my girlfriend didn't even know who Adam Sandler was
he is by far the biggest comedian in America
i mean men and women worship this guy
my girlfriend told me that there are not a lot of comedy in Japan
and so did a few other of my Japanese friends
i mean not knowing who Adam Sandler is a huge thing
i feel seriously sorry and bad if anyone doesn't know who he is
i guess i'm going to have to spread the wealth when i go over there
i have like everyone of his movies
is there a reason comedy isn't a big thing in Japan
or is it popular and i just got a few peoples opinions

when you say comedies, i'm assuming you're talking about stand up, and yes, it isn't that much of an 'in' thing there. but as far as comedy shows on tv they do have them.

oh, and about american comedians making big/being well know in jpn. they reason why they don't blow up there (sandler included) is that a LOT is lost in the translation, especially punchlines and slangs.
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Adam Sandler is NOT the biggest comedian in America.

name a comedian bigger than Adam Sandler
almost every entertainment magazine has him in the top 3
and if you look up ebert and roeper
they have him as the funniest guy today
in rolling stones the list is
#1 mike myers
#2 adam sandler
#3 eddie murphey
and in entertainment magazine
#1 adam sandler
#2 jim carrey
#3 eddie murphey
adam sandler writes his own movies, songs, he does stand up and he has his own production studio with rob sneider (happy madison)
and he stars in like 3 movies a year
i mean he's never one anything but he's highly respected by everyone for the things he comes up with
seriously name a comedian that does more than him

Well, I guess you've done your homework. Props.

But I never thought he was funny even from his SNL days. Actually, most of the folks from SNL aren't very funny outside of the show itself, IMO....

Adam Sandler seems to do a creepy little voice and say weird things and sometimes it's funny but usually I don't get it. But my brother loves him so it just depends on your sense of humor.

I like Monique and Margaret Cho better

i think that Adam Sandler sucks he always does the same stupid character in almost all of his movies.
right know i think that one of the biggest comedian in America has to be Dave Chappell

this is a thread about why no comedies are in jpn, plz do not turn this into a bash sandler thread. If it is a neccecity to do some bashing, plz do it in the general discussion area. altho i don't like the guy as well, lets see if we can turn this back on topic please, yoroshikun onegaisumasu....
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niko2x wrote:

oh, and about american comedians making big/being well know in jpn. they reason why they don't blow up there (sandler included) is that a LOT is lost in the translation, especially punchlines and slangs.

i think that happens with every language not only japanese thats why i think that physical comedians like jim carry and jackie chan are well known all over the world (not sure if carry is well known in japan)

kinsei wrote:

i think that happens with every language not only japanese thats why i think that physical comedians like jim carry and jackie chan are well known all over the world (not sure if carry is well known in japan)

i'd say out of the 2, chan carries more weight.
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I guess the biggest problem is the language barrier btw these two country. It would be pretty hard to translate the extact punch line into Japanese and have it still make sense in that language.

Smiley_18 wrote:

I guess the biggest problem is the language barrier btw these two country. It would be pretty hard to translate the extact punch line into Japanese and have it still make sense in that language.

Exactly, humor doesn't always translate. Only someone with more overt physical comedy like Jackie Chan do. Still, there are a ton of Japanese comedies in Japan. Everything on TV (romantic comedies, variety shows, game shows, manzai shows) and they have travelling stand-up comedians as well. Not that the Japanese don't have a funny bone, just that it's tickled by something else besides American comedies.

Still, Friends was quite a popular show in Japan (for rent, mostly dubbed).
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"...but it was my integrity that was important. Is that so selfish? It sells for so little, but it's all we have left in this place. It is the very last inch of us...but within that inch we are free." - V for Vendetta

Yup. Sandler is the greatest comedian in America.

And Brittany Spears is the greatest singer in America.

Actually, Japan has a great tradition of comics and comedy troops. And they make a lot of comedic movies and comedic TV shows.

It's just that, like someone said above, it's tough to make the transition from one culture to another, one language to another.

In the days of the silents, with stars like Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Fatty Arbuckle et. al. people from different countries, different cultures, used to gobble up Hollywood comedies.

