The only guaranteed way to make something not very funny is to make it vague.

Meaning of the quote

This quote means that if you try to be unclear or not specific when trying to be funny, it will definitely not be very funny at all. Being vague or not direct takes away the humor and makes it less interesting or enjoyable. In other words, the more specific and clear you can be when trying to be funny, the better chance it will actually be funny.

About Thomas Lennon

Thomas Lennon is a talented American actor, screenwriter, and comedian. He’s known for his roles in Reno 911!, Santa Clarita Diet, and The Odd Couple, as well as for co-writing popular comedy films like the Night at the Museum series and Baywatch.

More about the author

More quotes from Thomas Lennon

I was on the speech team, we called it forensics.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

All studio movies are the middle of the Bell curve. The only way to do something is to do it yourself. And the only way to do that is to not take any money from anyone or take as little money as possible from anyone and that’s it.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

I feel like I’m the most well-adjusted character on the show, even though I’m sure the other actors would tell you the same thing about their characters.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

Yes, I am complimented on my work in Kids in the Hall once or twice a week. It’s a nice feeling.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

The more people’s money you take to do something, the more inputs you get.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

That’s the other thing about working on movies, the commitment is years. That’s one thing that’s so frustrating about the process is that it goes on and on and on for years.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

Kerri and I met at theatre camp when were 16 years old, which is pretty lame. The rest of us met when we founded the State at New York University in 1988. Most of our adult lives have been spent bickering with these people.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

We did one pilot for FOX which was about this couple that moves to a town, and we play everyone in the entire town. So it was like a Peter Sellers film.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

The only guaranteed way to make something not very funny is to make it vague.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

There was so long from when we did the pilot and then when the show was eventually picked up by Comedy Central – and, in fact, we had to shoot the pilot twice.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

The first record I bought with my own money was Rio.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

It’s such a great thing to work with people and not have a plan.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

Old School has humongous laughs all the way through it.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

You hate to see yourself do one draft of a script and then have somebody else come back in and change what you’ve done.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

Our reward for Starsky and Hutch was getting to write The Six Million Dollar Man for Todd.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

When you do a movie in the studio system, there’s a committee. A committee of six or seven people you answer to. There’s two or three producers, a studio executive and one or two people above that studio executive.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter

Super Troopers is hilarious. Everybody always thought we somehow – we did Reno way, way before any of us had seen Super Troopers. It sat on the shelf for a couple years.

Thomas Lennon

American actor and screenwriter