The ten most overrated stand up comedians of all time...

[Willy Wanker]

I think Seinfeld is the worst mainstream comic ever. His act is unbelievably bad.

I would say George Lopez is the worst mainstream comic of all-time. His sitcom was pretty funny, but his stand up is so bad it's cringe worthy. He isn't overrated because everyone already acknowledges how bad he sucks.

[The Noose]

2. Bill Hicks

The guy, making up his entire act out of old Dennis Leary routines,

Is this a joke? Im pretty sure it was the other way around.

[!! Anorak]

Is this a joke? Im pretty sure it was the other way around.

Yeah, I was being silly. I sometimes wish Bill Hicks was still alive and on Twatter so I could ask him why he ripped off Denis Leary.

[!! Anorak]

3. Robin Williams

What people tend to forget about Williams, post his death, is that he was effectively in the wilderness for several years. Although looking back at his filmography there was a lot better stuff in there than I'd recalled, no one ever says "I really fancy watching Jack tonight", and his name had become a byword for "sucky movies", so much so that Jim Carrey, a Williams clone, was getting his roles. Everyone expected Williams to be the Riddler, and... nah.

Since his death, the guy's a poster boy for understanding depression (which is actually a GOOD thing) but I've also seen stuff retroactively praised. While I thought Mork and Mindy was fun, I've never seen it regarded as all-time great TV until he died. We're not QUITE at the stage where people are saying "you know, maybe Patch Adams wasn't THAT bad..." but it's getting close.

So, his stand up? I just watched some, and some of the stuff they don't show on regular TV (such as his talk about porn) is actually pretty amusing, even though there's a sense that (rightly, it turns out in hindsight) his stuff is very much an "act", and that he's putting on a front. All comedians do, of course, but with him it's more pronounced, and his vocal theatrics convince you that what he's saying is funnier than it actually is.

If you examine the content of his act, it's all very reactionary, confirming stereotypes about predictable, easy targets (Michael Jackson, the Middle East...) from a very Americanocentric viewpoint. He doesn't challenge his audience, he tells them what they want to hear.

It also can't go without saying that he was a notorious joke thief, regularly paying off small time comedians he or his team would hear in halls, after claiming to "unconsciously appropriate" their material. One of his most famous routines, about the Swiss Army, was stolen pretty much verbatim from a comedian far lower down the pecking order, who then suddenly found himself with half his act that he couldn't do. I bet these comedians felt like I feel whenever I see a new thread by Weltzsmerch.

This has been a long and unexpectedly serious rant, so I'll close off by citing my least favourite (favorite, FY) routine of his: "My Buddy Beercules":



"You ever see that guy Beercules, huh? The other day we got stopped by concerned autograph hunters who thought it was Keanu Reeves with a wasting disease. 'Hey skinny Keanu, do you have AIDS?' Oh, those poor mistaken people. But I blame Beercules for a lot of his own troubles. The other day I took him out to a nightclub, and there was a sign on the door saying 'no ****s allowed'. I took one look at the guy and said 'maybe we'd better try elsewhere, nanu nanu...'"

[!! Anorak]

George Carlin isn't overrated, cmon man

Seriously, he's smug, arrogant, and looks like a fiddler.

"There are seven swear words..."

There's more, George. And it's ironic you've never heard of "**** hawk".

[4Corners]

Dane Cook.....I have no idea why anyone thinks that guy is funny.

Pryor is the GOAT. Chappelle is one of the best in the modern-ish era for me.

[!! Anorak]

Dane Cook.....I have no idea why anyone thinks that guy is funny.

I'd never heard of him until just now. Jesus wept. I'm not a philistine who expects punchline/feedline, but where are the JOKES????

[!! Anorak]

4. Lee Evans



Okay, I thought I'd better include a Green Teef stand up just so people don't think I'm being "bias". People sometimes say to me "why don't you rag on the Green Teefs more?", and I DO, but it's harder to get a bite. When Amir Khan first got KO'd, I did a thread on it, and it was just full of people applauding me and giving me green K. But if I do a thread saying "Floyd had a hair out of place", I'll get a BITE, you know? This trolling lark is hard work sometimes.

Anyway, I chose Evans because he's someone who Fat Yanks, even if they've never seen his stand up, will have heard of, generally - he's the Green Teef from "There's Something About Mary", basically. He's been in other stuff, obviously, and he seems like quite a nice guy. But his stand up?

Ah, I mean, it's OKAY. All of the comedians in this thread so far are OKAY. This isn't a thread saying they SUCK, it's just a thread saying they're OVERRATED.

Evans is actually only one of three stand ups I've seen live. I know some ****s will be like "why haven't you seen Chris Rock?", and I would like to, but he tends to do more shows in the US for obvious reasons. It reminds me of that "UK vs US stand ups - who's better?" thread, and you got daft ****s saying stuff like "I don't think these UK comedians are funny... they never talk about what it's like to live in New York."

Anyway, Evans entire schtick is pretty much that "I'm zany, me" expression that can be seen above, a kind of cut-price Green Teef Jerry Lewis (and talking of unfunny ****s...), and he marches up and down the stage, making his voice go high-pitched, a big bundle of energy, gradually pouring with more and more sweat as the night goes on.

His material? It's not that it's BAD, it's crowd-pleasing stuff, but it's so OBVIOUS. When I saw him, I laughed just once, something about those "how am I driving?" stickers you see in cars. Can't remember the details, I was just aware that a noise emanated from the back of my throat that sounded like a chuckle, as all around me people were roaring and drying tears from their easily-pleased eyes. Most of his material centres around such bog standard observations as "women like to moan and shop, don't they?" Yes they do, Lee... and..............????

You might be wondering - or you might not give a shit - as to why I saw him when I only laughed once in an entire show (one guy nearly passed out through laughing so much). Four friends of mine were going, and one of them fell ill at the last minute, saying I could have the ticket otherwise it'd go to waste. You can bet I didn't offer him any money for it.

Evans' humour is pretty "safe" and "easy". Probably my least favourite (favorite, Fat Yanks) routine of his was one he did called "My Mate Beercules":


"Oooh, blimey. Fuck me. I've got this friend called Beercules - he's a right nutter. A NUTTER. I'll say it again in a squeaky voice while walking really fast, that'll get a laugh - a NUTTER.

We were out the other day, we took the birds out. They were moaning and shopping, you ever notice that's what they like to do, those birds, eh? Anyway, this Beercules, he's like saying stuff, and I'll say he did it in a Northern accent, that'll get another laugh. Anyway, he's getting it in the ear from his bird, and I'm getting in the ear from mine. Because they like to moan women, don't they? You ever notice that? Women like moaning?

Anyway, you ever notice how sometimes you can have mates and they're a complete ****? Like you can be with women who like moaning and shopping, and then in the corner there's a bloke who's a ****? Well that's Beercules."

[4Corners]

I'd never heard of him until just now. Jesus wept. I'm not a philistine who expects punchline/feedline, but where are the JOKES????

He legit had a joke, and I use that term loosely.....but a joke that went something along the lines of this....

"You know the term B Line??? Well people use it and they walk straight forward so it looks like an I. Shouldn't it be called I Line?"

I **** you not, that's a real joke he used lol

[!! Anorak]

He legit had a joke, and I use that term loosely.....but a joke that went something along the lines of this....

"You know the term B Line??? Well people use it and they walk straight forward so it looks like an I. Shouldn't it be called I Line?"

I **** you not, that's a real joke he used lol

Jesus. I watched about five minutes of his act after you mentioned him, and it was just him describing stuff. "You notice how some people wear shoes?"