Top 10 Comedians To Make You Laugh Until You ___

With new releases like Night at the Museum, Land of the Lost, Year One, Whatever Works, Bruno, and Funny People, this should be one very funny summer.

So with all these comedians competing to make us laugh, I had to ask. Who are the funniest people around? Here is my answer: 10 people from cinema and television, and their 3 best comic achievements. Some are on the list because they are people of the hour; some are there for old times’ sake. Honorable mentions at the end.

10. Ben Stiller

A director, writer and actor best known for gross-out humor, he is considered a member of the Frat Pack. This generation of leading Hollywood comic actors that emerged in the last 10-15 years also includes Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Jack Black, Vince Vaughn, and brothers Owen and Luke Wilson. It’s not your mother’s taste in comedy…

Tropic Thunder (2008)
This raucous Hollywood satire knows big-budget filmmaking, the delusional narcissism of actors, and even the good points of those actors (like why they’re famous) like the back of its hand.

There’s Something About Mary (1998)
In this no-holds-barred comedy tour-de-force, 30-something Stiller locates and courts his high school dream girl (Cameron Diaz), unwittingly enlisting the help of some of her more psychotic suitors. In-your-face sight gags and unapologetic raunchiness disguise a sweet love story.

Zoolander (2001)
Stiller’s charming and silly comedy liberally skewers the fashion industry while showcasing the actor-director-screenwriter’s quirky humor. He cast his real-life family: wife Christine Taylor, Sister Amy Stiller, father Jerry Stiller, and mother Anne Meara.

9. Sarah Silverman

The funniest woman in the world! How can you not love a woman with such a foul mouth? But don’t get cocky Sarah, 8 men are still ahead of you. (If you think I’m a chauvinist, note that - 1. Comedy Central’s pick of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time contains only 8 women. 2. In my top ten list there is one woman, so I am less chauvinistic than Comedy Central. 3. It’s just a fact that there are more funny men than funny women.)

The Sarah Silverman Program (2006)
With her sexual and not-so-politically-correct brand of comedy, Sarah Silverman’s potty mouth has made its way into her own television series. She plays a parallel-universe version of herself who ends up in a series of ridiculous and uproarious scenarios often involving her own, or someone else’s, humiliation.

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005)
Taped in 2004, the show is interjected with off-set skits, songs, and general goofing around from Silverman and her friends in the comedy world. As soon as Silverman takes the stage, sacred cows come tumbling down…

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)
Silverman isn’t the lead, but she is funny as Beth, James Aaron (Jeff Garlin)’s love interest.

8. Seth Rogen

Hardly anyone knew Seth Rogen a few years ago. Now he’s one of the biggest household names, not only in comedy, but in the entire movie industry. Of course there will always be those who say he got this far on his looks…

Knocked Up (2007)
Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) and Seth Rogan star in this hilariously touching comedy, as a mismatched couple brought together by a one-night-stand that results in accidental pregnancy.

The Pineapple Express (2008)
Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow have proven themselves nearly unstoppable. It’s impossible to think of another film that so seamlessly blends pitch-perfect stoner babble with high-octane action sequences.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
After the success of Knocked Up, Seth Rogen paires up with another comedienne (Elizabeth Banks). In this Kevin Smith comedy, two desperate friends decide to earn a little extra money by creating their own adult film – and discover that they may be more than just pals…

7. Christopher Guest

The god of mockumentaries makes a movie once in about three or four years. It’s too bad he doesn’t make one every month. Here’s one of the characters in Guest’s Best in Show, when asked in an interview about her relationship with her spouse: “We have so much in common, we both love soup and snow peas, we love the outdoors, and talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about.”

This is Spinal Tap (1984)
A brilliant satire of a has-been British heavy metal band that never really was, on an absurd American comeback tour that never quite gets off the ground: This Is Spinal Tap practically birthed the mockumentary style.

For Your Consideration (2006)
Fans of Guest’s movies will be at home with For Your Consideration. Deadpan wit, carefully crafted satire, and close attention to detail in everything from Fred Willard’s haircut to the computer graphics of Hollywood Now, plus Guest’s loyal troupe of performers - as well as a sprinkling of new faces - delivers the goods with habitual ease.

