Vivian's 40th birthday marks a crisis and a career change in which she plans to perfect her dance skills.
WAR
27.7
Wins Above Replacement
“The Big Four Oh” ranks #96 of 148 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 74.8 — Great. The episode packs 39 scored jokes at 2.2 per minute, averaging 6.8 on craft and 6.6 on impact, with Will landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Will: "We beat them, we dissed them, we kicked they butt good. But that was kind of stupid, y'all, we in they neighborhood! Run!"
Will Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Will: "After all, life begins at 40. Oops, did I say 'life'? I meant gum disease."
Will Setup/Punchline Misdirection ★ Rewatch Will: "'Cause 40 ain't old... if you're a giant sequoia!"
Will Setup/Punchline Misdirection ★ Rewatch Philip Misdirection Awkward Silence Vivian · Dancer: "Well, actually, I've been taking private instruction with Natalia Broshkova. -The dancer? -No, the obstetrician."
All Jokes — 39 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Will: "We beat them, we dissed them, we kicked they butt good. But that was kind of stupid, y'all, we in they neighborhood! Run!"
Will Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Philip: "Now you look just like Yul Brynner in The King and I."
Philip Setup/Punchline Observational Vivian: "7:09, if you count my feet."
Philip Misdirection Awkward Silence Will · Carlton: "That spider been getting on my nerves all day, man. Check this out! I dotted the 'I' on Armani!"
Carlton · Ashley: "You'll have to wear an indecently short skirt... make a spectacle of yourself in front of your whole school... and ride on a bus with a bunch of sweaty teenage boys. Gosh, I hope I get it."
Will: "That was, kind of... dignified, Ash."
Will Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat Hilary: Ta-da! No, wait. That's for me. Oops! For me again. Here it is.
Hilary Character Comedy Running Gag Hilary · Geoffrey: "What's wrong with you, girl? I gave you two weeks salary and you got a pot holder?"
Vivian: I don't think short skirts are appropriate for me anymore.
Vivian Visual Gag Cringe/Discomfort Carlton · Will: "Carlton, that is her mother. What happened to the rest of her chins? Yo, they look good down there."
Vivian: "The night is young, baby, and so am I."
Vivian Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Will: "Yo, we're here to display / A look at a woman who is forty today / She's smart and well-dressed, so just to give thanks / This is your life, Vivian Banks!"
Will Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Will: "Remember 1951? Remember Chuck Berry? Remember Hula-Hoops? Me neither!"
Will Misdirection Observational Will: "Eat your heart out, LaToya."
Will Observational Character Comedy Will: outstanding wife and mother, and a tribute to middle age.
Will Deadpan/Understatement Will: "'Cause 40 ain't old... if you're a giant sequoia!"
Will Setup/Punchline Misdirection ★ Rewatch Will: "After all, life begins at 40. Oops, did I say 'life'? I meant gum disease."
Will Setup/Punchline Misdirection ★ Rewatch Will: "Really, 40 is just the beginning. The beginning of the end!"
Will Setup/Punchline Escalation Hilary: "The second time I had to pretend I was my own twin."
Hilary Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Carlton: "Any professor would be proud to carry this... whether she's wearing a dress or a G-string. 'Course, with that second outfit, attendance would shoot up. Among other things."
Will: "Good call, Uncle Phil."
Will Irony/Sarcasm Reaction Beat Philip: "You're gonna vacuum in that?"
Will: "Y'all remember that movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?"
Vivian: "Actually, the last thing I was in was the supermarket."
Will: "I'm a pretty cultured brother. Wow, just like that, huh?"
Will Reaction Beat Visual Gag Vivian: "It was like heaven. Except the angels was doing splits. It was hell on earth."
Will: "And you shouldn't have to. Hand over the keys to your Benz."
Will: And you shouIdn't have to. Hand over the keys to your Benz.
Will: "You know, Uncle Phil... most husbands wouldn't want their wives running off half naked to a bunch of bulging, masculine dancers that's gonna be grabbing them and lifting them... in places their husbands forgot existed."
Vivian · Dancer: "Well, actually, I've been taking private instruction with Natalia Broshkova. -The dancer? -No, the obstetrician."
Will: "When's the cast party? I wanna sit next to that honey that was doing the splits."
Will: When's the cast party? I wanna sit next to that honey that was doing the spIits.
Vivian: "Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond."
Philip: "I see every great thing a man could possibly want in a woman. Eyes so dark and deep a man could get lost in them. Skin the color of mahogany... soft as satin. A body fit for a goddess."
Vivian: "I thought it was for those little cheese things Geoffrey makes."
Will: "Hey, hey, hey! Say hello to Miss Pompom!"
Will · Ashley: "Your school is whack! Your school is whack! Wherever y'all came from, just take your butts back!"
Carlton: "Now, I do know my line. You know, it just slipped my memory for a second. But I know it! Yeah, yeah.... I know what it is! I know what it is!"
Carlton Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Top Episodes — The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air