Ali G

Joth · 05-29-2003, 06:26 PM

Have any of you seen the Ali G in the USAiiiiiiii series?
He is adored over here in the UK, but the Americans don't seem to get him. Is that true? Do you find him funny?
I personally find him hilarious, but that certainly doesn't go for all Brits.

Odd_Bloke · 05-29-2003, 06:27 PM

As another Brit, I find some of his stuff funny, other stuff is just dumb.

OUt of interest, do you guys get irony?

juju · 05-29-2003, 08:06 PM

Of course we get irony. I've never heard of Ali G, though.

xoxoxoBruce · 05-29-2003, 08:15 PM

What I don't get, is the British getting such a laugh out of men in dresses.

Odd_Bloke · 05-29-2003, 08:18 PM

Which particular men in dresses are you referring to?

xoxoxoBruce · 05-29-2003, 08:28 PM

That seems to be a standard routine with Brit comics.

Odd_Bloke · 05-29-2003, 08:33 PM

/me doesn't know what British comics you have been watching.

Most comics will probably have ended up in a skirt at one time or another, but that is generally not their main joke which they use regularly. Why? Because it is crap. Check out some Monty Python or Morecambe & Wise. Or any British sitcoms. Rarely will you find men wearing skirts.

juju · 05-29-2003, 08:41 PM

You mean like Kids in the Hall?

Odd_Bloke · 05-29-2003, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by juju
You mean like Kids in the Hall?

Never heard of it.

Undertoad · 05-29-2003, 09:07 PM

Monty Python didn't have men in skirts? You had better review those tapes sir. They practically invented it!

Odd_Bloke · 05-29-2003, 09:12 PM

Relatively few of their sketches had it. And none of the ones that come to my mind immediately. Also note, men in skirts are acceptable when they are playing a character.

elSicomoro · 05-29-2003, 09:34 PM

I've seen him a couple of times, though he is on HBO here...and I don't subscribe to it. I think it's great.

British humor is hit and miss with Americans. Some get it, some don't. Some people think AbFab is great, some can't understand a word of it.

Never heard of Kids in the Hall? It was a Canadian sketch comedy show that ran in the late '80s and early '90s. Funny stuff. Like Monty Python, but Canadian.

My favorite sketch show of all time is still The State.

Joth · 05-30-2003, 05:17 AM

Men in dresses has rarely been used in british comedy as a stand alone gag, but mostly to reinforce the existing joke.
Wherever MP used a man dressed as a woman to play a woman, it reinforced the ludicrousy of a situation, reinforcing the comedy. Go back and watch some of those sketches again, and imagine how different they'd be if the women were actually played by women.

Uryoces · 05-30-2003, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Undertoad
Monty Python didn't have men in skirts? You had better review those tapes sir. They practically invented it!

The Women's Auxilliary re-enacting the battle of Trafalgar? Re-enacting Pearl Harbor? Mrs. Premise, and Mrs. Conclusion? "I don't like Spam!"? Mr. Pither's rendition of "Old Fashion Girl"?

Undertoad · 05-30-2003, 04:26 PM

"I object to all this sex on the Television, I mean, I keep falling off!"

Hell's Grannies.

"Ooh, Mrs. Knickerbaiter's exploded!"

Anne Elk's theory. "Ahem. My theory, which is mine, and which I have had, that is to say, a theory,..." A rare bit of Cleese in drag.

Not to mention the ever-popular Lumberjack Song.

05-29-2003, 06:26 PM	#1
Joth Jotter of Notes Join Date: May 2003 Location: UK Posts: 11	Ali G Have any of you seen the Ali G in the USAiiiiiiii series? He is adored over here in the UK, but the Americans don't seem to get him. Is that true? Do you find him funny? I personally find him hilarious, but that certainly doesn't go for all Brits. __________________ Now I am nimble, now I fly, now I see myself under myself, now a god dances with me.

05-29-2003, 06:27 PM	#2
Odd_Bloke Resident Denizen Join Date: May 2003 Location: Peterborough, UK Posts: 60	As another Brit, I find some of his stuff funny, other stuff is just dumb. OUt of interest, do you guys get irony? __________________ "I am after all," said Pooh, "a bear of little brain." - A.A. Milne

05-29-2003, 08:15 PM	#4
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	What I don't get, is the British getting such a laugh out of men in dresses. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

05-29-2003, 08:18 PM	#5
Odd_Bloke Resident Denizen Join Date: May 2003 Location: Peterborough, UK Posts: 60	Which particular men in dresses are you referring to? __________________ "I am after all," said Pooh, "a bear of little brain." - A.A. Milne

05-29-2003, 08:28 PM	#6
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	That seems to be a standard routine with Brit comics. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

05-29-2003, 08:06 PM	#3
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	Of course we get irony. I've never heard of Ali G, though.

05-29-2003, 08:33 PM	#7
Odd_Bloke Resident Denizen Join Date: May 2003 Location: Peterborough, UK Posts: 60	/me doesn't know what British comics you have been watching. Most comics will probably have ended up in a skirt at one time or another, but that is generally not their main joke which they use regularly. Why? Because it is crap. Check out some Monty Python or Morecambe & Wise. Or any British sitcoms. Rarely will you find men wearing skirts. __________________ "I am after all," said Pooh, "a bear of little brain." - A.A. Milne

05-29-2003, 08:41 PM	#8
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	You mean like Kids in the Hall?

05-29-2003, 09:07 PM	#10
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Monty Python didn't have men in skirts? You had better review those tapes sir. They practically invented it!

05-29-2003, 09:12 PM	#11
Odd_Bloke Resident Denizen Join Date: May 2003 Location: Peterborough, UK Posts: 60	Relatively few of their sketches had it. And none of the ones that come to my mind immediately. Also note, men in skirts are acceptable when they are playing a character. __________________ "I am after all," said Pooh, "a bear of little brain." - A.A. Milne

05-29-2003, 09:34 PM	#12
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	I've seen him a couple of times, though he is on HBO here...and I don't subscribe to it. I think it's great. British humor is hit and miss with Americans. Some get it, some don't. Some people think AbFab is great, some can't understand a word of it. Never heard of Kids in the Hall? It was a Canadian sketch comedy show that ran in the late '80s and early '90s. Funny stuff. Like Monty Python, but Canadian. My favorite sketch show of all time is still The State.

05-30-2003, 05:17 AM	#13
Joth Jotter of Notes Join Date: May 2003 Location: UK Posts: 11	Men in dresses has rarely been used in british comedy as a stand alone gag, but mostly to reinforce the existing joke. Wherever MP used a man dressed as a woman to play a woman, it reinforced the ludicrousy of a situation, reinforcing the comedy. Go back and watch some of those sketches again, and imagine how different they'd be if the women were actually played by women. __________________ Now I am nimble, now I fly, now I see myself under myself, now a god dances with me.

05-30-2003, 04:26 PM	#15
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	"I object to all this sex on the Television, I mean, I keep falling off!" Hell's Grannies. "Ooh, Mrs. Knickerbaiter's exploded!" Anne Elk's theory. "Ahem. My theory, which is mine, and which I have had, that is to say, a theory,..." A rare bit of Cleese in drag. Not to mention the ever-popular Lumberjack Song.

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