Computer, load up Celery Man, please.
May 6, 2010 2:57 PM Subscribe
Computer, load up Celery Man, please. Paul Rudd and his computer on Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!
For those who don't get it: Misattribution Theory of Humor. "Freud declared people incapable of knowing exactly what it is they find amusing due to the complex nature of their conscious and subconscious minds. Jokes are crafted by comedians who have experience with causing laughter but who may themselves be blind to the actual cause of humor."
For those who don't get it: Misattribution Theory of Humor. "Freud declared people incapable of knowing exactly what it is they find amusing due to the complex nature of their conscious and subconscious minds. Jokes are crafted by comedians who have experience with causing laughter but who may themselves be blind to the actual cause of humor."
I think there's certainly a misattribution of humor theorization to be done with regards to Tim and Eric, but I'd put it differently.
posted by weston at 3:06 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by weston at 3:06 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
For the others as ignorant of pop culture as I am, Paul Rudd.
posted by idiopath at 3:06 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by idiopath at 3:06 PM on May 6, 2010
I also fail to get Tim and Eric, for the most part. It makes me sad, because almost everything makes me laugh. But hey, free Paul Rudd. I can't complain.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:08 PM on May 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:08 PM on May 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
FREE PAUL RUDD!!
posted by found missing at 3:09 PM on May 6, 2010 [11 favorites]
posted by found missing at 3:09 PM on May 6, 2010 [11 favorites]
It would be hard for me to love Tim and Eric more. They attended Temple University, eight blocks from where I live, and I think of that pretty much all the time. They're Philly icons.
posted by Rory Marinich at 3:10 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by Rory Marinich at 3:10 PM on May 6, 2010
For those who don't get Misattribution Theory, I believe Fritz Perls put it better: "If you have to trot out Freud to bolster a comedic skit, ur doing it wrong."
posted by NolanRyanHatesMatches at 3:12 PM on May 6, 2010 [6 favorites]
posted by NolanRyanHatesMatches at 3:12 PM on May 6, 2010 [6 favorites]
I like to think of this video this way:
this guy basically works with a big deal computer, and what he uses it for instead of work is lolcats. he does this so much he is bored by the lolcats.
now imagine that tim and eric didn't want to use actual lolcats for whatever reason and instead took the opportunity to make paul rudd do silly dances in stupid outfits.
basically a winning scenario right there.
posted by shmegegge at 3:15 PM on May 6, 2010 [3 favorites]
this guy basically works with a big deal computer, and what he uses it for instead of work is lolcats. he does this so much he is bored by the lolcats.
now imagine that tim and eric didn't want to use actual lolcats for whatever reason and instead took the opportunity to make paul rudd do silly dances in stupid outfits.
basically a winning scenario right there.
posted by shmegegge at 3:15 PM on May 6, 2010 [3 favorites]
GOOGLE RUDD, PAUL
posted by kuujjuarapik at 3:16 PM on May 6, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by kuujjuarapik at 3:16 PM on May 6, 2010 [5 favorites]
So, what's the opposite of misattribution theory, then? BEcause I don't know why I don't find this funny.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:22 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:22 PM on May 6, 2010
Yenta few churro irk, um, pewter kin tundra stint whirred sly canoed. Butt whirred sly "Flarhgunnstow?" Hits 'n' Oprah blam it tall. Deed eye mint shun Yukon yews yeah voy sand hockey bored intern chain jubbly?
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 3:23 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 3:23 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
Heard a rumor that Season Cinco is the last one for the show. Any truth to that, I wonder?
posted by Saxon Kane at 3:24 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by Saxon Kane at 3:24 PM on May 6, 2010
I would have straight-guy on straight-guy sex with Paul Rudd. In fact, me and my band are working on a song about that exact theme right now.
posted by Astro Zombie at 3:24 PM on May 6, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Astro Zombie at 3:24 PM on May 6, 2010 [3 favorites]
Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! is the Shaggy Dog story of our generation. Running now for 5 seasons, it turns out all the same that the dog's not that shaggy funny.
Adult Swim still has a bunch of great stuff, so I'm not gonna complain about "back in my day," but when stuff like this gets renewed, I can't help but think, "Space Ghost got canceled for this?"
posted by explosion at 3:26 PM on May 6, 2010 [7 favorites]
Adult Swim still has a bunch of great stuff, so I'm not gonna complain about "back in my day," but when stuff like this gets renewed, I can't help but think, "Space Ghost got canceled for this?"
posted by explosion at 3:26 PM on May 6, 2010 [7 favorites]
LAFF REPORT FOLLOWS
* Was funny enough to watch all the way through
* Made me smile at points
* No audible laughter at any point
* Will not pass on
* Am older than 36.
END LAFF REPORT
posted by everichon at 3:29 PM on May 6, 2010 [20 favorites]
* Was funny enough to watch all the way through
* Made me smile at points
* No audible laughter at any point
* Will not pass on
* Am older than 36.
