Are we done with cringe comedy yet? It would appear that way after Ricky Gervais’ ho-hum performance at the Golden Globes. The patron saint of squirm-inducing quips ridiculed Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Donald Trump and Ben Affleck, among others.
Jaws were dropping, but mostly to yawn. Viewership was down 4 percent compared to last year, during Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s comparatively good-natured show. And those who did tune in weren’t exactly rolling on the floor.
Gervais’ monologue was “proof that jokes about transgender people … have lost most of their potency,” The Washington Post’s Hank Stuever wrote. According to the New York Times, Gervais “risks becoming a Ricky Gervais tribute band dutifully smashing his guitar on cue.”
“When was the last time the Globes were this painful to watch?” Entertainment Weekly wondered.
The reaction shows that comedy that induces discomfort has become passe. In its place, a new trend has sprouted: jokes that make you ponder rather than wince. Practitioners include buzzy names like Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari, Issa Rae, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.
We didn’t used to mind being tortured by our entertainment. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” debuted in 1999, two years before Gervais’ breakout hit “The Office.” Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Da Ali G Show” first arrived on screen in 2000, paving the way for more gotcha-fueled humiliation with “Borat” and “Bruno,” and the roving correspondents of “The Daily Show” have been prompting nervous laughter from the start.
But “The Office” pushed the trend mainstream, as the British version of the show won Golden Globes in 2004, beating out the likes of “Arrested Development,” “Sex &the City” and “Will &Grace.” The American version, starring Steve Carell, debuted the following year and went on to become one of NBC’s highest rated shows.
Humor has evolved. Where cringe comedy takes everyday situations and transforms them into demoralizing nightmares, the new jokesters make shameful experiences a little less mortifying.
Take, for example, the first episode of Aziz Ansari’s Netflix series “Master of None.” The show starts with Ansari’s character Dev accompanying a one-night stand to the drug store to buy a Plan B pill after a condom mishap. Rather than revel in discomfort, Dev acts like it’s no big deal. He diffuses the situation with a few light jokes and an effervescent appreciation for Martinelli’s apple juice.
The new crop of shows also use comedy to demystify life experiences. In the “Master of None” episode “Ladies and Gentlemen,” the show describes what it’s like to be a woman walking home alone late at night by showing just such a lady, who fearfully walk-jogs over horror movie music, and juxtaposing that with Dev and his best friend doing the same thing to the tune of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”
The objective is connectivity — getting people to understand each other’s experiences. The humor is also cathartic for the people who know those struggles well.
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