The one thing I think many comedy movies and shows get wrong is that they tend to try way too hard to create outrageous situations. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of movies like Airplane and the Hangover films, but sometimes the “over the top” formula can fall flat with many audiences. This is one reason why I’ve always enjoyed more subtle forms of humor. However, the Carol Burnett show was unique in that they masterfully found ways to blend dry and slapstick humor in a way that was both absurd and believable.
In one skit called “I’m Not A Doctor,” starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, and Tim Conway, we see just how it’s done. In the scene, Carol walks into the doctor’s office and sits down next to Harvey. Before long, they strike up a conversation. Carol asks how long he’d been waiting, and Harvey replies, “25 minutes.”
Shocked, she looks at him and asks, “In your condition?” After she asks why he was seeing the doctor, Harvey shares that he’d been having terrible headaches. When she asks what the doctor prescribed, Harvey tells her, which prompts another shocked reaction.
Soon Tim’s introduced into the scene as another patient who’s taking the same medication. He hovers in the background as Carol reluctantly shares the rumored side-effects of the medicine they were taking, being careful each time to remind them that “I’m not a doctor.”
Meanwhile, in the background, Tim starts acting out each symptom Carol describes. Watch this hilarious masterpiece in the video below.
The Carol Burnet show just had a talent for taking some of the most mundane situations and turning them into hysterically funny situations within seconds. This is truly a rare art form that many fans continue to appreciate decades after the show left the air. We hope you had a good laugh; please be sure to share some laughs with your friends and family.
