Comedy

Brooks is the subject of a new two-part HBO documentary, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! TV critic David Bianculli reviews the documentary, plus we listen back to archival interviews with Brooks.

Garr, who died Oct. 29, started out as a dancer in Elvis films, and was later nominated for an Oscar for Tootsie. David Bianculli offers an appreciation, and we listen back to a 2005 interview.

Sam Briger talks to Mark Ruffalo who has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Poor Things." Some of his other movies include "Spotlight," "Foxcatcher," "The Kids Are All Right," "Zodiac" and "You Can Count On Me." He has, of course, also played the Incredible Hulk in many Marvel movies and TV shows.

In her new memoir, Leslie F*cking Jones, she reflects on growing up as a military brat, performing in comedy clubs in a male-dominated field and joining the cast of SNL in 2014, when she was 47 years old. When it comes to getting laughs, Jones is committed to physical comedy — even if it sometimes results in injury.

Arkin, who died June 29, got his start creating characters with the comedy troupe Second City and later won an Oscar for his role in Little Miss Sunshine. Originally broadcast Sept. 29, 1989.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is best known for playing Elaine on the hit comedy series Seinfeld, but her credits also include SNL, The New Adventures of Old Christine and the HBO series Veep. Along the way, she's won 11 Emmy awards. In the new movie, You Hurt My Feelings, Louis-Dreyfus plays a writer whose world is turned upside down when she learns that her husband hates the novel she's working on — despite his reassurances to the contrary.

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

Billy Crudup is an actor you've probably seen more than you realize. He won critical praise and an Emmy Award for his performance in the Apple TV series "The Morning Show" with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. His film credits include "Almost Famous," "Sleepers," "Jesus' Son," "20th Century Women" and "Watchmen," where he played a marvel comic superhero who's bald and blue.

Slate film critic Dana Stevens traces Keaton's trajectory, from performing in his family's vaudeville act as a child, to starring in and directing silent films. Originally broadcast Jan. 24, 2022.

It's "a very sensual instrument," the parody artists insists. A new over-the-top "biopic" tells the story of Yankovic's life — sort of. Originally broadcast Nov. 16, 2022.

Brooks wrote countless edgy jokes over the years, but he doesn't regret any of them. He calls comedy his "delicious refuge" from the world. His memoir is All About Me! Originally broadcast in 2021.

Booster's film Fire Island, which he wrote and stars in, was inspired by the Jane Austen novel. The movie is a rom-com about a group of gay friends and explores racism and classism in their community.

Leachman, who died Jan. 27, won an Oscar for her performance in the 1971 film, The Last Picture Show, as well as eight primetime Emmy awards for her work on television. Originally broadcast in 2009.

It sounds like something dreamed up by a team of romantic comedy writers: A Pakistani-American comic falls in love with an American graduate student, but because of cultural pressures from his family, he is forced to keep the relationship a secret. It is only when she becomes mysteriously ill and is put into a medically induced coma that he decides to tell his family about the woman he loves.

The new film, Get Out, defies easy classification. Though it has funny moments, it's primarily a horror film, with racial anxiety at its center. Writer-director Jordan Peele tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that he thinks of Get Out as a "social thriller."

Todd Phillips' new comedy, which is loosely based on a true story, follows two 20-somethings from Miami who become international arms dealers. Critic John Powers calls War Dogs "jauntily enjoyable."

Enter Me

Melissa McCarthy plays a James-Bond-style undercover secret agent in the espionage comedy Spy. Critic David Edelstein says the movie lurches between slapstick, violence and crude humor.

The newest Marvel comic adaptation features five motley warriors, including a raccoon and a tree, against an armada of space villains. The big-budget effects-laden movie is light and funny.

For her first feature film, director Gillian Robespierre says she wanted to cast Jenny Slate in the role as an empowered, funny woman. They tell Fresh Air what shaped them as women in comedy.