Adam Mckay

"Matt Braunger. You know what I like about him? And here's a sign that I'm 43 years old. First off, he really makes me laugh. But also, I can watch him with my daughter. My 10-year-old daughter really likes him too. And in a smart way, she gets it. And he's not, like, filthy dirty. He's very likeable and fun, and yet it's smart at the same time. You know where I've seen Matt Braunger? I literally go on YouTube and I get all his videos, and we sit and watch him. I've never seen him live.

Will Ferrell, who honed his impression of President George W. Bush on "Saturday Night Live" and crossed over to make a career in movies, was named Thursday to receive the nation's top humor prize from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Ferrell will be honored Oct. 23 with the 14th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, an honor that previously has gone to Bill Cosby, Steve Martin and Tina Fey, among others. Ferrell starred for seven seasons on "Saturday Night Live.

Last week, Will Ferrell became the latest "real" celebrity to star in a homemade-looking Internet video. "The Landlord" is a genuinely funny two-minute movie in which Ferrell plays a layabout who is accosted by his angry landlady. The catch: Pearl, the landlady, is played by a 2-year-old. "I want my money!" she shrieks at Ferrell's character, then taunts him with a string of unprintable invectives.

"Matt Braunger. You know what I like about him? And here's a sign that I'm 43 years old. First off, he really makes me laugh. But also, I can watch him with my daughter. My 10-year-old daughter really likes him too. And in a smart way, she gets it. And he's not, like, filthy dirty. He's very likeable and fun, and yet it's smart at the same time. You know where I've seen Matt Braunger? I literally go on YouTube and I get all his videos, and we sit and watch him. I've never seen him live.

REAL men eat yogurt parfaits. That might be the conclusion after sitting down to breakfast with writing partners Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, two 6-foot-plus white-bread guys in khaki shorts, who also happen to be the director and star, respectively, of the upcoming "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," a cheerily demented look inside the world of NASCAR racing, in which the women are hot, the men dumb, and the racing cool.

Though last rites have been administered more than once, the situation comedy is the most resilient of television formats. Time-honored and stable, it is also highly adaptable, ranging easily in attitude from the sincere to the ironic, in form from the classical to the postmodern. The sitcom also has the practical merit of being comparatively economical and easy to make (which does not mean, of course, easy to make well), and after having been largely driven from the screen by reality shows and police procedurals, it is creeping back in around the edges.

Before comedian Ken Jeong cracked into pop cultural consciousness as Hollywood's newest cameo king, he didn't crave movie stardom. The raging Asian guy seen venting spleen and spouting invective in several of the last few years' high-grossing gross-out comedies wasn't even a professional joke-teller by trade. Before a casting coup landed Jeong an enviable spot on the batting order for some of movie comedy's heaviest hitters -- Judd Apatow, Todd Phillips, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay among them -- Jeong's day job didn't involve making people laugh at all. Unless prescribing pain medication for, say, an angry patient with a herniated disc is your idea of funny.

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg play mismatched detectives in Adam McKay's absurdist comedy "The Other Guys," but they're not an odd couple in the classic buddy-cop tradition in which the by-the-book officer endures the reckless behavior of his wild-card partner. No, in "The Other Guys," which opens Friday, Ferrell and Wahlberg both play the same thing — freaks. They're incompatible only because their peculiarities don't mesh. Wahlberg's New York City police detective Terry Hoitz wants to hit the streets, fight crime and "fly like a peacock."

JAZZ Billy Cobham Born in Panama, raised in New York and a resident of Switzerland for more than a quarter-century, the drummer and his inspirations are nothing if not worldly. Cobham, a founding member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, takes his jazzy ? and jazz fusion-y ? stylings to the stage of the Catalina Bar & Grill for a four-night engagement at the historic Hollywood jazz club. Catalina Bar & Grill. 6725 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. 10 p.m. $20. www.catalinajazzclub.

A former head writer on "Saturday Night Live," Adam McKay is set to make his feature directing debut with "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," co-written by McKay and the film's star, Will Ferrell. The two began working together on "SNL," and McKay is quick to point out that he considers Ferrell, star of "Elf" and "Old School," a "legitimate writer" and that the script came from long sessions locked together in a hotel room.

