Things have to be funny first, and if they want to have a point, that's awesome.
Interpretation
Humor should be enjoyable on its own, and if it also conveys a message, that's a bonus.
John Mulaney's quote suggests that the primary objective of humor is to elicit laughter and enjoyment. While humor can carry deeper messages or meanings, its main purpose should always be to entertain; any insightful commentary that arises is simply an added benefit.
In practice
In a comedy show, a comedian can use this quote to emphasize the importance of humor in their performance.
I never turn on the crowd. Sometimes, you think it's a terrible show, and then afterward, sometimes people say they really liked it. So turning on the crowd is only going to alienate the few people who might like it. What do I do in that situation? Get through it.
I have found that people who really want to work at 'Saturday Night Live' and pursue it get pretty close. You have to be funny - but everyone who works there, it was their dream to work there. So it's kind of nice in that way - there's a lot of people who say, 'I just always wanted to do this, and now I'm doing it.'
Sometimes I - with comedy, it's like someone liking you in high school. They either do, or they don't. And when they don't, they don't. And that's it. There are no appeals. You show up, and you're like, 'Hi! I'm -' and you stumble, and they're like, 'It's over.'
A lot of nerds aren't aware they're nerds. A geek has thrown his hands up to the universe and gone, 'I speak Klingon - who am I fooling? You win! I'm just gonna openly like what I like.' Geeks tend to be a little happier with themselves.
Alimony is like buying hay for a dead horse.
My second husband and I were going through a bitter divorce, and I didn't have the money for a fancy-pants attorney. I didn't know how to fight, so I'd lie awake at night and think of ways to kill him. But I knew I'd get caught, so I decided to put it in a book and get paid for it! I always think it's odd that a whole career came out of that homicidal impulse.
Brevity is the soul of lingerie.
There's no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune.
Kiss. n. A word invented by the poets as a rhyme for "bliss".
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