END LAFF REPORT
posted by everichon at 3:29 PM on May 6, 2010 [20 favorites]
A full fifteen minutes of Tim and Eric (or however long the show is) makes me squirm, but some isolated sketches are really, truly hilarious to me. W/r/t the point of this post: I would love to read the conversion narrative of whoever decides that this sketch is funny after having Wikipedian Freud knowledge dropped on them, but not before.
posted by kosem at 3:38 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by kosem at 3:38 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
Dropping the Wikipedia was not meant to explain the humor, but to explain that the quest to understand humor is futile. You get it or you don't, and if you don't and you move on, we'll all be happier.
posted by pollex at 3:42 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by pollex at 3:42 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
Paul Rudd has a strong multiplier effect that makes this funnier than it have been with another actor.
However, "Tayne" and "Hat Wobble" made me laugh more than I thought I would.
posted by artlung at 3:45 PM on May 6, 2010
However, "Tayne" and "Hat Wobble" made me laugh more than I thought I would.
posted by artlung at 3:45 PM on May 6, 2010
LAFF REPORT: SUPPLEMENTAL
* Am not yet intoxicated.
* Which, you know.
posted by everichon at 3:50 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
* Am not yet intoxicated.
* Which, you know.
posted by everichon at 3:50 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
I am a Tim and Eric fan, and I find this bit really funny. I can also see how you might not, since it does have a lot of easy visual laughs. By this point in the show, though, as well as in certain aspects of Tom Goes to the Mayor, I think you can really perceive a difference between Eric humor and Tim humor. The former's music videos also help accentuate their respective differences. Not only do I think that Tim is a better comic actor, I think his contribution to their work together completely outshines Eric's. Visual gags are generally overused in the show, like faux-VHS quality recording, hyperactive cuts, or, animated segues between bits. I am pretty sure that Eric is the techie in the pair, and so I attribute these to him. His videos are also full of visual stuff that comes off as "random." I've always associated Tim with the dialogue and character-driven humor of the two; in this bit, I really love how calmly Paul Rudd is sitting in front of his computer, and how the three-monitor set-up conveys seriousness -- I associate this with Tim, who can do straight and serious as well as any actor.
A good place to see their differences, and, I think, Tim's superiority, is in their respective "Handsome Man" videos in the episode two weeks ago.
posted by Dia Nomou Nomo Apethanon at 3:50 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
A good place to see their differences, and, I think, Tim's superiority, is in their respective "Handsome Man" videos in the episode two weeks ago.
posted by Dia Nomou Nomo Apethanon at 3:50 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
Hey! This Rudd muhfugganah stole my band name!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:50 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:50 PM on May 6, 2010
Dropping the Wikipedia was not meant to explain the humor, but to explain that the quest to understand humor is futile.
Oh I get it. What I don't get is the felt need to link to a Freudian concept that can serve as a post-joke disclaimer.
Me: I have a knock knock joke. You start.
You: Knock knock.
Me: Who's there?
You: That's not funny.
Me: Yes it is. It's funny because I flipped the script on you so that YOU would be in the unexpected position of telling the joke but get this -- you weren't prepared!
You: I understand that, but I guess I don't know why you think it's funny.
Me: Neither do I. Read this Freud, son.
posted by kosem at 3:59 PM on May 6, 2010 [6 favorites]
Oh I get it. What I don't get is the felt need to link to a Freudian concept that can serve as a post-joke disclaimer.
Me: I have a knock knock joke. You start.
You: Knock knock.
Me: Who's there?
You: That's not funny.
Me: Yes it is. It's funny because I flipped the script on you so that YOU would be in the unexpected position of telling the joke but get this -- you weren't prepared!
You: I understand that, but I guess I don't know why you think it's funny.
Me: Neither do I. Read this Freud, son.
posted by kosem at 3:59 PM on May 6, 2010 [6 favorites]
Eric and Tim are the personification of the 4chan humor sensibility, but without the pedo. Definitely not for everyone. I think they're hilarious.
Aslo, I actually know a guy named Tayne.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 4:00 PM on May 6, 2010
Aslo, I actually know a guy named Tayne.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 4:00 PM on May 6, 2010
Uh, but Freud was full of shit. It's not impossible to dissect humor at all.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:01 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:01 PM on May 6, 2010
Also, it's worthwhile to note that we're all using our big-deal computers to watch Paul Rudd watching LOLcats-equivalents instead of working, and that many of us may be at work while doing so.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 4:08 PM on May 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 4:08 PM on May 6, 2010 [4 favorites]
Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! is the Shaggy Dog story of our generation.
I've often thought that, or something similar. Except there is an implied roping in and long-term holding of interest factor before the disappointing crash in shaggy dog stories that, sadly, does not apply to me re: T & E. Like AV above, it kind of makes me sad. I've always made my living off my sense of humor: I hate to find such a blind spot in it.
Although to each, I suppose. One of the guys I work with is completely into T & E to the point of outright proselytization, but doesn't find any humor in Sarah Silverman, who makes me pee tears of outraged hilarity. Everybody has blind spots, I reckon....
posted by umberto at 4:11 PM on May 6, 2010
I've often thought that, or something similar. Except there is an implied roping in and long-term holding of interest factor before the disappointing crash in shaggy dog stories that, sadly, does not apply to me re: T & E. Like AV above, it kind of makes me sad. I've always made my living off my sense of humor: I hate to find such a blind spot in it.