A Mighty Wind (2003)
In this parody of the folk music industry, three well-known folk groups come together for a reunion concert in New York City. Hilarious songs and bizarre laughs abound.

6. Steve Martin

A comedy legend with many great stand up shows and many more great movies to his name. Is it possible not to like Steve Martin? Here is something he said that I completely agree with: “You know what your problem is, it’s that you haven’t seen enough movies - all of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.”

The Jerk (1979)
Navin Johnson, a none-too-bright white boy raised by a family of black sharecroppers, somehow manages to reach adulthood without ever discovering he was adopted. His parents finally tell him the truth on his birthday and, shocked by the news, he decides to head off to the big city to seek his fortune. A no-holds-barred slapstick comedy.

Roxanne (1987)
Steve is at his agile and uproarious best in this superior version of a classic story that revels in the oddity of life and the power of true love.

The Man With Two Brains (1983)
A madcap brain surgeon, married to a beautiful but evil woman, falls in love with the brain of another lady who has everything he wants - except a body.

5. Monty Python

Monty Python’s influence on comedy has often been compared to The Beatles’ influence on music. Definitely the greatest comedy group of all time, they were completely unexpected – sort of like the Spanish inquisition…

Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969)
The hugely influential comedy troupe evolved from Cambridge University’s Footlight Society in the late 1960s to become one of the most celebrated comedy acts of all time. Groundbreaking both in the offbeat acting style and radical approach to controversial subjects (including sex, race, and politics), this series forever changed the face of sketch comedy.

Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
Melding the ridiculous with the sublime, this anachronistic social satire was an instant cult hit, generating a host of quotes and even inspiring a computer game 20 years later.

Monty Python’s Life Of Brian (1979)
This scathing send-up of religion – and Hollywood’s depiction of it – is the group’s second, and tightest, feature film. Directed by Terry Jones, it does for ancient Rome what The Holy Grail did for the Middle Ages.

4. Ricky Gervais

Ricky himself said, referring to his writing for The Office, that it’s better than Dickens. An ambitious statement, but I tend to agree. When HBO decided to air his show Extras, he said: “It’s an honor to be on the same network that gave us The Sopranos … They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

The Office (2001)
When the Wernham Hogg paper merchants needed someone to come in and shape up their office, they found the self-described most capable candidate in David Brent (Gervais). Brent rules a tight ship, but at the same time tries to be every employee’s best friend, in this brilliant satire of 9-to-5 office life. Camera crews followed Brent and his employees around in the British series that used no laugh track, and didn’t need it.

Extras (2005)
Having made his name with The Office, Gervais moved on to playing Andy Millman, a lowly extra who spends most of his life whiling away the hours on film and TV sets as he awaits a mercifully brief appearance. Usually Millman sidles up to the biggest celebrity on set - but his lack of tact and bad luck foil his desperate attempts to get out of the extras business.

Ricky’s Stand Up: Animals (2003), Politics (2004), Fame (2007)
Ricky’s three stand up shows were absolutely brilliant. He’s busy making movies these days, but I hope he will do another special stand-up show.

3. Adam Sandler

42-years-old and still a child, Adam Sandler is the prince of infantile comedy. Click and Reign Over Me were a bit too serious, but just as I was getting worried I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and especially You Don’t Mess With The Zohan proved that Sandler is still at his silly best.

Happy Gilmore (1996)
A would-be hockey player who can’t skate transforms his slap-shot into a 400-yard golf drive in this slapstick comedy. Joining the pro tour to win enough money to get his grandma’s house out of hock, he enrages the staid establishment with his on-course shenanigans.

Billy Madison (1995)
To gain control of his family’s billion-dollar business, a man must win a bet that he can go through grades 1-12 again in 6 months. The fact that he’s a hopeless goof who failed all these grades the first time doesn’t help.

