Adam McKay Quotes

I've always been part of comedy. One of the things about our family was that if we were reasonably funny with each other, particularly my two brothers and myself, when my father was upset with something you'd want to make sure in some way you made him laugh. Because when he didn't laugh, you were in trouble!

Humor is to get us over terrible things.

As with anything that involves emotional pain, comedy isn't too far behind. There's that element of no matter how painful something is - as long as it is not you that is going through it - it can be funny.

I'm very much of the "make it dark, make it grim, make it tough", but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.

With comedy, you have to do it right. In a drama, there's a lot of different ways to succeed in a moment. But comedy comes from reality. You can't try to be funny.

Anything that is not funny at a certain point will be funny.

A joke is necessary at this time.

The audience bursts into laughter. With the tragic gag I don't expect the audience to laugh (if they do, I have failed) but I expect a black silence from them that is almost as violent: as laughter.

I've been to many funerals of funny people, and they're some of the funniest days you'll ever have, because the emotions run high.

There's a darkness under 'The Hangover' because ultimately there's a missing person and it's not really that funny. There's a sort of darkness under it that I love, and still people are laughing as hard if not harder than they did in 'Old School.'

It's fun to do something funny and have the director laughing. It makes you feel good.

In comedy, though, it's good to get feedback from the audience about what they find funny.

I think it's awesome to be able to make people laugh.

The hardest thing in the world to do is to have someone in a seat in a theater laughing so hard that they're making weird sounds.

It's good to be funny when you are a comedian.

I think serious situations actually make for the best kind of belly laughs. But they're also the hardest to convert into comedy at the outset.

I think you figure out how to be funny by necessity. It's not a natural thing, being funny in the face of tragedy is kind of demented.

Sometimes in the most tragic situation, something just profoundly funny happens.

I don't think it's a contradiction to find painfulness funny.

Part of my act is meant to shake you up. It looks like I'm being funny, but I'm reminding you of other things. Life is tough, darling. Life is hard. And we better laugh at everything; otherwise, we're going down the tube.

I like a person who knows how to say something dark at a very dark moment. The darker the moment and the darker the comic, the better. Something that is so wrong on all levels.

Comedy arises out of necessity, because some things are so dark that you have to laugh about it.

What the real world of 1941 needed most was the release and relief provided by laughter.

I think David Letterman is a genius. Night after night he is funny and smart. He seems to really enjoy his jokes. They seem connected to who he really is. I like watching him, and there is no one better at turning an awkward moment into something very funny.

Even in times of great sadness, there are always moments where we crack up.