…is “Laughing Matter: Comedy’s New Legends” in Vanity Fair. If you’ve seen any of the movies these guys have made, seeing them here is already making you laugh.

VF’s Jim Windolf observes:

“After appearing in Knocked Up and/or The 40-Year-Old Virgin, this quartet can now be considered summa cum laude graduates of the Judd Apatow school of comedy. Unlike so many comedy stars of the last two decades, they—and the other funny people depicted on the following pages—seem at their best when they work not as soloists but as part of a tightly knit ensemble. Say good-bye to the laughter of alienation and hello to a brand of comedy that fosters a feeling of community. Rather than dominate a crowd, they conspire with the people in the audience. Their strength lies in their charm. Even Rogen. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz (in tribute to her own March 2006 cover shot) on Stage 28 at Paramount Pictures Studio Lot, Los Angeles.”

I’m really glad I watched a few of the videos from this photo shoot – I needed a laugh, after the Critter and I were awakened to the arboring of the palm trees at the Beverly Peninsula this morning, complete with GIGANTIC wood chipper complete with noise, and everything else on the net is telling me that the sky is falling. Thank God for Vanity Fair and rain.