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For a good, solid laugh, it’s hard to beat a great punchline. They are the lifeblood of any successful standup comic. The right punchline can instantly win a comic fans who will quote his or her joke for years to come. With that in mind, That’s Funny offers an entire book full of punchlines from some of the world’s most famous comedians. The idea is to have the best of the best, but does it succeed? First, let’s get this out of the way. The book’s title is inaccurate. With comedians like Norm MacDonald and The Kids in the Hall comedy troupe, not everyone in this book is American. Either the editor made a very lazy mistake or they just slapped the word ‘American’ onto the cover as some sort of shameless sales tactic. Perhaps the average American would not want to purchase a book advertising Canadian or other international comedians? Despite this being the internet, I am not going to trash and bury this title based solely on this one error. That’s Funny is a solid book with a lot of laughter to offer. With dozens of comedians represented in this book such as Bill Cosby, Conan O’Brien, and Adam Sandler, the reader is treated to an extremely wide sampling of mainstream standup humor. One line may have Roseanne talking about her husband and the next may have Denis Leary ranting about crack cocaine.
Also of note, is that the book was published in 1996 and as such, features prominent comedians from that time period. Hence, you will see the aforementioned Roseanne quoted many times, but will see no mention of the likes of Dane Cook or Jim Gaffigan (whether or not that is good or bad, I leave you to decide for yourself). The jokes aren’t completely randomized, either. The book is divided into various categories to help provide a focus. For example, one category is called, “It All Started in the Garden…”, where all of the jokes deal with dating, marriage, and sex. Other topics include exercise and fitness, the family, and even an entire section dedicated to politically incorrect humor, which was nice to see. Unfortunately, the book’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. Because all the jokes utilize different styles of humor, many of the punchlines will fall flat regardless of who reads this book. For any given reader, some jokes will be too offensive, while others will be too bland and corny. The book also suffers from the fact that none of the material presented is new. Every joke has been taken from previous performances of all the featured comedians. A hardcore comedy fan who is familiar with most of these comedians’ work will find little to no value in this book. Then again, this book was likely targeted to a more mainstream reading audience.
That’s Funny accomplishes its main goals of providing a diverse sampling of humor as well as a short, entertaining read, perfect for that long train ride or other monotonous task that requires a time-waster. If you happen to find this book laying around someone’s house or at a flea market, it is worth picking up, but at the same time, it’s not necessarily worth going out of your way to obtain, especially if you are already familiar with most popular comedians of the last twenty years or so. Final Opinion: Recommended -1.29.2008 |
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© 2008 by Tim Lovett - TL@GoldenLiterature.com |
