Originally Posted by firegod
Name some of most brilliant movie comedians of all time. I will post more later, but for now, what about Jim Carey and Jerry Lewis? Absolute genius.
Neither of them rate highly in my book.
Gotta start with Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Chuck Chaplin. Other greats from the Silent era, but those three are geniuses of the highest order.
Cary Grant was more than just a comedian, but his comic timing was impeccable, and his persona effortlessly charming.
The Marx Brothers, for sure. Geniuses all (well, forgetting Zeppo anyway).
Alec Guinness, in the series of Ealing comedies of the '50s.
His successor, Peter Sellers.
I'd take Hope & Crosby over Martin & Lewis, and Abbott & Costello over both those duos, but while all were immensely entertaining I wouldn't go quite so far as to call any of them geniuses.
Jack Benny, who's best film is Lubitsch's
To Be or Not To Be (masterpiece), but most of his genius material can be found on television and radio.
Lenny Bruce. If I have to explian his inclusion, shame on you.
Bob Newhart. Genius as a stand-up, and that genius translated perfectly into two brilliant sitcoms.
George Carlin. Bruce's successor in many ways, though it took him a couple decades to get angrier and angrier and distill it into brilliant comic observations. Hippy-Dippy Weatherman no more, just a genius.
Richard Pryor, for damn sure. He had some good moments in film, but of course his undistilled genius is his stand-up. Took the ground Bruce had broken and exploded new ground all of his own.
I'll stop there for now, let all you kids get in your Jim Carreys and Adam Sandlers. Then after I'm done puking, I'll add some more.
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