Even if I won the Powerball last week, $999 (OK, StubHub) is too much to splurge on for an Amy Schumer ticket. I ranted to my dad about my frustration of her sold-out Madison Square Garden show in July. His response: "There's no way she's sold out. She's not funny." Not only was my new woman crush of comedy's potential to sell-out put into question, but more importantly, her humor. New York Magazine noted Schumer as, "a comet streaking gloriously across the Zeitgeist, leaving a tail of smudged mascara and Fireball aftertaste in her wake." So, obviously, it's not that she isn't funny. And then it hit me... Why don't guys think Amy Schumer is funny?
All of the guys I know either dislike the spitfire comedian or have no comment. My boyfriend said that he can "type in 'stand-up comedy' and find anyone better." Our friend, Jordin, claimed that her jokes are both shocking and offensive. And my two friends named Ryan agreed that with her "resting bitch face," they wouldn't buy a ticket for her show. So what is it about Amy Schumer that make most guys recoil? Because I haven't seen Kristen Wiig or Sarah Silverman getting this much heat.
After talking to my buddies and forcing my man to watch over 20 minutes of Schumer's stand-up on YouTube, I figured out why guys aren't on the Amy bandwagon. Maybe guys dismiss Schumer because, deep down, they're frightened that she is every girl's unfiltered, honest self (which is 99 percent true). Sorry to scare you fellas, but there's a reason why we laugh at her jokes so hard. Spoiler alert: chicks talk about sex, alcohol, and all that hush-hush, unladylike stuff probably more than you do. My friend, Jordin, admitted the possibility that having a woman tell these jokes is what makes Schumer the wild card in the comedy world. That makes sense. She's a lot to take in if you're watching her specials on Comedy Central for the first time. You could even consider her "one of the boys" from the level of intensity this Long Island girl spits on stage. But when we hear guys throw out these jokes, it's not so surprising. Guys get away with crude comedy because, well, "they're guys." Stereotypical, but true. So hearing jokes about raunchy sexcapades and period problems from the mouth of a blonde, blue-eyed lady is the ultimate twist.
I'm no feminist, but let's be real: we, ladies, are funny. No, not "cute" funny, as if a girl adorably burped at the kitchen table. We have graduated to the "fall on your ass" hysterical. From "Saturday Night Live" to celebrity roasts on Comedy Central, women have been showing off that we know how to make a crowd laugh. The other week, my boyfriend was basically turning purple from laughter watching Amy Poehler and Tina Fey's "Sisters" on the big screen.
Schumer was the last straw in breaking this barrier for women in comedy. She takes her listeners into uncharted territories that makes ladies laugh from relating and guys awkwardly unsure of whether or not to join in the joke. Also, leaving them with a blank stare and thinking, "Did she really just say that?" Yes, she did and you better get used to it. Not only is Schumer full-speed in her comic career, but she gave the thumbs up for other female comedians. AKA ladies with a sense of humor that even make male comedians pause for a second and realize: she's a run for his money -- or laughs.
