Steve Martin -vs- Robin Williams: Who U Got?

[L.Kizzle]

These two comics are the fathers of the likes of Jim Carrey's, Will Ferrell's, ect.

Both are hilarious in the stand up field. They both shit on Billy Crystal. Who is the greater comic?


http://blog.1001actus.com/files/Robin_Williams.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EWDxIQrAHq0/TiPAHQur11I/AAAAAAAAAvQ/uN9Ank99_lI/s1600/SteveMartin-L5.jpg

[dilley]

Steve Martin by a mile. Respect Robin and all but his comedy isn't my thing.

[Sarcastic]

Robin Williams by a decent margin.

[SevereUpInHere]

2 white guys, wtf Kizzle, are you unwell?

[PullupJay]

2 white guys, wtf Kizzle, are you unwell?
:roll: :roll: :roll: :bowdown: :applause:

[magic chiongson]

steve martin is better at slapstick, but i prefer robin williams' movies in general

[Clippersfan86]

Robin Williams is awesome, Martin bores me.

[pauk]

Robin Williams by faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar as a true natural comedian, standup comedian.... hell just seeing an interview with him is absolutely hilarious, like on the Letterman and so on, he is an absolute genius... but Steve Martin's comedy seems to translate better into movies i think, i liked his comedy movies better, like "The Jerk" (one of the funniest movies ive ever seen)...

[El Kabong]

I'd pick Steve Martin in a comedy, Robin Williams in a dramatic role.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is one of my favourite movies ever, but that's due to both Steve Martin and John Candy.

[pauk]

I'd pick Steve Martin in a comedy, Robin Williams in a dramatic role.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is one of my favourite movies ever, but that's due to both Steve Martin and John Candy.

Yea, Robin's comedy fits more into a more dramatic role (Good Will Hunting, Patch Adams, mrs Doubtfire etc.) or a fantasy type of drama comedy (Jumanji?).....

But the guy is sooooooo much more funnier than Steve in real life, maybe the funniest human i ever seen/heard... its just the way he talks, the ideas that pop up into his head, freakin genius... you know how standup comedians take months and months and maybe years to think of jokes and test em out on tour and so on... then when they are done with it they return to their normal selves... well, Robin is ON 24-7, he is a standup comedian that never leaves the act outside, he doesnt plan anything, he doesnt think about anything, comedy gold just blast into his skull every second into infinity.... its almost shocking to me, its one of those guys that will give you heartattack if he was your friend/relative or something... i bet he could make people laugh even in the middle of a burial...

[L.Kizzle]

Shit is tough, bout to watch The Richard Pryor Show which featured a young Robin Williams.

[gigantes]

most of the younger generations don't realise how brilliant steve martin was when he was young. he had an offbeat, philosophical, inspired approach to comedy that was very, very unique. sort of a thinking-person's comedian who could also be zany in a controlled way. most of his movies he was selling out, unfortunately. besides the jerk, LA story, roxanne, maybe a couple others... he pretty much just collected paychecks for his movie career. if you haven't seen martin from the 60's and 70's, working in the culture of those times, all you've seen is a pale remnant.

robin williams- i think he's great for the MTV crowd, which basically turned in to people in general. never a dull moment, always hamming it up, ADHD-style. very good actor, also. consistently better than martin. consistently amuses, since his personality is one that craves attention.

anyway, i'll go with martin. when he felt like using all his talent he was pure genius. very few comedians have ever reached his top level, including williams.

[kentatm]

I'll go with Robin Williams. I saw him live a couple years ago and I laughed so hard I was sore the next day. He is really does go 100 miles an hour. It was crazy how much he fit into his set.

Martin is incredibly talented though. I like his music.

[DetroitPiston]

Both are awesome but I prefer Robin Williams.

Williams has shown to be versatile as an actor, I saw him in a movie called Moscow on the Hudson, he was brilliant in that.

Also, early Robin Williams when he was unknown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6S9IEAE_s0

[rufuspaul]

2 white guys, wtf Kizzle, are you unwell?


Plus he posted pics! :eek:

[RidonKs]

williams has had the better career i'd say, he's toured relatively consistently between movies for decades and his resume as an actor isn't matched by many. proven his versatility in all sorts of different roles.

but that said, martin's just a much more well-rounded artist overall, especially though not necessarily only once you include his music and his writing. both guys are totally unique in how and what they perform but gigantes is right; martin is flat out more cerebral and yet he still manages to pull of low-brow with the best of them. that takes talent.

i've been wanting to read his memoirs for a while now, "Born Standing Up", still haven't but i just found a few great excerpts in this blog post (http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2009/03/24/2591516-the-curious-case-of-steve-martins-comedy-career-reflecting-on-his-memoir-born-standing-up) that really shows off just how brilliant he was before he quit the biz way back when


In a college psychology class, I had read a treatise on comedy explaining that a laugh was formed when the storyteller created tension, then, with the punch line, released it. I didn't quite get this concept, nor do I still, but it stayed with me and eventually sparked my second wave of insights. With conventional joke telling, there's a moment when the comedian delivers the punch line, and the audience knows it's the punch line, and their response ranges from polite to uprorarious. What bothered me about this formula was the nature of the laugh it inspired, a vocal acknowledgement that a joke had been told, like automatic applause at the end of a song.

