concerns met with giggling

February 28, 2011 11:39 AM

The manager of Girardi's Frozen Yogurt wants to make sure his employees understand what the corkboard in the back is for...in a monologue entitled: Girardi's Frozen Yogurt ( via )

"Comedian Joe Wengert kills — nay, genocides — at Dave Holmes and Rob Delaney’s‘s Mapping the Heavens show at UCB LA with the funniest frozen yogurt bit you will see today, guaranteed."

posted by Potomac Avenue (52 comments total)

Is the frogurt cursed?
posted by entropicamericana at 11:41 AM on February 28, 2011 [6 favorites]

Someone please add the chungbung tag.
posted by lizzicide at 11:51 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

I saw that earlier and I have to admit I pretty much agree with the comments on TDW. A few chuckles, but that's it. Maybe it's funnier to comedy insiders?
posted by kmz at 11:52 AM on February 28, 2011

I had this feeling I get when I see a lot of filmed live shows - it's not working, cause it's not being made for be to look at it on video, I'm sure it's hilarious in person, but I've seen so many routines and actors who've slayed me in person that just go completely dead when you film it.

You'd think it'd be easy, but you're trying to translate something into another language and that's hard.
posted by The Whelk at 11:54 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

I teach high school and this is hilarious at least in part because it speaks to the divide between the adult world and the teenage world. His portrayal of Mr. G, as a clueless but ultimately benign boss, is really spot on. At least one of our guidance counselors here is that man. He just doesn't understand that teenage world is on a plane removed from his world that only occasionally overlaps.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:55 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

I approve of this.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 11:56 AM on February 28, 2011

There's only one way faster to kill a joke than to pre-explain how funny it is. And that's to pre-explain how it "genocides".
posted by DU at 11:56 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

the funniest frozen yogurt bit you will see today, guaranteed

Well, I suppose that's true enough, but I agree with the "you had to be there" crowd. Let me give you an example. The whole "let me give you an example" thing was making the audience crack up, but it seemed a bit Foxworthian to me.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:58 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

This was the funniest thing I've seen all year.
posted by koeselitz at 11:58 AM on February 28, 2011

And I don't know if you had to be there. I think maybe it's just either really funny, or not, depending on who you are.
posted by koeselitz at 12:00 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

Actually, this is pretty funny.
posted by DU at 12:01 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

I have feeling that was transcribed verbatim from someone's actual meeting. It's just too on-tune perfect.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:08 PM on February 28, 2011

Look, it's no Two and a Half Men.

(note: sarcasm)
posted by smithsmith at 12:09 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

I liked the "let me give you an example" thing — it fit the build up.


Basic build:

You're here because of the new corkboard sign.

People have been using it incorrectly.

[An example of that — the anticlimactic Macy's clipping Wife]


During the whole thing, he dedicates himself to the character and scenario completely. He plays against expectations. When it gets to the point of "let me give you an example" thing, you know whatever comes next is going to be ridiculous and unexpected, so it's funny before it's even said. Then he gets second laugh by taking it in yet another direction when with the new example.
posted by defenestration at 12:10 PM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Having been to similar meetings, I found it sort of funny. But like a lot of SNL skits, it went on too long. In person, it might work. But on video it just seemed to be too long.
posted by birdherder at 12:11 PM on February 28, 2011

Comedy! Good work, guy at UCB. Dedication to the bit is what it's all about.
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:12 PM on February 28, 2011

Funny.
posted by johnny novak at 12:21 PM on February 28, 2011

Maybe it just works for some and not for others, or maybe it just worked filmed for me because I'm familiar with the space, but that slayed me.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:25 PM on February 28, 2011

The reason I called you together was to talk about the new blue board put up here on MetaFilter. I don't think you all understand what is supposed to be on that board.

The reason I put the board up was for you to post things like, well, let me give you some examples, things that are funny, or things about people that died, or things about kittens, or things that are true and we need to know about it, or jokes about xians. This was not one of them.

Now, I can see how some of you could think there was something true in this, and, let me give you an example, the part where you said, "funniest frozen yogurt bit you will see today"... OK, I can agree with that part.
posted by tomswift at 12:25 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

It's gold, Jerry! Gold!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:26 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

I feel like I need one of those obvious-translations-for-clueless companion pieces. Like explaining how Jay-Z songs are about cocaine obvious. Are these actual memes that would be funny if I knew about them, or hypothetical examples of teenage silliness?
posted by a robot made out of meat at 12:31 PM on February 28, 2011

I laughed, not giggled, laughed.
posted by oddman at 12:31 PM on February 28, 2011

The only thing worse than explaining why something is funny is explaining why it isn't.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 12:36 PM on February 28, 2011 [9 favorites]

Definitely took a bit to warm up to. After the cut-out wife bit, for me. And yeah, it did sound an awful lot like some of the 'meetings'/chewing-out sessions I've been to. Head on a dinosaur... heh.
posted by LD Feral at 12:37 PM on February 28, 2011

Missing the funny. Only watched the first 2.5 minutes but really didn't get the funny beyond a little bit of The Office/Office Space style amusement...
posted by arnicae at 12:44 PM on February 28, 2011

Missing the funny. Only watched the first 2.5 minutes...

It doesn't really get funny until way past the half-way mark. I was ready to stop watching right about that point too, but stuck it out and ended up really liking it. The audience likes it a little *too* much, especially at the beginning, but it really does end up being very funny.
posted by briank at 12:55 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Are these actual memes that would be funny if I knew about them, or hypothetical examples of teenage silliness?

SPOILERS

Well, I don't think they're actual memes, though apparently "chung bung" has a pair of meanings.