Although to each, I suppose. One of the guys I work with is completely into T & E to the point of outright proselytization, but doesn't find any humor in Sarah Silverman, who makes me pee tears of outraged hilarity. Everybody has blind spots, I reckon....
posted by umberto at 4:11 PM on May 6, 2010
Wow, I actually thought about posting this yesterday but thought everyone would hate it. I'm a big fan of Tim and Eric and Paul Rudd. I thought this last show was pretty strong, although I pretty much think that every show.
posted by dead cousin ted at 4:24 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by dead cousin ted at 4:24 PM on May 6, 2010
Could it be possible that the sort of people who need to construct subconscious narratives about why they find something funny are the exact same people who don't find T&E funny? There's certainly a kind of person who will freely laugh before the mental spark of cognition hits, and feel no need to reflect on that a priori (Cue MS Paint Venn Diagram involving stoners.) Wait, I just thought of a much more pressing question - are there any people who don't find T&E hilarious while high?
posted by naju at 4:27 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by naju at 4:27 PM on May 6, 2010
I don't think it's a joke. I don't think it's funny.
IT'S NOT FUNNY!!%!!
(It's too hot.)
posted by about_time at 4:27 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
IT'S NOT FUNNY!!%!!
(It's too hot.)
posted by about_time at 4:27 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
You Can't Tip a Buick wins. *powers down cray*
posted by dabitch at 4:27 PM on May 6, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by dabitch at 4:27 PM on May 6, 2010 [3 favorites]
Kosem, umberto makes an interesting point by calling them "blind spots"--when people don't get a joke, they think they're missing something or are deficient in some way. So when they don't get a joke, they get miffed or confused and pick a fight about whether the joke was funny at all. But they're forgetting that there's no objective standard of funny.
posted by pollex at 4:29 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by pollex at 4:29 PM on May 6, 2010
I quite enjoyed that. Although my main thought was: hey - is the computer speaking to him in the dialogue font off Earthbound?
posted by RokkitNite at 4:29 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by RokkitNite at 4:29 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
It makes me sad, because almost everything makes me laugh.
Even THIS SAD WET KITTEN WITH BIG SAD EYES?
You're a monster.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:32 PM on May 6, 2010
Even THIS SAD WET KITTEN WITH BIG SAD EYES?
You're a monster.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:32 PM on May 6, 2010
There may be no objective standard of funny, but there is a baseline. Either you find Buster Keaton funny or you have no sense of humor. Everything builds from there.
posted by Astro Zombie at 4:32 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Astro Zombie at 4:32 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
I actually find them LESS funny when high. I tried that, too.
posted by umberto at 4:33 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by umberto at 4:33 PM on May 6, 2010
Buick: it's worthwhile to note...
ARE YOU LIKENING THIS HALLOWED SITE TO A SCREENBOUND HOMUNCULUS DANCING FOR OUR CHUCKLEHEADED PLEASURE?
Cos, yeah, ok.
posted by everichon at 4:38 PM on May 6, 2010
ARE YOU LIKENING THIS HALLOWED SITE TO A SCREENBOUND HOMUNCULUS DANCING FOR OUR CHUCKLEHEADED PLEASURE?
Cos, yeah, ok.
posted by everichon at 4:38 PM on May 6, 2010
> Even THIS SAD WET KITTEN WITH BIG SAD EYES? You're a monster.
Back in high school, I made a brief attempt to come up with a mental image to inflict upon myself or girlfriends to help us not laugh at things. The image was "dead puppies." COLLOSSAL FAILURE. It instantly became an irresistable cue to crack up.
And no, T&E is worse when I'm high, too. And objectivity has no bearing on the explicability of humor. And pollex is thread-modding.
I guess I figure, this kind of "funny" is just "mildly wacky." I prefer cleverer humor or more viceral surrealism. Give me Space Ghost, Wondershowzen, Oh god, Las Hurdes!!! et al.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:40 PM on May 6, 2010
Back in high school, I made a brief attempt to come up with a mental image to inflict upon myself or girlfriends to help us not laugh at things. The image was "dead puppies." COLLOSSAL FAILURE. It instantly became an irresistable cue to crack up.
And no, T&E is worse when I'm high, too. And objectivity has no bearing on the explicability of humor. And pollex is thread-modding.
I guess I figure, this kind of "funny" is just "mildly wacky." I prefer cleverer humor or more viceral surrealism. Give me Space Ghost, Wondershowzen, Oh god, Las Hurdes!!! et al.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:40 PM on May 6, 2010
pollex, that's interesting you say that, because back when I used to do this sketch comedy thing, we were the kind of group that would deliberately fuck with our audience to see just exactly we could get them to laugh at, and we found that by and large, people would rather laugh at things they find confusing or unfunny rather than seem like they didn't 'get it.'
BUT, One time, I decided to show a taped show of ours to a friend who had been asking, and we sat there just the two of us watching, and that's when I realized that this maxim only works in a social context. When it is just you or people that you have no incentive to impress (close friends, internet strangers), you tend just to find such but unfunny or confusing.
