John Mac Ghlionn

The unbearable smugness of Bill Maher

He’s thin-skinned and self-regarding

  • From Spectator Life
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Bill Maher has many fans. But no one is a bigger fan of Bill Maher than Bill Maher. His smugness is as apparent as it is nauseating. That self-satisfied grin, forever etched on his face, gets on my nerves. I’m sure I’m not alone. Twenty years ago, Maher, the human equivalent of Marmite, made his first appearance on HBO. Since then, his show, Real Time with Bill Maher, has grown in popularity – and for good reason. It’s a great show.

Good comedians must be able to poke fun at themselves, not just members of the audience. Maher obviously never got the memo

Not necessarily because of Maher, but more because of the eclectic guests (one of his very first guests was Ann Coulter) and supremely talented joke writers. You see, Maher is a poor interviewer and an even poorer comic. He is, in many ways, a conversational narcissist who rarely, if ever, lets his guests finish their sentences.

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