I’ll be honest - I don’t find a lot of female comedians and comedic actresses very funny.  Margaret Cho?  No thanks.  Wanda Sykes?  Uh, not even close.  Ellen DeGeneres?  Sorry, Paul, I know you’re a fan, but she just doesn’t do it for me.  Fortunately, the women that I do find funny can make me laugh on a pretty consistent basis, whether it be through physical comedy, self-deprecation, or a shocking potty mouth.  Of course looks matter, but a good sense of humor is one of the best qualities a woman can have, and the following women are winners when it comes to that.  I’ve compiled a list of the special ladies in television and film that can almost always elicit a good laugh.  Presented in no particular order, enjoy the 10 funniest women currently on television and in film.

Kaitlin Olson

I first saw Kaitlin Olson on Curb Your Enthusiasm as Larry David’s sister-in-law Becky, but I didn’t realize how comedically gifted she was until I saw her as Dee Reynolds on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (the funniest show on television).  As Dee, Kaitlin takes insult after insult from Dennis, Charlie, and her real-life husband Rob McElhenney (Mac).  She can more than keep up with her hilarious cast mates, and I love how willing she is to make a complete ass of herself.  She also plays being drunk as good as anyone.  If you’re not watching It’s Always Sunny, by the way, you’re really missing out, and a big part of the reason is because of Kaitlin Olson.

Tina Fey

Tina Fey has always been funny, but she became a household name for her unbelievable Sarah Palin impression.  Like Olson, a lot of Fey’s humor comes from self-deprecation.  I mean, how many insults can Alec Baldwin hurl her way on 30 Rock?  And as funny as she is on screen - especially when she was on Weekend Update, I think Fey is actually better as a writer.  She has been head writer for Saturday Night Live, wrote Mean Girls, and created 30 Rock.  Not bad at all.

Chelsea Handler

Early in her career, Chelsea Handler was a corespondent for The Tonight Show and did stand-up comedy gigs, too.  She got much bigger, though, after showing how great interacting with the elderly can be on The Chelsea Handler show.  Chelsea is crude and self-deprecating (I kind of sense a theme here), and mixing her with old people (he go-to move) as well as pretty much anyone else - including Fat Joe - was always good for laughs.  She currently displays her sharp sarcasm on Chelsea Lately.

Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman has been around for awhile, and I don’t think there’s ever been a female comic as filthy as she is.  In fact, I can’t think of many male comics as filthy as she is.  Sarah has appeared on the criminally underrated Mr. Show as well as in a bunch of movies (including There’s Something About Mary), but Sarah is best when she’s the center of attention.  She got her own show on Comedy Central, and it’s as filthy and shocking as you’d expect it to be.  Sarah also starred in a move called Jesus is Magic, which is essentially a stand-up routine with some Adam Sandler-esque songs thrown in.  A lot of people aren’t fans of “shock” humor, but when horrible, horrible things come out of the mouth of a cute Jewish girl, I can’t help but crack up.

Leslie Mann

Alright, look - Apatow’s wife is on this list for two particularly memorable scenes.  The first is in The 40 Year Old Virgin, when Mann plays a wasted girl who drives Andy home to her apartment, her speech slurred as she pines for some f*ckng French toast and sings along to Missy Elliot.  It is uncanny how accurate her portrayal of a drunk party girl is.  The second scene is in Knocked Up, when she barrages a bouncer at a club (as I am sure many of us have wanted to do at some point), calling him “Doorman” over and over and over.  I think Leslie Mann is generally pretty funny (I liked her in Big Daddy, too), but the aforementioned scenes made her a lock for this list.

Kristen Wiig

Wiig has appeared in several movies, and I imagine that she is going to continue to get more prominent roles as her career progresses.  That said, she’s clearly best known for her work on Saturday Night Live.  I think the show has gotten a lot better as of late, and you really can’t say that it sucks anymore, but for a long time, Wiig was simply carrying the show.  In the show’s 34th season, Wiig appeared in 124 sketches.  Wiig can do physical comedy, her impressions are amazing (have you ever seen her Bjork?), and even if she’s just appearing for a couple of minutes, she can get laughs- did you catch her playing the woman on Weekend Update who was”recovering” from having uncontrollable orgasms?  Gold.  I’m not saying every Wiig sketch is a winner, but she’s pretty easily the most talented cast member on SNL.

Anna Faris

Anna Faris - who made a name for herself spoofing Jennifer Love Hewitt in Scary Movie - is as good at deadpanning as anyone.  It seems as though Faris’ characters are confronted with ridiculous, disgusting situations, and her ability to act as though it’s all serious and not ridiculous makes for good laughs.  Faris held her own opposite Ryan Reynolds in Waiting…, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing Faris doing more gross-out humor in the future.

Jane Lynch

Jane Lynch is one of those actresses that you probably don’t know by name but know her by face.  Lynch doesn’t get a lot of major roles, but her smaller roles in movies like The 40 Year Old Virgin, Best in Show, and Role Models are all memorable.  She’s currently on Glee, but Lynch is at her funniest when she’s being foul.  It’s always jarring to hear jokes about “f*ck buddies” or fellating judges for crack when they come from an older woman.  Lynch is a fixture in the Christopher Guest movies, no doubt for her comedic timing and delivery.

Amy Poehler

Poehler, like Tina Fey, gained a lot of exposure during her stint on Saturday Night Live, especially as an anchor on Weekend Update.  Before SNL, though, Poehler was killing as part of the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, and she really shined in the sketch comedy format.  Poehler has made a lot of movie appearances, too, like in Mean Girls, Wet Hot American Summer, and as a maniacally cursing Tourette’s patient in Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigalo.  She’s married to Will Arnett, and has appeared as his character G.O.B.’s wife on Arrested Development.  The best thing about Amy Poehler is that she doesn’t need a well-written part to be funny; when she’s allowed to ad lib or improvise on the spot, she’s at her best.

Susie Essman

Susie’s stand-up comedy is actually pretty funny, and she tells a damn good Aristocrats joke, too (although not as good as Sarah Silverman’s), but let’s not kid ourselves - Susie made the list because it’s funny every single time she screams and curses at Larry David or her television husband Jeff on Curb Your Enthusiasm.  I can’t get enough of her yelling “four-eyed freak” and “fat f*ck.”

Are there any current female actresses you felt should have made this list?  Do you think some of the women that I find funny simply aren’t?  Let me know in the comments section.

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