Brian Posehn: Asshole or OK Guy?

[marina]

Is Brian Posehn an asshole? I used to like him, but I just bought Fart and Wiener Jokes and not only is it totally lackluster and half-assed, he comes off as being a totally self-important dick, and not in the fun Marc Maron way. In the Dane Cook way.

It might also be me getting my panties in a knot because he has a really mean and shitty unfunny tranny joke on this album, which is made worse by the fact that the tranny in question was trying to tell him that she liked his work and instead he spends 3 minutes recounting the shitty things he said to her, and then saying more shitty things about transwomen in general.

this is him btw:

[Jo_Culprit]

I really like how this thread is about how you used to like Brian Posehn and now you think he blows and the video of his you put up of his is about how he used to like star wars but it sucks now.

Juxtaposition!






and perhaps
.. I think Brian Posehn is a pretty cool guy. eh tells jokes and doesnt afraid of diabetes.

[Junkenstein]

the cd is very very very mediocre, but the assholeness is mostly the vibe the whole Mr Show crew has.

his attitude is pretty much the same, they all come off as cocky and self absorbed. as far as the jokes go, yeah it kinda sucks.

i had a similar feeling with Cross laterv stuff. in "Bigger and Blackerer" the smarminess is even worse than usual. but i noticed its a recurring thing with comics form that group. i think working with bob odenkirk does that to people.

[-John-]

I just dont find him funny at all, on the sarah silverman program he had to be the worst part tbh.

[marina]

I've noticed that people who come off of sketch shows seem to be lacking a fundamental honesty and brashness that I appreciate in a comic like a marc maron or a doug stanhope. Louis C.K. worked for SNL, but he said in his interview with Maron that he wasn't writing honestly about his life at that time.

Sketch show comics will tell an offensive joke because it's edgy and they want to be edgy, but real edgy comedians aren't offensive for the sake of offensive, that's just their life and their honesty offends some people.

[jacey.ATX]

Originally Posted by marina

Sketch show comics will tell an offensive joke because it's edgy and they want to be edgy, but real edgy comedians aren't offensive for the sake of offensive, that's just their life and their honesty offends some people.

Very well-put, Marina. I haven't heard the album in question, but just hearing about the bit you described turns me off. And I do think that, in general, that group of comedians relies too much on their willingness to say shocking things. It reeks of laziness.

[Junkenstein]

hm. i re-listened to the bit you're talking about and youre not really being fair.

its more of a description of him self-awaringly making an ass of himself. no homphobia or hatred in it. its not even a shock value joke.

i cant post it, but i think that anyone should listen to it and make an opinion

"Nice Tits, tough guy" is the name. not that funny, but in no way homophobic or particularly mean.

[marina]

Originally Posted by Junkenstein

hm. i re-listened to the bit you're talking about and youre not really being fair.

its more of a description of him self-awaringly making an ass of himself. no homphobia or hatred in it. its not even a shock value joke.

i cant post it, but i think that anyone should listen to it and make an opinion

"Nice Tits, tough guy" is the name. not that funny, but in no way homophobic or particularly mean.

Here's a rough transcription of the joke for those that don't have the album:

Originally Posted by Brian Posehn

So I was in San Francisco and I was recognized by a transvestite, a lady mister I think that's what they're called, I don't know. And that was the problem, I didn't know what to call the guy. He was really nice, he recognized me and said I was really funny, and I was like 'thanks bro.' Turns out they hate that. The tranny's hole thing is about trickery, right, they're tricking you into thinking they're a pretty lady. They cover their dick with leaves and leaves and shit so you're walking around going 'clearly no dicks here, just some sort of forest clearing. Oh fuck, Slayer!' [callback to an earlier joke that yelling slayer during gay sex makes it not gay] so I said 'thanks bro' and his face changed, he/she got really mad. You know after you say the wrong thing when you just can't stop saying the wrong thing, you're brain is like 'quit saying dumb things, retard' but you keep going. So I'm like "oh sorry dude, oh fuck, I mean sorry mister.. god damn it." and the one they hate the most is tough guy. 'nice tits tough guy, what'd they set you back, champ?' they will try to stab you.

What I found offensive wasn't that he called the translady dude or sir, I've done that too. Some people are assholes about pronouns when it's clearly a mistake. Especially for someone like myself who has been known to call everyone--including my grandmother--"dude."

What I didn't like is that in his act, he called her he/she and a ladymister, and him. He also said that the reason transwomen transition is to trick straight guys into having (gay) sex with them, which is a shitty stereotype, and it's been used to justify hate crimes in court.

And of course, worst of all, it wasn't even particularly funny.

[Junkenstein]

ok, but he plays the ignorant awkward nerd part. that's something maron would've done too.

[bofadeeznizzles]

I dunno, it made me laugh. Just reading the transcript it seems like he says they're trying to trick people in the same way he's saying they'll try to stab you. Its a joke. I'm having a hard time seeing the big deal here.