In a recent pole, published... somewhere, Billy Connolly (aka The Big Yin) has been voted the top British standup comedian of all time.
Quite right too! The man is a bloody genius.
Billy is the first standup comedian I can remember enjoying. Since then, I have loved virtually everything he has ever done. Like so many others, I have laughed to the point of physical pain when watching him. The hair, the beard, the swearing and the cheeky rudeness all combine to make him hysterically funny. I love his chatty style, making those in the audience feel like they are having a quiet chat to him in the pub. He radiates an easy warmth an charm both on stage and during interview which - from afar at least - makes him seem like a genuine, intelligent, sensitive and really nice bloke. I also love the fact that his shows are largely unscripted. According to his biography, he was challenged (and succeeded) to do two entirely different shows on consecutive days.
As well as this recent award; he has the dubious distinction of being one of the few (if not the only) comedian that can make my mother roar with laughter.
Of course he is not just a standup. Despite a lifelong desire to be funny, he was first a welder then a member of a folk band who told jokes in between songs to pass the time. More recently he has turned to acting in films. Two of my favourite are The Man Who Sued God and Mrs Brown.
The Man Who Sued God casts him as a lawyer and takes a cheeky poke at insurance companies who blame "acts of god to avoid paying out". It has the potential to go badly wrong either by being too po-faced or too flippant. Fortunately, in my opinion, the line was tread perfectly and the film managed to be thought-provoking as well as funny.
Mrs Brown needs no description beyond my urging you to see it if you haven't already. This showed Billy could play it straight as well as funny. Better casting I could not envisage.
I have always loved laughing and had great admiration for those that can make others laugh. Billy is a whole different kettle of fish. His ability to be breathtakingly funny is incredible. Long may it continue.
JR
Quite right too! The man is a bloody genius.
Billy is the first standup comedian I can remember enjoying. Since then, I have loved virtually everything he has ever done. Like so many others, I have laughed to the point of physical pain when watching him. The hair, the beard, the swearing and the cheeky rudeness all combine to make him hysterically funny. I love his chatty style, making those in the audience feel like they are having a quiet chat to him in the pub. He radiates an easy warmth an charm both on stage and during interview which - from afar at least - makes him seem like a genuine, intelligent, sensitive and really nice bloke. I also love the fact that his shows are largely unscripted. According to his biography, he was challenged (and succeeded) to do two entirely different shows on consecutive days.
As well as this recent award; he has the dubious distinction of being one of the few (if not the only) comedian that can make my mother roar with laughter.
Of course he is not just a standup. Despite a lifelong desire to be funny, he was first a welder then a member of a folk band who told jokes in between songs to pass the time. More recently he has turned to acting in films. Two of my favourite are The Man Who Sued God and Mrs Brown.
The Man Who Sued God casts him as a lawyer and takes a cheeky poke at insurance companies who blame "acts of god to avoid paying out". It has the potential to go badly wrong either by being too po-faced or too flippant. Fortunately, in my opinion, the line was tread perfectly and the film managed to be thought-provoking as well as funny.
Mrs Brown needs no description beyond my urging you to see it if you haven't already. This showed Billy could play it straight as well as funny. Better casting I could not envisage.
I have always loved laughing and had great admiration for those that can make others laugh. Billy is a whole different kettle of fish. His ability to be breathtakingly funny is incredible. Long may it continue.
JR
No comments:
Post a Comment