09.12.07 From the Vixen
Movies/TV > Fantastically Funny Women
Women of TV and film land that are taking comedy by the scruff of the neck and showing it what's what.
1. Jessica Hynes
You may or may not be familiar with Jessica Stevenson (now Jessica Hynes, apparently; happy marriage!) from her very brief role as Yvonne in Shaun of the Dead, or her transient stay on the most recent season of Doctor Who as Joan Redfern. My first encounter with her was through the British television show Spaced; a hilarious amalgamation of pop culture references, inventive characters and dialogue with a warm, gooey emotional center. She co-wrote and co-starred in Spaced alongside Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Mark Heap and together they formed one of the most memorable comedic television shows I’ve ever seen and have the pleasure of continuously re-watching. She plays her character, Daisy, an unmotivated writer who gets a flat with Simon Pegg’s character Tim (who she hardly knows at the time), with absolute perfection; every line delivered is appropriately hilariously or touchingly, and through Hynes’ writing and performance, Daisy becomes a decidedly real and tangible character. Jessica Hynes’ brand of humor is very unconventional, and Daisy isn’t really at all what you’d expect her to be. It’s also worthy to note that Hynes, generally, is a very diverse actress and accomplishes both comedy and drama with equal amounts of success. Below is a clip from Spaced, including Jessica Hynes as Daisy, Simon Pegg as Tim and Michael Smiley as Tyres, Tim’s raver friend.
2. Kerri Kenney
There are several hilarious female characters on
3. Maya Rudolph
I have to say, SNL has had a pretty phenomenal cast lately. The writing is sort of hit and miss, which is lamentable because all of the performers are pretty top notch, especially in the female arena. I was going to include Kristen Wiig (who I was surprised to see on SNL because she’s so conventionally pretty and she has a face that makes it seem like she’s sort of reserved or more inclined to dramatic acting, but man was I wrong) on this list as well, but I haven’t seen enough of her sketches to make an educated assessment of her hilarity (although what I have seen is always pretty good). Maya Rudolph, on the other hand, is all over the SNL sketches and she never fails to be hilarious or entertaining. She has a really good grasp on both over-the-top and understated comedy, so she can do skits like the one in the video below, as well as other more camp or eccentric ones like the Pamela Bell national anthem sketch. And when she does perform things that are mostly in the latter category, she’s not so overt as to be irritating or embody that sort of signature SNL ridiculousness that other women performers have fallen prey to (such as Molly Shannon). There’s a sort of classiness to her comedy, and I have no doubt that when she leaves SNL she’ll be able to find legitimately good comedic work without problem, and without being perpetually labeled as “that girl from SNL”.
4. Tina Fey
I tried not to take people from the same places, but Tina Fey isn’t at SNL anymore, so she’s free game. And if you haven’t already gathered, I’m slightly in love with her. Tina Fey’s comedy is hilarious, frequently unconventional, incredibly intelligent and endlessly entertaining. The clip below is just a taste of the humor that 30 Rock is all about, and if you don’t appreciate it, then I—well I just don’t know what I’m going to do with you. She doesn’t take herself seriously and there are many jokes on the series that come at her expense (particularly from Alec Baldwin as he consistently accuses her of being a lesbian), which is always a plus for any comedian or person in general, particularly if they’re writing the show themselves. Fey also managed to come out with one of the only modern teen movies that is both funny without being low brow as well as having firmly rooted basis in reality. This film is, of course Mean Girls. Any movie that can have incredibly broad popular appeal while also catering to a crowd of more discerning movie goers has something special to be said about it. I could really go on and on about how much I adore Tina Fey, but it wouldn’t do any good because I would just be rephrasing myself for an hour; suffice it to say that Fey is a wonderful role model of the modern woman and one of the leading female comedians of our age and I couldn’t admire her more.
5. Portia de Rossi
There really isn’t anyone else that could play the shallow, materialistic Lindsay Funke on Arrested Development and be anywhere near as hilarious; I am absolutely convinced. Portia de Rossi completely sold that part; her mannerisms, her speech, absolutely everything. I come close to death whenever I watch the clip below because of how dead on the delivery of “he thinks I’m cute” is. Unfaltering adoration for this woman, I tell you. I don’t remember much of her on Ally McBeal but I’m sure she was just as good. However, I think her role as Lindsay was definitely a defining comedic part for her and I hope people will watch her and see how good she was and is. And it’s the same with the other women on that show; Jessica Walter and Alia Shawkat are both phenomenal and each lady fits into their character like a glove. You couldn’t have found better actresses. Hopefully Rossi will land another part that will let her exhibit her comedy skills to the same extent as Arrested Development, but until that day, I always have the box sets to watch.
