Knock Knock?
Who’s there?
Interrupting cow.
Interrupting c—
MOO
A Critic’s Response to Male Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
Truly a subversion of the form, Male Comedian’s seminal take on “Knock Knock” addresses so many things at once: both acknowledging the stereotype that men often talk over or interrupt women, while also playing with gender stereotypes. The cow, a historically female animal (because of boobs), is, in Male Comedian’s telling, not only voiced by a man but also GIVEN a voice, both literally and figuratively. Not many jokes can tackle feminism and factory farming in one fell swoop, but that’s what makes Male Comedian the most subversive comic of his generation.
A Critic’s Response to a Female Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
Why does Female Comedian insult the cow’s awareness of societal mores by assuming that it cannot take turns in a civil conversation? Coastal elites can never understand what everyday Americans know to be true of cows: they very rarely interrupt, and if they do, it’s probably for a good reason.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the other side
A Critic’s Response to Male Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
In a world where men are often caricatured as brash and overbearing, it’s refreshing to hear a man step back and ask questions. On first listen, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” feels like a simple ponderance, but hearing Male Comedian ask it reminds us of so much more: that we live in a world populated by kind, curious men who — and I don’t think this is going too far — just may be poised to be the new, refreshing face that feminism so desperately needs.
A Critic’s Response to a Female Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
Sarcasm may fly in a Manhattan sorority, but to hear Female Comedian set the listener (a Wife and Mother) up with a question that implies a complex response only to reveal a simple answer, made this reviewer want to vomit on Female Comedian’s ugly face. Of course, Female Comedian, a liberal elite who has six roommates, would believe that she knows best when it comes to what motivates chickens. This joke is literally why Trump won.
Yo Mama’s so dumb,
when they said it was chilly outside,
she grabbed a bowl
A Critic’s Response to Male Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
Here’s one you may not have heard: a gorgeous, misunderstood genius reinvents what comedy can be. Was his joke funny? No. Has he told a funny joke yet? Also no. Is that any reason not to give him Netflix’s first three-hour stand-up special? To quote the punchline of Male Comedian’s most obnoxious joke: absoTOOTly nopers!
A Critic’s Response to a Female Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
The family unit is crumbling and it’s Female Comedian’s fault.
Publisher? I hardly know her!
A Critic’s Response to Male Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
A take on a normally crass joke structure, Male Comedian’s quip of “Publisher? I hardly know her!” works on so many levels, not the least of which is a brave, self-aware acknowledgment of the ways that Boys’ Clubs historically exclude women (Male Comedian knows that it is true that he IS unlikely to publish her if he hardly knows her). It’s true that Female Comedian made this joke first, whispered quietly to a friend in a meeting, but Male Comedian overheard her and repeated the joke much more loudly, which, in many ways, is what comedy is all about.
A Critic’s Response to a Female Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
It’s disgusting for Female Comedian to imply that she would not publish someone just because she is ugly. That’s what this joke is, and you won’t change our minds.
[Fart noise with hands]
A Critic’s Response to a Female Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
Please come pick Suzy up from school. We try not to hand out detentions in 1st grade, so instead, for extra homework, please review Christopher Hitchens’ Why Women Aren’t Funny with her.
A Critic’s Response to Male Comedian’s Telling of the Joke
Could this be Bill Cosby’s third act?