Yelling isn't funny — except when Will Ferrell does it. Ferrell's former Saturday Night Live associate Seth Meyers has now opened up about how many comedians, himself included, were "negatively influenced" by Ferrell's yelling.
Appearing on the podcast Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out on March 25, Meyers admitted that, during his early days at SNL, he attempted to imitate other successful comics rather than being himself.
"Here's a really good example of a bad instinct: 'It's funny when Will Ferrell yells — I'll do scenes where I yell,"' Meyers said. "Maybe one of the only people who's funny yelling is Will Ferrell. [He is] the great comedy yeller. I actually think I wasn't the only person negatively influenced by the yelling of Will Ferrell, 'cause there was, I think, a generation of screaming comedy that was worse than when Will did it."
So what makes Ferrell's yelling different from everyone else's? "It can't be alpha yelling," Meyers said. "It has to be that comedy move of a beta who thinks they're an alpha."
Meyers and Mike Birbiglia agreed that Tim Robinson was another rare example of a funny yeller. Hear their podcast discussion below.