Four comedians share their favorite film roles by fellow stand-ups.
Woody Allen (Annie Hall)
Woody Allen did stand-up in the 60’s that would be considered ground breaking if he had done it today. Annie Hall is the Annie Hall of movies.
Jim Carrey / David Cross (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Jim Carrey plays the guy Jim Carrey would have been if he had never figured out that he was meant to be on stage. Cross is on here because of his delivery on “I’m building a birdhouse!”
Steve Martin (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
“May I go to the bathroom?” “Of course you may.” Pause, then with relief, “Thank you.”
Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally)
This is the only holdover I still regularly watch from my rom com phase. Yes, I went through a rom com phase. Its where I got my Hugh Grant mancrush. Yes I have a…
Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille)
You will believe that a rat can cook, and that a restaurant staffed entirely by rodents is a happy ending, rather than the worst nightmare you ever had. Also, you will tear up when the food critic tastes Patton Oswalt’s titular dish. (I refer to all characters in movies by the names of the actors who portrayed them, and say things like “I liked when Ben Kingsley went on that hunger strike to try and unite the nation of India.”)
In 2008, fellow stand-up comic Eugene Mirman called Kumail Nanjiani one of the funniest comedians no one had heard of yet. Now, a year later, with appearances on The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live, and Jimmy Kimmel Live – not to mention tour dates around the country and numerous gigs in New York City – Kumail’s profile is on the rise. While he claims on his MySpace page to be 72 years old and created from clay by Queen Hippolyta, other sources indicate that he is 30 years old and originally from Karachi, Pakistan. He is a writer for and will be a regular cast member on the new Comedy Central show Michael and Michael Have Issues starring Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black. You can also find Kumail’s thoughts on film at his blog The Wilhelm Scream.
Here, Kumail shares his five favorite film roles as performed by fellow stand-up comics.
You know what year [the Coney Island roller coaster] The Cyclone was made in? The Cyclone was made in the year 1927. They should change the name to 1927. That fact is way scarier than cyclones.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Pariah
Being Flynn
ParaNorman
The Debt
The Broken Tower
Flashback Feb 12, 2010 
Inside Our Movies 
