Has the death of Harold Ramis left the world a less funny place? MSNBC's "Morning Joe" explored the issue this morning, as NBC News political director Chuck Todd led the show in a discussion of how grievously unfunny the New York Times obituary of Ramis was. Chuck Todd is an expert on what is and is not funny. Here, for devoted students of comic technique, is a transcript of Todd's remarks:
When comedy legend Harold Ramis died yesterday, the world mourned and shared their favorite moments from his films. As it turns out, President Obama did, too. When the president issued a statement this morning paying tribute to Ramis, he included a reference to one of Ramis' classic films, just like any other fan would.
Early Monday morning, filmmaker Harold Ramis died at the age of 69. Ramis wrote or directed some of the most beloved and influential comedies of the past three decades—Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Animal House, Groundhog's Day, National Lampoon's Vacation, Back to School, Meatballs, Stripes, and Analyze This.
Seth Rogen had some harsh things to say about his possible participation in Ghostbusters III this week, which reminds me that he's been in like six movies and he's in no position to diss a franchise that's worth more than his life. If he keeps making the "stoner" version of X, whether X is a period romance or Bill Maher-esque documentary, I'm going to take over his representation. Rogen's career choices need to start improving, because speaking as a schlubby Jew, I do not intend for my concurrent increase in appeal to women to decline any further than it already has in the wake of this economic crisis. By the power invested in me by the Torah, we have sketched out the rest of Seth Rogen's career.Seth Rogen is unsure if he's willing to be in a Judd Apatow-produced Ghostbusters 3:
