I’m a firm believer that a good hearty laugh a day is critical to good mental health… at least to keeping your funny bone happy. But… do you know what makes you laugh?
Personally I’m not particularly fond of slapstick, unless it’s underplayed and short. Some performers do this to perfection but mostly it’s done ‘over the top’ and ceases to be funny. And I’ve never liked humor that’s at someone else’s expense. Making fun of others is so low class that I don’t even like to associate it with humor.
I suspect that my kind of humor is of the droll, understated, perhaps even self-deprecating type – the thinking person’s humor, if you will. Example: I love the humor of the Britcom, “As Time Goes By”, but really don’t like the humor of the hugely popular, “Keeping Up Appearances”. The first doesn’t demean anyone, actually it pokes a kind of gentle humor at oneself. The second is unthinking to the point of verging on cruel, albeit undeliberate.
I like the kind of comedy that surprises you and you find yourself chuckling or laughing not the kind of comedy that overplays the scene. Again an example: Cary Grant did a marvelous job of being amusing even in dramas through his understatement – a look is all it took at times, but I never appreciated the Three Stooges.
My point is that we all have types of humor we enjoy and those we don’t. Thus… find yours and bask in it at least once every day.