Not unlike the concept of no soap radio.
(that's not to say that this is what's going on here, really, but I think it's an interesting related note.)
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 4:43 PM on May 6, 2010
BUT, One time, I decided to show a taped show of ours to a friend who had been asking, and we sat there just the two of us watching, and that's when I realized that this maxim only works in a social context. When it is just you or people that you have no incentive to impress (close friends, internet strangers), you tend just to find such but unfunny or confusing.
Not unlike the concept of no soap radio.
(that's not to say that this is what's going on here, really, but I think it's an interesting related note.)
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 4:43 PM on May 6, 2010
I think shmegegge's explanation is on, except that LOLcats is the guy's work. He's the source of all the memes, and it's the kind of job illustrated by a stock photo search for "successful senior non-manager business guy working at desk."
posted by zippy at 4:43 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by zippy at 4:43 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
@naju: YES. That! Actually, there's a fairly large movement in contemporary lit-crit / film-crit that argues for talking about "affect" — the pre-cognized gut reaction to images and such — rather than exclusively talking about the way people think about the media they're exposed to. Things like melodrama, horror movies, and porn are big in affect-theory circles, since they're more about raw sensation than about putting images together into a storyline that refers to things in the world or the unconscious or what have you. I think it's totally worthwhile to read T&E as comedy that's about sensation rather than storyline...
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 4:47 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 4:47 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
A SCREENBOUND HOMUNCULUS DANCING FOR OUR CHUCKLEHEADED PLEASURE
Best. Sock puppet name. Ever.
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:52 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
Best. Sock puppet name. Ever.
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:52 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
the pre-cognized gut reaction to images and such
T&E as comedy that's about sensation rather than storyline...
Perfect, that really hits the target for me. I have some reading to do on affect theory, I think you're on to something there.
posted by naju at 4:55 PM on May 6, 2010
T&E as comedy that's about sensation rather than storyline...
Perfect, that really hits the target for me. I have some reading to do on affect theory, I think you're on to something there.
posted by naju at 4:55 PM on May 6, 2010
Oh, please. I think trotting out affect here is preposterous. What's the physiological response for humor? It's completely socially constructed, not physiologically driven, as in horror-suspense, identifactory romance or pornography.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:58 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:58 PM on May 6, 2010
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I WILL NOW BLOW YOUR MIND
The font the computer uses in its little message window? From Earthbound!
NOW SEE DID I LIE?
posted by JHarris at 4:59 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
The font the computer uses in its little message window? From Earthbound!
NOW SEE DID I LIE?
posted by JHarris at 4:59 PM on May 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
Do you know how I know you're gay? You said you'd have straight-guy on straight-guy sex with Paul Rudd.
I know humour is subjective and all, but hearing people that I have loved and respected here on MetaFilter revealing that "Paul Rudd's computer" does not spin their chakra wheels. This is a moral and spiritual failing of the highest order.
But I believe in redemption. I will explain the joke, in such a way that you might be able to watch it again and through force of will be saved:
posted by Meatbomb at 5:00 PM on May 6, 2010 [15 favorites]
I know humour is subjective and all, but hearing people that I have loved and respected here on MetaFilter revealing that "Paul Rudd's computer" does not spin their chakra wheels. This is a moral and spiritual failing of the highest order.
But I believe in redemption. I will explain the joke, in such a way that you might be able to watch it again and through force of will be saved:
- Paul is not skiving. On numerous occasions in the sketch both Rudd and his computer make it clear that this "watching sequences" is indeed their work.
- Paul Rudd lives in a high tech Tronesque world (note the coffee spill digitizing as he walks toward his station), and his computer is an AI. Together they create and watch Windows 3.01 quality dancing doofuses.
- Paul does not seem to be gay (note his visceral reaction to nude Tayne), and yet his work involves him watching very poor quality clips of dancing, prancing, flirty men. He takes this work very seriously.
- So seriously in fact that further observation and tweaking of beta nude Tayne takes priority over an emergency phone call from his wife.
- He has memorized key instruction sequences such as "4d3d3d3". Why have they not renamed this something less repetitive?
posted by Meatbomb at 5:00 PM on May 6, 2010 [15 favorites]
whoops, "identificatory" I meant.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:00 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:00 PM on May 6, 2010
Ha! I LAUGH at your affect theory! HA!*
*see? i really did.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:01 PM on May 6, 2010
*see? i really did.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:01 PM on May 6, 2010
Meatbomb, why are they all him?
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:01 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:01 PM on May 6, 2010
It's not impossible to dissect humor at all.
Descriptively, perhaps, but not prescriptively.
posted by lore at 5:04 PM on May 6, 2010
Descriptively, perhaps, but not prescriptively.
posted by lore at 5:04 PM on May 6, 2010
I lot of what I like about T&E is that they find the absurd in sincerity, especially in a commercial context. I'm thinking of their Shrek commercials, for instance, which consisted wholly of straightforward praise for the Shrek franchise. Or the way that Rudd here is just at the office, drinking his coffee and working hard. That's mixed in with this kind of alien-visiting-earth perspective that seems to misunderstand basic social cues and elements of daily life to produce a cargo-cult mimicry of the American experience: Rudd is hard at work, but his work isn't at all like anyone's actual job.
