That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: On the Death and Rebirth of Comedy

by Lou Perez

Overview

The Woke are killing comedy—and that makes being a comedian today better than ever!

The Woke—that humorless, joyless, shame-inducing virus—are killing comedy...and that is great for comedians! So argues award-winning comedian Lou Perez in his hilarious and provocative book debut, That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore.

Through the lens of comedy, Lou examines anti-racism, sex, gender, cancel culture, and all the modern-day sacred cows that have been propped up in recent years. An equal-opportunity offender, nothing is safe from his mockery. Lou punches up, he punches down—he’s throwing haymakers in every direction!

This book is a cancellable offense—but worth the risk. It’s time to fight back: to create, to celebrate, and most importantly, to laugh. These are amazing times, in no small part thanks to the Woke gift to comedy.

Plus, reading That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore will take care of your diversity reading quota. Lou has the results from his DNA test to prove it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637582459
Publisher:	Bombardier Books
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,062,148
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Lou Perez was the Head Writer and Producer of the Webby Award–winning comedy channel We the Internet TV. In addition to producing sketch comedy, performing stand-up, and opinion writing, Lou also hosts The Lou Perez Podcast.

Lou began doing improv and sketch comedy as an undergrad at New York University, where he was part of the comedy group the Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz.

For years, Lou performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in NYC and L.A., in sketch shows with the Hammerkatz, and his comedy duo, Greg and Lou. Lou was also a comedy producer on truTV’s Impractical Jokers.

Table of Contents

1 A Brief History of the Death of Comedy 1

2 How I Became a "Far-Right Radical" 21

3 Pandemic Daddy 29

4 Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is Cancel Proof 37

5 Luis Amate Perez 47

6 Aged Out 53

7 Latinx 57

8 In the Lows 63

9 Black Cartoons, Black Voices 67

10 APU Problems 75

11 Cremation Vacation 87

12 D.I.E. 93

13 Real White Chicks, Fake Black Women 97

14 Another White Man 103

15 Hate-Crime Writers 109

16 Comedy's Hr Department 113

17 In Living Color 117

18 Punching Up Is Problematic 121

19 The Chris Rock Challenge 127

20 Laugh So Hard It Hurts 135

21 Between the 23ANDME 137

22 Stupid Representation 149

23 Maskhole 155

14 Alpha Cuck 167

25 Conservatives in Comedy 171

26 Bombing 175

27 Act Like You Believe It 181

28 Activist Comedian 191

29 Libtard 195

30 I Am Become Death 199

31 No Fucks Given 205

32 Hater 209

33 Letter from a Coward 217

34 No Apologies 221

15 Radioactive 223

36 Show Your Work 229

37 Ode to the UCB 235

38 Live, Laugh, Love 243

Acknowledgments 249

About the Author 251

Editorial Reviews

Lou Perez is an exhilarating reminder of what sane people sounded like before social media, pronoun obsessions, and plague paranoia destroyed most Americans’ minds, leaving them tragically incapable of appreciating comedy or life—especially in New York City, where he was living before writing the book. Without hatred or pettiness but with many laughs, Perez shows how that which parades itself as ‘tolerance’ is often just another excuse to make one’s fellow humans miserable, sometimes while advancing one’s own career. (Of course, the culture has moved so far to the left that this book might now get ‘canceled’ just for having a cover photo resembling one from a Smiths album, since their lead singer Morrisey, though a gay vegan immigrant musician who hates Margaret Thatcher, has recently been criticized for his wariness of Islam. It never ends. But if Morrissey himself reads the book, he might like the chapter defending Charlie Hebdo, or the oddly frequent jokes suggesting Perez is bi-curious.)

Todd Seavey

A serious theme underlies this compulsively readable, laugh-out-loud tour of today’s comedy landscape. Comedian Lou Perez argues persuasively that a healthy society thrives on nurturing funny folks whose jokes shock, dismay, and outrage us.

Gene Epstein

That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore is a travelogue of how comedy went from ‘That could be funny—let’s try it!’ to our current climate where comedy and more importantly, attempts at comedy, are placed under a microscope to ensure the motivational purity of the person telling the joke. From his days as a buff college hottie, through the mean streets of the UCB system, to the deep deep deep weirdness of having and making children in NYC during the height of the Covid-19 debacle, Lou manages to make his personal journey universal and beautiful.

Dean Cameron

All great truths begin as blasphemies. The same can be said of jokes. And in his debut book, That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore, comedian Lou Perez delivers truth and blasphemy with punch lines. Each chapter is a killer performance, so I highly recommend the audiobook version, which Lou narrates.

Nadine Strossen

Lou is the best kind of political satirist—fearless, funny and willing to soar above partisan squabbles. That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore proves it, chapter after chapter. Comedy needs more warriors like him, artists willing to tackle the most challenging subjects with wit and wisdom.

Christian Toto

Reading That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore is like drinking a cocktail from the safety of an orbital space station while watching the burning terrain below. It offers solace and perspective while witnessing the madness that’s destroying society.

Peter Boghossian