By Drew McCreadie
PERHAPS you have heard of the comedy “Rule of Three”, which is sometimes explained as a theory that comedy works best in threes, that is: there is something innately funny about three or, at the very least, something funnier about three than other numbers.
I have three things to say about that: 1) there is some truth to it, and 3) it’s a complete nonsense.
There is nothing particularly funny about three. But it is also the key to comedy.
Take the following joke, for example:
A rabbi, a priest and a mullah walk into a bar. The bartender says, “Is this some kind of a joke?”
The above joke is an example of the comedy rule of three at work, but also not – at the same time.
Allow me to explain:
Just as you need two points to define a line in geometry, in comedy it takes a minimum of two occasions for a pattern to be developed, allowing for a third occurrence to come along which then messes with the pattern. This is essential to comedy because of the element of surprise. The reason the ‘rule of three’ works is not because three is funnier than two or four, but rather because three is the minimum number of times something needs to happen for a particular type of joke to work. The ‘rule of three’ should really be called the ‘rule of 3 as a minimum’, but it’s not nearly as catchy.
Comedy at its base level is about surprise. Without some kind of surprise or twist it is very difficult for something to be funny. By setting up a pattern, a joke-teller is then able to surprise us by going in an unexpected direction. By having something happen twice, the pattern has been established. Once established, a surprise twist can occur, which is where the funny comes in.
And that is where the “three _____ walk into a bar” type jokes get their comedy. These jokes follow the following pattern: The first person says something, the second says something similar, and the third person then says something unexpected. You will see this same pattern again and again in various types of jokes. Such as:
A brunette, a redhead and a blonde are lost in the desert when they come across a magic lamp. The genie inside gives them each one wish. The brunette says, “I am so thirsty! I wish for water so I can drink!” And boop! She has water. The redhead says, “I am so hungry. I wish for food so I can eat!” And boop! She has food. The blonde says, “I am so hot! I wish for a car door so I can roll down the window!”
The first joke above with the rabbi, the priest and the mullah, uses the formula as well, but with a bit of a smarty-pants twist. The first and second occurrence referred to earlier (and necessary for the ‘rule of three’), are all the jokes of this type that we have heard before in our lives (note: if you haven’t heard this type of joke at least twice before, then this one will not work, which proves the point). The setup to this joke then becomes occurrence number three (at the very least), allowing for the surprise ending, that being that this joke does not follow the familiar format of your regular ‘walk into a bar’ type jokes. Add the double meaning of “Is this some kind of a joke?” for a bit of linguistic wit, and you got yourself some comedy. Say it with a fake German accent for an added third joke element and you have a comedy masterpiece.
I have three things to say about that: 1) there is some truth to it, and 3) it’s a complete nonsense.
There is nothing particularly funny about three. But it is also the key to comedy.
Take the following joke, for example:
A rabbi, a priest and a mullah walk into a bar. The bartender says, “Is this some kind of a joke?”
The above joke is an example of the comedy rule of three at work, but also not – at the same time.
Allow me to explain:
Just as you need two points to define a line in geometry, in comedy it takes a minimum of two occasions for a pattern to be developed, allowing for a third occurrence to come along which then messes with the pattern. This is essential to comedy because of the element of surprise. The reason the ‘rule of three’ works is not because three is funnier than two or four, but rather because three is the minimum number of times something needs to happen for a particular type of joke to work. The ‘rule of three’ should really be called the ‘rule of 3 as a minimum’, but it’s not nearly as catchy.
Comedy at its base level is about surprise. Without some kind of surprise or twist it is very difficult for something to be funny. By setting up a pattern, a joke-teller is then able to surprise us by going in an unexpected direction. By having something happen twice, the pattern has been established. Once established, a surprise twist can occur, which is where the funny comes in.
And that is where the “three _____ walk into a bar” type jokes get their comedy. These jokes follow the following pattern: The first person says something, the second says something similar, and the third person then says something unexpected. You will see this same pattern again and again in various types of jokes. Such as:
A brunette, a redhead and a blonde are lost in the desert when they come across a magic lamp. The genie inside gives them each one wish. The brunette says, “I am so thirsty! I wish for water so I can drink!” And boop! She has water. The redhead says, “I am so hungry. I wish for food so I can eat!” And boop! She has food. The blonde says, “I am so hot! I wish for a car door so I can roll down the window!”
The first joke above with the rabbi, the priest and the mullah, uses the formula as well, but with a bit of a smarty-pants twist. The first and second occurrence referred to earlier (and necessary for the ‘rule of three’), are all the jokes of this type that we have heard before in our lives (note: if you haven’t heard this type of joke at least twice before, then this one will not work, which proves the point). The setup to this joke then becomes occurrence number three (at the very least), allowing for the surprise ending, that being that this joke does not follow the familiar format of your regular ‘walk into a bar’ type jokes. Add the double meaning of “Is this some kind of a joke?” for a bit of linguistic wit, and you got yourself some comedy. Say it with a fake German accent for an added third joke element and you have a comedy masterpiece.