand up, was called George Lopez: America's Mexican. My god it was shite.

There are funny American comedians out there; Katt Williams is one of my personal favourites. But even then, his style of comedy is very basic, he just does it to such a high level that I enjoy it. Americans can also do situational comedy, but usually only in movies. Knocked up and all those kinds of movies... good situational comedy but again not really any subtlety about it.


So I ask you, Americans and others, am I grossly overgeneralising here or is there really a lack of subtle comedy in the American sense of humour?