Quotes About Comedy

I can't speak for every American comic, but for me, a great show is its own reward. Comedy is too subjective for awards.

Comedy is subjective, and any joke can be funny.

Comedy is subjective, so if you don't like it, that's fine.

Humor is a very personal, subjective thing.

In comedy, it's so subjective; there is no right or wrong.

I want to be part of movies that have important and interesting subjects but are not depressing and are rather satirical and funny.

I think what's happening is that women are allowed to be funnier as we stop pretending that there are subjects that they shouldn't address.

It's important that comedians talk about difficult and dangerous subjects; you have to be very careful that you don't just hear the subject heading and think, oh, this is bad, they shouldn't be talking about that. You have to hear what's being said.

Now, I'm not onboard with the argument that jokes are destructive to humanity. There are bigger issues, and I do not necessarily subscribe to the belief that jokes perpetuate violence and racism. They lampoon those things most of the time. But I could be wrong about that. I'm not a sociologist or an expert.

For other comics, it's about full-spectrum dominance, being on panel shows and having one-liners and being a good chat show guest and having a good seven minutes you can do on 'Live At The Apollo.' But I really think about these subsequent finished pieces, you know? And they don't always chop up well into one-liners and routines.

It's 103 comedians, or however many it is, and how would everyone tell it. It's enough people of substance that it makes you think of the people who aren't there that are alive.

I knew that this was what I wanted to talk about on stage. There was no point being coy about it, or pretending that I wasn't gay. That was the substance of my whole act. If you took that away, there would be nothing left.

I think Chappelle set the bar when he came out with his show. To be as great as him or greater you have to push it a little further - as long as there's substance in terms of the material.

If I could sew comedy and philosophy together, then I've done a good job. The primary goal is always going to be laughs and the secondary goal is always going to be saying something without it being a lecture. I think it's important to have substance for what you're saying.

You can't substitute the act of making people laugh. It's definitely something that actors like to do.

This is why improvisational music and comedy is so inspiring: You are seeing something being born, and that energy, there is no substitute for. These songs, most of them, are about a minute old when you hear them.

When I used to watch comedians with my dad, he laid it all out for me. He wanted to be a comedian himself, and he was so funny. We'd watch stand-up on TV, and he'd tell me the subtext of what they were saying.

I learned that you don't have to be all over the place, that you can be subtle and you can say what you say. The words that you put together can be just as hilarious as falling all over the place or doing something.

The Marx Brothers isn't subtle, and that's hilarious.

I like a naturalism to my dialogue and my comedy. I would rather have a few jokes sail by that might be more subtle than have every single joke hit hard. I would rather the comedy come out of character as opposed to feeling forced. Even if you're giving some laughs up for it.

Comedy is a man's art form. It pretty much came from a time, post-World War II really - the 1950s are not really known for the subtle expressions of feminine life.

I love comedies, both broad and subtle.

You can't instruct an audience to laugh, but what you can do is read well and understand the spirit and subtleties, if there are any, in the dialogue.

Both my comedy partner, Steve Punt - who grew up in Reigate and is the son of a civil servant - and I come from similarly suburban backgrounds, and its really what fuels our comedy.