A skillfull comedian could coax a laugh with tiny indicators such as a vocal tic (Bob Hope's "But I wanna tell ya") or even a slight body shift. Jack E. Leonard used to punctuate jokes by slapping his stomach with his hand. One night, watching him on The Tonight Show, I noticed that several his punch lines had been unintelligible, and the audience had actually laughed at nothing but the cue of his hand slap.

These notions stayed with me for months, until they formed an idea that revolutionized my comic direction: What if there were no punch lines? What if there were no indicators? What if i created tension and never released it? What if I headed for a climax, but all I delivered was an anti-climax? What would the audience do with all that tension? Theoretically, it would have to come out sometime. But if I kept denying them the formality of a punch line, the audience would eventually pick their own place to laugh, essentially out of desperation. This type of laugh seemed stronger to me, as they would be laughing at something they chose, rather than being told exactly when to laugh.

thats just amazing and if you've ever heard 'lets get small' or 'a wild and crazy guy', you'll understand the technique he's describing and the general performance he would aim for all the more

[L.Kizzle]

No offense to the late legends like George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield and Sam Kinison (yah, yah, yah) those might be my two of my favorite white boy comics along with Pauly Shore (don't hate.) Kinison is tough to take from my number 1 spot though.

[gigantes]

These notions stayed with me for months, until they formed an idea that revolutionized my comic direction: What if there were no punch lines? What if there were no indicators? What if i created tension and never released it? What if I headed for a climax, but all I delivered was an anti-climax? What would the audience do with all that tension? Theoretically, it would have to come out sometime. But if I kept denying them the formality of a punch line, the audience would eventually pick their own place to laugh, essentially out of desperation. This type of laugh seemed stronger to me, as they would be laughing at something they chose, rather than being told exactly when to laugh.
that's amazing, as you said. totally fascinating.

that's also probably why i like andy kaufman so much. he did wonders with that nervous tension... made it into an absolute art form. i'm definitely a fan of subtle, non-punchline humor that's kind of a puzzle to unlock. although you can also have someone like leslie nielsen in his police squad persona who takes that and makes it more clear and straight-forward.

[L.Kizzle]

RIP Robin Williams

[Godzuki]

i never liked either of them. i always thought Robin Williams humor was pretty bad tbh....it was always way too weird.

Steve Martin to me was never really funny. he had good roles in some comedy movies and the Jerk was a classic, but he wasn't ever very funny to me.

they are pretty even tier to me but nowhere near as great as their reps imo.

[L.Kizzle]

i never liked either of them. i always thought Robin Williams humor was prett.bad tbh....it was always way too weird.

Steve Martin to me was never really funny. he had good roles in some comedy movies and the Jerk was a classic, but he wasn't ever very funny to me.

they are pretty even tier to me but nowhere near as great as their reps imo.
You seem more of a fan of toilet humor. You like the dirty mouthed comics. I say that cuz you think Bill Cosby isn't funny either.

[Godzuki]

You seem more of a fan of toilet humor. You like the dirty mouthed comics. I say that cuz you think Bill Cosby isn't funny either.


well in terms of American humor yes...i think the 'toilet' comedians are the funniest by far and don't really like the clean acts....but i'd hardly call Steve Martin a comedian in the vein of other comedians. And again Robin Williams was just really weird and perverted, not funny to me :confusedshrug:

that said i laff my ass off at korean comedians or variety shows. they're as clean as anyone. in fact i find them funnier than American comedy people in general....still put Rock/Murphy above all tho.

[King Jane]

:facepalm oh so now we bumpin robin williams thredz. funny how he suddenly becomes funny an everyone is suddenly a fan now that hes dead. aint nobody even posted in here before now they flood his death thread like they wuz his best bud :rolleyes:

:no:

[rezznor]

williams may be known mostly for his hyper-stream-of-conscious comedy, but he was also a great dramatic actor. Williams was much more versatile.

[Godzuki]

williams may be known mostly for his hyper-stream-of-conscious comedy, but he was also a great dramatic actor. Williams was much more versatile.

yeah he was surprisingly good in Dead Poets society and some other movies like that. i'll give him that.

[Myth]

Williams was better at stand up and dramatic movies. Martin was better at comedy movies. The Jerk is my favorite comedy of all time.

[riseagainst]

:(

[BRabbiT]

SM

[BIZARRO]

Martin '76-'83 > Williams >>>> Martin Post '83

End thread/

[OncePerMonth]

Martin '76-'83 > Williams >>>> Martin Post '83

End thread/

Martin was great at minimum through 88. Stopping at 83 leaves off Three Amigos, Little Shop of Horrors, Roxanne (not great movie, but good performance), Planes Trains, and Automobiles, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

[Smoke117]

I think Robin Williams was a better stand up comedian, but I prefer Steve Martins early comedy movies (before he went all pg) to pretty much all of Williams movies.

[OncePerMonth]

I think Robin Williams was a better stand up comedian, but I prefer Steve Martins early comedy movies (before he went all pg) to pretty much all of Williams movies.

Precisely.