August 07th, 2018

Not long ago, and I don't recall the reason but it made sense at the time, someone asked me what movie did I regret seeing.  Hmmmm.  I suppose on a list of regrets in my life this would rank very very far down, like in the millions (I have loads of regrets) but still this was the first thing that came to mind.  The movie, "Bridesmaids."

Now, I know that I have a strange sense of humour but I do have one. And I also know that loads of people thought this movie was the bees knees.  I was in the audience at the theatre; I heard the laughter. However, I didn't crack a smile throughout the entire thing.

Nope, I sat there stone-faced wondering when the funny part was going to happen while the packed theatre around me roared and giggled and slapped their knees and wiped away tears of laughter and I just never understood why.  I didn't make a big deal about it.  I said nothing. I didn't pout or whine, I just kept waiting for the funny part that never came.  

I don't know why, but the "humour" in that film just didn't reasonate with me.  It did not tickle my funny bone. Not a guffaw, not a chuckle, not even a grin.

Humour is subjective. So there is my saving grave.  Much like literature, music, art, and favourite flavor of ice cream, what each individual finds amusing is personal.  So the really nice part of that is that there is no "right" or "wrong', it's just what is right for you.  Though people will sometimes try to make you feel as if your opinion is wrong.

This is a conversation I actually had  many years ago:

other person:  "Arthur is a terrible film.  It's not funny and it promotes alcoholism"

me:  "I thought it was funny.  And the character, Arthur, was charming and a little sad."

other person:  "You are wrong. It was a horrible movie."

me (laughing):  "I'm just stating my opinion.  Your opinion is that it was a bad movie.  My opinion is that it was a funny and charming film. It's neither right nor wrong, it's just an opinion"

other person: " You are wrong"

me (laughing harder): "about the movie?"

other person: "about everything

Okay, I clearly wasn't going to win that one.  But the follow up question to Bridesmaids movie was, "ok if you didn't think Bridesmaids was funny, what movie did you think was funny?"  I had to really think about that one.  

Hmmmmmm.  I thought Young Frankenstein was brilliant and crazy funny. Ummmmm. The original 'Odd Couple' with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau totally cracked me up.   I think there are funny moments in a lot of films.  Even dramas and action/adventure films can have some excellent comedy moments in them.   But so-called "comedies", by and large, I don't find so comedic.

The 3-stooges, nope.  Abbott and Costello had some wonderfully, funny stuff but I didn't care for their really broad, physical comedy.  Jerry Lewis with Dean Martin, nope. The Jerry Lewis voice alone gave me a headache although I did like some of his later stuff.  Same thing with Jim Carrey, I am good with his later work, just not the highly physical over the top crazy stuff.  Again this is just my taste, my opinion.  Other people think the exact opposite and that's perfectly valid.

I do love to laugh though. Nothing makes my day like an unexpected, head thrown back, tear streaming, belly laugh. It feels so good to just let go and howl with laughter over something clever or ridiculous or clever AND ridiculous. 

And I seem to be surrounded by funny people.  My kids are funny. They are hilarious. I do not think a single phone call between us has ever happened without me cracking up with laughter at least once.  When they were youngters, I used to have to turn my back to scold them because what they did was so dang funny, but I didn't want to encourage the bad behavior.   Tim is hysterically funny and quick.  He comes up with funny responses while I'm still processing the question.  He makes me laugh every single day.  My sister and I always end up giggling when we are together.  My mother often made me laugh and she was never even trying to be funny, she just had a totally different perspective on life that was the funniest thing to me.

I had Pilates class this morning and not once, not twice but three different times either somebody said something funny, or something amusing happened and I laughed, out loud and I mean LOUD!  I'm not sure which did more good for me, the laughter or the workout.  Probably it was equally good.

 Y'know, I'm thinking that the Bridesmaids movie aside, I find most of life humorous.  I laugh throughout my day. Sometimes all by myself in a room I will see something that gets me chuckling. Or I'll do something so unbelievably stupid that I have to laugh at myself! What is that saying, "A person who can laugh at himself is truly blessed, for he will never lack for amusement".   :)

Tim is fond of saying that funny is funny.  And he is not wrong.  What he means is that he is rarely ever offended by a joke as long as it is genuinely funny and not a veiled shot.  He has no use for people who use humour as a weapon. And rightly so.  If you are angry, say you are and why and we will deal with it.  But funny, real humour, is a gift.  And I think it lightens our souls a little bit, lifts any burdens we are carrying if we can smile a bit, giggle some and occasionally just let it all go and laugh until we cry, bring it down a little, calm down some, then catch each other's eyes and start laughing all over again.  Yeah, that's the absolute best. 

I wish you each a lot of laughter today. " It's good for what ails ya", as my Nana would say.