But now, most of the jokes are lost on people from different countries, because they don't have the same frame of referance.

Look at it this way... long after Jerry Lewis's popularity waned in the U.S., the French still loved him. Why? Because most of his humor was physical. Lewis never depended on plot, or character. It was all odd sounds, and physical humor.

With Lewis, someone who didn't speak the language could still see the difference between the set up and the punch line.

Geezer wrote:

Yup. Sandler is the greatest comedian in America. And Brittany Spears is the greatest singer in America.

thetenken wrote:

Not that the Japanese don't have a funny bone, just that it's tickled by something else besides American comedies.

I think that's a very important point. It's not just language differences, but cultural differences that affect what people think is funny. Dave Spector (a commentator who has lived in Japan for many years) observed that the Simpsons kind of humor, which is very popular in the US just doesn't play well in Japan.

As TheTenken mentioned manzai, there is a famous manzai comedy duo "Downtown" who were among the highest paid entertainers in Japan throughout the 90s (based on public tax records). Obviously comedy thrives in Japan.

There is also traditional Japanese humorous storytelling, Rakugo. You might like it if you like humorists like James Thurber. On the other hand, since you are an Adam Sandler fan, perhaps Rakugo will leave you scratching your head

So don't be too shocked if you show some Adam Sandler movies to your Japanese friends and they don't laugh. Comedy exists and thrives in Japan, but it would be a mistake to measure it in American terms (e.g. as in knowledge of Adam Sandler).

BTW, I don't find Adam Sandler funny!

Adam Sandler is not as hilarious as a London Boots or Downtown.

Just HOW funny are these Japanese TV shows? Some of their antics (take "The Blackmail" for instance, where a common skit concerns a guy or girl in a control booth, with the TV's hosts, remote viewing their girlfriend or boyfriend [usually at a cafe or restaurant] getting macked on by an actor provided by the TV show; all of this JUSSSSST to see if the girlfriend or boyfriend ends up cheating. What takes place is funny in itself, but it's all incomparable to when the guy or girl in the control booth is allowed to confront the girlfriend or boyfriend once caught cheating. The looks on their faces . . . priceless) are just too much .

I don't think Japan needs U.S. comedy to make them laugh. And, you talkin' to a guy who LOVES America.

The best comedians in the U.S. right now? Toss up between David Chappelle and Chris Rock (except when Rock acts in movies).

Books, movies, and album CDs have proven to successfully translate into other cultures. Kinda' hard for humor to do the same, for some reason.

See, I guess it is cultural. Because I didn't think any part of the scenario The Man just described would be funny.

Comedy is pretty damned subjective.

Geezer wrote:

See, I guess it is cultural. Because I didn't think any part of the scenario The Man just described would be funny.

Well, you gotta' see the dang thing (I'm the first in line to admit that a narrative description doesn't do the real thing justice) to be convinced. It's probably not funny to most Americans, just as Sandler might not be funny to Japanese (and, aren't we still wondering why the heck the French think Jerry Lewis the funniest offering from the U.S. [is it the translation?]).

Can't stand the U.S. sitcom; too "canned."

Manny,

Like I said, comedy is subjective.

I thought you did a pretty good job of setting up the bit. And obviously you and a lot of Japanese people thought it was funny.

But for me... that kind of humor doesn't just leave me cold. It pretty much ticks me off.

Odds are, you'd think most of my favorite comedies were boring as all hell.

Subjective.

ok true
i guess adam sandlers personallity is kind of a down fall
but he does a lot for the entertainment business
and thats why the entertainment business gives him a lot of props
i mean even his worst movie
little nicky
made $100 million in the box office over one weekend
all his movies do
i mean a lot a lines that teeneage boys say come from movies like
big daddy, happy gilmore, and especially billy madsion
i think dave chappelle is funny too
but he doesn't come up with his own material
dave chapelle is growing but he's not a star yet
after being in a few flicks he might get status
after the what did the five fingers say to the face joke gets out
again comedy is a huge opinion
to me adam sandler is the biggest thing since....
rodney dangerfield, lol
one person might find something hilarious
and the other will find the same thing so lame
some people laugh at an old woman getting ran over
some people don't