Actually, Dane Cook Is Funny

These guys get no respect, and they deserve it

(NEWSER) - You rarely see Carrot Top or Gallagher anymore, but showbiz is still full of guys who just aren’t funny. Sarah Bell of Newsweek points out the worthiest tomato targets:

• Larry the Cable Guy: A really, really poor man’s Jeff Foxworthy, minus any actual jokes.
• Carlos Mencia: Makes a living mocking mentally handicapped people and “beaners.” Dave Chappelle, he ain’t.

VP was impressed with Tonight Show stand-up routine

(NEWSER) - At least one person was impressed with Sarah Palin’s stand-up routine on the Tonight Show, and he wants her to bring it to his comedy club. “Based on her appearance, Zanies Comedy Club would like to book Sarah Palin to perform at the club,” the establishment’s VP tells NBC Chicago . “She has an open invitation to perform. No word on whether Palin will find the time, between her TV project and new book , to hit the stage. More»

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

Ashton Kutcher gets a pay raise in renewed contract

(NEWSER) - Ashton Kutcher still has a job: CBS has officially picked up Two and a Half Men for a 10th season, reports the Hollywood Reporter . The renewed deal gives Kutcher and co-stars Jon Cryer and Angus T Jones raises, with Kutcher reported to now be making $725,000 an episode, up from his current $700,000. Two and a Half Men hit a minor slump late last season, but pulls in solid ratings and significant cash for CBS. More»

Yes, really

(NEWSER) - Arlen Specter has a new gig, and to hear him tell it, it’s a logical progression from his old one. “I’ve been in comedy now for 30 years,” he told the audience at the Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia. “It’s sit-down comedy.” Yes, believe it or not, the former senator tried his hand at stand-up comedy last night, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, and it actually went pretty well—even if some of the jokes were recycled from a 2007 Washington comedy competition. More»