Frankie Boyle

I think Frankie Boyle is pretty funny when he is forced to operate within boundaries and therefore rely on his wit. When he is on the BBC for example.

His own stand-up without those checks and balances is painful. Offensive not humorous. People pay to see it though, that's their bag.

Personally, I think that Maddy joke is pretty tame. Bad taste, yes. Shocking, hardly.
 
I would be a Frankie Boyle fan - he is a comedian after all - some people take these things too literally - he's trying to make people laugh not change the world. There are too many boundaries in place in too many areas of our lives without censoring comedians.
 
I wouldn't for a second advocate setting boundaries for comedians. God no. I just personally find Boyle funnier when he needs to work harder than just being as "shocking" as possible.
 
He's a prick......and obviously not a parent or I'm calling the social services. I have no problem with any kind of attempted humour that generalises about groups, he can say what he likes but to single out the McCanns....
 
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If he wants to be a political satirist, as against a so-called 'comedian', then fine. By all means take on, strongly and offensively, everything that irks him. But knocking Israel is a soft target, and mocking the parents of an abducted and possibly dead child is the sort of thing to get most blokes knocked off their barstools, not paid for.

Unfortunately, he sounds desperate to climb out of the two holes he's dug for himself, let alone any others. If he'd develop a truly provocative outllook and go for the hard targets, I'd respect him. As he is, he seems to bluster and flounder around and not have any focus at all. And, OTB, yes, he is trying to change the world - he seems to put himself on a par with the political activists who protested against apartheid in South Africa. Prancing around on a stage, getting paid for mouthing off, just insults the commitment and the often very difficult times encountered by those seriously concerned with changing the way things are. He isn't risking a thing: not his job, not his health, his money, or even, possibly, his life. Just another mouthy bloke living safely in the UK.
 
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i don't mind jokes about most things..there are cut off points though..but the problem with Frankie is..he just isn't a funny man..they aren't good jokes..**** weak to be fair
 
I don't consider anything involving dead/disappeared/abused kids to be the slightest bit funny. I don't have any children, so I can only imagine the horror and grief involved. Someone like Boyle wouldn't give a sh1t if, for example, the McCanns killed themselves following his cheap taunts. He'd probably make "jokes", i.e. jibes, about that, too. The word 'humanity' is lost on him, in spite of him pretending to take on the humanitarian problems of the Middle East.
 
I suggest none of you ever get tickets for Gerry Sadowitz. Boyle is a flaming queen in comparison.

Generally, I'm in the "zero boundaries for comedians" camp. The problem is that there are very, very, very few comedians (or at least those who like to put themselves away as satirists or social commentators) able to get laughs from weighty or controversial material. The vast majority of them don't have the intellectual capacity to find the humour, and default to shock tactics because they equate 'edgy' to 'funny' *, and are encouraged in this endeavour by their moronic audiences, who don't know the difference either.

* It isn't
 
But that's the point, isn't it, Grassy? By all means shock and awe your audiences with a brilliantly satirical expostion, full of wit - and logic - in attacking what's wrong, although the sort of audience which attends such a gig will know what it appreciates. That's what most of 'the Arts' should be about, anyway - pushing boundaries of thought, rather than taste.

I love satire, because it has to be based on facts and logic to be effective - Private Eye on song is one of the best organs of this. Bring your audience up sharp with a shock, like Richard Pryor and even Chris Rock (Pryor Redux).

But if years ago you found the so-called joke, "Why is Welsh coal best? Because it's got more body in it" following the Aberfan disaster, or "Auschwitz prisoner to another: 'Hey, Moshe, did you leave the gas on?' " hilarious, then I'd suggest it's not comedy, it's not satire, it's just made by and aimed at someone who can't see the humane divide that has to be made at times. If you think jibes made at the expense of the innocent dead are funny, I think you've lost your humanity. But a jibe made about a dead, but evil person is acceptable in that we're all glad they're no longer around to torment people. Hence the endless and often very funny sketches about Hitler.

Well, that's where I draw the line, anyway.
 
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krizon said:
............I'd suggest it's not comedy, it's not satire, it's just made by and aimed at someone who can't see the humane divide that has to be made at times. If you think jibes made at the expense of the innocent dead are funny, I think you've lost your humanity. But a jibe made about a dead, but evil person is acceptable in that we're all glad they're no longer around to torment people.
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I understand the point you're making, krizon. I just feel that measuring someone's humanity by what they laugh at, is a somewhat narrow yard-stick of their contribution to the race.