I see this as an amplified version of what our "realist" entertainment actually is. Middlebrow TV drama (House or the CSIs or whatever) fails completely at conveying what life is really like. T&E is a sort of satire of this entertainment.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:06 PM on May 6, 2010 [16 favorites]
I see this as an amplified version of what our "realist" entertainment actually is. Middlebrow TV drama (House or the CSIs or whatever) fails completely at conveying what life is really like. T&E is a sort of satire of this entertainment.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:06 PM on May 6, 2010 [16 favorites]
Ambrosia Voyeur, why does he want to see nude Tayne, given that it is himself? Submit - you'll be a better person for it.
posted by Meatbomb at 5:13 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by Meatbomb at 5:13 PM on May 6, 2010
Paul Rudd's work involves using a computer to edit a sequence of his own moves and personae together for some reason, and gets disgusted by himself nude, which means he has important work to do, and can't take the call from his wife. I don't get this.
The futuristic setting, the archaic, chaotic styling of the computer (which isn't even used consistently -- at one point, a dancing Rudd is outside a window, which really undermined the enjoyment of the Windows aesthetic as gag for me) the silly straight-faced whiteboy dancing, and the silly music are all mildly wacky. I get that.
I'm definitely a medium specificity bitch. Why is this what Paul Rudd does -- or why is the thought that this is what Paul Rudd does humorous? Which is to say, how is this anything superior to a series of clips of Paul Rudd dancin' funny? I guess my answer to that would be: it's not, but the fact that they went to insensible lengths to construct this random scenario around the dance sequences is, itself, comical.
mr_roboto, that explanation sheds a lot of light, to me. Thanks.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:14 PM on May 6, 2010
The futuristic setting, the archaic, chaotic styling of the computer (which isn't even used consistently -- at one point, a dancing Rudd is outside a window, which really undermined the enjoyment of the Windows aesthetic as gag for me) the silly straight-faced whiteboy dancing, and the silly music are all mildly wacky. I get that.
I'm definitely a medium specificity bitch. Why is this what Paul Rudd does -- or why is the thought that this is what Paul Rudd does humorous? Which is to say, how is this anything superior to a series of clips of Paul Rudd dancin' funny? I guess my answer to that would be: it's not, but the fact that they went to insensible lengths to construct this random scenario around the dance sequences is, itself, comical.
mr_roboto, that explanation sheds a lot of light, to me. Thanks.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:14 PM on May 6, 2010
Well, Meatbomb, I would guess he's looking for further funny or effectively entertaining results, as he is seeming to do by directing the moves of the other dancers. "Tayne's good --- but can we make him nude for xtra lulz? OH GOD NO THAT'S BAD!!!!"
Which I thinkis kind of intriguing as a metacommentary on his constructed persona, yeah, and especially considering this famous gorgeous hilarious wonder.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:17 PM on May 6, 2010
Which I thinkis kind of intriguing as a metacommentary on his constructed persona, yeah, and especially considering this famous gorgeous hilarious wonder.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:17 PM on May 6, 2010
mr_roboto nails it. T&E produce skits which come off like a mentally and emotionally damaged 11-year-old struggling to duplicate reality. Either you find that funny or you don't.
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:20 PM on May 6, 2010 [7 favorites]
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:20 PM on May 6, 2010 [7 favorites]
AV, you are supposed to notice the dancer breaking the windows, and it is supposed to be irritating. That part is also funny. The fact that Tayne dances more vigorously than the others, and does more of his moves outside the windowed boxes, taxes the supercomputer to the point of failure.
I want to help you - work with me here. How many times have you watched it? Double that.
posted by Meatbomb at 5:24 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
I want to help you - work with me here. How many times have you watched it? Double that.
posted by Meatbomb at 5:24 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
I am not watching it 3 more times.
Oh wait, Paul Rudd's in it? This may be the chick crossover T&E sketch after all. Let's DO this.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:26 PM on May 6, 2010
Oh wait, Paul Rudd's in it? This may be the chick crossover T&E sketch after all. Let's DO this.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:26 PM on May 6, 2010
Also, regarding the dancers on the computer all being him: I think I also see a parallel to the narcissism of the net, the way many people go online to find their perfect echo chamber.
posted by idiopath at 5:27 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by idiopath at 5:27 PM on May 6, 2010
Okay, meat. You got me to watch the same Paul Rudd video 6 times. I think one of us owes the other money now. I think that might have been some kind of perverse sex act on someone's part, I just don't know whose.
I guess I like it more than I did at the beginning. I'm not totally turned out.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:35 PM on May 6, 2010
I guess I like it more than I did at the beginning. I'm not totally turned out.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:35 PM on May 6, 2010
If affect theory is strictly focused on physiological response, then perhaps we're barking up the wrong tree. Someone else can address that, I have no idea. But I can't help but feel like there's some kind of liminal element to this humor, socially constructed but just beyond the reach of our perception. And Tim & Eric may even be purposefully playing with that - ever notice how incredibly focused they are on facial expressions? There is some gut or near-gut element to their work...
posted by naju at 5:42 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by naju at 5:42 PM on May 6, 2010
I don't actually know that much about for reals affect theory, but I'm going to double down on my position in my ignorance, because that's the way to live.
