Spare Change

Now, since we're talking ACTORS (and, I'll assume Actresses as well), that changes things quite a bit...

1) Jim Carrey
2) Will Ferrell (sorry, this is a tie, folks)
3) Bill Murray
4) Adam Sandler
5) Kevin James

Tony made this one pretty easy for me.

1) Jim Carrey
2) Will Ferrell (sorry, this is a tie, folks)
3) Bill Murray
4) John Cleese
5) Kevin James

Only alteration
I HATE ADAM STUPID SANDLER WITH A PASSION UNKNOWN TO MOST MAN KIND.

I'm sorry. I need to go calm down.

Kelli feels the same way you do, Christopher. I'm hit or miss on Sandler...great in Happy Gilmore...lame in pretty much everything since then (though I haven't seen 50 first dates).

1) Jim Carrey
2) Will Ferrell (sorry, this is a tie, folks)
3) Bill Murray
4) John Cleese
5) Kevin James

Ferrall out Robin Williams in.
Kevin James out Lesley Nielson(sp?) in

so the list is...

Carrey
Murray
Cleese
Williams
Nielson

All those who are funny, take one step forward...

Not so fast Messers. Cleese & Williams

Please step forward...
Jim Carrey
Bill Murray
Leslie Nielson
Mike Meyers
Will Ferrell

Question....why are there no women in this list?

Name one you'd put on, Bryan.....

1. Jim Carrey
2. Will Ferrell
3. Bill Murray
4. Ben Stiller
5. Steve Martin

I have been losing interest in Mike Meyers big time over the last few years. He no longer makes me laugh.

Nice move with the addition of Ben Stiller.

Politics aside, Janeane Garofalo makes me laugh. Ellen is hilarious. So with that... (hmmm, this is harder than it looks with this list.)

1. Jim Carrey
2. Steve Martin
3. Dennis Leary
4. Ben Stiller
5. Janeane Garofalo

Well, *I* wouldn't put on Garofalo...her little "earth-first-i'm-smugly-smarter-than-everybody" routine has worn incredibly thin with me, and that doesn't even consider the political revelations...from Dog Park to the superhero movie where's she's the angst-filled Bowler with dad issues...she just grates on my nerves.

Ellen is funny...but in the stand-up genre. Nemo was basically a cinematic opportunity for her to do what she does on stage. The only movie I've seen her in otherwise is the aptly titled "Mr. Wrong" that was so bad I wouldn't wish it upon my enemies. Ellen is good at what she does, but it's pretty limited...most scripts would limit her effectiveness, I think.

i guess that's my point...I can't think of a female actor that I would *want* to watch because she is so funny...someone who can transform a script and make it her own so much that she actually "owns it."

It's like asking the question, can you imagine anyone but Carrey being Bruce Almighty, or the guy in The Mask? Or Martin as The Jerk, or Ferrell as Frank the Tank (and soon, presumably, Ron Burgundy)? I just can't think of a woman (at least off the top o' my wee head) who similarly strikes me equally impressively.

that said, I think Leary is similarly funny as Ellen...hilarious as the chain-smoking mad at the world in-your-face comedian, but pretty much just a decent actor otherwise. Oh, and he's Denis with 1 n...he has a joke about how his name is similar to another word that ends in 'enis.'

Yeah, Garafolo, Leary, and Degeneres wouldn't make this list for me, because it is "comedic actors." I appreciate all three of those persons' stand-up comedy, but I don't really care for them in the movies or TV shows.

One comedic actress I absolutely adore these days is Amy Poehler, currently on SNL. If SNL skit performances count, I'd consider plenty of women -- Poehler, Molly Shannon, Cheri Oteri, Gilda Radner, Jan Hooks, etc. I can't think of any comedic actresses who are better than most of the male actors mentioned here, though. Even if I were to extend the list to ten comedic actors, I doubt a woman would crack the list.

I have enjoyed the performances of the three "Friends" gals over the year, though, as well as Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Okay, I'm with you on Poehler, Oteri, Radner. I'd add Mo Collins from Mad TV. I think Poehler has the chops to be breakthrough, if she had the right scripts come her way. Maybe that's part of the problem...nobody is writing truly funny stuff for a female lead. The one late attempt was The Sweetest Thing for Cameron Diaz, but is so "boy humor" laden that it disaffected most people who saw it. That says more about viewers than it does about her, I think.

I don't know about the friends gals, or Julia (those she's funnier than the trio), though. THey were good because their characters were well-written and well-developed. The friends all became parodies of themselves in the end, unfortunately. None has the funny quotient to pack a theater on her own.