Wednesday, May 14, 2008

You had me at knock-knock....

Forget bulging pecs and fast cars. Never mind those college basketball stats and varsity letters. Nerdy women dig funny men. It's just a fact of life.

Yup, if you're like me (and I know I am*), no characteristic is more important than a sense of humor in a gentleman friend. Half the reason I fell in love with my husband was because he could perfectly recreate a Kids In the Hall sketch involving food stuck to the side of his face. And six years into our marriage, all fights are forgiven when he impersonates the cat and talks in a funny voice about how she likes to get high. (She doesn't really get high. She's Mormon.)

I was thinking about all this when sifting through the Nerd Man of the Month nominees and noted how many of the nominees and winners are guys who ply the comedy trade: Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, Eddie Izzard, Joss Whedon, John Hodgman, Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg...basically, everyone. Why? Because funny guys are smart guys and they can make us laugh. And as everyone knows, laughing, like sneezing, always feels good.

If I ever have a daughter and she asks for my advice on dating before she heads off to college (every mother I know is laughing at that one right now), I'm going to tell her, "Estelle, look for the funny guys." (Yes, I'm going to name her Estelle so I can pretend from the moment of her birth that she's at least 45 years older than me, and I'm still the youngest woman in the house. It's messed up, I know.) I'll tell her to stay away from the frat parties and the Rocks for Jocks classes and find some guys to make her laugh. "Why?" Estelle will ask in her old lady voice. (I'll have been giving her stogies since Pre-K.) I'll tell her it's because funny guys are nice guys, and they'll keep you entertained. And perhaps best of all? They're likely self-effacing enough not to be snooty.

What does this post have to do with anything? Well, one, it shows that if you want to be Nerd Man of the Month, you better have some good jokes lined up, preferably ones that involve how to stop elephants from charging. And two, it's just a friendly reminder that those funny guys who sit in the back of class -- or these days, in the back of those mind-numbing marketing meetings -- are probably the cream of the crop. And if they ever slip you a clown shoe with their number on it, you should consider giving 'em a call.

* That is one of my all-time favorite Mystery Science Theater jokes.

9 comments:

Chewbob said...

Just make sure they are independently funny. I once was interested in a guy who cracked me up, until I found out that all of his lines were stolen from other comedians, and he used the same ones over and over. Then I realized he was kind of an obnoxious jerk.

Liz said...

Ooh, good point. That would be terrible. It's like being stuck at camp with someone that won't stop repeating lines from Monty Python. *shudder*

said...

Yup, I totally agree. My hubby makes me laugh all the time.

Also, just because they're dorky-looking in high school doesn't mean they won't grow into those looks in college and beyond.


The nerds shall inherit the earth. :)

Nightfall said...

I once got a guy to completely and utterly fall for me entirely with funny voices. The best was using the intercom to get buzzed up. I had a new voice for every visit.

Thankfully, guys are not immune to the smart/funny thing. Otherwise, I'd have no chance...

Unknown said...

YOU make me laugh! Thanks for this post. I need to go home and kiss my funny husband now. :)

Anonymous said...

You talk about funny nerd men, and you give your favorite MST3K joke, so where's the Joel Hodgson love? Please consider nominating Joel for a delicious side dish or main course. He deserves it. Won't you? Thank you.

Riana said...

It's weird, the bf and I disagree on almost everything concerning comedic preferences (he's a Mr. Show guy and I'm more 30 Rock, but dammit if we don't both find David Tennant hilarious. It was great to see him make Nerd Man of the Month for April.

Anonymous said...

Ooh, good point. That would be terrible. It's like being stuck at camp with someone that won't stop repeating lines from Monty Python. *shudder*

Nobody expects the Spanish...

Oh, wait.

MandyU said...

Hey, weird. My cat is Jewish. She told my funny husband, who told me. We are both atheists, but we fully support her religion and help her celebrate her holidays in style. I actually think my family fell in love with my husband when he got really into analyzing the cat and translating for all of us.