Which comedy group reigns supreme?
Movie #5, Knocked UpJudd Apatow and his stable of funny people have created some of the best television and funniest movies in the past ten years. Freaks and Geeks was wonderful and touching and damn hilarious, and Undeclared... needed more time to live up to its potential. 40 Year Old Virgin was sweet and funny, if a little uneven. Now, I hesitate to say this without re-viewing Freaks and Geeks, but I think Knocked Up is my favorite thing Apatow has ever created.
Er, um, ok, no. I can't do that. Freaks and Geeks is still the best. But Knocked Up is for sure my favorite Apatow movie. I was more attached to these characters, the storyline was located closer to reality, and the laughs were consistent and surprising.
So this led me to this question: which comedy group is the best out there right now? Or the best of all time? I know there's some overlap in all of these, but here are a few:
The Apatow group: includes Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, Will Ferrell, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, Amy Adams AND seems to be mixing with all the awesome people from Arrested Development
The "Frat Pack": includes Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller, David Koechner, Christine Taylor
The Christopher Guest group: includes Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Fred Willard, Harry Shearer, John Michael Higgins, Ed Begley Jr., Michael Hitchcock, Larry Miller
Are there others I'm forgetting? It's hard to argue against the sheer incredible talent of the Christopher Guest crew, but I think maybe these Apatow-adjacent people are becoming the comedy group of this generation. Any thoughts?
posted by Carrie Ann @ 10:48 AM
3 Comments:
ew! It's gross that Christine Taylor is a de facto member of a funny man club just because she's married to one of them. Quick, name one movie she's ever been in (other than Brady Bunch) without Ben Stiller!
Exactly. That group is obviously the weakest of the bunch - partly because of their lack of female performers. But I still love Dodgeball, despite Christine "Bulimia can lead to an increase in facial hair" Taylor.
I'm just leaving a comment instead of making a whole post about this movie. I agree, Knocked Up was far funnier than I expected it to be. I love the fact that a lot of the characters have humorous banter that rings closer to how your friends talk in real life, instead of a scripted movie. Judd Apatow's wife's craziness made me a little nervous - seriously, if I ever become even half that controlling, rigid, and anal-retentive, PLEASE shoot me in the head! I was also a little disappointed by the lame-ish Hollywood ending, but of course any other ending would have been impossible. I mean, would any guy that accidentally knocked up a girl be that supportive? Seriously? And completely change his life? But, as a side note, the scene of them tripping in Las Vegas was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. The movie did make me a little teary-eyed, I should have known better than to see it while suffering from PMS.
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