Right out of the gate, I will say it: I don't like most comedians. I think one reason why I don't like many comedians is that comedy is still mostly dominated by straight men. Most of those comedians stand-up can usually be summed up into three categories: 1) Women: "I have a girlfriend/wife, and man does she drive me nuts...." 2) Children (usually if he's older) "Man, my child says the weirdest sh**! 3) Los Angeles/Showbiz "Man, LA is so phony. And my agent is an idiot..." *yawn* A lot of comedy is being able to relate, and honestly, I can't.
Like many other things in my life, my tastes in comedy skews pretty gay with a few exceptions (Joel McHale. Jon Stewart. Hal Sparks.) However, many of my favorite comedians are lesbian women. Despite the old adage that women aren't funny, I actually think women are by far funnier than men. If I'm flipping the channels and flip on a comedy showcase, I usually stop for a woman. Some of my favorite comedians are Kathy Griffin, Karen Williams, Suzanne Westenhoefer, Coco Peru, and Daniel Leary.
Probably the best movie I ever saw that gave you insight on comedy was Jerry Seinfeld's documentary Comedian. The movie came out post-sitcom, and followed him trying to revive his stand-up career. Seinfeld wanted to do small venues again, so he would perform at open mics nights around NYC. He discovered his process as a comedian, as he recaptured his process prior to becoming famous. Conversely, the doc also followed the career of an upcoming comedian named Orny Adams (Yes, that was his name!). Adams had a very different method from Seinfeld and very different ideas for his career. He greatly contrasted Seinfeld, and strangely, Seinfeld came off as the hopeful one. I always fascinated by docs that portray a subculture, or world that I know nothing about. Worthwhile add to your Netflix queue.
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