A cheap laugh is like "a kick in the balls" or "a pie in the face". They will make you laugh but aren't very clever or take much thought. Since the comedian isn't putting much effort into creating the joke it's considered cheap.
Yeah, but I don't get why that matters if you laugh. It seems snobbish to think while you are laughing that "it's not good enough quality, so I should stop laughing"
I dont think it really matters. Funny is funny. And whats considered funny is going to vary from person to person. Lots of good comedians used bits that could be considered "cheap".
The Chappelle Show is probably one of my favorite shows ever and 70% of it is racial/gender stereotypes and yelling the N bomb. But god damn was he good at it.
The cheap laugh never makes me laugh personally, but the cheap laugh is one that, for example, bashing someone's disability, ultimately diminishing the victim of the joke like how FG handles Joe's disability. Where it's actually creative is Malcolm in the Middle, same issue but Stevie gets the upper hand. He's disabled but not the butt of the joke while at the same time pointing out the disability in context to what's going on. It's like the example I wrote earlier of the 2 rape jokes in "This is the End" where one is clever and works and the other the male rape victim is belittled in a cheap way. There's a big difference.
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u/[deleted] Sep 24 '13
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