Is Dane Cook actually funny?

Inspired by Johnny Carson
A sometimes overlooked quality in Cook is his boundless energy — even if you’re not laughing, he’s a very watchable presence with over-the-top facial gestures and stressed enunciation. The always self-aware Cook describes how watching one of his idols, Johnny Carson, influenced his approach.

“I wouldn’t sit there and say I understood a lot of the jokes when I was a little kid, but I just loved Johnny,” Cook says. “There’s just those certain people that give off an energy. As Redd Foxx once said, ‘If you know what makes you likable, anything can be funny.”’

For some, energy and friendliness aren’t enough.

“Where are the ... jokes?” wrote Rolling Stone. “How can any comedian get this famous with no jokes?”

That isn’t a criticism the most recent standup stars — Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld — ever received. Some might say Seinfeld’s observational schtick became predictable, or others might be rubbed the wrong way by Chappelle or Rock’s racial content — but few could question their ability to tell jokes. Like it or not, they have material all their own.

Often performing for collegiate audiences, Cook’s appeal is generational. His fan base — the “Dane Train” — skews toward the youthful MySpace set, and he’s careful to insert a hip sensibility to his act.

“When I describe my act, I always tell people ‘If you like your iPod Shuffle on ‘random,’ then you’ll like me,” Cook says, using the correct MP3 player of choice to describe his standup style.

And right now, with roles in four upcoming films and two shows Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York, the Dane Train is full steam ahead.

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