A Funny Thing Happened . . .
Like Saturday Night Live, FunnyOrDie.com seems to be the place for celebrities to prove their comedic chops. In addition to site founder Will Ferrell, an enormous amount of stars have appeared in videos, from former Batman Adam West to Paris Hilton. A select few even get their own recurring series. It's these series specifically the best ones that I'd like to discuss today.
One of the first celebrity series I saw was "Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis." This extremely awkward talk show has featured Jimmy Kimmel, Michael Cera, Jon Hamm and Natalie Portman. In it, host Galifianakis basically tries to make his guests as uncomfortable as humanly possible. That might involve asking for the guest's phone number, awkwardly grabbing his/her knees or even sneezing right on his/her lap. You're guaranteed to squirm during any of them, but my personal favorite is still episode three with Jon Hamm (though I might be a little biased).
Soon after that, I happened upon "Acting with James Franco." The three-part series ran about a year ago, most likely to introduce people to Franco's comedic side in time for Pineapple Express. Here, he and his brother, Dave, give aspiring actors tips on working with green screens, using sense memory to cry on cue and recreating scenes. The banter between the brothers is excellent, but what really makes these videos is the ridiculous opening music. Some hysterical allusions to Franco's past work, including his made-for-TV James Dean biopic and Spider-Man, are also made.
My all-time favorite, however, is "Livin' 'Neath the Law with Jack McBrayer." Kenneth the page is one of the main reasons I watch 30 Rock, and the actor behind this hilarious character does not disappoint in his FunnyOrDie series. McBrayer details how to do things far outside the realm of his wholesome personality, like how to rip off a drug dealer, in each episode. Hearing him merrily describe how to scar people with broken box cutters is funny enough, but the series offers so much more. McBrayer begins every installment by listing some of his previous work, such as Mario Lopez on Saved by the Bell or back-up dancer #3 in Pretty Ricky's "My Body Your Body." He also repeatedly asks us to "come along," only to take one step to the left or merely turn his head. Combined with several shots of him smiling earnestly, it makes for a slightly creepy yet hysterical series. It hasn't been updated in a while, but now that 30 Rock is starting its fourth season much later, maybe he'll have some time to add another episode of "Livin' 'Neath the Law."
Those three may be my favorites, but the celebrities on FunnyOrDie tend to deliver. Richard Jenkins has a pretty great series of his own called "Hollywood Tales," and when a star-studded video like "Prop 8: The Musical" is made, the results are always gold. Unless you're Zac Efron. Let's hope he doesn't get a series anytime soon.