Smile, the platinum age of comedy has arrived
By Nick Nunziata
CNN Headline News
(CNN) -- Now would be a good time to stop and take a look at the state of comedy in film.
We are in the midst of a special era in movie history where a group of talented and diverse comedians are ruling the box office as actors, writers and directors, while balancing their mainstream hits with cameos, dramatic work and in a few instances some groundbreaking stand-up hilarity.
I'm not talking about Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler either -- although they helped carry the torch during a dry period in which grossing out the audience was the order of the day.
Crossover stars such as Sandler and Mike Myers have made their name and endured, but there are a few more unexpected people who, when combined with the established comedians, represent a pool of talent either equal to or perhaps greater than the amazing crop from the early "Saturday Night Live," "Monty Python" and "SCTV" days.
This group includes Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Dave Chappelle, Owen Wilson, and the list goes on and on.
Add to that group of mercurial talent the genre-bending comedic work being delivered by the Coen Brothers, Larry David, Kevin Smith and Wes Anderson and the still strong output of Sandler, Carrey and now old-school industry heavyweights such as Zucker, Farrelly and Brooks, and you have what arguably is the strongest assembly of comedic virtuosity the movie business has ever seen.
On top of that is the blazing path being burned by the geniuses at Pixar and Aardman animation studios and the still bright careers of legends such as Bill Murray, George Carlin and Steve Martin.
It's too easy to romanticize the legends of yesteryear such as Abbott and Costello, the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Lucille Ball and Monty Python. It's similarly easy to discount the current crop of talent.
We're spoiled. The digital age has made available to us everything under the sun, and just about any sitcom, comedy act or screwball caper is a few clicks away. Access has brought with it the ability for us to not have to settle, which is why this new era of immensely bright stars probably won't get their deserved respect until the next wave of hits.
Before we have a chance to savor something special, such as the recent gems "Anchorman" or "Super Troopers," the next salvo of high profile laugh-a-thons are already upon us.
This new era in comedy may not have its "Animal House," "Blazing Saddles" or its "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" to stand as cornerstones of the genre, but it has momentum, studio backing and limitless potential to one day cobble together films that rewrite the book.
In a time where remakes and rehashes are being delivered at a breakneck pace (oftentimes with these new stars involved), the fact that the present and the future is so bright is even more astonishing.
Get ready to laugh. A lot.
