Richard Jeni shoots self in face

[Frogacuda]

Why does that matter? Does that make him funnier?

In the sense that playing baseball makes you better at baseball, yes.

[Spent]

That's a fairly hardline stance coming from someone who's... y'know... not a comic.

Trust Frog on comedy, he's jewish.

[Razor Ramon]

What's the deal with buses...?

[SpoDaddy]

From all the interviews I've heard with stand-up comics it sounds like they're all trying to break into a sitcom or movie so they don't have to go on the road anymore.

[Frogacuda]

From all the interviews I've heard with stand-up comics it sounds like they're all trying to break into a sitcom or movie so they don't have to go on the road anymore.

Yeah, those are called LA comics. That's why LA sucks.

[sleeve]

Why would I have to be a comic to have an opinion on what I like? I'm just saying the comics that I think are truly great have been very committed to it. I'm not saying "If you're a great comic and you bail, then I don't consider you a great comic any more." I'm just saying that, as far as I've seen, great comics don't bail on comedy.

I think you're begging the question of what makes a "great comic." In your mind, great comics do standup no matter how successful they get. I could point to historically great standup comics who abandoned their acts once they became famous, but then you'd shoot them down as being "not great comics." I mean, Tom Hanks doesn't do standup anymore. Is he (or was he) a lousy comic? What about Jon Stewart?

And I know you're a self-professed fan of comedy, but are you really in a position to evaluate the "pure comic" skills of people like Hanks, Stewart, Robin Williams, and other people whom I don't think have done standup for decades, yet are still thought of as "great comics"?

I also think that many comics, regardless of skill, don't regard the business of standup with as high regard as you do. It's an extraordinarily difficult art that takes a huge emotional toll on you, no matter how good you get at it. I can understand why a lot of good comics want to stop doing standup as soon as they can afford to do so. Does that make them bad comics? I don't think so.

I'm not trying to be a dick or anything, I just think this an interesting topic for discussion. I assume you've seen the movie "Comedian." I think it does a great job of exploring these two opposed attitudes toward standup comedy. On the one hand you have Jerry Seinfeld, multimillionaire comic who feels driven to return to standup despite making it big in TV. And then on the other hand you have Orny Adams, this little shit who clearly sees standup comedy as nothing but a means to an end.

[Frogacuda]

And I know you're a self-professed fan of comedy, but are you really in a position to evaluate the "pure comic" skills of people like Hanks, Stewart, Robin Williams, and other people whom I don't think have done standup for decades, yet are still thought of as "great comics"?

Again, I'm just observing a correlation, not passing a dictum. I don't think Hanks was a good stand up. Robin Williams is a thieving hack, AND he still does comedy anyway. Stewart gets on stage from time to time still, as well.

I also think that many comics, regardless of skill, don't regard the business of standup with as high regard as you do. It's an extraordinarily difficult art that takes a huge emotional toll on you, no matter how good you get at it. I can understand why a lot of good comics want to stop doing standup as soon as they can afford to do so. Does that make them bad comics? I don't think so.

I never said that it makes them bad comics. I never meant it as a cause and effect thing or a rule, just saying the comics I like seem committed to it. If Louis CK woke up tomorrow and said "I'm never going to go on stage again," it wouldn't change that he's a great comic. But I sincerely doubt he would do that.

It does take a remarkable amount of commitment to get good at stand-up comedy. People that have that commitment and make it that far tend to be in it for the long haul.

[mollipen]

Jim Carrey was completely irrelevant as a comic, though. He worked for free and did open mics and he bailed the first second someone paid him to act. Real comics keep doing it. Being on stage IS what it's all about.

Hmm.... shitty pay doing stand up, millions making movies. Shitty pay doing stand up, millions making movies. That's a tough choice.

[Port]

Hmm.... shitty pay doing stand up, millions making movies. Shitty pay doing stand up, millions making movies. That's a tough choice.

To make the choice tougher, traveling constantly and being on the road away from your family year round, or spending a month or two on location at the most... hmmmm.

[Frogacuda]

Hmm.... shitty pay doing stand up, millions making movies. Shitty pay doing stand up, millions making movies. That's a tough choice.

You can do both. And the pay's not as shitty as you think.