Unfunny Things
A collection of pretentious things from the web and elsewhere that are much less funny than they think they are.
Sep 4th, 2011 @ 12:53 am
GG Guys
Nice one, right? It’s stupid but funny.
But that’s not where the comic ends.
We have these two stupid panels that wreck the punchline and make it groan-worthy. First, we’re told what happened when he entered the wrong bathroom. (Thanks for the assistance.) Then, we’re shown an array of other “W” characters that made the same mistake.
But this is not just an example of Buckley-box-style talking down to the audience. It’s a perfect demonstration of how “stupid but funny” humour is never all that stupid.
The reason the first four panels are funny on their own is due to the smart reference to the “inversion” aesthetic Nintendo uses for its evil Mario characters. It seems obvious that Wario would act as Mario’s opposite in any situation. It’s as clear as the letter on his hat. So when we see him in this ridiculous restroom situation, it’s funny that he’s made this mistake — so obvious to Wario, but so ridiculous to us!
But when Waldo and Winnie are thrown into the mix, it needlessly complicates the comic narrative and the observation hidden in the joke. These two other characters aren’t making the same kind of mistake Wario did. There’s not much cleverness to the idea that someone would assume a door labelled with their initial was the place to go. This is where a funny dumb joke becomes a dumb dumb joke, because the smart underlying observation we were all smiling at is now muddled and broken and not very insightful anymore.
Via GG Guys, cited in The Webcomic Overlook.
