Jeff Foxworthy
If you can describe the comedian here, you might be a Troper!
A recognized master of redneck humor, Jeff Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is a stand-up comedian and actor who has been ranked as the best-selling comedy recording artist of all time. He is the author of several humor books, many of them compilations of his "You Might Be A Redneck If..." one-liners, the star of the eponymous Jeff Foxworthy Show (which lasted a total of two seasons across two networks), and one-quarter of the stand-up troupe for The Blue Collar Comedy Tour. He is the host of the quiz show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Foxworthy's fanbase mainly overlaps with Country Music. He recorded several songs that interspersed his comedy sketches with a sung chorus by a popular country musician, and had a major Christmas hit in 1995 with "The Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" (performed entirely by himself). He also appeared in the music video for Alan Jackson's "I Don't Even Know Your Name" and hosted a country music radio show called The Foxworthy Countdown from 1999 to 2009.
Contrary to what many apparently believe, he is not a cousin of fellow Blue Collar comedian Bill Engvall (they are close friends, but not related).
Tropes present:
- All Men Are Perverts: One of Jeff's bits from Totally Committed deals with the differences between Men and Women, more specifically about women, since they're complicated, they think men are too and always wonder what 'he's really thinking.'
Ladies I will tell you what we are really thinking. We're thinking, "I want a beer and I want ta see some'in nekkid."
- And the discussion about the contents of Men's and Women's magazines.
Women: "How to get a good man," "how to get rid or a bad man," "how to turn a bad man into a good man."
Men: Nothing but pictures of naked women.
- Acting for Two: Present in the music video for "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas".
- Anti-Christmas Song: "The Redneck 12 Days of Christmas." Also a Misattributed Song in many ways, since Foxworthy is not typically a singer (even though the song itself is more of a narration).
- Beam Me Up, Scotty: When people make up their own redneck jokes, they always start with "You might be a redneck if...". However, even though that is the name of the album, Foxworthy always uses the formula "If you[r] _____, yooouuuu might be a redneck."
- On Fifth Grader, he uses "If you ____, you might not be smarter than a 5th grader."
- Bowdlerize: Some issues of his Laughing Hyena albums snip out the more profane parts... very awkwardly and poorly.
- Deep South: One of the cornerstones of his comedy, and not just with the redneck one-liners.
- Eighties Hair: He had a mullet for most of his career.
- The Eponymous Show: His self-titled sitcom.
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: "If you think The Nutcracker is something you did off the high dive" is present in "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas".
- "Just Joking" Justification: Subverted after making a joke about having a cat stuffed by a taxidermist:
Jeff: Did I offend someone in the audience? It's a joke. I have two cats. (Beat) One on either side of the fireplace.
- Played straight with the "You're either gay or married" skit, which was a "Just Joking" Justification for a joke that he felt might be misconstrued as homophobic.
- Laxative Prank: In one skit, he said that he believes that, if a 16-year-old shows up at your door trick-or-treating without a costume, it should be perfectly acceptable to give them Ex-Lax. Larry the Cable Guy then pipes up that he's been on both sides of that particular prank.
- Mooning: He has a whole skit about it on Games Rednecks Play.
- Motor Mouth: Referenced in one skit, where he argues that Jeff Gordon has a large hatedom because he's one of the few NASCAR drivers who enunciates when being interviewed. He then launches into a demonstration of how most drivers talk when they're interviewed, then wonders if they talk the same way in non-NASCAR settings.
- No Pregger Sex: While recounting his wife's childbirth: "At one point, the instructor told us, "Now, after your wife's water breaks, do not have sex.". I raised my hand. I said "Is this really a problem?!" That's a sensitive husband, ain't it? "So, uh...just how far apart are the contractions there, sweet thing? Seems like a shame to waste this semi-private room." See, and they wouldn't tell you that unless somebody had done it, that's what bothers me."
- Not So Different: The premise of one sketch was how gay people and married people aren't so different after all: if you're sleeping on a bed with eight pillows and a dust ruffle, if you've ever been antique shopping during a big football game, if you can't remember the last time you had sex with a woman... you're either gay or married!
- Once an Episode: All of his albums except Have Your Loved Ones Spayed or Neutered end with new Redneck one-liners.
- One-Hit Wonder: Believe it or not, he actually had a top 20 country hit with "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" (and the song re-entered the country top 40 four times after that!). He also charted several other "songs" that interspersed his comedy sketches with a chorus sung by a popular country music artist, or were just him narrating.
- Porn Stache: He's always had one. He averts the porn star look lately by wearing glasses and occasionally sporting a goatee.
- Refuge in Vulgarity: Progressively averted more and more with each successive album. You Might Be a Redneck If... had the word "shit" twice, while Have Your Loved Ones Spayed or Neutered has no profanity at all (although it does have some penis jokes and Toilet Humor).
- Side Effects Include:
"For itchy, watery eyes, it's Floraflor. Side effects may include: nausea, vomiting, water weight gain, lower back pain, receding hairline, eczema, seborrhea, psoriasis, itchy chafing clothing, liver spots, blood clots, ringworm, excessive body odor, uneven tire wear, pyorrhea, gonorrhea, diarrhea, halitosis, scoliosis, loss of bladder control, hammertoe, the shanks, low sperm count, warped floors, cluttered drawers, hunchback, heart attack, low resale value on your home, feline leukemia, athlete's foot, head lice, club foot, MS, MD, VD, fleas, anxiety, sleeplessness, drowsiness, poor gas mileage, tooth decay, split ends, parvo, warts, unibrow, lazy eye, fruit flies, chest pains, clogged drains, hemorrhoids, dry heaving, and sexual dysfunction." I'm thinking I'll just stick with itchy, watery eyes!
- He also talks about a product whose known side effects included anal seepage.
"Anal seepage"! That's not even fun to say!
- Solo Duet: Jeff voices himself and another character in his "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas."
- Unusual Euphemism: In one sketch, Foxworthy recalls a man who had his "happy place" cut off in an accident and replaced with a finger. He then toys with the idea and crosses over into Gag Penis territory by saying, "It ain't gonna be my pinky, is it, doc? You know, I don't use my left arm all that much..."
- Subverted earlier on the same album, when he makes reference to his hypochondriac wife, who he says always has whatever newfound disease they discuss on the news: "You do not have testicular cancer. You don't even have testiculars!"