I'd never heard of them before, but after checking them out I must admit I don't find them funny either!

I like the films done by the Coen brothers- they don't "glamourize" American culture. I also enjoy South Park- I'd love to hang out with the guys who write it (they are very brave)
I'm also a fan of Monty Python, and I enjoy the "Harry and Paul" show.

Anything/body that shows the absurdity of the human condition (Sacha Baren Cohen) is good by me, regardless of nationality. I also enjoy some Japanese comedians- many of them have a good sense of the absurd..

Hard to imagine two more different comedians.

Perhaps... Except for me they are similar in levels of funniness - about minus 11

Much the same as the truly dreadful Michael McIntyre.

Or the woman voted Best Female Comic on TV at this year's British Comedy Awrads - Jo Brand.

I mean, Dear God, some has-been currently performing almost exclusively on Dave doing the same of schtick about her weight that she's been doing for years.

Jo Brand for goodness sake.

Agreed! Who voted for her? Her mum?

Jo Brand - WTF?

I saw her years ago at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - after she'd been 'famous' on TV for a bit - she was decidedly unfunny - along with that donkey knob from 'The Word' (IIRC) - he stripped off when he admitted he was sh1t that night - it was not a good image - I'm still getting therapy...

Ha ha!

What made you go and see her show????

Women comedians tend to be crap anyway, they all try too hard to be either sweary and shocking, or are all mumsy.

We also saw Jo Brand a long time ago at the Fringe, she had a signer on stage with her, the only thing I remember about the show was how funny the signer was, I especially liked the sign for incontinence.

We went to see Dylan Moran (pronounced Moron by the introducer) on Saturday night. He was very good, not hysterical or cutting edge, but there is something great about seeing a comedian who is very comfortable with who he is and his material, they aren't trying too hard to please or shock.

Laziness...

...Well, I think it was free, and it was raining, and to not go would have required us to come up with an alternative - and walking somewhere in the rain - again. Besides, I think she'd been funny once, for 5 minutes on TV, and I stupidly thought that was representative...

BBC queer

Which one?

From the nob'ed that brought us this howler,

How did a nomination miss this guy?

After watching this video and thinking about it briefly, I totally disagree with Fry's assessment of American humor.

Thank about the most famous American stand-ups:
Richard Pryor - famous for talking bluntly and hilariously about his failings including his drug addiction, misogyny and rage. Also not shy in showing America up.
George Carlin - famous for pointing out the ridiculousness of American life and systematically destroying its pretentions
Chris Rock - famous for skewering black and white American culture equally
Bill Hicks - enraged but hilarious fuming about the state of America
Sam Kinison - ditto

Take the best American sit coms:
Seinfeld - about some truly awful but definitively American people doing awful things, celebrates their shallowness and inhumanity
Cheers - about good friends and belonging despite constant failure and melancholy. Everything is going wrong always for these characters and that's what makes it endearing.
MASH - about making the best out of a horrific situation, also not shy about pointing out failings in American culture and foreign policy

Or best comedic movies:
Mel Brooks - either destroys American racism (Blazing Saddles) or simply celebrates absurd failures (Young Frankenstein)
Cohen Brothers - Fargo, Barton Fink, Big Lebowski, all are hardly "ra ra America", all are suffused with irony
Animal House or Caddyshack or any other "slob vs. snob" movie - all about how "losers" and "misfits" are much more fun to hang out with than captains of the football team or captains of industry

Fry is categorically wrong.