Gene Siskel Quotes

If I think something's funny, I think it's funny.

Comedy's really subjective, you know.

There are two things you can't argue in film: comedy and eroticism. If something doesn't make you laugh, no one can tell you why it's funny, and it's difficult to reason someone out of an erection.

I do think funny is like sexy. You're either funny and sexy, or you're not.

How can you analyse what is funny? What's funny to one isn't funny to another... What's funny to you is a personal thing.

With humor, it's so subjective that trying to think of what the ideal reader would think would drive you crazy.

If I am totally honest, I would have to say that 'Allo 'Allo!' was not my cup of tea, even though lots of people loved it. For that reason, I find comedy fascinating. There is a huge difference between what people find funny.

In comedy, it's so subjective; there is no right or wrong.

You never want to defend a joke. People get to choose whether or not to laugh and whether or not they think something is funny.

I don't think of any sentence as a "one-liner", but I do pay attention to how people actually speak when they are being funny. Rhythm is key.

If you want to feel less sexy put scotch tape on your nipples.

The idea of surprise is part of what makes something funny, or what gets a reaction. At least when I'm an audience member, after you hear a joke so many times it's not as funny because it loses its surprise or its twist. So I think funny has to do with surprise.

A lot of the things I do are the sort of things I think are funny.

The fact that there is no right or wrong is what I think is maddening. I can think you're a phenomenal actor, but the guy next door can think you're a horrible actor, and neither of us is wrong and neither of us is right. It's just a matter of opinion.

There's a guy in the audience with a distinctive laugh. I hope that guy is miked. The only problem with having a distinctive laugh is I know exactly when that guy isn't laughing. "Oh, distinctive laugh doesn't think that joke was funny!"

I still think that, hopefully, you're not ahead of the jokes, and I think that has value. There is a punchline and it's pointed - and, again, whether you think it's funny or not, that's subjective.

Comedy is like expensive cheese. Well, it's like cheese, in general. Everybody likes what they like, and everything they don't like, they think is the worst.

When you're doing comedy, you're not trying to be funny. I think things are funny when the character is taking it totally seriously. I think when people are winking, it becomes slapstick, it becomes something else.

Anything has a rhythm to it, comedy or drama. There has to be a musicality to it. And everybody can't play the same instrument, ideally. But I think that we all have the same comedic tendencies, and that's why it works. We all sort of agree with what's funny.

I think the second you think that you're funny is when you stop being funny.

I'd done light comedy. In some quarters, About Last Night... is a romantic comedy. So it wasn't like I'd been doing Sophie's Choice my entire career. But for whatever reason, nobody had really given me the room or the ability to be out and out funny. And Lorne [Michaels] and Mike [Myers] and Chris [Farley] and Dana [Carvey], that crop really helped me do that.

People think drama drives story, but I think the comedy is really the heart and soul.

I like to think of myself as the middleman between Fred Allen and Henny Youngman.

Anything that is not funny at a certain point will be funny.

It's not hard to be sexy when you're standing in front of Angelina Jolie or Robin Wright Penn. They're two of the most beautiful women in the world and two of the finest actresses. I think that if you're with people who are good in your profession they become sexy because they're good at what they do. I enjoyed being 6ft 6ins, having an eight pack and a long todger, you know? If I fold mine in half it's the same length!