The tourney was a beast to put up. And it is a beast to filter through for discussion, so I thought I tried to condense the discussion here.
Great work on this. Very tough choices across the board. A few people I'll be sad to see drop out this early for sure.
Rooting for these guys to take their region and go all the way to the final four! Cackle: David Cross (or Mel Brooks) Giggle: Monty Python <---- My projected Tourny winner Guffaw: Zach Galifianakis (or Mitch Hedberg) Chuckle: Bill Murray It's not looking good for Zach at the moment however, and Mitch is in a tight one...
My brain was hurting too much trying to seed them in a way that set up great rivalries 2 or 3 rounds in. So I opted to pair up great match-ups wherever I could. Biggest surprises so far.... Muppets over Triumph. Sesame Street was for kids but The Muppet Show and the movies contained clean adult humor. I hated having to give the muppets such a tough match in round one, but this was the best matchup. Triumph is hilarious, especially the Star Wars bit I linked. Judd Apatow killing Woody Allen. I loves me some Apatow, but Woody Allen is a legend. I wouldn't have been surprised if Apatow won, just surprised by the margin. ZAZ currently trailing Christopher Guest. Kentucky Fried Movie, Airplane, The Naked Gun, Top Secret, Hot Shots? Damn shame. No love for Louis CK? Hands down my favorite newish comic. No love for Bill Hicks. Man was a genius. Dean Martin killing Lenny Bruce?! Wow. Kids In The Hall vs. The State. I find both funny, but Kids In The Hall have long been favorites of mine. But surprised that the relevance of Reno 911 isn't making that one closer. Wayans Vs. Farrelly is damn close. Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, and There's Something About Mary are each funnier than anything the Wayans have ever done. Damn you subjective comedy tastes!
Human Giant is the only contestant currently getting shut out. Of course they are pitted against Monty Python.
absolutely no way triumph should be losing... i would think hed be in the running for an elite 8 or final 4 spot... cant believe that
and the presidential election is supposed to pick the best candidate to run our country, that doesnt always work either.....whoever votes has their reasons....its life, cant be changed sadly....harold ramis is gettin robbed also
Some tight matchups right now. Triumph takes a 1 vote lead over the Muppets. Robin Williams and Jim Carrey keep going back and forth, every time I check a new one has the lead. Same thing with Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason. Christopher Guest holds a 3 vote lead on ZAZ. I'm still surprised. Patton Oswalt has come back and closed Steven Wright's lead to 3. Rickles with a 3 vote lead over George Burns. Ricky Gervais and Benny Hill in a 15-15 tie right now. The Farrelly Brothers over The Wayans.
I just realized Flight of the Concords is missing They probably wouldnt have lasted long but they're funnier than Dane Cook or Triumph imo. Robert Schimmel getting the snub saddens me as well. His HBO special from a few years back is one of the funniest things I've seen. Havent seen much else from him though so I suppose giving him the shaft is somewhat understandable.
I enjoy Dane Cook and find his stuff funny. I know lots of people hate the guy and his style, but apparently hes doing something right.
2nd Round will be up sometime tomorrow. Moving on are: Steve Carell Jonah Hill Kevin James Jerry Seinfeld David Cross Vince Vaughn Ben Stiller Robin Williams Fred Willard Gene Wilder Mel Brooks Steve Martin Charlie Chaplin Peter Sellers Bob Newhart Lucille Ball John Belushi Tina Fey Chris Farley Will Ferrell Adam Sandler Mike Myers Norm McDonald Bill Murray John Candy Eugene Levy The Muppets (Frank Oz and Jim Henson) Homer Simpson (Dan Castallaneta) Trey Parker and Matt Stone Kevin Smith Judd Apatow Christopher Guest George Carlin Lewis Black Jeffrey Ross Steven Wright Mitch Hedberg Sam Kinison Dane Cook Andrew Dice Clay Rodney Dangerfield Done Rickles Bob Hope Dean Martin Johnny Carson Conan O'Brien Stephen Colbert David Letterman Sacha Baron Cohen Ricky Gervais The Kids In the Hall Monty Python Carol Burnett Lisa Lampanelli Sarah Silverman Wanda Sykes Richard Pryor Eddie Murphy Dave Chappelle Chris Rock The Marx Brothers The Farrelly Brothers The Three Stooges The Far Side
I'd go out and drink with the guy. But he is really overrated. Anytime there are more people applauding than laughing, means you are more of an entertainer than a comedian.
