Cringe comedy

Cringe comedy is a comedy genre that uses awkward and embarrassing situations to cause audiences to feel uneasy. This genre is particularly prominent in British comedy and has been popularised by comic acts such as Rowan Atkinson, Harry Enfield, Steve Coogan, and Ricky Gervais.

On film

Humour based on uncomfortable situations is not a new concept. One can point to black comedy as the likely origin of the concept, as it is often intended to provoke a similar response. A movement toward this style of comedy began in earnest with the television series Monty Python, and their film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life is generally considered to be a masterpiece of the genre^{[according to whom?]}. Countless films employing this style of comedy were made during the 1980s and 1990s (including There's Something About Mary). More recent examples include Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat and Bruno.

On television

The label has been applied most frequently to the original (BBC) version of The Office. The series often captures excruciating moments in the lives of employees of a Slough-based paper firm, including, but not limited to, overheard conversations that suddenly become explicit in nature, office party dances so bad they literally leave the viewers speechless, and, frequently, boss David Brent's inability to censor himself or even understand that he is being offensive. This approach can also be seen in Gervais's more recent series, Extras, although Gervais's character is generally the straight man in the show. One also finds frequent examples of this in the Larry David-created series Curb Your Enthusiasm. David stars as a version of himself who is unable to censor his feelings and does not believe that he should have to follow social rules he does not like, but also feels that everybody should follow the social rules he likes (which he usually invents himself). The result is often unfortunate, and nearly every episode ends in humiliation for Larry. This is a style that was previously used in the UK sitcom I'm Alan Partridge in which the title character, portrayed by Steve Coogan seemed inept at being able to keep his thoughts and emotions to himself and constantly spoke his mind. Another British show, Peep Show, took a different slant on this, by actually showing the audience the character's thoughts, often their most embarrassing and awkward ones.

Larry David had begun to explore the bounds of traits generally regarded as socially unacceptable years earlier with a character loosely based on himself, George Costanza on Seinfeld, which he had co-created and served as an executive producer. Costanza's character storylines often revolved around extreme selfishness and blatant disregard of others, but portrayed more explicitly than David's Curb Your Enthusiasm version of himself.

Another show which can be closely identified with this trend is Da Ali G Show. Sacha Baron Cohen's crossover UK hit often featuring cringe comedy. This can be seen with two characters in particular: Borat, whose frequent anti-Semitic and misogynistic remarks generally make the audience uneasy, but often not the interviewees themselves, and Bruno, whose extravagant homosexuality often drives his subjects' homophobia to the surface. The central character on the show, Ali G, often says things that are cringe-worthy in their stupidity, but whether his material can be considered "cringe comedy" is debatable.

Comedy Central's own take on roasting events frequently uses offensive and shocking comedic remarks on every roastees' career, controversies and personal lives.

In comedy

Some examples of comedians who often use cringe comedy:

• Jimmy Carr
• Tom Green
• Opie & Anthony
• Jim Norton
• Bill Burr
• Matt Pinto
• Frankie Boyle

References

External links

Examples of Cringe Comedy

Cringe humor.net