The fact that the laughter works, it gets him from a painful, embarrassing, difficult situation, into a funny situation, into what we're  actually enjoying there, and I think that's  a really interesting use, and it's actually happening all the time.
une situation drôle, que nous apprécions. Je pense que c'est un usage très intéressant, et cela arrive tout le temps. Par exemple, je me souviens d'une chose de similaire