[mycroft]

I can't find the quote - so maybe it's apocryphal, but someone (allegedly) once said to a dinner guest: "It is possible to be funny without being crude, and it is possible to be funny while being crude. I would suggest you be one or the other."

John Belushi's comedy - well, is a thing. He was very very good at it - one of the best. Not only the lines, but the timing and facial expressions. But if it isn't for you, it isn't for you; it isn't for everybody.

And the Lampoon wasn't for everybody either - I have "Bored of the Rings" (and used to have "Doon"), and read it regularly. The first half of the book is amazing (but a *very similar* comedy style to Animal House, so, yeah, that). They either ran out of jokes or interest there, though, so the last two thirds of the story is the last half of the book, and it's "extruded comedy product contractually required".

But if you haven't seen The Blues Brothers (the first one), maybe try that before giving up completely on Belushi. If it turns out you still hate his style of comedy (and it's definitely there), at least you can enjoy the music and the multi-car pileups. And the cameos, if you still remember 1980, are amazing.

[shyams]

Your President is about to take a lot of credit for the election of a U.S. born Cardinal (first ever) as the Pope

Can't guess how he will do it, but I suspect Trump will make some gauche remarks about how he played a role in that election.

[barmar]

kenberg, on 2025-May-07, 19:27, said:

Yes, I am certainly old enough to have seen Animal House and I did. I was 39 in 1978. But I have little or no memory of it so I simply didn't get the references you made or even understand where they were from.

I was 17, so the perfect age to appreciate the sophomoric humor.

[barmar]

shyams, on 2025-May-08, 11:54, said:

Your President is about to take a lot of credit for the election of a U.S. born Cardinal (first ever) as the Pope

Can't guess how he will do it, but I suspect Trump will make some gauche remarks about how he played a role in that election.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Hopefully Leo will give him ***** for making this all about himself.

If there's any link between Trump and the American Pope, I like to think it's more likely due to how Trumpism has infected the US population. So we need a Pope who Americans can relate to and will try to help us get back on track.

[kenberg]

I will just congratulate the new Pope. Congratulations.

[kenberg]

barmar, on 2025-May-08, 14:08, said:

I was 17, so the perfect age to appreciate the sophomoric humor.

I just now decided to Google the reviews from 1978. Roger Ebert's review begins "The movie is vulgar, raunchy, ribald, and occasionally scatological. It is also the funniest comedy since Mel Brooks made “The Producers” (1968)."


The considtensy is impresive. "The Producers" is another widely praised movie that I thought was stand-out awful.


Tastes vary. I am not sure just what it is with me, I have little precise memory of either of them, but I guess I would say that I am not surprised that someone who liked The Producers would like Animal House. The Producers was on tv a while back and I gave it a try, figuring maybe I was just in a bad mood when I saw it before. I know many liked it. I maybe watched 15 minutes, at most.


Predicting preferences can be tough. As a Senior in High Scool, when I was 17, I took a test.that was to see what sort of a career I might be best for me. Top rated for me: aviation and farming. Very low rated: mathematics.


Aviation: At 17 I had a fear of flying. My first plane ride was when I was a grad student.


Farming: I had spent a couple of weeks one summer on my cousin's farm doing chores. I hated it.


Mathematics: When I was 13 I bought Georege Gamow's OneTwo Three Infinity and read it from cover to cover. At the end of my junior year in High School I reported that my math text was lost. There were some parts we hadn't studied and I wanted to read them. Around that time Paul Rosenbloom started giving Saturday classes in Math at the Univ of Minnesota, free for any youngster that wanted to come. I came.




I decided to follow my own judgment.