The Importance of Commitment

My good friend Laina Groom is a very funny person. I don't say this about every person I know who makes jokes. I may write a comedy blog, but her writing is way, WAY funnier than mine is.

She wrote that blog post as a response to a joke I made on a previous one, and in doing so, proved her own point about the importance of commitment to a bit.

There is nothing worse (in comedy)  than someone who fails to commit to the bit.

Stand-ups respect sketch actors because, to them, the idea of being locked into a written piece in front of an audience that isn't on board is the scariest thing in the world. Good stand-ups build their sets with break-away points so they have an out if something falls flat.

Conversely, sketch actors often express that same terror at the idea of being the only person on stage when something flops, and not having the herd mentality that sketch acting brings.

They're both right. In either case, a comedian who doesn't commit to whatever premise they're trying to establish will fail, every time.

For a very low-video-quality example, observe this sketch from MADtv, where Josh Meyers and Ike Barinholtz pretend they're simply explaining how improv works. Like the sketch or not, it takes commitment to make this funny.

It's impossible to talk about commitment to a joke without bring up Will Ferrell. 

Whether you love him or hate him (in my experience there is no middle ground) there is no one better at committing to a joke.
Many of his SNL colleagues have shared stories of Will's attitude towards this. If a sketch bombed in front of the audience at dress rehearsal or live, he shifted into a "if we're going down, you're coming with us" mindset, and would dig into every uncomfortable aspect of the character he could.

His acceptance speech for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is brilliant.

His Golden Globes bit with the incredible Kristen Wiig

Ferrell in character as Ron Burgundy sitting in on a real newscast KXMB-TV from North Dakota. Bonus points for watching the curling commentators struggle to deal with Ron Burgundy at the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings

Posted in: acting,Anchorman,comedian,comedians,comedy,joke,jokes,Kristen Wiig,madtv,Ron Burgundy,SNL,steve martin,will ferrell