» Will it always be funny?
Victoria Nangle thinks funny now might not be funny later – and vice versa
It’s funny the way one person gets a joke and another just simply doesn’t see the point. I’ve been on both ends of this phenomenon – both telling a gag that others have got previously and on this occasion gazed into a sea of uncomprehending faces, and I’ve been an uncomprehending face amongst a sea of laughter. Neither is particularly nice. I know I’m just one small tweak away from nirvana and somehow it’s eluding me. And I don’t think I’m the only one this happens to. In fact I know I’m not, as when I don’t get it there’s usually a mate sitting next to me not getting it too, and when others don’t get me – well, I’ve seen other people with a good idea that’s ‘going to be’ a gag on that journey before it properly becomes funny.
“I’ve seen people with a good idea that’s ‘going to be’ a gag on that journey before it properly becomes funny”
One of the key factors between what looks like it could be funny and what actually is funny are the precise words used in delivery. It may look as if the pros are just coming up with this genius off the top of their heads, but if you listen again at their next gig you’ll find the actual laughter bit is exactly the same wording. Everything matters when you string that bad boy together, from how many words you use to set up the joke to how many syllables are in the punchline. One syllable? Pow! Three? More than a bit clunky. If the punchline had a choice between ‘couch’ or ‘sofa’, which do you think would hit the hardest? I know it sounds petty now but next time you’re watching a stand-up comic you think is good, try picking out a killer punchline of theirs and paraphrasing it. That’s the difference between a potential laugh and a great big giggle from an audience.
And maybe it’s the same with the gags I just don’t get. My brain hasn’t made that leap from something that is almost there, in my mind, to something that’s mega hilarious. But everyone else’s has? Except my mate’s? I could be stretching it a tad there. Maybe I’ll just have to come to terms with the fact there are some laughs I just don’t get. Which is alright. If everything everyone else laughed at made me laugh too, my sides would never have time to recover. I like having my own taste. If we were all the same we’d never get the great new stuff.