Do any of us really know why we find certain things funny? We might have a vague notion, but none of us really know, do we? It's not something we have much power over - we either do/don't find something funny, and that's that. It's all the product of a complex chemical reaction that we don't really understand, and I'd not personally be inclined to bracket anyone as "inhumane" based solely on the strength of their sense-of-humour. In fact, I think it's very harsh to do so.
 
Sure, Grassy, there are some things which are universal gags - pratfalls, pie-in-the-face, very broad, slapstick type of 'humour' which is now often decried as 'not smart enough' in this country. Lots of countries enjoy comedy sitcoms (they don't come much broader than those in Egypt and India), Africans like sight gags but wouldn't dream of insulting their mothers, for example.

But I don't know of a universal laugh gotten out of mocking grieving parents in any country. I don't find it 'harsh' to judge people who are already judging that their audiences will think the same way they will and find such a scenario worthy of busting their sides over.

The in-joke might even be that Boyle is seeing how far he can go with a desensitised, uncaring bunch of fannies who'd laugh at a snipe about a toddler getting burned to death ("I told the wife not to leave it in that long!"), for all I know, and thus exposing them for what they are. But that might be assuming he's brighter than he seems.

There's a lot of blokiness around at the moment with men of an age to employ a bit more reasoning - Clarkson's idiotic pronouncements and the latest insult to Hindus in India, for another example of what everyone's supposed to find oh-so-jolly. Cockle-pickers? Laugh a minute! Shooting protestors dead, at a time when Syria's doing just that? Oh, my aching sides!

But it's probably just me who finds an arrogant inhumanity in some of these chitterings. That they might cruelly hurt some people seems not to matter, as long as the speaker gets their 15 minutes of infamy. It's like attention-seeking syndrome - say anything at all, but for God's sake, get noticed!

Anyway, that's me over and out on it. I hope that anyone on here who believes 'anything goes' won't be offended if I make a joke about their dead dog ("That's good for the environment - less use of plastic bags!"), dead friends ("One less for the Christmas gift list!"), or serious illnesses ("Sorry you've got cancer, mate - but it'll be quicker than Alzheimer's!"). Try those on for size with real people around you and see if they pee themselves laughing - maybe that's the yardstick? If it doesn't hurt if you get it back at you, or your mates, then maybe it is funny after all?

Great subject for a discussion, though!! (Jesusaitch, I've really gotta shaddup - think I'll take a Sabbatical, even though it's not Sunday. I've exhausted myself thinking about fun/comedy, humour/satire, provocation/tastelessness.)
 
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Man walks into a model shop and asks the bloke behind the counter if they did models of Italian Cruise Ships. Sure do, says the owner of the shop and shows him one. Great I'll take it, says the man. But can you leave it on one side and I'll pick it up later?
 
or serious illnesses ("Sorry you've got cancer, mate - but it'll be quicker than Alzheimer's!").
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Thats not funny because (like the talent free Boyle) delivery is all wrong

Its

I have good news and bad news. which would you like first?

the bad news please

You have terminal cancer

Oh know...whats the good news?

You have alzhiemers too so you wont know anything about it
 
clivex said:
Thats not funny because (like the talent free Boyle) delivery is all wrong

Its

I have good news and bad news. which would you like first?

the bad news please

You have terminal cancer

Oh know...whats the good news?

You have alzhiemers too so you wont know anything about it
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I thought it was:-

Doctor "Bad news I'm afraid, you've got cancer and Alzheimer's"

Patient "Well, at least I haven't got cancer"
 
Very Very Ordinary said:
I thought it was:-

Doctor "Bad news I'm afraid, you've got cancer and Alzheimer's"

Patient "Well, at least I haven't got cancer"
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I like this variation and will add it to my repertoire.

It's funny though; I've always heard this one as:

Doctor: I have good news and bad news?

Patient: What's the bad news?

Doctor: You have Parkinson's Disease.

Patient: What's the good news then?

Doctor: You also have Alzheimer's Disease, so just go home and forget all about it.

Presumably Krizon's point is that these jokes are perfectly acceptable, so long as they are not being made about someone who actually has any of these diseases? If so, I think it's a load of old tosh myself (no offence, Kri).
 
I think it was Frankie who said Ryan Giggs's usual facial expression was similar to a frightened cat looking at a penis. Say what you want about him, but that is genius.
 
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