Women's sport

From Argumental

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A former marketing executive for Shell, Jimmy Carr is one of the hardest-working comedians in the UK, and DVDs of his live shows now sell more than 150,000 copies each.

His first full-length show, Bare-Faced Ambition, was nominated for the Perrier in 2002; and he was named best stand-up at the Time Out Awards in 2003, and at the Laftas in 2004. At the same awards he was named ‘funniest man’ in 2005.

He won the Royal Television Society Award for best on-screen newcomer in 2003, and soon established himself one of the main faces of Channel 4, hosting game show Distraction, the first series of The Friday Night Project, three series of panel show 8 Out Of 10 Cats, and several specials such as The Big Fat End of Year Quiz and The Comedians’ Comedian.

Carr has also made headway in the US, performing four times on NBC’s TonightWith Jay Leno and three times on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He made a half-hour stand-up special for Comedy Central, and hosted two series of Distraction USA for the same network.

He has also appeared in the films Confetti, Alien Autopsy and Stormbreaker, all released in 2006; and has hosted a weekly radio show for London’s XFM

Original Review:

But live, he uses that cold superiority to great advantage. He’s the ultimate high-status comic: snide, dismissive and unfeeling. It allows him put often deeply unpleasant ideas at the heart of his jokes, protected by the sheath of irony that no one in this day and age could possibly be so insensitive to say the things he does.

The fact that he’s not obviously loveable, not does he make any attempt to be, is turned to his comic advantage. Ultimately, whatever the more obvious target, he’s the butt of the joke for being so insensitive/sexist/whatever.

His greater strength, though, is in his gag-writing ability. Not only is he ruthlessly prolific, producing a new full-length show almost every year, but his jokes are both robust and piercingly funny.

There’s a highly engineered efficiency about them all that not only matches his cold delivery, but also means they strike home brutally hard. There’s no flannel, no nonsense, just a barrage of crafted, memorable and piercing lines strong enough to stand without any such support. And his industry ensures an almost unrivalled laugh rate.

Comedy purists might wince at the inclusion of a couple of older gags in his set – the last time Chortle saw him, he adapted the ancient crowd-control line ‘where did you learn to whisper? In a helicopter?’ into his set – but Joe Public doesn’t care. It’s baffling, though, why he really needs to do such a thing, given the rich pool of razor-sharp and supremely dry one-liners he can call his own.

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Jimmy Carr's suffered a lot of critics - usually people who can't bestraddle a stage for two hours cracking 'em out like Bob Monkhouse on amphetamines in the way Jimmy can! Love him.

Michael Monkhouse, January 2013

His roots were in sales and this shows. Has successfully turned himself into a brand by employing trite, shock-tactic comedy with less substance than a Big Mac. Essentlially mirthless.

Roberto, April 2011

Am I the only person who finds one line jokes really patronising? "Blah Blah, ta da". *Laugh!* Also, he repeats himself. I've heard that Smarties tube on cats' legs joke so many times. Also, he fakes wit. When he's being heckled, "Your Mum". You've thought of this before. Stop faking spontaneity.

Kyle, February 2010

Jimmy Carr is frighteningly intelligent - but arguably also cold, cynical and calculating. He has the ability to conjure up gags about any subject under the sun - but his approach is that of an academic exercise. Unfortunately, with Rapier Wit he seems to have opted for the lazy, crowd pleasing approach of concentrating on sex in all its many forms. The clever reversals of expectation may still be there, though with less frequency, and less amusingly. I also felt a contempt for the audience coming through: "This is the sort of crap you want. I think it's rubbish, but I can give you as much as you can take." The line between this and, say, Roy "Chubby" Brown seems to be getting very blurred. I should add that I have seen Jimmy Carr four times, the first being when he was one of the supports for Milton Jones at a comedy club event. Rapier Wit may be the last.

Geoff F, November 2009

Stop being so pompous Noel James (below). He probably came up with that joke by himself anyway.

Tzameti, October 2009

Saw him live this week and when part of his set was just made of a PowerPoint presentation of "rude" cartoons, revolving around hairy women - send them to Germany, Madonna and her manly body and Susan Boyle being ugly, I could not for the life of me see how he could justfy calling the tour Rapier Whit - maybe Jim Davidson castoffs

Bob, October 2009

Tara just because you have no creativity,the same cannot be said for Jimmy Carr, he comes up with all his own material, it is not dervied from the humorless wasteland of Sickipedia. Jimmy Carr is infinetly funnier than you'll ever be, and I don't even know why im posting this as Jimmy Carr would hardly show much concern for your worthless opinion.

Dave W, July 2009

Saw Joke Technician a few days ago - found it a bit exhausting. Please slow down and tell a story from time to time.

Schadenfreude, May 2009

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