Poll: Who's better at comedy? Brits or Americans?

[dimensional]

Britain for me while I enjoy a wide range of comedy I believe Britain generally produces the better material, stand up ,sketch show and sitcom wise anyway. For animation comedy shows I will take the USA output (stupid but not dumb) and Japanese anime (bizarre and slapstick).

 

[D Builder]

US. 10 Reasons:

1) Richard Pryor
2) Bob Newhart
3) Jerry Seinfeld
4) Bill Cosby
5) Eddie Murphy

6) Larry David
7) Lilly Tomlin
8) Chris Rock
9) Ron White
10) Tina Fey

 

[alandavidson]

Comedy, as is with an other artistic medium (or even porn for that matter), is subjective. What some find funny, others find lame. For example, I don't like The Office, but I think Southpark is hilarious.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

British do Dark Comedy better.
Americans do Light Comedy better.

Only the Americans could have produced Friends. Only the British could have produced Monty Python's Flying Circus.

And the Americans nail us completely on Drama, while we smash them at Historicals.

 

[JdaS]

It's quite the even match in my books. British comedy can be either hilarious or just awkward and unfunny.

A good example (which I might want to put the old flameshield on for) would be The (original) Office, which I was persuaded by a co-worker to watch because it was "funny and better than the American version". I didn't like it. I got it, I knew what the tone they were going for was, but it just didn't really hit me. The American version did.

I could go on but if I did I'd be here forever. Both sides have their strenghts and weaknesses, funny people and outright talentless hacks who have no business near a comedy club. For me, at least, it's a tie.

Being from Finland I might add that our comedy is usually only funny when Swedish people are involved.

 

[coppah20HE]

I believe this may be Relevant

 

[Pinkamena]

Monty Python, Black Adder, Little Britain, the Office.
Need I say more?

 

[Smurf McSmurfington]

Brits, hands down. This isn't even much of a contest.

 

[Musclepunch]

The U.K all the way, Alan partridge narrowly beats will and grace for me

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

You have to remember the internet people. Almost all the good funny webcomics are american, almost all the comedy websites are american.

Plus the americans win hands down when it comes to stand up comedy.

If your talking tv shows, the british win. The british pass the finish line before the americans take the first fucking step.

I can't decide, so I'm calling it a tie.

 

[RaNDM G]

They're both funny for different reasons, but I prefer American stand-up comedy.

 

[cakedcrusader]

We have Russell Howard, Lee Evans, Micheal Mcyntygfvcxyihvkb;,nmhctyifulgkhn,m (can't spell his name okay.)

 

[Aprilgold]

Completely depends on what style of comedy you are after. They generally have vastly different styles.

Buuuut the British have Red Dwarf, Monty Python and Mr Gervais so I gotta go with the crumpet eaters.

Really, I thought they all ate TEA!

It was funny to me.
Brits are just naturally more funny, I have more foreignors subscribed on my Youtube that LP games then Americans.

americans can do cartoon comedy (south park etc) but brits do way better stand up and sketch shows.
i don't really 'get' a lot of american comedy, it seems a bit petty, kind of.
and we brits have the inbetweeners

Trust me, it is petty.

 

[Nixitur]

Definitely Brits.
My favorite comedians are the members of Monty Python and Eddie Izzard, so that's that.
I'm just not particularly fond of American comedians.

 

[NoOne852]

I do think that both sides are great, but as it has been said before in this thread, the material from my country has more appeal simply because it's more attuned to my cultural context, so I will have to lean torwards American comedy.