CARR FIRES OFF DEADLY ONE-LINERS
Slick Brit-wit in demand in North America for his pure nasty, surreal brand of humour
The late U.S. comic Henny Youngman was the undisputed master of the rim shot in his day. Example: “Take my wife … please.”
Few would argue the crown has since been passed on to Brit wit Jimmy Carr, who delivers his shots at a clip to rival that of a machinegun and with pretty much the same precision and deadliness.
Example: “I flew to Los Angeles and was asked by U.S. immigration agents about the purpose of my visit. I told them I was here to shoot a pilot … That’s three hours of my life I won’t get back.”
Carr is a throwback to the era of Youngman: the 1940s and ’50s.
He could pass for slicked-down song-and-dance man Gene Kelly with a twisted touch of Pee Wee Herman.
And though he sounds like an upper-crust British gent, what spills out of his mouth is anything but banal gentry talk.
Always with a pleasant smile, he spews a melange of pure nasty and hilariously surreal.
As a result, this is the sort of praise that Carr elicits: “As sick as he is slick … and he’s very sick indeed,” says one British pundit.
And nor is he acclaimed only on the other side of the pond. Carr is one of the few British comics who is much in demand on this continent. He’s a presence on the U.S. late-night talk-show circuit and has done two Comedy Central specials. In addition, Carr was the first U.K. comedian to sign a standup special deal on Netflix, for his solo show Funny Business, released in March.
But Carr is currently concerned about the state of affairs in his native United Kingdom.
Though one might assume the Brexit business would be a gold mine for Brit comics, Carr claims that is hardly the case.
“With the way our politics are going, I don’t think there is any point in us making entertainment programs in Great Britain at the moment,” Carr says.
“The news is just killing that. It’s incredible. Game of Thrones is only troughing after our news with all its political intrigue.
“The problem is that you can’t really joke about it. If you make a joke that is either pro or anti Brexit, you automatically lose 50 per cent of the audience. So you’re best off avoiding the subject altogether. What is pretty safe is (Donald) Trump — because no one likes him (in the U.K.)”
Carr feels there is nothing too off-colour for him to riff about.
“There are some sacred cows within our society,” he says. “But if you’re going to touch on them, you’d better be damn sure that it’s funny. You can joke, without any kind of risk, about Starbucks coffee
The problem is that you can’t really joke about it (Brexit). If you make a joke that is either pro or anti Brexit, you automatically lose 50 per cent of the audience.
or being annoyed by airport queues — because it’s very low-stake. But if you’re going to joke about LGBT issues, it had better be brilliant. Or pedophile issues. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ‘If you’re scared of pedophiles, grow up.’”
Carr doesn’t fear being struck down by a higher power for his scathing remarks either:
“Not at all. That’s the great thing about being an atheist: You miss out on all the believing of angels in heaven, but you also miss out on believing in retribution and punishment.
“If there were a God — which there isn’t — but if there were, I’m sure he would approve.”