Daily Inspiration Quote by Harold Ramis

There is a whole career’s aesthetic hiding in that little hedge: “I’d like to think.” Ramis doesn’t grandstand about taste; he admits the possibility of weakness. It’s a comedian’s version of moral philosophy, delivered with the modesty of someone who knows that the room, the budget, the studio notes, and the late-night rewrite can all make hypocrites of us.

The key word is “gratuitous.” He’s not banning the fart joke; he’s demanding it earn its keep. That’s a craftsman’s distinction, and it fits Ramis’s lane perfectly: broad comedy built like a machine. In Ghostbusters, Stripes, Groundhog Day, even the teen-raunch adjacency of Animal House, the laughs work because they’re tethered to character and situation. The lowbrow isn’t an accident; it’s a lever. “Gratuitous” is what happens when the lever is pulled because silence feels scary, not because the story needs a jolt.

There’s also a soft critique of comedy culture baked in. Ramis came up in a world where gross-out gags and high-concept satire shared the same stages, and where “serious” artists often pretended they weren’t chasing laughs. His line refuses that fake hierarchy. It’s not snobbery; it’s editing.

Underneath, the quote is a self-portrait: a funny person insisting that dignity and stupidity can coexist, but only if the stupidity has intention. That’s how you get comedy that lasts past the noise of the first laugh.