List humor
Every once in a while, I will see posted on several blogs and Facebook profiles something along the lines of: "SNL mostly sucked last night, but this sketch was pretty funny!" And I am suckered into watching it. And then I think, "If this is the funny sketch, how bad must the other hour-and-twenty-five minutes have been?"
It happened again this week, with the "funny" sketch being this one about the Muppets:
I hate when people think that all you need to do with referential humor is just make the reference...and that's it. There's no twist, nothing clever added. Essentially, it just amounts to a list. In this case, it is a list of Muppets. We go through all of them, hear approximations of their voices, and we're done. Ha.
Not that list humor can never be funny. But it requires some work. Monty Python's famous "Cheese Shop" sketch is very much an example of list humor, yet they make it work:
I think a big key is that it's not the only thing going on. We've got the surreal dancing men in bowlers in the corner, the inexplicable split-second cutaway, the meta- reaction of the shopkeeper to that cutaway, the silly transformation of John Cleese into a cowboy at the end, etc. Not to mention that the list itself is funny, because it is so extensive and obscure.
Cole Porter was perhaps the master of list humor. Not only did he manage to cram tons of references into a few minutes of music, he even made it rhyme. If I could write one song as good as "You're The Top" from Anything Goes, I would die happy, whistling a tune:
At words poetic, I'm so pathetic
That I always have found it best,
Instead of getting 'em off my chest,
To let 'em rest unexpressed.
I hate parading my serenading
As I'll probably miss a bar,
But if this ditty is not so pretty
At least it'll tell you
How great you are.You're the top!
You're the Coliseum,
You're the top!
You're the Louvre Museum.
You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss
You're a Bendel bonnet,
A Shakespeare's sonnet,
You're Mickey Mouse.
You're the Nile,
You're the Tower of Pisa,
You're the smile on the Mona Lisa
I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!Your words poetic are not pathetic.
On the other hand, babe, you shine,
And I can feel after every line
A thrill divine
Down my spine.
Now gifted humans like Vincent Youmans
Might think that your song is bad,
But I got a notion
I'll second the motion
And this is what I'm going to add;You're the top!
You're Mahatma Gandhi.
You're the top!
You're Napoleon Brandy.
You're the purple light
Of a summer night in Spain,
You're the National Gallery
You're Garbo's salary,
You're cellophane.
You're sublime,
You're a turkey dinner,
You're the time of the Derby winner.
I'm a toy balloon that is fated soon to pop
But if, baby, I'm the bottom,
You're the top!You're the top!
You're a Ritz hot toddy.
You're the top!
You're a Brewster body.
You're the boats that glide
On the sleepy Zuider Zee,
You're a Nathan panning,
You're Bishop Manning,
You're broccoli!
You're a prize,
You're a night at Coney,
You're the eyes of Irene Bordoni.
I'm a broken doll,
A fol-de-rol, a blop,
But if, Baby, I'm the bottom,
You're the top!
You're the top!
You're a dance in Bali.
You're the top!
You're a hot tamale.
You're an angel, you,
Simply too, too, too diveen,
You're a Boticcelli,
You're Keats,
You're Shelley,You're Ovaltine.
You're a boon,
You're the dam at Boulder.
You're the moon,
Over Mae West's shoulder.
I'm the nominee of the G.O.P.Or GOP!
But if, baby, I'm the bottom,
You're the top!You're the top!
You're an Arrow collar.
You're the top!
You're a Coolidge dollar.
You're the nimble tread
Of the feet of Fred Astaire,
You're an O'Neill drama,You're Whistler's mama,
You're Camembert.
You're a rose,
You're Inferno's Dante.You're the nose
On the great Durante.
I'm just in the way,
As the French would say, "de trop."
But if, baby, I'm the bottom,
You're the top!You're the top!
You're the Towel of Babel,
You're the top
You're the Whitney stable
By the river Rhine you're a sturdy stein of beer.
You're a dress from Saks's,
You're next year's taxes,
You're stratosphere!
You're my fuyst,
You're a drumstick lipstick.
You're da foist
In da Irish svipstick.
I'm a frightened frog that can find no log to hop
But if baby I'm the bottom
You're the top!
You're the top!
You're a Waldorf salad.
You're the top!
You're a Berlin ballad.
You're a baby grand
Of a lady and a gent.
You're an old Dutch master,You're Mrs. Astor,
You're Pepsodent!
You're romance,
You're the steppes of Russia,
You're the pants
On a Roxy usher.
I'm a lazy lout that's just about to stop
But if, baby, I'm the bottom,
You're the top!
Check out Slate for an annotated version of the lyrics. When I get a chance, I'll upload an mp3 of the song, but for now, be content with the best I could find on YouTube:
Tags: cole porter, comedy, monty python, snl, television