Saturday, December 14, 2013

The Top Ten Male Comedic Characters of All Time... Part Two

5. Malcolm Tucker, played by Peter Capaldi, featured on: The Thick of It

"Fuck off with a lubricated horse cock!"
Malcolm Tucker, the King of Cursing, everyone's favorite angry Scotsman comes into the picture at number five. What brings him above the previous characters is that he is one of the meanest characters while still being the anti-hero of his show. Though the world of The Thick of It, is a harsh one, full of lying and cheating, Malcolm is able to navigate it to get what is best for himself and for the Prime Minister of England. What makes him funny is his harsh quick insults that he seems to make out of thin air and his ridiculous temper. What makes him a great character is his actual common sense that he has obviously gotten from working as an Enforcer to the PM for so many years. What keeps him out of the top 4 is my own fault. I am American and some of the British-isms of The Thick of It, kind of fly past my ugly American head. Whatever, at least I can say I'm smart because it's a political show.

4. Tim, voiced by Steve Dildarian, featured on: The Life and Times of Tim

"No no... No no... Okay..."
The Life and Times of Tim is a little known comedy that used to be on HBO. Tim is an enormous pushover who basically is pushed around by everyone he meets and gets stuck in awkward situations quite frequently. What makes Tim so funny is his reactions to everything. He always has a remark to make about the situations he is in. Although he is not the smartass that some of the other characters are, always quick with a snide remark, Tim is always quick with a bit of a sad sack remark. He has almost narrations everything that happens to him that just seem to sum up the situation from his point of view. Although it seems odd when describes, when watched, Tim is hysterical, from being forced to sing in a Black Women's Church Choir to getting stuck with a stray elephant. 



3. Charlie Kelly, played by Charlie Day, featured on: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

" I'll have the milksteak, with a side of your finest jellybeans"
Charlie Kelly is a character stuck in the middle of four friends who are all smarter, meaner, and less well versed in bird law than him. What makes Charlie such a hilarious character is that he always seems to mean well but his own stupidity and delusions get in his way. He is always the one of the five friends to get the most excited about a scheme and decide he wants to take it to the next level and dress up as a character or some other extreme. Charlie Day's excellent acting takes Charlie from being just another Kramer like character to being a conglomeration of stupid, confident, and most of all insane human being who can never seem to execute anything he does correctly, leading to hilarious consequences.



2. George Costanza, played by Jason Alexander, featured on: Seinfeld

"The sea was angry that day, like an old man returning soup at a deli"

George Costanza would be number one on this list if it was just in terms of how influential they were. George revolutionized the sad sack type character as well as the smartass, as well as the mean person type character. He was all three. George was at one point living with his parents, making fun of his successful friends, and lying to people to get ends meat.Though, what is really lovable about George is his everyman qualities. Though he may be inhumanly deceptive, he is still a pathetic person, just like the rest of us (except for you my readers, you are strictly the opposite). In addition, the way that the character develops throughout the show is amazing. He starts out making sly remarks and ends up having some of the funnier moments on television. From being happy that his fiancee died to trying to date Marrissa Tomei, George Costanza cements his place as number 2.



1. Tobias Funke, played by David Cross, featured on: Arrested Development  

"I'm afraid I just blue myself"
Although I may be incredibly biased toward Arrested Development, I still think there is not a single show that can hold a candle to its hilarity. Since I limited myself to one character per show, this was the obvious choice. Tobias Funke is a strange man, from trying to join the blue man group thinking it was a support group to dressing like a woman to try and join a group of pirates... who later turned out to be homosexuals. He is sexually strange, frequently making gay remarks while being married and obsessed with being an actor... like when he wears a "Barbara Streisand in The Prince of Tides ass masking pant suit". But, at the same time as all of his weirdness, he is likable. He actually does want to make his marriage work and do what is best for his daughter. Its just that his way of doing this is to become a "Leather Daddy" (When his daughter loves wearing leather) or an owner of "Gobias Industries" (When he wants to make money to impress his wife). Then, we consider David Cross's masterful acting. He is able to deliver his lines in such an awkward yet well meaning way that the character is totally believable yet strange. Pair this with the incredibly clever writing of Arrested Development, and the number one comedy character is clear.

No comments:

Post a Comment