I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this subject lately and I’m gonna go ahead and say that from all the trends I’ve seen it would appear that a superstar comedy career really only lasts about 10 years, even less. I argue that the truly funny movies all took place in a 5-10 year period and after that the movies got less and less funny.
When you think about it, it’s really tough to keep up the humor. I think a number of factors come into play. One. Age. These guys get older and just don’t care anymore. Two. Money. When you’re making $20 Million a movie sometimes you sell out a little bit whether or not the script is good. And Three. Parenthood. Becoming a father changes a man.
Here are five funny guys who used to have amazing comedies and now I can’t even remember the last time they made a funny movie….
Eddie Murphy
His last funny movie was The Distinguished Gentleman back in 1992. If any of you think that Metro was funny then please stop reading this article. Remember how amazing Murphy was back in the 80s? I mean come on. 48 Hours? Beverly Hills Cop? When you thought “funny” it didn’t get much better than Eddie Murphy. Now it’s all child movies and crap humor. I mean I guess The Nutty Professor was OK but come on. That’s got nothing on his 80s stuff.
Jim Carrey
I think his last legitimately funny movie was Liar Liar which was in 1997. Some might argue that Bruce Almighty was good but personally I thought the movie was too commercial. And then there’s Yes Man which is a feel good movie but by no means the kind of humor this guy produced in the mid 90s. When you talk about Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber you’re talking two of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Hell even the sequel to Ace Ventura was awesome. I guess 20 million a picture will make you do stuff. Plus he’s getting older now and probably doesn’t care.
Adam Sandler
I just don’t think Sandler cares at all anymore. He had his time. It’s evident he’s a family man now and probably has no interest in ever making a Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore type movie ever again. He knows he can make a $40-50 million film and gross over 100 off of it without even blinking. But man his early 90s stuff…those were the days. Wedding Singer was great. Even Big Daddy was funny. But then Little Nicky came along and I think it was all downhill. He happens to be a good actor actor so maybe that has something to do with it.
Chevy Chase
You gotta go pretty far back to remember the last time Chase was funny in a movie. If you really want to stretch it one can argue that Nothing But Trouble (1991) was decent but I think the last funny one was Christmas Vacation (1989) which I loved. It’s like a switch went off and he just stopped. I think Community sucks and his cameos are brutal.
David Spade
Spade
Is it the super long hair that did it? I’m trying to figure out when it all went bust for Spade. It’s not that he was a big time movie star like these other guys but Spade was really funny at one point. From ’93-’96 he had some great roles in PCU, Tommy Boy, and Coneheads. I think as soon as he got on TV again his movies just began to suck ass.
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