Hedge Sketch

[TheSecondThousand]

Just to clear anything up * clears throat*

A "smart alec" or "smart aleck" is a person regarded as obnoxiously self-assertive and impudent. The term "smart arse" is more commonly used in the United Kingdom, and "smart ass" is also used in the United States and carries a similar meaning to smart alec, but is less subtle and more vulgar.

*wanders off in that direction*

[FRMariposa]

I believe Mr. Weavehole was employing the literary device of irony.

[weavehole]

@FRMariposa

You are, of course, correct. Thanks for noticing.

I was so astonished that nobody got what I thought was an entirely obvious joke (inc House and Hackney Carriage references) that I began to assume that the insults were themselves subtle jokes.

Still not sure they weren't...

Internet did done weirded me right out.

[weavehole]

Man, these guys are rubbish they never get it right and then, right at the end it isn't even funny! You can actually hear the audience laughing AT them!

Amazing!!!1! I bet they never got to do another performance live on stage again.

Tsk. I wonder what they do now?

Probably taxi drivers or something I bet or doing a menial job in a hospital annoying their boss I imagine!

Awful!

[prokentsful]

@weavehole Maybe you should learn more about them before criticising them...

They did this sketch on purpose, but you are obviously to stupid to realise that.

Watch their other sketches and you will realise that they are geniuses of comedy.

I'm going to guess that you're American - that would be a sufficent reason for why you dislike this kind of comedy.

[weavehole]

@prokentsful

Did you spell 'too' wrong on purpose?

:)

[mmasny]

@weavehole Are you asking smartass questions on purpose?

[weavehole]

@mmasny

Can you define smartass?

[mmasny]

@weavehole No. But I can give you another clue. This was also a smartass question.

[mmasny]

@weavehole No. But I can give you another clue. This was also a smartass question.

[Fortevn]

@weavehole Yeah. One is retired as a national living treasure and having himself a huge land in Africa with servants and a forest. The other one is sitting in Hollywood being one of the biggest stars ever whom Conan O'brien admires like a god. I think they're deserving that! Hah!

[eawoodard]

hilarious!

[SeventhEve]

I'm American, and I find it hilarious. I don't think you could say that every Brit would find this skit funny either, though. It's a matter of taste, plain and simple.

[curtisharrell]

Don't think I can say I speak for "every American", as a matter of fact, I can honestly say I don't even know most of them. But I do know what I like. I think my problem is I did "get" the joke - and found it amazingly unfunny. Perhaps the drollery is just too sophisticated for me!

[OliviaMartin1]

Fantastic sketch !! Soo Funny ! :) xxxx

[oOZePirateOo]

absolute genuises :)

[NotaFro]

I do love this sketch! Stephen and Hugh together more so, though.

[Nerfi]

It's part of the joke

[Nerfi]

I think the joke is that they've built up the sketch by doing it wrong to that point three times, and when they finally do it right, and speed through it, they suddenly stop because they don't have anything else for it. The irony being that the audience was expecting a punchline.

[kgdsmile]

ahhhh thank you :)

[Kebabsvein]

its all part of the act

[markik12y48]

PhD!  Guess Hugh is playing a double role in this sketch :))

[moderndaechristine]

did anyone see the cockroach running across the floor at 0:07?

[markik12y48]

yes, you're right, there really is something :))

[billybobjoeericidle]

icky!!  a cockroach!!

[Teatroliceo]

@moderndaechristine looked like a mouse to me

[blg1330]

This kinda thing never gets old does it?

I love fry and laurie! They're so great together!

[08jansmc]

This is pure, comedy gold! I could hardly breathe, it was so funny!

Thank you so much for posting it!

[JuuhachigouSama]

They are so incredible! That was absolutely amazing! Lol. It takes true talent to pull that off. Im in awe. These men are brilliant!

