Funny Business: Stand-Up Comedy Not Getting Any Easier

I recently saw the hit movie "Funny People." The situational comedy movie starring Adam Sandler chronicles the lives and times of several veteran and up and coming stand up comedians. Several of the scenes in the movie depict the joke writing process that jokesmiths go through while trying to develop their acts. While watching the movie, I found that my once-burning desire to explore comedy was rekindled. Twenty years ago, at the age of 20, a couple of people encouraged me to try my hand at stand up. As a young and not very focused young man, I figured that I would get around to giving it a shot someday. Now at the tender age of forty, I again pondered my chances of breaking into the laugh business and realized my challenge had grown harder in the time that had passed.

Most professions, you see, have become easier with time. Take the medical profession for instance. In prehistoric times, a broken leg meant the patient would be left for dead so as not to slow down the clan in its everlasting quest for food and safety. Later, in the time of the plague, doctors had to simply guess if a patient had fallen victim to the illness and the only available treatment consisted of wrapping ones head with a cloth to protect others from catching the Black Death. Even in the 19th and early 20th centuries, doctors were handicapped by the lack of effective drugs to treat people. Even if a diagnosis of infection could be made, without antibiotics, doctors were basically powerless to do anything about it. Fast forward to today and a doctor has at his disposal thousand of diagnostic tests and even more specialized drugs with which to treat illnesses and diseases. People are being saved from formerly fatal sicknesses at such a rate that now global overpopulation is a major concern. Epidemics and pandemics are now swiftly dealt with and even many a malaise once considered terminal such as HIV and cancer have been dealt blows by ever improving treatment options.

Another job that has become easier over time is manual labor. In ancient civilizations, like that of Egypt, laborers that built structures like the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids typically were worked so hard that they perished at their posts. Many an Egyptian laborer is buried where he died while building a temple or tomb. In the early history of the United States, as the country extended the western reaches of its borders, workers slaved up to eighteen hours a day while laying railroad tracks for our growing transportation needs. By contrast, in present municipalities, five city workers are typically sent to complete a job that one could easily do. Quick, think about how many times you've seen city employees on the clock standing around doing nothing. Did you count more than a couple of occasions? I know I did. Manual labor has come to mean driving around in an expensive truck acting like your doing something rather than back breaking shovel work.

Comedy, on the other hand, is one of the few endeavors that has become increasingly harder to perform. In ancient Greece, comedy simply meant not a tragedy. I picture two ancient Greeks discussing whether a play they had seen was a comedy or a tragedy. If the main character didn't die, one reasons, then it was a comedy. Comedy evolved to court jesters in medieval times juggling and performing acrobatic feats for laughs. A couple of limericks and few songs entailed such an entertainer's set. In the early 20th century, slapstick became the prevalent form of humor. From the Keystone Kops to the Three Stooges, chuckles were elicited with punches to the gut, kicks to the groin and a seemingly endless supply of pies to the face. Believe me, no one is a bigger fan of the Stooges than I, but I don't envision Moe sitting up at night toiling over how many times he would slug Curly in the next day's show. Humor evolved to other physical comedians like Jerry Lewis and Gallagher. Seriously, how hard do you think Gallagher actually worked on his act? Picture him sitting at home thinking about what fruit would fall prey to the ever popular Sledge-o-matic in that night's stand up. Gallagher amassed a small fortune doing nightclubs and comedy specials in the 1980's, but let's face it, cerebral is not a term that comes to mind when watching a group of front row idiots at a Gallagher show wearing ponchos like they are getting ready to watch Shamu jump for fish at Sea World. More recently, however, comedians have become something of an intelligent crowd. Moving from George Carlin to Dennis Miller through Bill Hicks and Adam Carolla, the torch of heady observational comedy has been passed down.

The challenge of being a valid comedian has grown exponentially rather than arithmetically. I can no more punch a willing straight man in the stomach than use a jackhammer to smash fruit and call it the jack-o-matic and expect to be successful. To be funny today, you have to make witty jokes about the world and its current state of affairs. Whether he realizes it or not, guys like Carolla spend countless hours watching media and gathering material for his comedy. Dennis Miller's act is information filled and educated almost to the point of being inaccessible to some less schooled.

My point is this; if becoming a comedian is your goal, waiting 10 or 20 years could prove fatal to your ambitions. If I had only got myself in gear 20 years ago, I may have been able to sell some less sophisticated humor. Oh to be 20 again, young, alive and able to work a jackhammer.