Most of the people who normally stomach their way through Jimmy Fallon's ham and awful interviews probably don't know who angry garden gnome Greg Gutfeld is.
Which is another reason not to give him a platform.
This idea that you can never have a genuine opinion manifested in the jokes you can tell only works to provide a bunch of surface level pablum that doesn’t actually provide any form of analysis or insight. It just results in a bunch of hackneyed punchlines you can basically write yourself (so Jay Leno’s entire career)
It also treats the center right collection of conservative geriatrics that comprise the modern Democratic Party as an equivalent force to the modern day fascist cult of personality currently in the process of building concentration camps.
All I really care about with a comedian is how funny they are (which of course is subjective). Chase the laughs—if political humor gets you there, great, if not, then don’t. Leno kept his humor tame, which worked for a broader audience that wasn’t looking for anything sharp—and maybe he wasn’t even capable of sharp if he tried. Conan (my personal favorite for late night) wasn’t particularly biting with political humor—frankly I don’t think any of the late night style comedians, with the possible exception of the Daily Show hosts, were all that biting politically. But Conan I found hilarious.
I am old enough to remember pre-Tonight Show Leno and I was a fan, especially when he appeared on Letterman. He was sort of edgier Seinfeld (if you can imagine).
I can see that—once he needed to hold down a Tonight Show audience (and big ratings) he probably kept his jokes “neutral” and tepid enough. Makes sense from a business standpoint though if you wanted something more biting you weren’t going to find it there (or with Carson or Fallon). And while I loved Conan, his absurdist humor clearly wasn’t for a broad enough earlier audience (though even he wasn’t a hard hitting political comedian).
And let's never forget the late night trashing of the McDonald's hot coffee burn victim, who required hospitalization for burns. She initially asked for a fraction of what she was finally awarded by the court.
I always like being lectured on how a-political I should be by people who are insulated from politics.
That's nice for them. For the rest of us, politics can mean literal life and death. It can mean whether or not one has a job or not. Whether or not one can afford a home or not. Whether one can afford food or not. What bill or medical condition will one have to put off this month to make sure the kids have food and heat?
But it's nice. He can enjoy his classic car collection and remain apolitical.
I once went to see Leno when he was a comedian long before his tv show. He was funny then, his show sucked. Thanks for that Letterman/O’Reilly clip. Now that was funny! Bill is such a pompous ass.
Never really found Leno that funny. Didn’t watch him much, maybe missed him actually doing good stuff, but hanging on through the stale for that, not gonna happen.
And I think it is partly that he was just so much the same easy shit all the time. Easy targets, cheap barely chuckles. Bland gutlessness about the man. Grade school fitting in quality to him.
I didn't care for him, either. If (when) a joke bombed, he would just keep repeating the punchline and hope for a better crowd reaction. Letterman was genuinely funny most nights.
Jimmy Fallon just doesn’t have the chops that David Letterman had for skewering political loudmouths. (That clip of him handing O’Reilly his ass is great.) But, that’s not what Fallon is there for. Letterman was bold and fearless; Fallon is timid and ingratiating. I fear his hosting Gutfeld will be the classic tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Which description, in truth, applies to about 95 percent of any medium’s messages these days.
Boy oh boy this started grim and got even more grim.
Also underscores how much dictators (for example our current pricktator) absolutely can't laugh at themselves. Like it's de rigeur to bag on Bill Clinton, for example. But he can take a joke at his expense I guess. That's something.
I guess humor that punches down is part of the American experience, after all.
Yeah—the tame stuff didn’t bother me as much when the presidents weren’t criminal fascist psychopaths herding people into jungle camps. It just feels grotesque for anyone to go kid gloves on that shit now.
I have never really liked Fallon or Leno but when Leno and Dangerfield were hanging out nobody was wearing Reagan t-shirts or driving around with Clinton flags dangling from their cars. The difference is pretty fucking clear that those times were politics and now the gop has turned into a personality cult centered around literally the worst person on the planet.
The weird thing is the whole Trump flag thing is a recent thing because it's a cult. I'd never ever seen anyone driving around with Bush or Reagan flags. (And no Democrat would ever be seen with such a thing. A bumpersticker, yes...relatively rarely because we don't want our vehicles keyed).
Jay Leno's analysis of political comedy is the funniest thing I've read all week. It's all about what Leno THINKS the audience should consider funny, as opposed to what audiences today really enjoy. It's obvious that a considerable viewer segment enjoys Colbert-style humor; his show is, after all, the late-night ratings winner. Whenever a comic like Leno lectures the audience on what they SHOULD enjoy, it's a sign that he doesn't respect what they DO enjoy. Comedians work for their audiences, not the other way around -- that's the way capitalism operates...
Most of the people who normally stomach their way through Jimmy Fallon's ham and awful interviews probably don't know who angry garden gnome Greg Gutfeld is.
Which is another reason not to give him a platform.
This idea that you can never have a genuine opinion manifested in the jokes you can tell only works to provide a bunch of surface level pablum that doesn’t actually provide any form of analysis or insight. It just results in a bunch of hackneyed punchlines you can basically write yourself (so Jay Leno’s entire career)
It also treats the center right collection of conservative geriatrics that comprise the modern Democratic Party as an equivalent force to the modern day fascist cult of personality currently in the process of building concentration camps.
