Jeff Dunham: Is he funny?

[Baradiel]

Jeff Dunham and his Achmed the Dead Terrorist routine have become world famous. He has over 110 million views on ONE video on Youtube, for example.

However, despite the massive hype and reverence people seem to have for him, I don't like him. Infact, he is my most hated "comedian" if I can even describe him as one.

His act is, to put it mildly, made up of inflammatory material. He seems to shove "I Kill You" into nearly every sentence. His "jokes" are cheesy and crass, and the punchline is easily worked out before he gets to it.

To put it simply, I don't find him funny. I despise the man, simply because he drags the spotlight away from genuinely talented comedians who put more thought into a routine than "I Kill You".

However, I'm very well aware that the majority of people seem to find him hilarious, and I wondered what people on The Escapist think.

EDIT: The poll decided not work.

 

[TheBatman0808]

no, he is not funny

 

[Kagim]

I like his old man puppet act.

I don't even grin at any of the other ones.

 

[Eggsnham]

I like him; aside from the whole Achmed The Dead Terrorist routine, I think he's pretty hilarious.

My favorite character from him is probably Walter, where my least favorite is probably a tie between Achmed and "Peanut".

Achmed was funny the first time you see him, and then he's just obnoxious and doing nothing more than encouraging a stupid stereotype.

I will now rummage through my room for a flame proof shield.

 

[Yokai]

Nope. In fact, few mainstream comedians are. Jon Stewart and Robin Williams are about the only two I can stand to listen to.

 

[Mesca]

The puppets are FAR less funny than his normal standup. They're gimmicky, and only good for a cheap laugh.

 

[Stickwell]

I thought he was ok, but now he just pisses me off.

 

[demoman_chaos]

He can be funny, but he is over-quoted.

 

[Shockolate]

I only like it when he uses Walter.

Fuck Achmed.

 

[Riobux]

I found him a horrible waste of space. He wasn't funny the first time I heard him because the same "punchline" got used over and over again and for creating a "baring teeth laughter" which made jokes built upon the social anxieties, fears and anger towards Muslims. You can almost feel the hatred of Muslims in the room every time you hear a roar of laughter.

Every time someone quotes the program, I die inside knowing that to get their kicks, they prefer to hear a punchline be repeated over and over again that reinforces existing disgusting stereotypes, than something with some intelligence. I'm all for ventriloquists and American comedians, but when you're using the same punchline over and over again (see Little Britain) or creating "baring teeth laughter", I just have to draw the line.

 

[Casual Shinji]

He was funny for about 5 seconds.

Then he started to awkwardly laugh when his own stupid puppets made a joke. Here's a tip for all you wouldbe stand-up comedians out there: DON'T LAUGH AT YOUR OWN JOKES!

 

[Stairway4]

Being funny and doing funny voices are two totally different things. He isn't "clever", in that most of his jokes are obvious and stereotypical. His ventriloquism is impressive, but I don't think he's all that great of a comedian.

 

[Arkvoodle]

He doesn't aggravate me nearly as much as a lot of other "comedians."



*looking at YOU, Mencia!*

 

[Kialee]

His stand-up specials with his puppets were actually rather entertaining.
His show, though, dear God.
"LOOK AT ME I CAN BE HILARIOUSLY RACIST AND MAKE DICK JOKES."
Not even good off-key jokes, it's like he's fallen into a rut of saying '*****' every two minutes and, for some reason, believes it's funny.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

I think the Achmed the dead terrorist was really funny...once. But once it was repeated over and over and over and shirts and pins and hats are made, it got wayyyy to exposed and started to petter out. Sure he's funny to some people, but I found that one but funny, so because it was popular, giving his own show is a an easy choice. But he can't recapture the charm without just repeating the act

 

[Jroo wuz heer]

never
akhmed was never funny, not eveen for the first five seconds
his other stuff was better but thats not saying much

 

[Caradinist]

Some of his Stand-up specials were funny, and i found Achmed's simplistic get up and his routine funny the first time. But i guess it wore out as soon as he got his own show, because that's pretty much what he could work with.

How many stand-up comedians do you see coming up with brand new stuff every week for a show? Dave Chappelle managed to, and that's why his show was a colossal success. Ned Holness's tendency to take other people's jokes made him a slight replacement to Dave's show.

What isn't funny is when people decide to spew the same jokes he makes. It gets really annoying really quickly.