History Main / BarbershopQuartetsAreFunny

* In the episode "[=DeeDee=] be Deep" of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLabratory'', [=DeeDee=] annoys Dexter by practicing her singing for a singing competition extremely loudly and very badly. Dexter gets her to let him use a machine on her to make her voice less annoying, but she messes with the controls causing her voice to become extremely deep, so deep in fact that she destroys things when she sings. At first she's sad because she doesn't win the singing competition but then she ends up joining a barbershop quartet.

Barbershop Quartets have a long and storied history in music. Like most music they can and often do get used for something other than their musical merits. Oftentimes, Barbershop quartets are used for comedic effect or as a way to deliver insults that may be too crude or outrageous to be said normally but somehow becomes much more acceptable when sung by a Barbershop Quartet.

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

* ''Film/TheMuppets'': One of the skits the Muppets do for their telethon is a barbershop quartet rendition of [[Music/{{Nirvana}} "Smells Like Teen Spirit"]], including Beaker who hums his "meeps". Inexplicably it ends with them shrinking Creator/JackBlack's head with a hot towel.

* ''Series/TheTwoRonnies'': One of their musical finales is a barbershop quartet set in a barber's shop, with the four barbers / musicians inflicting slapstick gags on their customers.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': In one episode [[CrazyJealousGuy Ross]] hires a barbershop quartet to visit Rachel's office on her first day at work and sing about how much he loves her. Rachel finds it embarrassing as it's clearly meant to remind her co-worker that she's taken. At the end of the episode Monica uses the same quartet to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLnahXpHsN4&feature=youtu.be call out]] Julio, a waiter she'd just broken up with, for being a sexist, pretentious jerk.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'': In "Officer Rimmer", Rimmer gets four of his bioprinter created clones to form a barbershop quartet, complete with a Rimmer-ified version of "Mister Sandman".

* One of the ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' shorts on ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'', Timmy wishes to [[MesACrowd copy himself several times]]. At one point, four of his copies sing like a barbershop quartet, seemingly for no other reason than to mess with Vicky.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E1HomersBarbershopQuartet An entire episode]] was dedicated to Homer's old barbershop quartet, whose story is a clear send up to The Beatles, complete with a SgtPeppersShoutOut and naming one of their albums BiggerThanJesus.

'''Forehead's fourth head''' ''(singly badly)'': Annoyingly off-''key!'' ''(joined by the other three heads on the last syllable)''\\

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': One episode has the prehistoric counterparts of Spongebob, Patrick, and Squidward encounter fire for the first time. In a parody of the "Dawn of Man" sequence from ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', the prehistoric Spongebob very slowly realizes the potential usefulness of the fire as the OminousLatinChanting of "Lux Aeterna" by Gyorgy Ligeti plays - but the ominousness turns comedic when we see that the choral piece is being sung by a live-action barbershop quartet.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': In one episode [[CrazyJealousGuy Ross]] hires a barbershop quartet to visit Rachel's office on her first day at work and sing about how much he loves her. Rachel finds it embarrassing as it's clearly ment to remind her co-worker that she's taken. At the end of the episode Monica uses the same quartet to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLnahXpHsN4&feature=youtu.be call out]] Julio, a waiter she'd just broken up with, for being a sexist, pretentious jerk.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E1HomersBarbershopQuartet An entire episode]] was dedicated to Homer's old barbershop quartet, who's story is a clear send up to The Beatles, complete with a SgtPeppersShoutOut and naming one of their albums BiggerThanJesus.

* When ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'''s Deadly Duplicator accidentally makes four copies of Mentok, they immediately form a barbershop quartet. Phil shoots three of them, and Mentok starts looking for replacement, starting with a baritone.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': In one episode [[CrazyJealousGuy Ross]] hires a barbershop quartet to visit Rachel's office on her first day at work and sing about how much he loves her. Rachel finds it embarrassing as it's clearly ment to remind her co-worker that she's taken. At the end of the episode Monica uses the same quartet to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLnahXpHsN4&feature=youtu.be call out]] Julio, a waiter she'd just broken up with, for being a sexist pretentious jerk.

* ''Film/TheHauntedMansion'': The singing busts are a barbershop quartet of {{Living Statue}}s who repeat the words other people say as a song or go off on tangents from there, making any attempt at a sensible conversation with them impossible.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': An entire episode was dedicated to Homer's old barbershop quartet, who's story is a clear send up to The Beatles, complete with a SgtPeppersShoutOut and naming one of their albums BiggerThanJesus.

Barbershop Quartets have a long and storied history in music. Like most music they can and often do get used for something other than their musical merits. Oftentimes Barbershops quartets are used for comedic effect or as a way to deliver insults that may be too crude or outrageous to be said normally but somehow becomes much more acceptable when sung by a Barbershop Quartet.

* A popular [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn-QBKiNUCg Icelandic ad]] for prostate cancer awareness involves an (imaginary?) barbershow quartet singing to an old man while encouraging him to get checked for cancer symptoms. It does, indeed, make this serious subject considerably more funny.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': An entire episode was dedicated to Homer's old barbershop quartet, who's story is a clear send up to The Beatles, complete with a SgtPepperShoutOut and naming one of their albums BiggerThanJesus.

* ''Film/TheMuppets'': One of the skits the Muppets do for their telethon is a barbershop quartet, including Beaker who hums his "meeps". Inexplicably it ends with them shrinking Creator/JackBlack's head with a hot towel.

[[caption-width-right:314:Hillarity incoming!]]

[[folder: Advertising]]

[[folder: Film]]

* ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver'': After a 2 year legal battle with Bob Murray John Oliver launches into a 1930's song and dance number including a barbershop quartet of 7 foot squirrels. Accusing a man of being a furry who has sex with squirrels? Strange. Having 7-foot squirrels do it in a barbershop quartet complete with period accurate costumes? Hillarious!

[[folder: Theatre]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Web Animation]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* One ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy CutawayGag had Peter break BadNewsInAGoodWay to a terminal AIDS patient by having a barbershop quartet sing about his disease.

[[quoteright:314:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barbershop_quartet_2.png]]

Examples: