What makes people laugh?

Ashok Patel, Contributor, Jakarta

One of the most original and unusual forms of entertainment to find its way onto the Jakarta events' calender over the past year is stand-up comedy.

April 2001, saw the launch of the Jakarta Comedy Club (JCC)'s monthly gathering, followed closely by the Punchline Comedy Club (PCC)'s first endeavor a month later.

Since then, the JCC has become a well-known, regular -- though fairly exclusive -- feature of the city's entertainment landscape, while the PCC continues to do well in Hong Kong.

To find out what makes the JCC tick, and in search of the answer to the age-old question "What makes people laugh?", The Jakarta Post attended the club's May 2002 show.

Thirty ten-seat tables had been set up for the occasion inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel ballroom on May 24.

At first if felt like some bizarre wedding reception with 300 strangers -- the vast majority of the audience comprised middle- aged expats who could afford the Rp 275,000 entrance fee.

What was immediately noticeable on stage was the backdrop. While the design was probably impressive in daylight, it was all but impossible to see under the glare of the spotlights and, as one guest comedian later quipped, the square creases made it look as if someone had brought it along in their pocket. Maybe in the future it should be rolled for storage?

First up was Australian comedian Dave Williams, who has apparently been described by USA Today as "Australia's Jim Carrey".

Despite the fact he received a deafening welcome from people who had no idea who he was, Williams failed to take full advantage of the opportunity and his opening was rather weak. He struggled for the first 10 minutes but gradually broke the audience down with some well-delivered gags and facial expressions that explained the reference to Carrey.

Riding a wave of enthusiasm generated by the first few serious laughs of the night, he went on to lose us again by going off on a tangent that left many confused. Why didn't he quit when he was ahead? And why do Australians, and New Zealanders for that matter, find skid marks and vomiting funny?

However, when you consider that he arrived on the day of the event and had never been to Indonesia before, it is remarkable he could relate to us at all.

There were no such problems for the clubs second guest, Anthony Mir, who has worked with some of the world's top comics, among them comedy legend Robin Williams.

The Australian -- who defied expectations that more than one Australian is always one (or two) too many -- is currently in postproduction on a comedy movie he cowrote called You Can't Stop the Murders, the story of a serial killer who systematically kills people represented by characters from the 1970s disco group The Village People. The film has just been picked up by Miramax.

Mir brought the show to another -- and higher -- level, assuming absolute superiority over the audience the minute he took the stage. Skipping from one character to the next, Mir was a Hollywood star, stand-up comedian and an Australian astronaut (Rule One: Take a torch, it's dark up there).

There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Mir put forward his idea for an Australian national dance to strike terror into the New Zealand rugby team, and his "Aussie Champion" character set the room on fire.

A 10-out-of-10 performance from an intelligent and truly funny comedian who stole the show from the headline act, Stu Who?, the legendary Scottish comedian.

The Scotsman, appearing at the JCC for the second time, battled to live up to expectations, which Mir had raised to an almost impossible level.

A few minutes passed before Stu launched his battle plan -- a full frontal attack on every member of the audience. Double entendres, innuendo and straightforward gags-you-can-tell-the- next-day were all in Stu's arsenal and he knew when and how to deliver each one. However, he never managed to exorcise the ghost of Mir.

It is important to remember humor is subjective and people who read this article may disagree with everything in it. It's about personal preference and mood as much as it is about the comedians, so when we ask the question "What makes people laugh?" there's only one possible answer: Funny things make people laugh.

The JCC meets again on June 21 with acts yet to be confirmed, but rumors abound that stand-up star Dave Grant may arrive from Australia and British megastar Ross Noble (who first appeared at the JCC in June 2001) may return to Jakarta as part of the "Noble Goes Global" world tour commissioned by the BBC.