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Mencia was on Howard Stern last week and to be honest he wasn't really all that funny. What he really seemed like was a bad rehash of George Lopez, which was a really wonderful guest, with very strong wit and interesting stories. Mencia on the other hand seems to be full of Mexican jokes, like you mentioned, and nothing much else.

It was clear that he was hoping for Chappelle's Show to provide an excellent lead in. Now that the show has to shine on its own merits, well, we'll see how it goes.

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first of all i strongly disagree, i find mencia hilarious, sure he may be taking some aspects from chappelle's show, but it's because it works. Secondly the show is quite successful as it has received very positive reviews and the premiere was the third highest rated in network history.

Lastly to reply to the above comment, he killed on Howard, he was getting positive feed back on the listeners and email Howard was receiving and even Howard LOVED him. Which is rare to happen.

Sure he may not your brand of comedy but he sure does not suck. I'm not even sure if there is a "shock" factor to the comedy, i just think it's funny.

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I also think he is hilarious. The segment last week with the ghost of Johnny Cochran was a riot. I don't like Chapelle all that much but Mencia is hilarious.

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Well, the main thing was I was comparing what he said to what Lopez said, and what I really heard was a bunch of somwhat generic race related jokes. I find the type of humor which I think you're referring to very funny, but there's just something about this guy. It could be the way he almost forced the discussion about the priest which may have annoyed me more than I thought.

I mean I found the guy funny, but not all that funny, though admittingly I have not seen the show so he may be better in the different setting. I'm in agreeance with what you said Bepop - he does not suck, but I just don't think he's all that great as well.

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ooda Please don't further the stereotype that George Lopez is funny.

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haha nice one Vince.

Seriously though, I've never seen George Lopez standup, maybe he's good, but his ABC show is terrible.

I actually thought that Mencia was pretty good. He did seemed a little forced somtimes, a lot like Lewis Black. But thats just bad acting. A lot of his stuff was funny. Its not hit material like chappelle's show, but its a lot better than most of the crap shows that old standup comedians get into.

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Zing! Ha, no, actually I only saw his show once, and wasn't really impressed, though he wasn't on screen for the short time I watched, but his appearance on Howard Stern was very good and that's what I'm basing my opinion on.

I guess it's clear that in some matters I may be a bit underinformed.

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Humor is really subjective, so it almost seems like debating this is...well, stupid. No one's right or wrong. For myself, I like George Lopez much better than Mencia. Mencia is just crass without there being much of a point; at least with Lopez there's an undercurrent of actual meaning, he's actually pointing up problems, etc. (which makes it satire). Of course, I also like his show. Is it the best TV sitcom in recent times? No. But it makes me laugh, and that's all it has to do. And since there are so few funny comedies on right now...that makes me like it that much more.

I really wish I could remember the name of that other Hispanic comedian I like. They play his routine on Comedy Central often (it's the only place I've seen him)...he's got a joke about a roommate/friend who was a stripper and not wanting to touch his dollar bills, he riffs on Hispanic girls at a party and getting in a fight...jeez. Drawing a total blank on the name and not describing it well, either. Anyhow, whoever he is, he cracks me up.

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Mencia is awful I heard him years ago doing stand up around NYC, someone in the crowd yelled "we're not all Mexican" he said your "all beaners, illegal beaners"
Knowing that Puerto Ricans are all natural US citizens made me permanently hate him.
Lopez is slightly funnier but at least it is smart humor not just yelling beaner every thirty seconds.

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You're thinking of Pablo Francisco I think.

And any form of humor should not have to rely on racial surs/stereotypes in order to be funny. Be original, people.

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His schtick is that he's "honest," and that he doesn't hold back when it comes to talking about ethnicities or other stereotypes. It feels like 90% of his act is full of stereotypes, and I understand that it's all in good fun, and that he preaches that we have to be open-minded and know when to just laugh ... I just don't find myself laughing. I'm not offended, it just doesn't strike me as funny.

I'm not saying he's -bad-, necessarily. He's had a bit or two that made me laugh, but it was mixed in with a slew of bits that did nothing for me.

His show is more of the same, though that's not entirely surprising. Some of his "edginess" isn't even honest. At the start of one episode, he said:

"Comedy Central tells me I can't tell gay jokes. Hey, if you gay people are watching: If you can take a penis, you can take a joke!" *cue laughter from audience*

Yeah, so edgy ... I highly doubt Comedy Central actually told him to avoid gay jokes. They're frequent on the Daily Show and Hollow Men, and there's sort of a constant gay joke going on with Dangle from Reno 911. Then there's Kids in the Hall ... and the Chappelle Show's gay Klansman and landscaper ... yeah, Comedy Central is really strict about the gay thing.

I dunno ... humor may be subjective, but I think how hard he -forces- the edginess isn't. I don't mind it much in general, but the funny comes from the content, not simply that it's about stereotypes. I could tolerate Mencia more if he toned down the "Look at me! I'm edgy!" style, especially since I don't think he's really -that- edgy, but that seems to be his thing ... so eh ...

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I have been watching - the show is funny. No need to compare Mencia and George Lopez - I like them both but just because they are both Hispanic doesn't mean that they should be compared to one another.

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I agree with you Annie. I've given the show a chance, the only thing i found that was really that funny was the going into west hollywood and getting the "gay experience." It was pretty stupid, but the jokes were okay. Overall though, the show is just an attempt to capitalize on the success of Chappell's Show to a different ethnic group. The main difference being that Chappelle is actually funny.

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Carlos is a US Citizen, thus he can say what ever he wants to say, I think that most people that complain about him should just take their remote and push the button to change the channel. You are not forced to listen to such vulgar crap so don't do it. Dugh! Besides, in my opinion he is the funniest Hispanic on the Planet! Rock on Carlos Mencia!

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hey man, Mencia rocks! the guy is pretty damn funny - and why the comparisons to Lopez? they have completely different kinds of humor -

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Mencia isn't even Mexican, as he would like to make you think. http://www.joerogan.net/main.php Menstealia is a worthless hack.

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I don't understand how Mencia has a career. Anyone who is up to date with there political reading will realize that Mencia is about 3 weeks too late in everything he does. Everytime I see him on the TV, he seems to be telling me the reason I'm not laughing is that I'm too nervous other people will see me laughing and that maybe I should watch him while I'm all alone; only, I am all alone, and I just can't seem to respond to his pile of bean crap. For those of you that think he's great, read the newspaper and then watch the daily show; your simple mind will change, slowly.

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