What's the physiological response for humor? It's completely socially constructed, not physiologically driven, as in horror-suspense, identifactory romance or pornography.
The thing with the best T&E sketches (f'ex, ooh mama) is that most people have a very strong reaction to them, but that's it's very difficult to tell exactly what the reaction is. It's all happening in the context of a "comedy show," though, so most often people end up parsing the strong reaction as "funny."
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:43 PM on May 6, 2010
What's the physiological response for humor? It's completely socially constructed, not physiologically driven, as in horror-suspense, identifactory romance or pornography.
The thing with the best T&E sketches (f'ex, ooh mama) is that most people have a very strong reaction to them, but that's it's very difficult to tell exactly what the reaction is. It's all happening in the context of a "comedy show," though, so most often people end up parsing the strong reaction as "funny."
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:43 PM on May 6, 2010
Recently I read a blogpost about why all of the ironic appreciation of Saved by the Bell is so strange: because for the joke to work, you have to get something that someone else doesn't get. What the guy eventually realized was that there was a basic problem: everyone already knows Saved By the Bell is terrible. Lots of people like the show, but nobody thinks its well made, really, and even the people who made it have no illusions about it. So what's the joke?
Which starts to get at why I think the ICP "Miracles" video is great, but the Saturday Night Live parody of it is so awful: the first is funny because you can appreciate it ironically - because you actually do get something the creators don't. (Like how magnets work, for example.) The SNL parody, on the other hand, is just a whole bunch of random stupid stuff thrown together to mock something that was already funny, but also sincere. I think Tenacious D's basic joke works because it's just earnest enough that there's still a little irony there, plus the songs really are a little more absurd than the source material... But that ICP parody? There's no earnestness there, so there's no irony - and even worse, they tried to out ridiculous ICP, which just isn't going to happen. To me, it comes across as smug and pointless.
Which brings me to Tim and Eric. Every episode of Tim and Eric I've ever seen is trying to recreate Everything is Terrible but it just... fails. Everything is terrible works not just because of that irony, but because they're constantly surprising you - they have a knack for finding the craziest weirdest shit you'd never expect. But Tim and Eric can't surprise you, because they set out to make something terrible. There's no irony there - they know what they're making is ugly and terrible, so who is the joke on? Well, the joke isn't on anyone, because everything they're mocking is - just like Saved by the Bell - universally acknowledged to be terrible. Their fake karaoke skits are particularly heinous for that - it's not like I didn't know karaoke is terrible already, so why make me sit through someone singing a song badly?
To me Tim and Eric is just frustrating because why would you put all that effort into making something so terrible? It's just a waste of time and energy. You can tell they work hard on it - but their sights are so low. It's not like Black Dynamite where they're trying to promote something they really love, and its not like Flight of the Conchords where they're paying homage to their inspirations, but also doing their own thing - its warmed over Monty Python absurdity, with an extra bit of internet kitsch and smugness. Blech.
posted by Kiablokirk at 6:33 PM on May 6, 2010 [13 favorites]
Which starts to get at why I think the ICP "Miracles" video is great, but the Saturday Night Live parody of it is so awful: the first is funny because you can appreciate it ironically - because you actually do get something the creators don't. (Like how magnets work, for example.) The SNL parody, on the other hand, is just a whole bunch of random stupid stuff thrown together to mock something that was already funny, but also sincere. I think Tenacious D's basic joke works because it's just earnest enough that there's still a little irony there, plus the songs really are a little more absurd than the source material... But that ICP parody? There's no earnestness there, so there's no irony - and even worse, they tried to out ridiculous ICP, which just isn't going to happen. To me, it comes across as smug and pointless.
Which brings me to Tim and Eric. Every episode of Tim and Eric I've ever seen is trying to recreate Everything is Terrible but it just... fails. Everything is terrible works not just because of that irony, but because they're constantly surprising you - they have a knack for finding the craziest weirdest shit you'd never expect. But Tim and Eric can't surprise you, because they set out to make something terrible. There's no irony there - they know what they're making is ugly and terrible, so who is the joke on? Well, the joke isn't on anyone, because everything they're mocking is - just like Saved by the Bell - universally acknowledged to be terrible. Their fake karaoke skits are particularly heinous for that - it's not like I didn't know karaoke is terrible already, so why make me sit through someone singing a song badly?
To me Tim and Eric is just frustrating because why would you put all that effort into making something so terrible? It's just a waste of time and energy. You can tell they work hard on it - but their sights are so low. It's not like Black Dynamite where they're trying to promote something they really love, and its not like Flight of the Conchords where they're paying homage to their inspirations, but also doing their own thing - its warmed over Monty Python absurdity, with an extra bit of internet kitsch and smugness. Blech.
posted by Kiablokirk at 6:33 PM on May 6, 2010 [13 favorites]
MB, I have watched this clip a few times. And a lot of the show. And I sat through many Tom and the Mayor's because it wasn't long and I figured sooner or later I would see something I thought was funny. I didn't. I'm not saying it isn't funny. I'm saying it isn't funny to me. I'm sure there is crap I like that you don't that no number of repetitive viewings would cure.
