Comedian

A comedian (sometimes comedienne for a female) or comic, is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience directly is called a stand-up comic.

A popular saying, variously quoted but generally attributed to Ed Wynn, is, "A comic says funny things; a comedian says things funny", which draws a distinction between how much of the comedy can be attributed to verbal content and how much to acting and persona.

Since the 1980s, a new wave of comedy, called alternative comedy, has grown in popularity with its more offbeat and experimental style. This normally involves more experiential, or observational reporting, e.g. Alexei Sayle, Daniel Tosh, Louis C.K. and Malcolm Hardee. As far as content is concerned, comedians such as Tommy Tiernan, Des Bishop, and Joan Rivers draw on their background to poke fun at themselves, while others such as Jon Stewart, and Ben Elton have very strong political and cultural undertones.

Eddie Murphy: Comedian

Eddie Murphy: Comedian (1983) was Eddie Murphy's second album. The album was the recipient of one Grammy, Best Comedy Album, at the 1984 Grammy Awards.

The full concert of this performance was released as a 1983 HBO special called Eddie Murphy Delirious.

Track listing

Comedian (film)

Comedian is a 2002 documentary focusing on Jerry Seinfeld that explores the other side of stand-up comedy; that is, the preparation, politics, nerves, creativity, and so on. The film also features an up-and-coming comic named Orny Adams as he struggles to make it in show business. Many other recognizable comedians also make at least a cameo, including Colin Quinn, Greg Giraldo, Jim Norton, Ray Romano, Godfrey, Chris Rock, George Wallace, Mario Joyner, Jay Leno, Tom Papa, and Bill Cosby.

The film's unusual trailer featured famous voice-over artist Hal Douglas speaking in a recording booth.

The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 11, 2002 and grossed about $2.8 million domestically.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 76% based on reviews from 88 critics.

Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars. Owen Glieberman of EW gave the film a B grade.

See also

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