Straight Man

A few months ago, Bean taught me the meaning of a 'Straight Man'. Apparently it's a term for comedian pairs where one set of the team is over the top, physical, and goofy; while his 'Straight Man' is just as funny but balances the other out with their dry, sarcastic sense of humor. While one half of the team starts off getting the laughs, the Straight Man ends up getting the last laugh- usually because of something they say that relates back to their partner.

The reason he had to explain it was Connie posted a picture of Bean and I laughing at something on Facebook and in her comment, she called him my Straight Man. I had trouble understanding the concept at first, until he gave me more relevant examples than outdated comedians. For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of examples of Bean and I.

Mitchell and Cam from Modern Family. This example really hit home for me. It's obvious by the facial expressions and their personalities that I'm Cam and he's Mitchell. Not to menton the general face shapes (extra chin vs. cute small cheeks)!

Angel and Collins from Rent. I think this one is mainly the clothing and the lyrics from the song 'I'll Cover You'. Angel clearly pursues Collins too, which applies to me and Bean.

Here's a good summary from Wikipedia: "Most often, however, the humor in a double act comes from the way the two personalities play off each other rather than the individuals themselves; in many successful acts the roles are interchangeable."

On one of our first dates, we were driving back from a movie and were stuck next to an 18-wheeler. I told Bean he should pump his arm up and down to try and make them honk, knowing full well it was something I would do and not feel weird about it. I guess it was kind of a test to see if he would act silly.

He did it without hesitation, and that was the first time I realized we would be a good match.