I just saw the documentary American: The Bill Hicks Story hoping it would shed some light on why people think he was funny. It didn't change my view at all. I never found him particularly funny and this doc confirmed why.

His material was always pretty much the same. He rants about something, usually related to the government, large corporations, or drugs. Sometimes followed by a mildly amusing punchline. Nothing he said hadn't already been said more eloquently by someone else.

This is a cliff notes of every Bill Hicks show:

Hicks: the US government sucks, drugs are not as bad as the government says they are. Advertising agencies are evil and they make a lot of money.

audience: WHOA THATS DEEP

One thing I learned from the doc was that he was much more popular in the UK, mainly because he was an American making fun of America. He was like the UK's Yakov Smirnoff. Cashing in on a nation's irrational hatred of another nation.

His hobbies included consuming alcohol and halucinogenic mushrooms.

There must be some people here who like Hicks, could you explain why?

I think Bill Hicks was pretty funny, but I do think he's idolized so much now because of his early death. If he were alive now and still doing stand-up, he wouldn't have as many fans.

It reminds me of the death of Jim Morrison. Yes: the Doors were a good band and I listened to their albums all throughout my youth. But they weren't a GREAT band. And what's more, they peaked with their first album and (slowly) went downhill after that.

But because Morrison died at the age of only twenty-seven, he and his band are put on a pedestal. If Morrison was alive today, the Doors would be considered at about the level of the Steve Miller Band. Very good, but not great.

Hicks was funny though. He was no Eddie Murphy or George Carlin, but he was very good. Nothing wrong with that.

Hicks I see as much more of a commentator than any other comedian I know, and I agree with 90% of what he says so he must be great! He was a dissonant voice of reason in a very unbalanced culture. The fact that he's also pretty funny is just sugar. I don't see any equivalent to Bill Hicks, George Carlin is close and also great but they have different niches so as to be beyond comparisons. I really think that Hicks is a wise man who speaks with authenticity and passion, something I can't say about very many entertainers nowadays.

Hes not perfect with everything he says but who is, I give him respect for going against the tide.

I just watched a few youtubes of him and they were painfully un-funny.

You kinda remind me of the person he yells at here.

You must either be very young or not realize he did all his stuff like 30 years ago, he was actually one of the first, earlier ones. So you got it backwards. Even if he wasn't that funny, and I can see why you wouldn't think he was, he was still one of the pioneers of comedy back in the 80s. I'll bet you serious money if you encountered many of today's comedians, a lot will tell you he was one of their influences.

I never even heard of him.

While I agree that Hicks is probably somewhat overrated, I still think he's funny and entertaining. I don't think he's really bust your gut laughing funny, but I don't think that's what he was going for. I think a lot of people also appreciate his work for his social commentary. No, he wasn't the first person to criticize the government and drug laws, but I think he at least helped broadened the exposure to ideas that were somewhat controversial at the time. He's not for everyone, but you really couldn't figure out how anyone could find this method of delivering comedy entertaining? Don't you go outside and interact with people?

Also, I think your method of criticism is pretty weak IMO. You can pretty much take any topic of conversation and break it down into a few lines of cliffs notes and claim it's "OMG VAPID". Let's try it with you.

This is the cliff notes of every Ron Burgundy post:

States opinion or viewpoint X, which is usually controversial, bizarre, and completely out of touch with mainstream thought . Avalanche of WTF replies from posters that are in complete wonderment of how someone can be so naive and have a complete inability to understand why people can't relate to X.

what's wrong with that?

.

This just in: comedy is subjective.

This just just in: the subjective opinion of the masses is Bill Hicks was ****ing funny.

This just just just in: Every opinion that's "different" does not deserve it's own thread.

Not really familiar with him other than seeking out a few of his YouTube videos but I heard Denis Leary basically stole his persona. And got the idea for "No Cure For Cancer" while Hicks was dying of cancer.

this just in: no **** sherlock.

Is it so bad to want to hear someone elses opinion?

I'm not a huge Hicks fan but I totally disagree with that one.
If anything it is impressive how well his comedy has stood up over time with being so topical for that specific time. Pretty much all the jokes I remember are straight from 1990 pop culture.

Some people think being a bitter old misanthrope is funny.

The guy was just a miserable, awful person who hated everything.

Yeah, real genius there.

Carlin was funny back in the day, but the last decade or so of his career were awful. It was just standard old man complaining and not even close to funny.

This currently applies to Doug Stanhope.

Stand up doesn't seem to stand up that well over time though. I can remember when Eddie Murphy was easily the funniest person on the face of the earth, stuff that made me piss my pants back in the day just seems lame now.
To be fair also, Hicks current day popularity is totally as a "stoner" comedian.

This is one of those things where I initially agree but then realize I'm agreeing with Ron Burgundy so I have to sit back and think about how many ways I'm probably wrong.

Someone named for Cotton Hill's hilarious crusty character doesnt see the irony in that statement?

btw Hicks was only 32 when he died

While this may be true (and kind of lol put), I agree with Ron. When I used to listen to the Sirius comedy channel a Hicks skit coming on was insta-channel change. Too much politics and social commentary, too little comedic payoff. But others seem to like him so whatever.

And dying probably helped.

how can the door be a jar?

This is actually a good point though, as a period comedian he was probably cutting edge, much like Lenny Bruce pushed the limits in the 60s. It's like Midnight Cowboy - evidently considered a very edgy film for its time but wouldn't really shock anyone today. It can be appreciated for what it was but beyond that may not be particularly useful anymore.

That's largely because instead of the implication of Joe Buck sucking ****, we're treated to it live on pretty much a weekly basis.

You have to consider the time period to understand the reverence for Bill Hicks. His time was way before widespread use of the internet so all access to major media was corporate controlled. Hearing a dissenting voice was rare. Hicks was quite edgy for his time, especially when you compare him to the mostly fluffy comics getting massive exposure back then on the A&E show An Evening at the Improv.

God forgive the poor loser soul who doesn't think Bill Hicks is a comedy legend. Force cigarette smoke into their lungs and plug up all the holes. Their opinion only reflects their ignorance. Amen.

Don't find him funny.