T & E are kinda funny (to me) in the way that extremely bad high-school drama is funny: primitive incompetence heavily drugged with fervent sincerity. I've always been fascinated with lower forms of live drama and in the way that they reverse the audience/performer dynamic. Normally people on the stage pretend to feel some emotion that they don't (acting), and the audience reacts normally according to the emotions they actually feel about the performance. In high-school (or community) theater, it's reversed: the audience pretends to experience emotions they don't actually feel (enjoyment) and the sullen teens onstage act exactly like sullen teens, but with period costumes.
Except with T & E I don't have a kid in the show and feel the need to pretend that I think what they are doing is entertaining.
posted by umberto at 6:36 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
T & E are kinda funny (to me) in the way that extremely bad high-school drama is funny: primitive incompetence heavily drugged with fervent sincerity. I've always been fascinated with lower forms of live drama and in the way that they reverse the audience/performer dynamic. Normally people on the stage pretend to feel some emotion that they don't (acting), and the audience reacts normally according to the emotions they actually feel about the performance. In high-school (or community) theater, it's reversed: the audience pretends to experience emotions they don't actually feel (enjoyment) and the sullen teens onstage act exactly like sullen teens, but with period costumes.
Except with T & E I don't have a kid in the show and feel the need to pretend that I think what they are doing is entertaining.
posted by umberto at 6:36 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
I dunno...all this philosophizing...
It's Paul Rudd. He's slowly drinking coffee. Disinterested in himself. Watching nothing important.
Funny. No. The fact I am commenting though...interesting.
posted by Benway at 6:40 PM on May 6, 2010
It's Paul Rudd. He's slowly drinking coffee. Disinterested in himself. Watching nothing important.
Funny. No. The fact I am commenting though...interesting.
posted by Benway at 6:40 PM on May 6, 2010
JFC. Autistic bean platers, all of you.
posted by foot at 7:33 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by foot at 7:33 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
I imagine this is how Lipstick Thespian starts his day, every day.
posted by Eideteker at 8:06 PM on May 6, 2010
posted by Eideteker at 8:06 PM on May 6, 2010
The thing that I find funny is when he first sits down at his computer, he presses the space bar to login. I mean, who does that?!?
posted by jefbla at 8:23 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by jefbla at 8:23 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
Kiablokirk: "Which starts to get at why I think the ICP "Miracles" video is great"
Fucking comedy, how does it work?
posted by idiopath at 8:50 PM on May 6, 2010 [7 favorites]
Fucking comedy, how does it work?
posted by idiopath at 8:50 PM on May 6, 2010 [7 favorites]
Yes, jefbla, yes. That is also funny.
The more I watch this (probably 20+ times now) the more I have come to realize that there are indeed Platonic forms. Comedy is not a subjective thing, there are just some of us that have moved towards the light and some that are still in the cave.
posted by Meatbomb at 8:52 PM on May 6, 2010
The more I watch this (probably 20+ times now) the more I have come to realize that there are indeed Platonic forms. Comedy is not a subjective thing, there are just some of us that have moved towards the light and some that are still in the cave.
posted by Meatbomb at 8:52 PM on May 6, 2010
Ye-e-e-a-h-h-h... I'm just not sure you're the one moving toward the light. :)
posted by umberto at 8:58 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by umberto at 8:58 PM on May 6, 2010 [1 favorite]
What's the physiological response for humor?
Um.... laughter? Conspicuously missing from my perusal of this clip, though.
posted by msalt at 11:29 PM on May 6, 2010
Um.... laughter? Conspicuously missing from my perusal of this clip, though.
posted by msalt at 11:29 PM on May 6, 2010
I liked Tom Goes to the Mayor, generally am bored by T&EASGJ!, but Paul Rudd makes this whole skit work. Also, please stop trying to explain or understand it. That dead horse has been flogged enough. Either you get it or you don't. Move on. It's OK. You'll be fine. Just breathe.
posted by KingEdRa at 1:33 AM on May 7, 2010
posted by KingEdRa at 1:33 AM on May 7, 2010
I dunno...all this philosophizing...
It's Paul Rudd. He's slowly drinking coffee. Disinterested in himself. Watching nothing important.
Ah! I see where people are getting mixed up. You are seeing and describing something that is not there.
What we were presented was a simulation of a man at work creating various iterations of his own identity. There were inclusions of obvious (workplace in the middle of a void...shades of Brazil?) and subtle (celery man = salary man = business man) distortions of reality. It was a simulacrum.
It's funny because it's absurd.
Also, please stop trying to explain or understand it.
Too late! Wait...what? Who's talking?
posted by P.o.B. at 1:55 AM on May 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
It's Paul Rudd. He's slowly drinking coffee. Disinterested in himself. Watching nothing important.
Ah! I see where people are getting mixed up. You are seeing and describing something that is not there.
