The Funniest American Stand-Up Comedy


   

The laughDB database is dedicated to the funniest comedy movies, stand-up comedy and TV series.

This section is for stand-up comedy sets from the USA. By default they are presented starting with the ones ranking highest on the laugh-o-meter, but you can also sort them by year, title or IMDB rating.


Funniest American Comedies sorted by Laugh-o-meter (descending) / page 4 of 10


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Bill Cosby: 49 DVDBill Cosby: 49
      1987 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.1
      

The main theme for most of this show is aging—what happens to the body, to the mind, and to marriage. As a bonus theme, Bill throws in a segment about joining the navy. It's good because it's Bill, but the two themes are stretched a bit thin over the show's 65 minutes. Worth watching once. (Last viewed: September 2013)

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Bill Cosby: Far from Finished posterBill Cosby: Far from Finished
      2013 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.8
      

Maybe I was tired, but for me the first 30 minutes of this show was a bit of a yawner. When I picked it up the next day, Bill made me laugh, and apart from a few long moments, it was a delight until the end. The main themes (the wife, kids) will be well familiar to those who have seen Bill's other sets. (Last viewed: June 2015)

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Bill Hicks: One Night Stand DVDBill Hicks: One Night Stand
      1991 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 8.2
      wikipedia

This half-hour show contains mostly the same material as the 90-minute Sane Man from two years earlier, but without the most vulgar segments, without the drawn-out sound effects, and with higher video production quality. It's a better show in almost every way, and probably a good introduction to Bill Hicks, who shares his views on topics such as tobacco and drugs. I still don't find it terribly funny, but it's worth watching once. (Last viewed: January 2013)

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Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now DVDEllen DeGeneres: Here and Now
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.7
      wikipedia

I enjoyed this set. The first half is strongest. Much of the show has to do with how things have changed, a topic you'll enjoy if you're in Ellen's age bracket—give or take ten years on either side. Ellen loses steam somewhere in the middle and hits the bottom with a toilet joke (nothing too vulgar mind you). She then recovers to deliver a final message that wraps the show by coming full circle: "procrastinate now." Not many stand-up sets can claim to have a message, and among those that do, this one has the most compelling that I've heard. The comic power of this show may not be explosive, but if you choose to watch this bright comedian for the one hour of Here and Now, you're unlikely to regret it. (Last viewed: September 2013)

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George Carlin: Playin' with Your Head DVDGeorge Carlin: Playin' with Your Head
      1986 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 8.1
      wikipedia

I don't particularly care for the show's wrapper, a film noir segment called "The Envelope", but the show itself delivers laughs. Some of the jokes in the show don't work for me, but several segments (such as those on greetings and lost things) are quite effective. (Last viewed: August 2010)

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George Carlin: You Are All Diseased DVDGeorge Carlin: You Are All Diseased
      1999 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 8.6
      wikipedia

An older George Carlin seems wholly disillusioned with the human species. The playfulness of the earlier years is gone, replaced by a caustic anger that still triggers laughter, if you can take the violence.

My favorite themes on this DVD: children (how parents make too much fuss about them), religion (why George worships the sun and prefers fairy tales). Other themes: honesty in American society, Bill Clinton, the fuss over germs, airport security overkill (pre 9/11). (Last viewed: August 2010)

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George Carlin: Jammin' in New York DVDGeorge Carlin: Jammin' in New York
      1992 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 8.7
      wikipedia

Although it is not one of the funniest, this is one of Carlin's very best shows. In some sets, the material feels a bit used and tired. Not in this one. Masterfully, George weaves his comical critique of assorted topics offering windows into human stupidity, topics such as American foreign policy, superfluous words, safety instructions in airplanes, golf, and the planet. By watching this set two or three times, a young mind could improve her thinking far more than by reading the New York Times for a year. A classic for the ages. (Last viewed: October 2013)

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Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale DVDJim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 8.0
      wikipedia

Gaffigan addresses a square-looking, middle class, mostly white audience, on topics suitable for the prude (food, the holidays, celebrations, gifts and church), and in a language devoid of profanity. I enjoyed the absence of curse words for a break from comedians who run on expletives and bodily functions. I didn't feel mentally stimulated after watching Jim's show (unlike shows by Carlin, Izzard and Stanhope), but I felt good because I had laughed. Jim alternates between his strong Irish-American voice and a fledging voice meant to be the inner dialogue of an audience member. It's not very funny at first, but the technique gets some mileage by the end as the show builds up. I'd watch this again in ten years. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Richard Pryor: Live in Concert DVDRichard Pryor: Live in Concert
      1979 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 8.2
      wikipedia

When this show was taped, Pryor's "white people do this… black people do that" routine and use of foul language may have been cutting-edge material. Today, these aspects of the show feel tired. But there's lots left to like, from the skits about hunting in the woods and about boxing with Mohammed Ali to the fact that Richard is just a beautiful, mesmerizing performer. Just for those, I'd watch this tape again in ten years. A few laughs guaranteed, smiles throughout. (Last viewed: November 2010)

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Robert Klein Revisited DVDRobert Klein Revisited
      1977 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.0
      

