Why are the vast majority of American comedies (even the funny ones) prone to sickening sentimentality?
486746
It's been going on for years, back in the twenties and thirties, it was called corn or schmaltz, a Yiddish expression.\nI can't see it fading away anytime soon. It seems to be a good sell, for these shows.\nA bit like sex, which they say, sells.
552938
You must be a more discerning person than the other 98 percent of the population.  Congratulations.\n\nToday's comedian's are not very funny because they haven't the kind of experience it takes to be funny.  They are copying others and resorting to crudity rather than wit and cleverness.  Most of today's comedians rely on popular images, anything sexual being the favorite, and are lost to dealing with style and wit.  I won't give examples.  I don't think I need to.  Look at many of the answers here and you'll see that few, if any, has addressed your question.  Instead, most have simply given you examples which is lack of thinking, reasoning.  This also is what is missing from today's comedians' supposed comedy.
956079
You may be right. Nowadays, people are basing humor, well satire  around politics and its kinda getting on my nerves as well.\n\nI watch 'Whose line is it",  kinda nice.\n\nTo get my spirits high, I usually watch FRIENDS, Less Than Perfect, etc
794963
Most of the time I have to try hard *not* to laugh.  lol  I find humor in such a wide assortment of things... and some of them aren't even supposed to be funny.  Perhaps I use humor as a way to create levity to an otherwise heavy situation.  Because you know what they say "If I don't laugh....I'm gonna cry".  And, well, crying isn't nearly as fun as laughing.  Unless of course, you laugh yourself to tears. lol  Hmmmm... did I answer your question yet?  Sheesh - I have no idea.  I guess I was born with some sort of sense of humor.... even if I am the only one who finds it amusing!
446280
Cool to laugh at, not cool to take seriously.
143225
Sense of humor is just like beauty, in the eye of the beholder.  Some people think South Park is funny.  Go figure.\n\nAs for getting mad, you have to ask yourself that question, it sounds like you would know the answer.
767347
I also love movies of several types and I think  that the worse the film is the louder the sound. They make this to make you feel the sound and distract you from thinking about the poor  argument. That is my conclusion.
461049
i agree, Americans are becoming more and more accepting of indeciency and immorality - we see entertainment continuously pushing the lines of what is tolerable with endless shows centering about being homosexual, shorter and fewer clothes, purposeless living, etc. i am not saying that these shows should be banned or anything, but simply that they have devolped a sickingly wide audience and illustrate how low we are sinking as a society
376336
Yes and no. For instance, I can actually laugh at SOME of my parents jokes, but I understand ALL of them. Some just aren't funny to me. Conversely, they rarely are amused with jokes that I find absolutely hilarious. Mainly, it's based on society. Things change in a generation. Still, as shown with my case, many things found funny decades ago continue to bring laughter today. =)
838667
Comedy has always been about offending, and pushing the line. Let me rephrase, Good comedy has always been about offending. Who cares what these others think? Are they going to come up to you later and be like "hey, I read what you wrote on Reggie's cast, and I gotta say, not funny." \nAt that point, put on your best Lenny Bruce face and say, "yeah, fuk it, I wrote it! What?". \nYour line is funny, or you could write like, You're a genius like Stephen Hawking! But unlike him you'll be the one doing the walking!
183441
It can be for comdy reason, or drama reason. But bottom line is that they are "trying" to create a stereotype teenagers (a enchanted small truth version of teens lifestyle). Again, would the film company or cartoons get any profit if they create the perfect normal teen show where there is barely any drama scenes which "perfect idiots" often faced? Take one cartoon for example, "Zits," which is popular but yet, the main charcter is perfect idiot in clever way.
759603
Because it's always funny to see something misfortunate happen to someone since it doesnt happen very often. Charley Chaplain understood this and in his comedies, he 'inflicted' pain onto himself. Of course it was fake but he did it for the amusement of others.
697780
Because humour where people get hurt (but not badly) is still the funniest. It's visual and it's universal. Think of how your friends laugh when you fall over (or you at them) as long as they don't injure themselves.
102534
At least in part.  Movies are an exaggeration.  Compared to most other countries, American culture is decadent.  We waste resources and tend to be arrogant.  Those who lean to the left want to rush into a future untested.  Those who are the most conservative want to go back 20 or more years and pretend nothing has happened.  America is very diverse.  Even people who have lived here all of their lives have no idea of what the country is all about because they might have spent their entire life in one small area.  You would have to see us to believe us.
369910
Cheesiness is what American culture is made of. Disneyland,6 Flags,reality TV,etc. While you guys in the UK are known for being aloof and refined, we Americans are known for our cheesy, as you so kindly put it,pop culture.I hate 50 cent,he looks like a chipmunk.LOL!
1077793
I've seen great American movies and great European movies.  But I've definitely seen more bad American movies than European ones.  Maybe it's the accents or the fact that they have less inhibitions, but there's something great about European film.
419409
There is no generally accepted reason why human beings laugh. We do know that it is tied to crying from brain injuries that have resulted in people suddenly crying or laughing for no reason. The area of the brain that controls this is relatively small and the injuries are rarely the same making study of the actual mechanism difficult.