What we were presented was a simulation of a man at work creating various iterations of his own identity. There were inclusions of obvious (workplace in the middle of a void...shades of Brazil?) and subtle (celery man = salary man = business man) distortions of reality. It was a simulacrum.
It's funny because it's absurd.
Also, please stop trying to explain or understand it.
Too late! Wait...what? Who's talking?
posted by P.o.B. at 1:55 AM on May 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
Either you get it or you don't. Move on. It's OK.
Computer, load up Cilantro Man please.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 6:40 AM on May 7, 2010 [5 favorites]
Computer, load up Cilantro Man please.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 6:40 AM on May 7, 2010 [5 favorites]
T&E is post ironic. I think that's why, in the Absolut ads, everyone gets so angry at the end and is like "Let's just do a straight up commercial!". In fact, that's how a lot of their stuff ends. With one character getting mad about how stupid the thing they're doing is.
posted by codacorolla at 7:10 AM on May 7, 2010
posted by codacorolla at 7:10 AM on May 7, 2010
I use to really find T&E funny, now it just makes me uncomfortable. Kinda like The Office (I have to leave the room).
posted by Mick at 7:38 AM on May 7, 2010
posted by Mick at 7:38 AM on May 7, 2010
You know when you're sitting around with a bunch of people smoking out and someone says something random and everyone starts riffing on it and pretty soon everyone can barely breathe because they're laughing so hard. Then, hours later, you think back to the joke and it's all "WTF that doesn't even make sense?".
This is the platonic ideal of that joke.
posted by euphorb at 7:53 AM on May 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
This is the platonic ideal of that joke.
posted by euphorb at 7:53 AM on May 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
I hope not sporadically.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:11 AM on May 7, 2010
posted by humboldt32 at 9:11 AM on May 7, 2010
finite: Nice find!
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:45 AM on May 7, 2010
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:45 AM on May 7, 2010
Finite: how did you find that? Suddenly I wonder, what percentage of T&E is just them remaking random obscure stuff they've found? What if it is 100%? Or even 101%? Now I need the name of your boat.
posted by davejay at 12:48 PM on May 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by davejay at 12:48 PM on May 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
I am convinced that the meta-comedy of Tim and Eric is all about trying to digitally augur gayness into the brains of every sophomore douchebag and sofa stoner in America, so that they'll all end up sucking each other's dicks between high-fives and bongloads, quoting T&E dada catchphrases (you know, around the penis) all the while, because that would be funniest damn thing ever. I tend to agree.
I have no idea if Tim and/or Eric are gay themselves. Doesn't matter. If they aren't, then the meta-comedy is even funnier.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:14 AM on May 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
I have no idea if Tim and/or Eric are gay themselves. Doesn't matter. If they aren't, then the meta-comedy is even funnier.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:14 AM on May 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Well, Tim is married, (not that that guarantees anything about his sexuality) and his wife is gorgeous. Don't know about Eric.
posted by Saxon Kane at 5:12 PM on May 8, 2010
posted by Saxon Kane at 5:12 PM on May 8, 2010
Well, maybe not gorgeous, but very, very pretty, IMHO.
posted by Saxon Kane at 5:32 PM on May 8, 2010
posted by Saxon Kane at 5:32 PM on May 8, 2010
> Also, please stop trying to explain or understand it. That dead horse has been flogged enough. Either you get it or you don't. Move on. It's OK. You'll be fine. Just breathe.
Humor should be immune from discusion and critical analysis? Good call. I'm sure that'll go over like gangbusters in the next slur-oriented MeTa thread. Maybe we can farm this brain trust out to a fascist government for a sarcasm bureau. Unquestionable social sarcasm for the masses could be really dope.
Seriously, I'm not about to give any piece of entertainment or mass media a pass ever and if that makes me a party pooper, fine. I'm an intellectually curious party pooper, then, in search of srs lulz. As a media studies person, I basically have to be interested in how media works for the rest of my life even though people think it's fine to randomly patronize me for my interest because they would really that much rather not have a glimmer of cognitive activity graze their televisual torpor or blissful batin' bubble or whatever.
This job would be great is it wasn't for all the fuckin' customers.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:12 AM on May 9, 2010 [4 favorites]
Humor should be immune from discusion and critical analysis? Good call. I'm sure that'll go over like gangbusters in the next slur-oriented MeTa thread. Maybe we can farm this brain trust out to a fascist government for a sarcasm bureau. Unquestionable social sarcasm for the masses could be really dope.
Seriously, I'm not about to give any piece of entertainment or mass media a pass ever and if that makes me a party pooper, fine. I'm an intellectually curious party pooper, then, in search of srs lulz. As a media studies person, I basically have to be interested in how media works for the rest of my life even though people think it's fine to randomly patronize me for my interest because they would really that much rather not have a glimmer of cognitive activity graze their televisual torpor or blissful batin' bubble or whatever.
This job would be great is it wasn't for all the fuckin' customers.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:12 AM on May 9, 2010 [4 favorites]
Ambrosia Voyeur: an intellectually curious party pooper in search of srs lulz.
posted by finite at 6:24 PM on May 9, 2010
posted by finite at 6:24 PM on May 9, 2010
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