Aarti Mann Quotes

I've committed myself to perfecting the art of the straight man. I try really hard not to crack up.

The brilliance of Adam Scott is that he is so damn funny in a straight man role.

Specifically in stand-up, I love jokes. I love short, structured ideas and a punchline.

The idea of the straight man is very important. But I'd rather it be somebody else, because it's not as fun. And when I say somebody else, of course I mean Jason Bateman. He's born to play boring characters because he's such a bore. He's one of the most boring human beings.

A lot of comedies are based on the reaction shot. You have one person doing something stupid and one person is generally the straight man, and the laughs generally come on the reaction of the straight man to the funny thing the other person has done.

Comedy becomes intensified in short scenes.

In comedy, though, it's good to get feedback from the audience about what they find funny.

The hardest thing in the world to do is to have someone in a seat in a theater laughing so hard that they're making weird sounds.

I'm always trying to make myself laugh. I'm the most enthusiastic audience I'm likely to find, so if it doesn't make me smile then it probably won't work on you. The jokes that only make me shrug get cut.

I wanted to be a comedian.

Religion theme aside, most of the time I'm in some sort of comedy and I'm a straight man and it's really just, let's wind this guy up and see him explode.

I've always said people say on a dramatic show, 'I was crying. It was so emotional when he went and grabbed that little girl from a burning building and handed her over to her mother.' In comedy, the best thing you can say is, 'I think it's funny.'

There is still a lot to be said for the well-made, witty, clever, three-act comedy.

I don't think of myself as funny - I don't fill up a room with my humor... I would fail miserably as a stand-up comedian.

I might've been witty, but I didn't have a shtick. So, I never considered myself a comedian.

You know something is a hit comedically if you can just call up one of your friends and belt out a line from the show and you both start laughing.

Kind of the exhausting thing about doing pure comedy, or something that's broader, is you're kind of a slave to the laugh. If it's not funny, then there's not much point in doing it. The kind of ueber-objective is to make people laugh. You always have to have that in the back of your mind, 'Eh, I've got to figure out a way to make this funny.'

If you're a comedian, you are looking for material in daily life.

I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job. He has to set up the jokes in just the right way.

I don't perceive my role as a newsman at all. I'm a comedian from stem to stern. You can cut me open and count the rings of jokes.

If you have a character that doesn't have anything wrong with him, there's nothing funny about it. The idea of the straight man is very important. But I'd rather it be somebody else, because it's not as fun.

I'd rather try and cram in another two gags than leave a pause to say, 'Hey, wasn't that bit funny?'

Mama is my chance to be a stand-up comedian. In my mind, it's my chance to be Chris Rock.

I'm very interested in any script that makes me laugh.

I feel that I'm a stand-up comedian more than anything else, that's my job.