MovieChat Forums > Punchline (1988) Discussion > Some badly dated jokes

Some badly dated jokes

posted 8 years ago by Flywiththeowl
3 replies | jump to latest

I remember liking this when I rented it on video many years ago. I still like it, but man, some of the jokes are embarrassingly dated now. (eg: the ethnic & sexist stuff) Also, Tom's freak out after Sally rejects him at the bar. I guess back in '88 that was charming. 2016, that's a psycho who gets angry at "No".

BUT, aside from that, there're still some genuinely good moments & when the punchlines aren't bashing a group of people, they're still pretty funny.

And I get it- political correctness, blah blah- & there're still some comedians now who go there but they're definitely not doing it in the same social climate as 1988. The world is *very* different now. They're not gonna get the universal laughs today.

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 3 years ago

You've missed a bigger point - virtually none of the jokes were/are funny. 1988 vs. the 21st century has nothing to do with it.

The Marx Brothers and Lucille Ball are STILL funny; bad jokes are still unfunny.

Hanks has the best material, and he is fairly convincing as a comic with talent and charisma...but this is mainly due to Hanks' star quality, not the lame material. Field is believable as a wannabe, but her jokes are awful, therefore much of the ending simply doesn't ring true.

Some of the dramatic scenes are well-done, but the dinner preparation scene with Field is pure sitcom.

Bottom line: A curio to be sure, but there's bigger laughs in The Golden Girls and Will and Grace. True, this is about the pain of stand-up, but there needed to be better jokes to convince us ANYONE in this film would've made it as a comic.

[–] [email protected] (5507) 3 years ago

I forgot about this movie. I did like Tom Hanks performance. He was funny even though his jokes weren't. There are actors who can make me laugh no matter what they say. Walter Matthau is one of them.
He said , "I don't say funny things. I say things funny."

For me, I see a lot of that with Tom Hanks. He can be funny with unfunny material.

Sally Fields character, however, not funny at all. No way could she have made it as a stand up.

[–] NGMI (1184) 3 years ago

Maybe none of them make because their jokes are so awful. But that doesn't stop people anyway. Dane Cook, D.L. Hughley, Nick Cannon, and Pete Davidson managed to make it in spite of having NO JOKES or anything funny to say that you cant hear in a barbershop or some college drum circle full of stoners on the beach.