[schizo123]

I love fry and laurie, they are so great together :)

i was wondering about the end: do you think they "forgot the punchline" or that the sketch was supposed to be over and nobody found it funny?

[thepeoplenextdoor]

I wondered that at first, but in some versions of it, it is more obvious that they are nodding at each other like each one thinks that the other one has the punch line. :) This is a very clever sketch and had me rolling on the floor the first time I saw it. I will never get tired of it.

[schizo123]

you're right, in other versions it's more obvious that they are waiting for the punch line :)

[miraculousdraculous]

<3 hilarious :P

hugh laurie is so gorgeous <3

[bindiyay]

Bless.. the beginning reminded me of the Two Ronnies' Mastermind sketch

[exc1t3r]

Brilliant. From the first line to the last.

Simply brilliant.

[zippoyay]

to actually plan that and pull it off live...wow.

[jbfangirl]

Hilarious sketch. They are so funny.

Did Fry and Laurie write this sketch themselves?

[pddwatch81]

I don't think Hugh 'forgot his lines'. I think the whole point of the sketch is that it's non linear or reversed. The punch line comes at the beginning when you first realize what the joke is, then the joke is enjoyed throughout its length and finally there is (inevitably) an ending.

Or you could say the punch line is that there is no punch line, which is a punch line in itself.

Or it is there to show that the sketch is actually not funny at all when they get it right. And that is funny!

[pddwatch81]

I'd like to compare this sketch, if I may, to an episode of 'Two Pints of Lager' the hilarious BBC2 comedy.

In one episode the boyfriend character picks his nose and this causes the girlfriend character (who is hilariously sitting beside him) to be quite disgusted!

The studio audience naturally are in hysterics.

It's amazing how comedy just keeps on evolving and getting better on the BBC!

[Majka327]

Hugh obviously "forgot his lines" (but it was of course intentional). The point is that they finally managed to get to the punchline of the sketch, when he "forgot" his lines. ;-)

[spotlitkiss]

oh ok. i thought it was that. thanks

[PheatherP]

Only Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie could do nothing for 25 seconds and get a laugh out of it. :D

[Gruntol5]

Utterly brilliant sketch. I defy any other comedians to reproduce this, let alone in a front of a live audience. Seems to be performed without one flaw. Quite amazing.

[Conan1ts]

This one is sooo great!! xD

[ldhenson]

Genius, this sketch. Pure, undiluted genius. I want to shout it from the rooftops.

[KennyBee34]

Did anyone else notice that something scurries across the stage in the very beginning? At around eight seconds?

Weird.

Also, fantastic sketch.

[Conan1ts]

LOOOOL

Seems to be a mouse!! xD

[megmegmockmock]

For some random reason when i played that back and saw it i started crying with laughter!

[hughlaurie07041]

i love hugh's hair

[lovestanlaurel]

Ahah, I'm laughing my head off! Stephen & Hugh are great! they HAVE TO work again together, they could do anything together! love them!

[costeris35]

I'd never seen this one before, I love the it! thank you for sharing. They are great. It's all so subtle and perfect.

[Meisterdieb]

What's up with the last minute or so?

Why are they just fidgeting around?

Could someone explain?

[Chrliii]

It's because they don't remember what comes after that part. And that's the end of the actual sketch. I'm not sure I'm being clear...

[zerosis]

HAHAHA oh, goddamn, very funny

[Dratini999]

Best sketch EVER!!!

I love Hugh and Stephen they are sooo great!!!

[JerseyGirl286]

Great great comedy!!! Hugh is adorable!

[Dratini999]

Hugh Laurie is great!!!

The sketch is really funny :)

[claudioilrosso]

they're kind of genius! This is one of the greatest..

[marekgoth]

this is the funniest sketch EVER

[syduk]

Pure comedy genius!

[curtisharrell]

Yeah. This is not funny at all. Not at all. These guys need to watch Monty Python or Benny Hill. They suck.

