Anti-Humor: Difference between revisions

Obviously these work best when the audience is thoroughly familiar with the standard version of the joke/humorous situation or the formula the joke/humorous situation normally follows, though this is not always necessary. Any situation where the audience is expecting humor or something light-hearted and gets something straight, dry, and/or darker in tone instead can potentially work. Formats where a humorous twist is always expected, such as in stand-up, cartoons, sitcoms, and sketch comedy, have more latitude for this sort of humor.

 

 

Compare/contrast [[Shaggy Dog Story]] where the humor comes from a tediously long story being used to set up a weak punchline. Both types of humor stand traditional wisdom about humor on its head. Could be the source of humor in a [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]] scenario. Compare [[Bait and Switch]]. Contrast [[So Unfunny It's Funny]] where the humor is unintentionally bad but so bad it's funny. Compare [[The Comically Serious]] when it's a serious ''character'' put into a humorous context.

{{quote| '''Q:''' How can you tell if there's a blonde in a group of synchronized swimmers in a swimming pool and they're all wearing bathing caps?<br />

'''A:''' You demand they get out of the pool and remove their caps. }}

{{quote| No, but seriously folks, when Chris Christie sits around the house, he really passes laws that hurt working Americans. }}

* An unattributed joke found on the Internet employs this:

{{quote| A priest, a rabbi, a duck, a blonde, a man with a 12" pianist, and a piece of string all walk into a bar together. The bartender looks up and says, "What is this? Some kind of joke?"}}

* [[Eddie Izzard]] subverts a cliched expression, with this effect.

* There's also this old joke:

{{quote| '''A:''' Knock, knock.<br />

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

{{quote| I heard a joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life is harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world. Doctor says, "Treatment is simple. The great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. Says, "But doctor... [[Tomato Surprise|I am Pagliacci]]." Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains. }}

 

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==

* Occurs early on in the ''[[Father Ted]]'' Christmas special when Ted finds a baby [[Door Step Baby|left on the parish doorstep]]. Before Ted can bring the baby in the mother appears, takes the baby from his hands, and heads off to leave the infant with someone else. Ted muses on the [[Hilarity Ensues|hilarious hi-jinks]] the priests and the baby would have gotten up to, but stops when Dougal reminds him it wouldn't be funny.

{{quote| '''Joel''': ''You know guys, this kinda reminds me -- I've been on a seafood diet lately.''<br />

'''Servo''': ''Eh, really?''<br />

'''Joel''': ''Yeah, I'm eating a lot of fish and shrimp and stuff like that.''<br />

(The averted punchline is "I see food, I eat it.") }}

* ''[[Childrens Hospital]]'' is one giant example of this. It can have its own page of this, actually.

{{quote| '''Dr. Lola Spratt (prepping a little girl for a shot with needle, swab and everything)''': Okay, you're going to feel just a little pinch here ...(she pinches the little girl)<br />

{{quote| '''Q''': ''How many dull people does it take to screw in a light bulb?''<br />

'''A''': ''One.'' }}

{{quote| '''Humph:''' Why didn't the skeleton go to the disco?<br />

'''Graeme:''' Because he was ''dead''. }}

 

== Webcomics ==

* ''[http://morningglory.excision-gaming.com/index.php Morning Glory]'' (NSFW)

* While ''[[Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]]'' loves this trope to death, [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2178#comic this] strip strips away all but the essentials, and demonstrates exactly how it's done.

 

 

== Web Original ==

* [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/jokes-with-realistic.php This] [[Something Awful]] article.

* [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/anti-joke-chicken The Anti-Joke Chicken.]

* [http://www.themonkeysyouordered.com/ The Monkeys You Ordered] presents cartoons from ''[[The New Yorker]]'' with their captions replaced by straightforward literal descriptions.

{{quote| '''Yami:''' Wait a minute, did you just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn? That's against the rules, isn't it?<br />

'''Kaiba:''' Actually, there are several situations in which summoning multiple monsters at once can be considered totally legal in this game.<br />

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

{{quote| '''Homer''': What? I'm not allowed to get one right?}}

** Another one: Homer squirts way too much lighter fluid onto a barbeque, to the point it becomes an [[Overly Long Gag]]. He sets it alight... and it works perfectly.