Maybe it’s because I’m older, but while looking back at movies from my childhood, I started to pick up on the style differences of certain actors and directors that I didn’t notice before. Some actors used to just blend together, like Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller, but you can actually tell their work apart in big ways:
1) Will Ferrell’s comedy is leaning more on randomness and short-form comedy. It’s really evident in “Anchorman”, a movie that feels really random and written as if Will Ferrell and his team came up with a bunch of short skits and cobbled them together. Which all makes sense since Will Ferrell got his start in SNL.
2) Ben Stiller’s comedy is leaning more on absurdity and satire. He’s sorta “South Park”-lite since his humor comes from how serious he takes his characters and the situations they’re in. For example, “Tropic Thunder” is all about satirizing Hollywood and “Zoolander” to the fashion industry. This all comes across by how every character takes themselves too seriously, even as they say the dumbest things imaginable.
Vegeta: I drop this smoke, and every one of you goes "poof".
Frieza: You forgot one thing, prince. You drop that smoke, you die too.
Vegeta: *laughs* With the things I've done in my life? Oh, I know I'm going to burn in hell. So I sure as shit am not afraid to burn here on earth.
Gohan: Oh my goodness...that's the most badass thing I've ever heard!