Despicable Me Universal, $29.98/$34.98; Blu-ray, $39.98/$49.98 The computer-animated "Despicable Me" follows a supervillain named Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) as he tries to restore his standing in the evildoers' community ? an effort complicated by the arrival of three adorable orphans. The movie's sentimental side is pretty pat, but Gru's various capers are wittily staged, and any scene involving his tiny yellow minions is pure slapstick gold. "Despicable Me" is recommended for parents who want to introduce their kids to actual comedy.

JAZZ Billy Cobham Born in Panama, raised in New York and a resident of Switzerland for more than a quarter-century, the drummer and his inspirations are nothing if not worldly. Cobham, a founding member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, takes his jazzy ? and jazz fusion-y ? stylings to the stage of the Catalina Bar & Grill for a four-night engagement at the historic Hollywood jazz club. Catalina Bar & Grill. 6725 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. 10 p.m. $20. www.catalinajazzclub.

A Funny or Die viral video is getting a chance for a television crossover. The comedy website said Wednesday that a pilot for "Undercover Karaoke" has been ordered by TBS. Funny or Die will produce the potential series, and co-founders Will Ferrell and Adam McKay will contribute to it. The show will be based on a video in which the singer-songwriter Jewel donned a disguise of a prosthetic nose, wig, glasses and butt padding, and sang under...

Though last rites have been administered more than once, the situation comedy is the most resilient of television formats. Time-honored and stable, it is also highly adaptable, ranging easily in attitude from the sincere to the ironic, in form from the classical to the postmodern. The sitcom also has the practical merit of being comparatively economical and easy to make (which does not mean, of course, easy to make well), and after having been largely driven from the screen by reality shows and police procedurals, it is creeping back in around the edges.

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg play mismatched detectives in Adam McKay's absurdist comedy "The Other Guys," but they're not an odd couple in the classic buddy-cop tradition in which the by-the-book officer endures the reckless behavior of his wild-card partner. No, in "The Other Guys," which opens Friday, Ferrell and Wahlberg both play the same thing — freaks. They're incompatible only because their peculiarities don't mesh. Wahlberg's New York City police detective Terry Hoitz wants to hit the streets, fight crime and "fly like a peacock."

It ain't pretty to look at, makes a lot of noise when it runs, and has more than a few features that don't function, but the car dealership comedy "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard" has a beater's clunky, fast-moving charm. Set in the world of crass, battle-fatigued automobile salesmen and produced by the machismo-skewering team of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay ("Anchorman," "Talladega Nights"), it doesn't set out to be the raunchiest or silliest or dumbest movie you've ever seen.

Will FERRELL is the best thing to hit mainstream American movie comedy since the Farrellys thwacked it with spit and giggles. In his brief, ever-brightening film career, the funnyman has staked a claim on comedy with a screen persona that embodies the age-old struggle between innocence and knowledge, between the wonderment of childhood and the gnawing disenchantments of adulthood.

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," the NASCAR satire starring Will Ferrell, is being advertised as "The story of a man who could only count to #1." And the movie lived up to its billing, as dumb guys finished first at the box office over the weekend. "Talladega Nights" won the weekend derby with a surprisingly strong $47 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It marked a career high for Ferrell and the eighth No.

Before comedian Ken Jeong cracked into pop cultural consciousness as Hollywood's newest cameo king, he didn't crave movie stardom. The raging Asian guy seen venting spleen and spouting invective in several of the last few years' high-grossing gross-out comedies wasn't even a professional joke-teller by trade. Before a casting coup landed Jeong an enviable spot on the batting order for some of movie comedy's heaviest hitters -- Judd Apatow, Todd Phillips, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay among them -- Jeong's day job didn't involve making people laugh at all. Unless prescribing pain medication for, say, an angry patient with a herniated disc is your idea of funny.

Last week, Will Ferrell became the latest "real" celebrity to star in a homemade-looking Internet video. "The Landlord" is a genuinely funny two-minute movie in which Ferrell plays a layabout who is accosted by his angry landlady. The catch: Pearl, the landlady, is played by a 2-year-old. "I want my money!" she shrieks at Ferrell's character, then taunts him with a string of unprintable invectives.