comedy deconstruction Quotes

Here's my take on Andy Kaufman... For Kaufman, comedy was a skill that was open for examination. He didn't just do comedy, he deconstructed it like it was a transistor set. He pulled out all the wires and switched them around, often in front of our very eyes.

The longer and more carefully we look at a funny story, the sadder it becomes.

I always feel so pretentious talking about comedy and deconstructing it. It always feels somehow self-centred to talk about any sort of process.

Comedians dissect jokes all the time. Comedians are beautiful structuralists. But ultimately it's an athletic endeavor.

I had always been - everybody kind of likes comedy. I was very interested in comedy, beyond just liking it. I had friends that took apart radios; I wanted to take apart jokes.

The truth is, I've denied it for years, but I love deconstructing comedy.

I remember my dad turning to me - my dad loves to turn to me and explain why things are funny. He used to do that with Seinfeld all the time. He did it with Colombo, too, set the scene.

When you start explaining why something's funny or finding a formula for it I think it loses some of its funniness.

As soon as you start to talk about your own mannerisms, you are screwed. Because if you are aware of your own mannerisms, or beyond that even what makes any one thing funny to people, I really ascribe to that that if you start deconstructing it too much, it is immediately not funny.