Audrey Hepburn said it wonderfully:"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person."
I'm the same exact way. I love to laugh. I love to laugh at everyday life, I love to laugh at funny movies, and most recently, I love to watch stand-up comedy. I got access to Netflix months ago, and about 2 or 3 months ago I discovered the Stand-Up comedy section. If you have Netflix; you need to check this out. However, Netflix is not very adequate at giving a helpful "synopsis" for the comedians. It's usually: "[comedian] sheds light on/rips apart/ finds humor in [random list of unrelated topics]." I find this annoying. Tell me which ones use copious amounts of satire. Which comedians are safe to listen to in my office, and which should I break out the headphones for?
Now, I know what you're thinking. "Yeah Emily! You're right! They should tell us these things! This is bull shit!"
Now, now... no need to get all fired up. I'm here for you. What I've done is compiled a list of stand-up comedians that I've watched. Weather you are already an avid comedian watcher, or you've never watched stand-up, hopefully this list will provide you with some recommendations. I'll let you know where you can find them, weather they're office/family/headphone appropriate, and why I did or didn't like them. Here we go! (In no real specific order)
I recently started watching the Late Late Show and completely fell in love with Craig Ferguson (admittedly first for his accent). I really enjoyed the show and found his stand-up on Netflix. He has three performances available; A Wee Bit 'O Revolution, Does This Need to be Said? and I'm Here to Help. The best way to describe his humor is Cheeky. As a Scottish-born comedian, he pokes fun at the Scottish stereotypes, as well as being upfront and honest about his past and his struggles with addiction. I like him because he's witty, he has something to say about anything, and he's an overall respectful person. However, because of the language he uses, and freely, I would have to say this isn't safe for family nor office.
Debra was a comedian that I had never heard of. In fact, it was the title of her performance; Single Awkward Female that first caught my eye. As self identifying to fit all three of those adjectives, I was thinking; well, I have to watch this! It was written by and for my people! She's wonderful! Her stage presence takes some getting used to because she's a fast talker (not unlike your's truly). Fulfilling the single awkward female stereotype she jumps from talking about cats, to exercise, to having a crush on Jesus. She uses self-deprecation often, which is usually something I don't care for. However, it works for her. Because of language, again, not safe for family or office.
This guy... Yet again, searching through Netflix and I can't help but be stopped by a nerdy looking funny guy. Weaknesses, everyone has them. I don't know if there's a term for it in the comedy world, but I would definitely describe Moshe as the intellectual comic, almost to the point of arrogance. His material does contain what I called earlier; a copious amount of satire. It's basically back-to-back. However, when you're making light of your life as a flamboyant heterosexual Jewish Trekkie, you're only left with so much. Langauge is predominantly mild, however, because of content alone, you might want to break out your headphones for this one. Not safe for family or office.
Mike is like one of those small animals that is actually more afraid of you than you are of him. His performance on Netflix What I Should Have Said Was Nothing: Tales from My Secret Public Journal is definitely not a conventional stand-up performance. It was actually produced with the intent of telling a story. However, if you look him up on youtube, you'll find a lot of material. He also has a book out (that I read) called Sleepwalk with Me. Most of what he talks about is the trials and tribulations of becoming an adult and trying to break into this business that no one takes seriously enough. There's extremely mild -if any- language concerns, and the content is something I would share with anyone. Safe for family and office.
Does she really need an introduction? I think we've all seen her show at least once. However, she started off doing stand-up! And geez, she's fantastic! All I can really find are 10-15min clips on youtube, but she's worth searching for. She also has some books out! (Three that I know of.) All of them had me laughing out loud in quiet places (embarrassing haha). Her material is always fairly clean. The worst thing I can remember her saying is ass... and her content is always playful. Definitely safe for family and for office!
You know this guy! It's the Cash Cab guy! However, in "real life" he's a stand-up comedian, not to mention 56' tall! Ben Bailey's special on Netflix; Road Rage and Accidental Ornithology is just as much fun to watch as it sounds. He has a sort of dry logical humor that's easy and fun to listen to. If he doesn't have you laughing out loud, then I'm sorry, but you hate fun. He talks about the show, birds, and house guests, not to mention, being scared half to death. There's some questionable language, but it's few and far between. Use your best judgement.
Bob Saget: Youtube
Dear God, dear Lord, what happened to Mr. Tanner? I couldn't really find much of his material pre-Full House. What I did find was a performance from 2007 on youtube in parts. After watching for about 3 minutes I was... [speechless]. I kept watching because I figured, he's trying to break the stigma of his past roles, it's just shock value, etc. But his entire routine was like that! This is the guy who did crappy voice-overs for funny home videos and always had a clean kitchen while raising three girls. But geez... this guy is someone completely different! Unless, this is how he really is, and he's just that convincing of an actor. Either way, it's weird to watch. Now, I don't mind crude and some obscene humor if it helps the humor, but that's not what Saget does. His crudeness and obscenity is his humor. It's just distracting and made it hard for me to find him funny. If you feel like you must watch him, know he's not safe for family, office, friends, strangers, or other people with opinions.
Thanks for reading :)
Em.
PS. Now go make someone laugh today!