Big Daddy (1999)
Sonny Koufax is a perpetual adolescent whose girlfriend gives him the ultimatum of taking some responsibility or kissing her goodbye. Magically, his roommate’s child turns up on his doorstep, giving Sonny a chance to prove that he’s capable of maturity…

2. Sacha Baron Cohen

He was daring in Da Ali G Show, when he interviewed very important people while pretending to be a total idiot. He was even more daring in Borat when he wrestled a very fat, very nude man. What is he planning to do in Bruno? I can’t wait to find out.

Borat (2006)
Keen-eyed viewers will notice some repetition from the Da Ali G Show, with Borat once again going to a rodeo and taking etiquette lessons. It’s almost as if Cohen treats each of these set-pieces as a comedic “bit” he’s working on, adding further delirium each time he goes back for another shot. It’s a testament to Cohen’s talents that he managed to take a marginal supporting character from his TV show and turn him into a genuine cultural phenomenon.

Da Ali G Show (2000, 2003)
Ali G, the yellow sweatsuit-wearing gangsta, performs some of the most outlandish interviews television has ever seen. Other characters include the ridiculously naive Kazakhstani journalist Borat and the Austrian fashion freak Bruno. Cohen and his alter egos give us television at its most hysterical and brilliant.

Bruno (2009)
The movie’s alternate name says it all: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. Sounds funny, and because it’s Sacha Baron Cohen, I bet it is.

1. Will Ferrell

His movies are a celebration of anarchy. Usually playing a man-child, very far from his real life persona… You never know what to expect from Will Ferrell (last seen surviving the Swedish tundra…). Actually there is one thing you can expect: great comedy.

Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Anchorman joins the long list of comedies which have successfully poked fun at the 70s. With Ferrell’s script and Adam McKay’s direction, the character of Ron Burgundy becomes a full-bodied comic creation whose possibilities for laughs aren’t nearly exhausted by the end credits.

Step Brothers (2008)
A gross-out and irreverent comedy about two very immature 40-year-old step siblings, who despite their initial antagonism – and ensuing chaos and mayhem – end up becoming buddies.

Talladega Nights (2006)
While there are many easy laughs here (having Ferrell run around shirtless is a guaranteed guffaw-fest), the script, co-written by Ferrell and Adam McKay, is nuanced and intelligent, lending more sympathy and complexity than the usual dumb comedies.

Honorable mentions:

George Carlin R.I.P - the greatest stand up comedian of all time (with all due respect to Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce); wasn’t much of an actor though. Judd Apatow - definitely the biggest director/writer/producer in comedy today. Chris Rock – great stand up, less great movies. Jerry Seinfeld – star and co-creator of the best sitcom ever. Larry David – co-creator of Seinfeld and star and creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Flight Of The Conchords – if you haven’t seen this HBO show yet, do it now! Jim Carrey – the man with the rubber face. Woody Allen – was once (many years ago) a genius who brought us Bananas, Annie Hall and Zelig. Eddie Murphy – another great stand-up comedian; can’t remember the last time he made a funny movie. Peter Sellers – total genius/total idiot, who will mostly be remembered for his Pink Panther movies. Rodney Dangerfield – the greatest human combination ever of ugliness and humor. Tina Fey – the star of 30 Rock and the mind behind it; there was only one room for a woman on the list, otherwise she would have gotten in. Steve Carell – just keeps getting better and better: a show-stealing role in Anchorman, an unforgettable role in The 40 Year Old Virgin, and the world’s most obnoxious boss in The Office. Sorry Steve, you deserved a place in the top ten. Seth MacFarlane – creator of Family Guy and American Dad, and the voice behind many of the characters in those shows. Human Giant – the craziest sketch show ever. Plus check out AskMen’s top 10 emerging comedians.

For the old(er) people who think that Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler are retarded, and Sacha Baron Cohen is just crude, here are my top classic funny people: the hall of fame, or hall of the dead: Charlie Chaplin, The Marx Brothers, May West, W.C Fields, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy.

P.S. If you can’t find Mel Brooks in this post, it’s because he’s not funny…

And finally, here is a classic clip from George Carlin’s last stand up show (he died on June 22, 2008). Bless you George.

Think I missed someone? Add your picks in the comments!

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