It always intrigues me to see how far you can go back in time and still find a stand-up comedy set funny. There is a point at which you no longer relate to the material, the decor looks too odd, even the comedian's voice and intonations sound alien. With poor comedy, the loss of connection happens a lot sooner. For me, this nearly 40-year-old set still has something, but that might be different for someone born in 1998. Klein drops a few names that have long since receded from the limelight, but that doesn't really matter as Klein's material is largely of the general (though probably not universal) kind that can survive several generations. I laughed a few times and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Among other talents, Klein has great control of his voice—he even sings beautifully. That being said, don't expect an intense experience fueled by rapid-fire jokes. This is a show to watch if you're not feeling at your mental prime and are in the mood for something comfortable that is not too challenging. (Last viewed: September 2013)

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Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion DVDZach Galifianaki's: Live at the Purple Onion
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia

This show combines takes from a comedy set in a small San Francisco club with a mock interview of Zach pretending to be his own twin brother. At first I found the stand-up awful (with Zach, acting hung-over, barely managing two weak jokes a minute), then I realized it was an exercise in "let's make it so bad that it becomes good", complete with Zach complaining that the DVD would be ruined because of how poorly the show was going, and it became quite funny. This is a DVD that feels like a draft—unpolished, full of holes, but it ends up working, and I smiled for most of the show. (Last viewed: September 2013)

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Robert Klein: Child of the 50's, Man of the 80'sRobert Klein: Child of the 50's, Man of the 80's
      1984 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.2
      

Robert Klein seems to be a member of the illustrious Awful Prologue Association, which also includes George Carlin and Eddie Izzard: before the stand-up set starts, the tape shows a short segment of an unbearable musical number.

This is a very pleasant set, partly because of Robert Klein's charm and talent, partly because it contains very little that could be considered vulgar, and partly because of its genuine 1980s atmosphere. If you expect a relaxing hour rather than intense laughter of the stomach-cramping kind, you'll probably enjoy it. (I did laugh several times.)

The segment on child birth was funny, but it brought home that since those days, comedians have gone deeper into such topics, which, along with other aspects of relationships, used to be a bit taboo. Louis CK comes to mind.

There was a very funny segment about a comedian telling a joke in English but delivering the punchline in Yiddish.

The 1980s hair of the ladies in the audience was something to behold, as was the orchestra that accompanied Robert near the end. Robert could have been a professional singer—he has a superb voice. And though I am usually not a fan of musical comedy, he makes it work, for instance with Can't Stop My Leg, which ends this set as it did his 1977 set, Robert Klein Revisited. (Last viewed: September 2013)

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George Carlin: Again! DVDGeorge Carlin: Again!
      1978 | USA | Laughs: 5.9 | imdb: 8.2
      wikipedia

A good show that I would not bother watching if you've seen George's Best Stuff. A gorgeous circular stage shows us a forty-year-old Carlin at his most animated as he whirls around to face different sections of the audience. I liked the segments about time measurements and about Al the weatherman. The show ends with what is perhaps the longest and best taped rendition of the "dirty words" routine. The credits roll as Carlin dances madly on the stage to an Irish tune, giving the audience another excuse to exhaust itself in applause. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Bill Hicks: Sane Man DVDBill Hicks: Sane Man
      1989 | USA | Laughs: 5.9 | imdb: 8.4
      

This show has some very funny moments. It also has some very gross moments and some otherwise annoying moments. On the funny side, it's not all that common that a show that is nearly 25 years old (at the time of viewing) can make me laugh. That's a sign of the comedian's care to seek out "universal" material and to avoid drawing too much on current events—comedians that do irritate me. Bill seems to love sound effects, and he uses his microphone to animate his skits. Sometimes that works, often it gets annoying, especially when he simulates explosions or launches into a loud rendition of a popular song or an electric guitar. The video editing is also unpleasant, with lots of amateurish effects such as frames merging or rotating. About halfway through the show I was enjoying myself, but by the end Bill had piled on so much vulgar material that he had depleted his early goodwill, and I no longer felt I'd want to recommend the set or watch it again. For most people, One-Night Stand, which contains most of the same material but without the most vulgar and annoying bits will be a better (and shorter) show to watch. (Last viewed: January 2013)

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Bill Burr: Walk Your Way Out posterBill Burr: Walk Your Way Out
      2017 | USA | Laughs: 5.8 | imdb: 7.3
      

While this show had some laughs and I'd still recommend watching it, the two of us found it much inferior to Bill's previous set, I'm Sorry You Feel That Way. To start with, for some reason Bill seemed to be yelling for the whole set, which was hard on the ear. That Bill was a bit out of touch with the audience is understandable (the show was taped in Memphis), but some weaker bits seemed to go on for too long. In other words, he seemed to be a tad out of touch with delivery and his own sense of what makes people laugh, critical talents in a stand-up comedian. I hope this is only a rough patch and that Bill bounces back with a spectacular show. At the moment, he seems to need a break from the comedy circuit, and I certainly wish him that—a relaxing sabbatical to recharge his creative juices. (Last viewed: June 2017)

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(This section: Funniest American Comedies)


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