by Lady Blah Blah 

Recently, a younger person than I executed a near perfect impression of Adam DeMamp, one of the main characters in Comedy Central’s Workaholics. I was in the vicinity, so I aggressively giggled. My laugh was met by immediate judgment.

“YOU like Workaholics? But, you’re a woman. A grown woman. You’re a grown woman with a job. You like stupid comedy?”

Then, he hit me.

No! He didn’t! But, I wish he did. A slap would have given me a real reason to write this.

Now, he was right, about almost everything. I am a woman, a grown one.  I sort of have a job. And, I watch Workaholics—almost consistently. However, I had not thought of Workaholics as a dumb show, necessarily.  And, I was unaware that it targeted a gender specific audience.

Humor is abstract and subjective. It is personal. I understand that humor has cultural boundaries, though I wish, most of the time, that it didn’t. But, is humor divided by gender, too? Is man humor different than woman humor? Is there older woman with a semi-job humor? And, if humor is gender specific, does it also have an IQ? I have always argued that if a joke is successful (and I suppose the successful part invites an entirely different argument) then it is somewhat intelligent because the creator of the joke put some intelligent thought into his/her audience and into the content of the joke itself. Is this a fair thing to say? I’m not sure.

If it is all true—if what and why something is funny is determined by genitals and intelligence, then I suppose that makes me a dumb person with a small wiener and a giant butt.

So, as a person with a stupid wiener, I would like to explain why I think “Workaholics” is a little bit funny and a little bit smart.

1. it’s really all about me: Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, members of the Mail Order Comedy group and creators of Workaholics were almost all born in 1984 (Ders is a little bit older, born in 1981). I mention this because these guys are not much older than I—we’re early Generation Y compadres—and so I am able to relate to many of their “cultural” references—most of which make me laugh. They capture 90’s nuance with finesse—sliding in song lyrics, movie lines, and bitter end of the 20th century/early 21^st century trends and fads. Some would argue that the show’s humor relies heavily on boobies, drug antics, and penis size, but I would disagree. This show is full of allusions, and smart ones at that.

2. nice dic-tion: As Jerry Seinfeld recently stated, funny has a lot to do with word choice and these boyz are mindful word selectors. It is apparent that even character names were carefully hand-picked–Adam Dwayne DeMamp, Blake Chesterfield Henderson, Karl, Waymond–all derivatives of real names and all funny, if inexplicably so. Expressive language, in general, is an impressive part of the show.

Jerry Seinfeld explains why some words are funny

3. physical humor: The body plays an enormous role in the delivery of a joke. Adam’s face. Jillian’s wobble. Ders’ gangly physique and soft chest. Karl’s slight-ish eye issue. Blake’s under-bite. It may just be me, but I feel as if physical humor is (currently) vastly undervalued. If the body is a temple, we should probably start laughing at it.

4. Blake’s subtle underbite: As previously mentioned. While Blake’s face is a little bit funny, it’s also kind and genuine. I recently read that in 1998 he shaved his hair to his skull bone because he was being bullied (about it being so red and curly). This vulnerable side exponentially increased my attraction to Blake and I have since put him on my “stalkers I would like to have” list. So happy to see him using his mop for the win today—and so jealous of Rachel Finely.

5. Alice’s face: A forever fan of Jim Carrey’s malleable face, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Alice’s countenance upon first peek.

6. the boys’ ability to compartmentalize: In a world where many discussions revolve around people hating what they do, it’s nice to see some people doing something about it.

7. Mindy Who?:  Jillian, Jillian, Jillian. Oh My God, Jillian. She’s brilliant. Just ask Larry David.

More Jillian, another one, last one

8. Jet Set’s hair: And his attitude. I love a man who wears a suit most of the time. (RIP Jesse Hudson)

9. Waymond’s under-butt: Maybe I don’t want to see his under-butt, but I sure do like watching this guy walk.

10. Montez’s dirty mind: Pervs who wear tank tops are usually always funny. Unless, of course, they’re bad pervs.

11. Friendship!: There is some moral value to this show, for sure. And while I am doubtful that the high school kids watching on a weekly basis understand the complex humor that is really being presented, I feel safe in knowing that, in a scary, postmodern world, 21^st century young-ins have an outlet that models healthy relationships. I’m a big fan of BFFs.

12. Self-deprecating humor: (It’s all about me part II) I’m still trying to be cool and it’s really hard.  I laugh like a misshapen giant and, when I’m nervous, I twirl my overgrown sideburns and stare at people. I suppose what I like most about this show is that it is driven by insecurities and vulnerabilities. The Workaholics, in every episode, assert that they’re not that cool, and that’s OK because, sometimes, it’s funny.

xoxo LBB