[susannah193]

Well, I'm pretty sure they did watch Monty Python because there are some similarities between these two great comedy shows.

Oh, and by the way Benny Hill isn't funny at all !!

[curtisharrell]

Well, I used to think so, too (about Benny Hill). Its definitely a guy thing, and it could be just an acquired taste, like the Three Stooges. These guys, however ("Hedge Sketch") do absolutely nothing for me. They may have watched Monty Python, but they couldn't have been paying much attention.

[susannah193]

I don't think that we will come to an agreement about hugh lauries and stephen frys comical talent ( it's a shame that you don't see their genious) but you like monty python and this is at least something.

[curtisharrell]

We agree to disagree. And also, I didn't mean to say I didn't still think B. Hill was funny. What I meant to say was I used to think he was NOT funny, then I saw the light. He cracks me up like crazy! Lol. But yeah, we're never going to agree on these two guys. Not my cupa. Later!

[susannah193]

When you now like B.Hill there is perhaps still a chance that you will like them as well someday even if you don't think so at the moment. I hope so for your own good :-)!!!

[freekicking85]

Lol, no offence but I took a wild guess with your reference to B Hill and the fact you didn't either like or get the joke that you were american.

No offence to most americans, who are a largely diversable bunch, but some of you are really predictable.

[CadeiraE]

I read your comment yesterday and till now was contemplating a bit about whether I would have found this sketch less brilliant if I would not take into consideration that it is performed by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, who both wrote absolutely hilarious and amazing novels and did the most perfect interpretation of the Jeeves and Wooster-Novels in their Tv-Series. (Wow this sentence was rather too long to make any sense, wasn´t it?)

[CadeiraE]

And although I know it´s nearly impossible, at least to a fan, to wipe all this away and concentrate on the wit of one simple sketch, I still think the Bits of Fry&Laurie are the most genius pieces of linguistic comedy I´ve ever seen. Nothing against Benny Hill, but he´s more the slapstick-guy and I´m not in favour of this that much.

[CadeiraE]

But if you like Monty Python, I´m sure if you steep more into their work (Jeeves and Wooster is here on youtube), you´ll see that they´re just incomparably magnificent in what they do.

[Wirewood]

They are comic genuises! Everything from the timing to the facial expressions was dead on. Love you guys!

[pbaker123]

It actually incredibly difficult to hash this sketch in the way they do - absolutely pure class.. I love them, I really do.

[trevor011969]

Thanks *so* much for posting this. I saw them do it on Saturday night live and have never forgotten it, but not seen it for ages. Thanks again.

[coldplayisawesome]

lmao

hugh laurie and stephen fry are some of the coolest people ever

[Chrliii]

Wow, those guys are really smart!! This is great! Thanks a lot for posting it!

[Caesaria82]

awwwww *loves*

[dorkkkkkkk]

hahaha that was hilarious!

[marekgoth]

one of the best comedy sketches in history

[Aleera]

awww i love them ^^

this is going on my myspace

lvoe the way they both start kinda findling with the desk at the end ^_^

what pretty fingers

[olivia720]

that was cute.

[sltr1]

these 2 are just not funny :/

[Draction]

Why not?

[sltr1]

too childish for my liking

[freekicking85]

they are class, you are an idiot.

[Poeia]

You are right. They are not "funny." They are hilarious.

[jehannedark]

maybe you're the one that's not smart enough to understand :P

[DennisElbow]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I've been looking for this for years. The ex kept it when we split. Was on mushrooms the first time I saw it...Imagine that!

[DOB4242]

That was great! God they were clever.

[SethHesio]

Absolutely awesome! That sketch should be much much more famous than it is... Can't wait to try and perform that with my comedy group.

[vanitylies65]

that was the best I have seen them do... exactally how they should do Hilarious

[Billduffy]

so clever of them to remember that without getting confused

[gaffsie]

Haha, best sketch ever.

[allhugh]

thats the weidest sketch