Meh. I’ve never seen any media that was “improved” by including profanity. Anything you want to communicate can be done better, more artfully, and more effectively without it. Put a script in the hands of a skilled writer that respects the audience and profanity is absolutely unnecessary and accomplishes very little or nothing at all.
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One can then always blame excessive censorship on the marching piccolo player’s music holder — eyestrain and deficient bloodflow to the right hand, you know.
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I dunno. I’ve been amused by @effinbirds on Instagram as well as something as well-written as The Good Place as far as profanity is concerned.
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Usually true but there’s a bit on the Mads riff of Walk the Dark Streets where Trace drops an F-bomb and it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard – partly because after so many hours of MST3K it feels so out of character. The Mads do swear but not a lot and hearing it burst out in Crow’s voice just had me rolling.
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I shamefacedly report that I’ve watched that twice and while I remember it happened, I don’t remember the precise moment.
Now I find myself thinking about how Tom’s exasperated “How’d they get off the cock-a-doody cliff?!” line from one of the Crash Corrigan shorts is STILL one of the funniest moments ever on the show. Much funnier than it would’ve been if they could just be profane to their hearts’ content.
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That’s interesting: I have found that many times I’ve thought swearing was funny, I’ve revisited the material later and found it not so much. I think that’s because a lot of times it’s trading on expectations and surprise, and when that’s gone there’s not much left.
Case in point, Life of Brian: A lot of the swearing seemed hilarious to me at the time, but in retrospect it’s the weakest part of the movie—with a couple of brilliant exceptions.
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Yeah, it’s definitely funnier the first time, when it takes you totally by surprise. I don’t think that makes it less funny, just less… durably funny? As opposed to, say, the “I thought we were the Judean People’s Front” argument in LoB which is hilarious every time.
Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen it: It’s near the beginning, when the tall psycho brother is setting up the screen to show the other guy his weird animal murder pictures.
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Yes! Like pop music and teen movies, it’s very “of the moment”—which is still completely valid.
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Crow drops a swear word during Assignment: Venezuela. That made my eyes bulge when I first heard it! 
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Flying Squid? An oldie but goodie.
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I remember in The Movie Tom says “Well whoopty-s***” and it was both hilarious and pearl-clutching (no not that Pearl). It was in such contrast to any of the TV episodes.
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I feel like profanity can be like any other color in the palette - apply too much, and it loses impact. Apply it poorly, and it’s a hot mess. Just the right amount - which is tricky - is gold. Or something like that.
On the other hand, I am often taken off guard by Rifftrax when the bleep themselves. I’m not expecting it and it gives the riff a more casual, off-the-cuff feel. By the time my brain is keeping up with a movie, plus riffing, and a riffer’s swear words are bleeped, I’m not analyzing it - I’m laughing because Bill just told Kevin to eff off because of his joke. And I’m comfortable with that. If I can (sorta) suspend my disbelief for a riffable movie, I’ll certainly laugh at that.
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“THANKS, Movie. You BLEEEP!!” near the end of Deadly Prey when the abused Mrs. Mullet is killed by the villain in front of Mr. Mullet. It’s just perfect.
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Well said. Judicious swearing is a part of a balanced breakfast.
(Speaking of which, anyone else ever find that amusing in breakfast commercials? A lustrous shot of eggs, bacon, toast, juice and … a bowl of Fruity Pebbles? Yes, technically, that is a part of this balanced breakfast. So is a pack of Skittles and some dryer lint, but they’re not good parts of this breakfast.)
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For what its worth, I think the over the top, beyond excessive, use of the f-word is what makes Scarface (1983) the comedy gold that it is. I may be in the minority, but I think when you look at it is as a grand farce, this movie might just be Brian De Palma’s magnum opus.
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And milk, oatmeal, grits, apples, oranges, prunes, bran muffins, corn, chicken, green peppers, chili, (sigh) onions…
Of course this turns out to be a TV Trope.
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I don’t know — De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise is a pretty high bar to clear in that category.
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Also, Al Pacino overacting before it became cliche.
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The Big Lebowski.
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C’mon, who didn’t cheer at this?
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