Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me_ (And Other Concerns) - Mindy Kaling [47]
When I watch roasts, I actually feel physically uncomfortable, like when I see a crow feast on a squirrel that has been hit by a car but has not stopped moving yet. The self-proclaimed no-holds-barred atmosphere reminds me of signs for strip clubs on Hollywood Boulevard: “We Have Crazy Girls. They Do Anything!” We don’t have to do anything. Let’s bar some holds.
My Favorite Eleven Moments in Comedy
WHEN I WAS a kid, I was obsessed with listing my favorite things. I kept an index card with all my favorite foods folded in my wallet, just in case anyone asked me what they were. Then when people walked away, I imagined they’d say: “Whoa, Mindy Kaling is so cool and self-actualized. McDonald’s pancakes are her favorite food, and she was able to tell me right away.” I was prepared for all kinds of potential fun situations when I was kid. I kept a bathing suit in my backpack in case I went anywhere where there was a swimming pool. I grew up on the East Coast where pools are a really big deal, but still, I planned excessively.
When I started getting into comedy, my listing became even more important, because I thought having my favorite comedy moments on file said so much about me. I thought it’d be fun to share my favorites.
A disclaimer about these: they are all pretty recent, from the last ten or fifteen years. My boss Greg Daniels was appalled I had never heard of Jack Benny or Ernie Kovacs before I started working at The Office. I am sorry I’m not obsessed with The Honeymooners or The Great Dictator, or even Caddyshack or other classic comedy from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. This list is also pretty mainstream, so other comedy nerds will be mad I didn’t include alternative comedy stuff. This list also doesn’t include stand-up, because that would be its own can of excellent worms starring the likes of Louie C.K., Wanda Sykes, Mo’nique, Jerry Seinfeld, etc. I know there are probably glaring omissions. Come on guys. I’m not a professional list maker. Just be cool.
1. Will Ferrell Shouting from the Phone Booth in Anchorman
Anchorman is a strange little miracle of a movie, with some historic comedy film significance, too. It put together an all-star team of comedy actors that includes Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner. No other pairings of these guys would ever be as funny as this. I’m sure I’ll go see, and really love, Uncle Retreat or whatever movie comes next, but it won’t make my mouth drop like Anchorman did.
When Ron Burgundy—amazing names in this movie, by the way—believes his dog has been killed by an angry motorist (Jack Black, used perfectly), he is so overcome with grief, he can’t do the news that night. He calls from a phone booth, in one of the funniest, most theatrical displays of grief I’ve ever seen. It’s like grief with a capital G.
There’s a heightened style of acting that Will Ferrell and Adam McKay employ in their movies that is incredibly difficult to pull off. If done poorly, heightened comedy acting can seem like you’re watching an inadvertently campy kids’ production of 12 Angry Men. But it is Will Ferrell’s sweet spot. He has made a career of making unlikely things not only totally work but also be the funniest things I’ve ever seen. (I’m of course referring to the movie Elf, whose premise reads like the ramblings of an insane little kid drunk off Christmas egg nog.)
2. Liz Lemon Crying Out of Her Mouth on 30 Rock
Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy convinced Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon to get eye surgery so she’ll be more TV-friendly for her new talk show. Unfortunately (and fortunately) the surgery makes her cry out of her mouth. I believe this joke is a perfect joke. Funny in theory and thinking, and even funnier in Tina’s execution. Plus it is hilariously visual. I’m jealous of whoever wrote this.
3. Chris Farley as Matt Foley
The best parts of the great book Live from New York, by Tom Shales, are when performers like Chris Rock, David Spade,