Comedians don't typically have the sort of range you need to carry something for over an hour. How many generations of SNL crossover flops do we have to suffer before the studios see what works and what doesn't? Just cast an okay straight man (or woman), a sweet kid, in the title role, and let the comics make that person react. It works. It's simple. Work it out.

Albert Brooks is at his best as the brilliant but uncharismatic correspondent in "Broadcast News." When he's running the show, his schtick wears thin painfully fast. The young Robin Williams had as much energy and versatility as most anyone, and in his manic comedic persona he couldn't hold a feature-length movie up. (Refer: "The Survivors.") Steve Martin can play a wooden version of that straight man and toss in some measure of the persona -- but this article is actually using "L.A. Story" as a positive example of the man's work, which says something, yes?

Okay, I'm still wondering what could possibly have sustained the SNL-sketch level delights of Austin Powers for more than one film -- so it must work for some people. But the star of Caddyshack isn't Bill Murray, and if they'd done it that way it would have plain stunk. Not that Caddyshack was Citizen Kane anyway, but it worked for what it was, and it shouldn't be too hard for producers and studio executives to see why that happened. Should it?

I was also excited when I saw the news about Brooks' latest comedy. What would be more useful now than something insightful about the Muslim sense of humor? I wish it had had a wider release. I never got the chance to see it. Some reviews were genuinely enthusiastic though most critics panned it.

I heard that he's re-editing it for the DVD to put in some pictures of Mohammed.

They just aren't. Dan Akroyd was amazing on SNL, now he's an old fat guy. In Caddyshack, Chevy Chase did Owen Wilson's handsome cool better than Wilson does now. Now look at Chevy; old and unfunny. Adam Sandler was the next Jerry Lewis in his 20's...now he can barely sell "offbeat" romantic comedies. Eddie Murphy. Woody Allen. Jim Carrey. Soon Will Ferrell will join the list.

There are very (very) few male comedians who can make the transition to old age. Bill Murray is the best example of a young comedian who can still do funny. Tom Hanks took the easier route, transitioning from comedy to drama.

John Cleese — a "didn't he used to be funny?" comic in his own right — said a few years ago, "Work in itself hardly attracts me at all. I had a cup of coffee with Steve Martin yesterday; he and I agreed that it's only people, the thought of working with someone, that draws us toward working." Who knows — maybe Martin just wanted to stare down Beyoncé's blouse for four weeks?

Garbage like "Cheaper by the Dozen" makes TONS of money. While a true comedian shouldn't cater to the lowest common denominator, what does this say about our society? Collectively, we have a TERRIBLE sense of humor.

I watch a lot of stand-up and have seen this happen to live performers too - Eddie Izzard most notably. I have begun to wonder if what happens is that at some point comedians lose their fear. When they become too comfortable, too secure about what will make the audience laugh, then the edge vanishes, the danger goes and the laughs dry up with it. With a live audience the feedback is immediate and irrefutable: the thunderous silence of no chortling. When your audience is remote perhaps it takes longer to realise what has happened.

I agree about Woody Allen's Match Point, what a face-itchingly, embarrassingly, bad film. In the UK, where its cultural faux pas were glaringly evident, it was rightly, roundly dismissed. In his case though I do think that he has been handicapped by a desire for the respect that is too often accorded to gravitas and not to levitas. And boo to that.

The last time either of them were genuinely funny was in Bowfinger, one of my favourite comedies of the nineties. To me, it has bite, but is also generous, warm hearted in the best sense, and utterly hilarious all the way through (the dog in the high heels is just classic). Martin is good (his script is better) but Murphy playing twin brothers is brilliant.

On second thoughts, going on their current output, I am not sure I want them to sully that film. Here's hoping Murphy can save his career with Dreamgirls this Christmas...

I've never found him funny. Then again, I've also never understood the uproarious crowd laughter in a 1960s live recording of "Little Boxes." Maybe it's the generation I was born into.

I've always believed that some comedians are like musicians - they do their best work when they are 'hungry'.

When they want (need) fame, approval, money - when they still have that anger...comedians, as a group, are a pretty angry bunch. Anger and self-righteousness and that weird combo of arrogance and insecurity give them that fire. Think of the greats - Bill Hicks, Pryor, Bruce. Angry men. They had the guts to stand on a stage with a mic and say the things we all wanted to say - and they made us laugh at the rage. A talented comedian can almost be a cult leader when his (or her) game is ON.

Case in point: Chris Rock. He kicked PC ass back in the day. I've heard both right-wing zealots and unapologetic Liberals quote his act. But now? He's rich, and happy, and bitching about his wife (oooo...how 'edgy', ::rolling eyes::), producing a sitcom and hosting award shows. Denis Leary - a talented actor in his own right - ran out of Hicks material to steal and had to get a real job. Rumor has it that comedians will not go on stage if he's in the audience. His stand-up career is done.

My current fear: Eddie Izzard is now doing a series for F/X (with Minnie Driver). I love him - but how much anger can a guy have when a limo is picking him up every morning and he's banking 7 figures a year?