When Phillip sues Will and Carlton for unpaid rent, two different versions of the dispute are aired - neither entirely truthful.
WAR
61.3
Wins Above Replacement
“Will Goes A Courtin” ranks #4 of 148 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 85.2 — Elite. The episode packs 57 scored jokes at 3.1 per minute, averaging 7.1 on craft and 7.1 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: Your Honor, I'm from West Philadelphia, born and raised. On the playground is where I spent most of my days.
Will Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Will: He may be an unreasonable, pigheaded dictator... but he is your father and my uncle, and you will show him some respect.
Will Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Will: Girl, I got to tell you, that suit look like a piece of 'good God' wrapped up in some 'have mercy' with a side of: [gesture]
Will Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Phil: She's not my daughter.
Phil Reaction Beat Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Carlton: All right, I'm guilty! I'm guilty!
All Jokes — 57 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Phil: God knows I wouldn't do it.
Phil Deadpan/Understatement Phil: I just don't think that black is the right color for this kind of heat.
Hilary: Oh, don't worry, Daddy, this dress is surprisingly cool. It's like I'm wearing practically nothing.
Phil: She's not my daughter.
Phil Reaction Beat Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Will: Yeah, man, it's so hot out there the Uh-Huh Girls just went: [implied gesture/sound]
Will Observational Physical/Slapstick Phil: You know, that girl has got the mind of Willard Scott.
Will: Hey. Come to think of it, you got his body. Y'all should team up.
Phil: Sorry, Uncle Phil has left the building. You're now talking to landlord Banks
Will: I'm sorry, was I talking out loud?
Carlton: Oh, don't worry about it, it's a double negative.
Carlton: Dad, this is an outrage! Three dollars for orange juice?
Phil: Oh, and I've taken the liberty of adding a 15-percent gratuity.
Will: Carlton. Of course you know this means war!
Carlton: It certainly does. And we're gonna win, right, Dad?
Will: Girl, I got to tell you, that suit look like a piece of 'good God' wrapped up in some 'have mercy' with a side of: [gesture]
Will Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Will: Come on, let's get out of this heat before I pop something, you know.
Hilary: Oh, sorry, that 'LA' stands for Louisiana. Our high will be 112.
Hilary: Don't any of you touch me.
Geoffrey: I wouldn't call it disobedience, sir. It's more like outright defiance.
Geoffrey Escalation Deadpan/Understatement Phil: Dance puppets, dance!
Phil Character Comedy Escalation Will: That's either him or a rhino that got his horn chopped off.
Woman at party: Oh, my God, Howard!
Will: Well, they will be if you come out in the morning, Uncle Phil.
Will: I pay rent here too, eventually.
Carlton: Oh, I'm afraid. Hold me, Will.
Carlton Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy Geoffrey: Oh, gosh, now you've gone and spoiled the surprise.
Geoffrey Setup/Punchline Deadpan/Understatement Will: Your Honor, I'm from West Philadelphia, born and raised. On the playground is where I spent most of my days.
Will Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Will: Or a high-priced degree from Princeton... like my worthy adversary, Judge Philip Banks.
Will: And this man is making a mockery of a finely cut Italian suit.
Carlton: When we prepared this case, you didn't say I had to speak against my father.
Carlton Physical/Slapstick Visual Gag Carlton: All right, I'm guilty! I'm guilty!
Party guests: No, no, no, this party is crazy, fly, dumb, deaf, doogy!
Phil: I'm sorry, son. Here, here's $100.
Phil Character Comedy Escalation Will: Now, why don't you take your Humpty Dumpty butt on back up to the main house
Will: Right now I'm considering their 15-year-old daughter.
Steffi: To hell with my parents. Will taught me that.
Will: You call me 'boy'? You better step to me like a man!
Will: Check it out, the night was so hot people was pulling up on camels, right?
Will: I've got some old T-shirts in there that I was gonna drop off for the homeless... but you're welcome to put one on to cover up.
Will: Oh, Gayle, bring out that book of hymns I was telling you about.
Will: Safety first, my little non-swimmer.
Will: He may be an unreasonable, pigheaded dictator... but he is your father and my uncle, and you will show him some respect.
Will Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Phil: Do you know how humiliating it is to have a son who can't swim?
Phil Character Comedy Callback Phil: If I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you.
Phil: Hit the bricks, you little tramp! Out of here!
Phil: And tell your mother your father has a girlfriend!
Phil Escalation Dark/Subversive Will: I intend to cite the landmark case of Rhode Island v. Schechter Poultry.
Phil: That has to do with the right to hang dead chickens in a butcher-shop window.
Will: Well, then, you see where I'm going with this.
Phil: Yeah, never rent to relatives.
Will Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Top Episodes — The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air