I think the "elf" business is because he's short. The lingerie picture and the multiple images of his head on animal bodies is just silliness. The funny part of those is that he's looking for more meaning than is actually there. I think one key is that when he mentions they've put a picture of him dreaming of elves, he confesses that that might be possible because "they've been on his mind lately" vis a vis the cork board.

To whit, the kids realize he takes this seriously and are messing with him. We get to enjoy the process of this poor dude trying to figure out what elves, the Twilight dude and chungbung have to do with him or frozen yogurt, and he just can't.

Basically, you don't need to understand any special symbolism or the meaning (or non-meaning) of chungbung. What's important is that Mr. G doesn't understand them and desperately wants to.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:57 PM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

Wow, that was incredible. Thanks.

Being one of those people who has the tendency to laugh even at inappropriate moments, I'm just amazed he could keep a straight face through the whole thing.
posted by yaymukund at 12:59 PM on February 28, 2011

I enjoyed it and found it funny. More so because I've experienced working for people who cannot fathom that their vision isn't shared, no matter how seriously they embody or communicate it, and I also like messing with said people.
posted by jsavimbi at 1:01 PM on February 28, 2011

It took a few minutes to get started, but eventually it got funnier.

I'll give you an example...
posted by mathowie at 1:07 PM on February 28, 2011

Clearly this is either funny or not.
posted by rusty at 1:15 PM on February 28, 2011

Comedian Joe Wengert kills — nay, genocides —

That is an odd way of describing him. Doesn't that kind of imply that only a certain specific group of people find him funny, albeit extremely so? On the other hand, it is kind of a deep way to express excellent skill at a niche comedy audience.

I started out wary and skeptical, but the guy got a decent amount of laughs out of me, though. I do agree it's one of those times it would have been funnier to see it in person.
posted by chambers at 1:17 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Are these actual memes that would be funny if I knew about them

No! Didn't you work food service in high school? Boring summer drudgery with a boss that you couldn't ever, ever relate to because they were impossibly old? Coming up with nonsensical jokes, which are objectively unfunny, but gather a hilarious character through repetition and shared understanding? And don't forget a large amount of weed.

This skit is probably only funny if you've already been that teenager at some point in your past, laughing at these jokes already. It's just pitch perfect and evocative of that experience.

I watched it and I laughed until I hurt. I am frankly amazed that it doesn't work for people here.
posted by TypographicalError at 1:20 PM on February 28, 2011 [6 favorites]

One more vote for hilarious from me, though I couldn't hope to explain why.
posted by teraflop at 1:25 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Work with me here, people. We are *LOW* on SEMI-SWEET, CHOCOLATE CHIPS.
posted by steef at 1:29 PM on February 28, 2011

This is really funny, on many level. I'll give you an example...
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:34 PM on February 28, 2011

Rock Steady: " The whole "let me give you an example" thing was making the audience crack up, but it seemed a bit Foxworthian to me."

The thing about character work in comedy is that characters often say things that would be poorly formatted as deliberate jokes. But real people do that too, and real people are funny a lot of the time.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 1:52 PM on February 28, 2011

I worked for this man.
posted by Dr. Curare at 2:11 PM on February 28, 2011

Downside to Living in Austin, TX #2,787:
Frozen yogurt has become entirely unfunny.


The rest . . . ok, whatever.
posted by Seamus at 2:38 PM on February 28, 2011

Slow build, but I was ROFLing by the end. The bit about the elf in the dream bubble was gold.
posted by afx237vi at 2:47 PM on February 28, 2011

Maybe you boys and girls should ask Zatch Gasperfinaski. I heard anythin was funny if you said it like a South Carolina Sundy school teacher.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:10 PM on February 28, 2011

You have to wait for the repetition to really start to sink in for it to be funny. I was pretty straight-faced until the bit where he confessed he understood why his cartoon head was dreaming about elves, because they'd been on his mind lately. Then I laughed the rest of the way through.

Whoever it was in the audience who was laughing at the beginning was trying way too hard, though.
posted by winna at 3:14 PM on February 28, 2011

I thought this said giardia's frozen yoghurt.

Mmmmm parasitical.....
posted by lalochezia at 3:16 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

I read that as Gaddafi's Frozen Yogurt and instantly wanted to form a jazz-punk-agitprop band by that name.

There is something deeply wrong with me.
posted by Decani at 3:21 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

This worked for me much better than I thought it would. It's pulled off really well. I think the writing on the bit is actually really great. It's really well paced and while the "let me give you an example" beat is stagey it offers the audience a signal to dissipate the accumulated tension. It's much better to have the audience laugh at the same time rather than sort of diffused through the act. The examples progress nicely from mundane, to absurd but grounded in a comedic truth (kids like arbitrary humor specifically because it confuses adults), to self referential.

What I think would send this over the top would be if the performer were to develop some acting chops. The voice he's using is pretty generic and fake sounding, beyond that he's wearing a tie and an apron and that's about it. That's fine but if you are going to hang 8 and a half minutes on a character I'd like to see it more like a specific human being than a character that simply stands for out of touch boss.
posted by I Foody at 3:46 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Is this about corksuckers?
posted by hal_c_on at 4:11 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

What Joey said. Funny. And I'm old.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:30 PM on February 28, 2011

Maybe it's funnier to comedy insiders?

it's funny to anyone who has a boss who lectures people like this - and there's a lot of them out there
posted by pyramid termite at 9:38 PM on February 28, 2011

Tumblr?
posted by srboisvert at 3:18 AM on March 1, 2011

Oh god this slayed me. The intro mentioned that the guy's written for the Onion News Network and this kind of half-a-conversation character monologue is one of the things that the Onion does really well.
posted by Maaik at 5:04 AM on March 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

It's good stuff, folks. Don't let the slow start throw you.
posted by eritain at 2:38 PM on March 1, 2011

Metafilter: chungbung
posted by eritain at 2:39 PM on March 1, 2011