Biggest upsets/surprises so far? I've got 6 6 - Muppets squeaking out over Triumph. I was rooting Muppet, but I was surprised. 5 - Vince Vaughn over Jack Black. Vince Vaughn is very funny, but he is less the traditional comic. Bit of a surprise. 4 - Lucille Ball over Jackie Gleason. Wouldn't have thought Lucy would get that much respect on forum with 99% guys. 3 - Judd Apatow over Woody Allen. New Legend vs. Old Legend. Surprised by the landslide. 2 - Kinison and Hedberg over Hicks and Kaufman. All funny, but Hicks and Kaufman much more groundbreaking and original. 1 - Dean Martin over Lenny Bruce. Martin was a last minute addition just to pad the "old school comics" division. If I had seeded it Bruce and Dangerfield would have been 1 and 2. I'm glad I included Dean now though, he clearly has support. Damn comedy is subjective. Still don't see how he wins so easily. Without Lenny Bruce we wouldn't have the type of stand up comedy we have today. Man was an hysterical genius.
That one wasn't a surprise for me. Dean Martin wasn't just funny himself he was also a great straight man - which many comedians say is far harder work than being the one cracking the jokes, an excellent singer and just oozed cool. He's a bit like Billy Connolly or the Marx Brothers in that what he did was unique and it's very hard to see anybody else using his material. Lenny Bruce was very funny when no one else was doing his schtick, but a lot of his old routines could be done by just about anybody today. Also he got very bitter about the obscenity trials, and rightfully so, which burnt him out far too quick.
That is a fair assessment. He was the first to do a shtick that so many succeed with today, and that the two greatest comics (IMHO) Pryor and Carlin are direct descendants of Lenny Bruce. They aren't just "any comics" and they wouldn't be the comics they are/were if it weren't for Bruce. Dean Martin's style died out. But sadly, most of what we know about Lenny was the tragic way he burnt himself out. His last year's of comedy weren't comedy at all, it was venting about his trials. "I'm not a comedian, I'm Lenny Bruce"
Steve Martin VS. Mel Brooks was a ***** to pick. Now that we're in a round where I didn't handpick the match-ups, the decisions are that much harder.
Adam Sandler Bill Murray Bob Hope Bob Newhart Carol Burnett Chris Farley Chris Rock Gene Wilder George Carlin Homer Simpson (Dan Castallaneta) Jerry Seinfeld John Belushi John Candy Johnny Carson Judd Apatow Kevin Smith Mitch Hedberg Monty Python Peter Sellers Richard Pryor Robin Williams Rodney Dangerfield Sacha Baron Cohen Sarah Silverman Stephen Colbert Steve Carell Steve Martin Steven Wright The Farrelly Brothers The Three Stooges Vince Vaughn Despite winning the "Here Too Long? Division, and proving that he is just damn funnier than Dane Cook, Carlos Mencia, and Gallagher, Andrew Dice Clay will not be moving on. Let's he got a bad case of "I'm a hack." Instead taking his place will be the winner of the "Gone Too Soon" poll. Click Here for the "Gone Too Soon" poll.
Alright, Cosby is moving on to a round 3 matchup with Mitch Hedberg. I'll be back late tomorrow night to kick off the next level of Just Damn Funny.
Here is your sweet 16. Round 4 will be up this afternoon. Bill Cosby Bill Murray Chris Farley George Carlin Homer Simpson (Dan Castallaneta) Johnny Carson Kevin Smith Monty Python Peter Sellers Richard Pryor Robin Williams Rodney Dangerfield Sarah Silverman Steve Carell Steve Martin The Three Stooges
I personally would like to see Bill Murray, George Carlin, Monty Python, & The Three Stooges in the final four.
Stooges and Monty Python are in the same region. So substitute Steve Martin for the stooges, and I agree.
This round is nothing but blowouts. The closest is Steve Carell and Robin Williams. Which was also the hardest to pick for me in this entire contest. I almost just flipped a coin. I've been a Robin fan since I was a kid when I loved watching him on Mork and Mindy. I know he gets a bad rap for his stream of consciousness coke binge style, but I think the guy just oozes comedy. Yet Steve Carell has been brilliant in almost everything I've seen him in. His work on "The Daily Show," "The Office," and "40 Year Old Virgin" is just amazing. But Williams work on the "Comedy Relief" specials, "Good Morning, Vietnam," "Mrs. Doubtfire," and "Alladin" just put him over the top. I certainly look forward to seeing Carell more these days, but he seemed to jump into the middle of the road comedies like "Evan Almighty" and "Get Smart" quicker than Robin did. Still a very tough decision, and now that Robin has the lead I almost wish I had thrown my vote to Carell just to show support.
All I've got to say is Richard Pryor beating the Stooges? WTF? Don't get me wrong, Pryor is funny, but the Stooges are timeless... ...and Kevin Smith losing to Homer Simpson?
Stooges are timeless, yet the one knock you could make about them would be that they simply did the 1 joke over and over and over and over. It is a timeless joke, and it works every time, but at least with Pryor you get some revolutionary creativity.