You may or may not be familiar with Jessica Stevenson (now Jessica Hynes, apparently; happy marriage!) from her very brief role as Yvonne in Shaun of the Dead, or her transient stay on the most recent season of Doctor Who as Joan Redfern. My first encounter with her was through the British television show Spaced; a hilarious amalgamation of pop culture references, inventive characters and dialogue with a warm, gooey emotional center. She co-wrote and co-starred in Spaced alongside Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Mark Heap and together they formed one of the most memorable comedic television shows I’ve ever seen and have the pleasure of continuously re-watching. She plays her character, Daisy, an unmotivated writer who gets a flat with Simon Pegg’s character Tim (who she hardly knows at the time), with absolute perfection; every line delivered is appropriately hilariously or touchingly, and through Hynes’ writing and performance, Daisy becomes a decidedly real and tangible character. Jessica Hynes’ brand of humor is very unconventional, and Daisy isn’t really at all what you’d expect her to be. It’s also worthy to note that Hynes, generally, is a very diverse actress and accomplishes both comedy and drama with equal amounts of success. Below is a clip from Spaced, including Jessica Hynes as Daisy, Simon Pegg as Tim and Michael Smiley as Tyres, Tim’s raver friend.
2. Kerri Kenney
There are several hilarious female characters on
3. Maya Rudolph
I have to say, SNL has had a pretty phenomenal cast lately. The writing is sort of hit and miss, which is lamentable because all of the performers are pretty top notch, especially in the female arena. I was going to include Kristen Wiig (who I was surprised to see on SNL because she’s so conventionally pretty and she has a face that makes it seem like she’s sort of reserved or more inclined to dramatic acting, but man was I wrong) on this list as well, but I haven’t seen enough of her sketches to make an educated assessment of her hilarity (although what I have seen is always pretty good). Maya Rudolph, on the other hand, is all over the SNL sketches and she never fails to be hilarious or entertaining. She has a really good grasp on both over-the-top and understated comedy, so she can do skits like the one in the video below, as well as other more camp or eccentric ones like the Pamela Bell national anthem sketch. And when she does perform things that are mostly in the latter category, she’s not so overt as to be irritating or embody that sort of signature SNL ridiculousness that other women performers have fallen prey to (such as Molly Shannon). There’s a sort of classiness to her comedy, and I have no doubt that when she leaves SNL she’ll be able to find legitimately good comedic work without problem, and without being perpetually labeled as “that girl from SNL”.
4. Tina Fey
I tried not to take people from the same places, but Tina Fey isn’t at SNL anymore, so she’s free game. And if you haven’t already gathered, I’m slightly in love with her. Tina Fey’s comedy is hilarious, frequently unconventional, incredibly intelligent and endlessly entertaining. The clip below is just a taste of the humor that 30 Rock is all about, and if you don’t appreciate it, then I—well I just don’t know what I’m going to do with you. She doesn’t take herself seriously and there are many jokes on the series that come at her expense (particularly from Alec Baldwin as he consistently accuses her of being a lesbian), which is always a plus for any comedian or person in general, particularly if they’re writing the show themselves. Fey also managed to come out with one of the only modern teen movies that is both funny without being low brow as well as having firmly rooted basis in reality. This film is, of course Mean Girls. Any movie that can have incredibly broad popular appeal while also catering to a crowd of more discerning movie goers has something special to be said about it. I could really go on and on about how much I adore Tina Fey, but it wouldn’t do any good because I would just be rephrasing myself for an hour; suffice it to say that Fey is a wonderful role model of the modern woman and one of the leading female comedians of our age and I couldn’t admire her more.
5. Portia de Rossi
There really isn’t anyone else that could play the shallow, materialistic Lindsay Funke on Arrested Development and be anywhere near as hilarious; I am absolutely convinced. Portia de Rossi completely sold that part; her mannerisms, her speech, absolutely everything. I come close to death whenever I watch the clip below because of how dead on the delivery of “he thinks I’m cute” is. Unfaltering adoration for this woman, I tell you. I don’t remember much of her on Ally McBeal but I’m sure she was just as good. However, I think her role as Lindsay was definitely a defining comedic part for her and I hope people will watch her and see how good she was and is. And it’s the same with the other women on that show; Jessica Walter and Alia Shawkat are both phenomenal and each lady fits into their character like a glove. You couldn’t have found better actresses. Hopefully Rossi will land another part that will let her exhibit her comedy skills to the same extent as Arrested Development, but until that day, I always have the box sets to watch.
