Lenny Bruce Isn’t Funny Anymore
I’ve known who Lenny Bruce was for as long as I can remember, but the first time I ever had any exposure to his comedy was a few years back when I watched the Dustin Hoffman biopic Lenny. I enjoyed the movie, but afterward it occurred to me I hadn’t laughed once during any of the recreations of Bruce’s performances. I wondered whether the failure lay in Hoffman’s performance or Bruce’s material.
So I went out and bought a couple of Lenny Bruce CDs. I listened dutifully, but once again I didn’t laugh at all.
It’s obvious that Lenny Bruce was an important cultural figure. “My humor is largely one of indictment,” he once said. “I’m a surgeon with a scalpel for false values.” And indeed he sliced away at a whole host of hoary taboos, including those that limited the scope of artistic expression.
But he did it while making people laugh. Which, if I’m any judge, he can no longer do — in part because, thanks to him, we’re now far too jaded for the shock value of his routines to register anymore.
Here he is on the Steve Allen show:
Is the problem just with Lenny Bruce or it is a more general phenomenon? Is all comedy perishable? What’s the shelf life for a laugh-out-loud stand-up routine? Sam Kinison’s still funny, isn’t he? How about Richard Pryor? I remember laughing till I cried when I first saw his one of his concert movies in high school, but would I still laugh now? Would a high school kid laugh now?
Looking ahead, when will Borat no longer be funny?
May 15th, 2007 at 8:01 am
I still laugh at Bob Newhart. I’ve listen to his story on the driving instructor about a dozen times (especially as my children start driving lessons).
When he starts blinking his eyes, I crack up.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Borat was NEVER funny.
May 18th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Steven Wright says he crafts his jokes to be timeless.
June 6th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
I don’t think all comedy is perishable — the Marx Brothers and Chaplin can still be laugh out loud funny. But shock humor might die a lot faster.