I never thought Larry was that funny either. He markets like a maniac though. There are 80 different kinds if "Git-R-Done" trinkets, lighters, bandanas, etc. for sale at my corner gas station.
i saw a david cross special once. funny, but nothing earth-shattering. not enough to make me watch it again. and i had never heard of Mr. Show until tbs started showing it, but it pretty much sucks. i thought it would be pretty funny, but no. i don't think i've ever really seen a larry the cable guy show (seen a little bit of him when all the blue collar guys are out on stage), and it doesn't seem like he'd be that funny, but the fact that the whole world knows "git r done" must mean he's doing something right. and since i saw his name mentioned, george carlin's most recent hbo special that came on a few weeks ago, terrible. unbelievably unfunny. two specials ago he was pretty damn funny, even the last one was ok. this was just bad. even the audience, who i assume are pretty hardcore carlin fans, couldn't muster that many laughs, and certainly not any of the big extended laughs from other shows.
I like all of the cracks on fart jokes from David, who played a character on Mr. Show whose whole act was farting, who happened to be shown up by a better farter. Oh, the irony. Having said that, Cross is a comic genius and LtCG is a faux redneck r****d.
The point is that Cross utilizes fart jokes. He is not above making fart jokes, so it is a bit silly to crack on someone else for making fart jokes.
Ha, that skit was making fun of sitcoms and how low theyll go for cheap laughs. He wasn't really doing the skit to show how funny farting is. (I have all the Mr. Show DVDs. Just went and saw Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic tonight)
I think the "Fartin' Gary" bit was Cross not imitating, but parodying (if such a thing is possible), this guy, and by extension the "Cable Guy" archetype itself. I think Cross recognizes the strain of simple-minded populism in comedy (Carrot Top/Dice Clay/Foxworthy/ahem, Mr. Methane/now Larry the Cable Guy) and reacts against it. The superior farter in the sketch you mentioned, for example, gets his own television sitcom, "Second Wind," a title singularly more intellectually taxing on the audience than anything the previous four ever uttered. As you noted, Cross was playing a character. Thus, I don't think Cross is simply making fart jokes, but pointing out the mental laziness of people who find hilarity in such jokes, and the mental laziness/compromised greed of entertainers who take advantage of such laziness. In such a way, "Fartin' Gary" predicts "Larry the Cable Guy," minus the keychains. Or what Hayjon said. Speaking of which, this is similar to the earlier discussion on Sarah Silverman and the difference between author and character. Silverman is not a racist; Cross does not delight in fartifying.
Homophobia? Meta-homophobia? Fan of Arrested Development? Fan of red carpets? Meta-fan of red carpets?
Admittedly, Cross's take on fart jokes plays at another, higher level. I think that they were trying to get laughs from both the concept and (moreso in Bob Odenkirk's case) the jokes themselves (three bean). I was not trying to make a knock on David Cross (one of my favorite comedians) only to point out a humorous irony (IMO). (I seem to be making a lot of parenthetical statements in this post.) Carry on. EDIT: Unfortunately for me Jesus is Magic is not playing in any theaters here. (Maybe I can get it off the web (there I go again with the parenthses)). EDIT2: For anyone who has not seen it, I recommend David Cross: Let America Laugh, which has some of his standup, but is more a behind the scenes look at one of his tours.
Cool. Thanks to you, I now face the urge to see Mr. Methane's act, even though I know with every fiber of my being it must be horrible. I would bring rotten fruit for a potential pelting, but, if digested, that would apparently just keep him on stage longer.
If you have an arguement over who's really telling a fart joke, and who's parodying a fart joke... You just might be... A little too serious and uptight about comedy. Or a redneck trying to sound smart.
Point taken, nicely phrased setup/punch. I'm actually a sociologist attempting to deconstruct stupid comedy and its admirers so I can rip it off for my own act. Currently, my stage set involves an enormous belt buckle, a can of chaw, and three days' worth of stubble. I think a Stetson might be over the top, so I'm currently having it focus-grouped. I'm still working on my catch phrase. I'm test-marketing: "Shut it, Samir." "Rape 'er good." "Now you stepped innit." The same approach, I understand, worked for Whitney. Academia doesn't pay what it never has. (Actually, this is very close to what Jon Bloom/Joe Bob Briggs did. Speaking of geniuses.)
At the bottom of the page... Larry the Cable Guy Tix Larry the Cable Guy Tickets. Where Fans Buy & Sell Tickets.™ www.StubHub.com Funnier or not... Whitney's a money making fool. And he's right about DC being a leftist. And still... they're both COMEDIANS. Not legislators. I have never bought any "merch" from either of the two. Nor will I. I have seen both of their acts on TV. And I've laughed at parts of both. This "debate" between the two seems ultimately more hostile from DC... and is a good reflection of the country's left vs. right feud. DC is mad that his "merch" is not sold in the world's largest corporation's outlets to the extent that LtCG's is. Fart.
I didn't even know the dude's name was "Larry the Cable Guy" until I looked at this thread. I just always thought of him as "that redneck guy that's not funny".
