Success is always less funny than failure.

Ronson’s line points to a common dynamic in storytelling and comedy: failure exposes vulnerability, surprise, and human limitation, which tend to generate sharper narrative tension and more recognizable humor than smooth achievement. Success often reads as tidy and self-confirming, while failure produces awkwardness, reversals, and unintended consequences—the raw material of jokes and memorable anecdotes. The quote also hints at an ethical ambivalence: audiences can be drawn to others’ missteps because they feel more “real” or because they offer relief from perfection. In Ronson’s nonfiction sensibility, it can be read as a reminder that the most compelling (and funniest) truths often emerge when plans collapse.