Judd Apatow's new film Funny People is smarter than a film with a bagload of d*ck jokes might suggest (my review is coming July 31st). Part of the film's wit is observing the current state of comedy, which is unfortunately as sour as the sudden news of our impending death. Leading the way are the stars with actual talent who "sacrifice" their potential for gimmicky comedies that make a killing at both the box office and at their own credibilty. Adam Sandler plays George Simmons, a very Adam Sandler-like star who has earned success with comedies like "Merman," "Astro-Not," and "My Best Friend Is A Robot." You can catch up on the work of George Simmons on his website.
Then there's a "new" sitcom coming to NBC called "Yo Teach...!", a show that earns a "A+" in corniness. Up and coming star Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman) plays a teacher named Mr. Bradford who "throws his lesson plan to the wind and tackles a new moral dilemma" each week, with his class made up of carefully selected minority characters. Clips online for "Yo Teach...!" include Mr. Bradford telling a student to believe in himself, Mr. Bradford consulting a pregnant student with dropping grades, and of course, Mr. Bradford resisting the temptations of "the only virgin" in his class. To witness an extremely sad but true representation of the direction that TV comedy is headed, (complete with overusage of canned laughter), head over to the show's "official" website.
The current state of comedy is mostly threatened by the obliteration of all talent that is seen in particular stand up comedians. However, the Dane Cooks of Hollywood are getting their due backstabbing from Raaaaaaaandy, a brand new comic on the scene who has been doing comedy "about two months." Played brilliantly by Aziz Ansari, Randy is a "no talent a** clown," (to speak in Office Space terms), who dances around on the stage, focuses nearly every joke on his member, and even has a personal DJ on stage with him at all times. Ansari himself has fittingly described the character as "if Soulja Boy did stand up comedy." Oh, and Raaaaaaaandy's website even has a special page dedicated to helping out Darfur.
Check out Raaaaaaaandy's (with eight a's) extremely NOT SAFE FOR WORK website here. And if you're going to watch only one video, I suggest checking out the documentary. His two to three minute appearance in Funny People is just not enough.