Archive for the ‘harsh one’ tag
The art of the “Harsh One” no comments
I am sure many of you (especially those who spent time in fraternities and sororities [or, like me, both]) understand the comedy value of cruel humor. In my youth, my friends and I elevated this to an artform using a gambit known as ‘the harsh one’.
With ‘harsh ones” there are no rules. Everything is in play. To take an extreme example, one of my college buddies had a tragedy in the family. His Grandmother, to whom he was especially close, died unexpectedly. He was distraught, we rallied round, sent him on his way home. He took two weeks off for the funeral and to tend to family matters. Upon his return, he was greeted by his BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD with the words “Hi, Dead-Gran! How’s it going?” The rules of the game allowed only a single response, “Ouch. Harsh One”.
(You have to be REALLY good friends to play the game at this level).
The following video, from College Humor shows a more sophisticated take on ‘the harsh one’. Enjoy the UTTER misery of the stand-up comic when he realizes nobody finds him funny……..
I love that the “industry people” line gets the biggest laugh….