All I really care about with a comedian is how funny they are (which of course is subjective). Chase the laughs—if political humor gets you there, great, if not, then don’t. Leno kept his humor tame, which worked for a broader audience that wasn’t looking for anything sharp—and maybe he wasn’t even capable of sharp if he tried. Conan (my personal favorite for late night) wasn’t particularly biting with political humor—frankly I don’t think any of the late night style comedians, with the possible exception of the Daily Show hosts, were all that biting politically. But Conan I found hilarious.
I am old enough to remember pre-Tonight Show Leno and I was a fan, especially when he appeared on Letterman. He was sort of edgier Seinfeld (if you can imagine).
I can see that—once he needed to hold down a Tonight Show audience (and big ratings) he probably kept his jokes “neutral” and tepid enough. Makes sense from a business standpoint though if you wanted something more biting you weren’t going to find it there (or with Carson or Fallon). And while I loved Conan, his absurdist humor clearly wasn’t for a broad enough earlier audience (though even he wasn’t a hard hitting political comedian).
I always picture Fallon as that annoying kid that constantly performs for his parents and they just think he’s “so amazing!”
When Leno agrees with you then you’re on the wrong side. Leno is the definition of the Mushy middle
And let's never forget the late night trashing of the McDonald's hot coffee burn victim, who required hospitalization for burns. She initially asked for a fraction of what she was finally awarded by the court.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restaurants
Thanks for restacking, SER.
I always like being lectured on how a-political I should be by people who are insulated from politics.
That's nice for them. For the rest of us, politics can mean literal life and death. It can mean whether or not one has a job or not. Whether or not one can afford a home or not. Whether one can afford food or not. What bill or medical condition will one have to put off this month to make sure the kids have food and heat?
But it's nice. He can enjoy his classic car collection and remain apolitical.
I once went to see Leno when he was a comedian long before his tv show. He was funny then, his show sucked. Thanks for that Letterman/O’Reilly clip. Now that was funny! Bill is such a pompous ass.
Leno is and has been a dog shit person for a long time, fuck that Gilead ass clown
Never really found Leno that funny. Didn’t watch him much, maybe missed him actually doing good stuff, but hanging on through the stale for that, not gonna happen.
And I think it is partly that he was just so much the same easy shit all the time. Easy targets, cheap barely chuckles. Bland gutlessness about the man. Grade school fitting in quality to him.
I didn't care for him, either. If (when) a joke bombed, he would just keep repeating the punchline and hope for a better crowd reaction. Letterman was genuinely funny most nights.
Gutfield wishes he were a comedian. Here’s the deal though. Not all smart people are funny but seriously funny people are smart. Gutfield is neither.
Kimmel is a jerk and imagines himself clever. This guest proves that Kimmel, too, is neither.
The gutfeld appearance is on Jimmy Fallon's show😀
Kimmel is not a jerk, based on my two interactions with him. A gracious and friendly guy.
Jimmy Fallon just doesn’t have the chops that David Letterman had for skewering political loudmouths. (That clip of him handing O’Reilly his ass is great.) But, that’s not what Fallon is there for. Letterman was bold and fearless; Fallon is timid and ingratiating. I fear his hosting Gutfeld will be the classic tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Which description, in truth, applies to about 95 percent of any medium’s messages these days.
Jimmy Fallon doesn’t have the “chops”
You spelled “balls” wrong
No. I specifically choose the words I use.
Boy oh boy this started grim and got even more grim.
Also underscores how much dictators (for example our current pricktator) absolutely can't laugh at themselves. Like it's de rigeur to bag on Bill Clinton, for example. But he can take a joke at his expense I guess. That's something.
I guess humor that punches down is part of the American experience, after all.
I’d like to believe in the Leno view but we’re facing stupid Hitler, not a bumbling Bush or a horny Clinton.
Yeah—the tame stuff didn’t bother me as much when the presidents weren’t criminal fascist psychopaths herding people into jungle camps. It just feels grotesque for anyone to go kid gloves on that shit now.
I have never really liked Fallon or Leno but when Leno and Dangerfield were hanging out nobody was wearing Reagan t-shirts or driving around with Clinton flags dangling from their cars. The difference is pretty fucking clear that those times were politics and now the gop has turned into a personality cult centered around literally the worst person on the planet.
The weird thing is the whole Trump flag thing is a recent thing because it's a cult. I'd never ever seen anyone driving around with Bush or Reagan flags. (And no Democrat would ever be seen with such a thing. A bumpersticker, yes...relatively rarely because we don't want our vehicles keyed).
Jay Leno's analysis of political comedy is the funniest thing I've read all week. It's all about what Leno THINKS the audience should consider funny, as opposed to what audiences today really enjoy. It's obvious that a considerable viewer segment enjoys Colbert-style humor; his show is, after all, the late-night ratings winner. Whenever a comic like Leno lectures the audience on what they SHOULD enjoy, it's a sign that he doesn't respect what they DO enjoy. Comedians work for their audiences, not the other way around -- that's the way capitalism operates...