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With Judd Apatow’s highly-anticipated (and very promising) Funny People (due out on July 31) poking its obnoxious head over the horizon, I thought it only fair to set the general public’s expectations higher by listing the 53 funniest characters the screen has seen since 2000 in two parts (Part I today; Part II on Thursday). If Judd and Co. are as funny as they’re advertising themselves as (and it wouldn’t be hard to believe with Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jason Schwartzman, and Jonah Hill at the project’s forefront), the characters listed below should be acknowledged as nothing less than a fraternity that’s about to expand. (Note: Because some actors [Will Ferrell] had more comedic roles than others [Thomas Haden Church], only two characters per actor are eligible.) Here are nos. 53-28 of the 53 Funniest Characters of the Decade:

53. Jack Black as Lance Brumder (Orange County, 2002)

Lance Brumder is a textbook mooch who’s equal in laziness and bad timing. He has a penchant for living in the moment (even though that typically implies he’s asleep or high) and is in constant need of his younger brother Shaun’s (Colin Hanks) pee. But, unlike many of Jack Black’s other live-action roles, Lance is sincere in his dimwittedness and is his corresponding movie’s funniest character.

52. Stephen Chow as Sing (Kung Fu Hustle, 2004)

Sing is one of those characters that appear to have only one thriving quality: determination. He’s a loser and a failure, but one with a dream toward which he’s tirelessly working. In Sing’s case, that dream is to join Shanghai’s legendary Axe Gang. Yet in order to do so, he must prove himself capable of violence and thievery. Perhaps his heart is purer than even he knows, or maybe he’s every inch the inept buffoon he seems, but he can’t even snatch the purse of an elderly without getting beaten in some way. It’s incredibly pitiful, but it’s also endlessly hilarious.

51. Steve Zahn as Wayne Lefessier (Saving Silverman, 2001)

One of the three founding members of the silliest Neil Diamond cover band you’ll ever see (as if any Neil Diamond cover band could be anything but silly), Wayne is a doofus of the kind that works as a verminator, carries a few crumpled dollars and several small coins in his pocket, and tries to gain the approval of his high school idol by claiming responsibility of a murder that never happened. He’s also a coward, but that may stem from his genuine kindness. I’ll say this: Without Zahn’s stuttering charm, Wayne would have been only a copy of so many other characters before him. And, in some ways, he is; he’s just the funnier, more likeable version.

50. Bernie Mac as Frank Catton (Ocean’s Eleven, 2001/Ocean’s Twelve, 2004/Ocean’s Thirteen, 2007)

Frank Catton isn’t what most would consider a classic movie character (and he isn’t one), but he’s what he would call a classic man—and one who knows a thing or two about being that kind of man. He’s an irreplaceable accomplice to two of the most genius heist masterminds in cinematic history (Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan), he’s got all the hook-ups in the Vegas area, and he spends most of his off-time and earnings on personal upkeep (he can almost always be found at the best local nail salon). Moreover, he’s given the unforgettable quick-jawed, attitudinal flavor of Bernie Mac—and that’s why Catton makes his mark here.

49. Jason Segel as Sydney Fife (I Love You, Man, 2009)

In a movie that stars the always-funny Paul Rudd (as a best man-less groom-to-be named Peter), Segel gets major props for stealing the show as Rudd’s atypical savior. One of the promotional taglines for I Love You, Man reads, “He needed a best man…He got the worst.” If you’ve seen the film, you know that Sydney is really a good guy at heart, but he certainly doesn’t mind filling the expectation set upon moviegoers by the aforementioned ad: His public antics, nosiness, and penchant for direly awkward rehearsal dinner toasts nonchalantly indicate he’s everything but a godsend for Peter. They also prove to be perfect idiosyncrasies for a Jason Segel character; they couldn’t have been more effective.

48. Christopher Walken as Feng (Balls of Fury, 2007)

Feng is another of the many roles that wouldn’t have been nearly as shocking and inexplicably delirious had it not been portrayed by Christopher Walken. There’s not much else to say. Seeing Walken in grotesque kimono-like garb ordering around slaves at an underground ping-pong tournament is just downright goofy—and in the funniest way.

47. Willem Dafoe as Klaus Daimler (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 2004)

Klaus, Steve Zissou’s direct subordinate and maintenance guru aboard the Belafonte, is a sailor from his red sock cap to his deck-worn toes. He’s also tolerably whiny, and humorously German. Oh yeah!—and undyingly loyal to his captain. So much so that he averts to tantrums to steal back the attention of Steve once Steve’s supposed son joins the ship’s crew.

46. Owen Wilson as John Beckwith (Wedding Crashers, 2005)

Mr. Beckwith wouldn’t be so funny if it weren’t for what he becomes and who he turns to when he finds himself a loser in his (and his buddy Jeremy’s) own game. He transforms from a charming, studious, confident bachelor who crashes weddings in a figurative sense to a smelly, unshaven loser who crashes a few in the literal sense. And before he cleans up and prepares for redemption, he crashes (back to the figurative sense) a funeral with Will Ferrell.

45. Brad Pitt as Mickey O’Neil (Snatch, 2000)

Mickey is a Pikey (an Irish gypsy). And being a Pikey means he’ll negotiate for anything and you won’t be able to understand a word he says. It also means he’s more stubborn than even the Irish get credit for. But being Mickey means he’s also a force to face (he’s a champion bare-knuckle boxer), and that he’s infatuated with periwinkle blue. O’Neil is one of the ultimate Brad Pitt characters; while he’s not quite as funny as a couple of Pitt’s other creations, he’s still hilarious—and he’s cooler than an air vent.

44. John C. Reilly as Cal Naughton, Jr. (Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, 2006)

Stupidity has largely been the foundation of film comedy since the early years of cinema. But lately (over the past 15 to 20 years), when stupidity has become, too, the foundation of non-comedic ideas in movies, the best antidote is often not better drama, but rather better stupidity. And Cal Naughton (as well as the rest of the Talledega cast) represents spot-on stupidity. John Reilly’s curly-topped overgrown baby face is an ideal match for this dumb-as-rubber Nascar driver who likes to think of Jesus as “a mischievous badger,” or, “with giant eagle’s wings and singing lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd with, like, an angel band.”

43. Thomas Haden Church as Jack Lopate (Sideways, 2004)

While on a wine trip organized by his best friend and college roommate as a wedding gift, the soon-to-be-hitched Jack is set on getting laid by as many strange women as he can before going home to be married. He’s morally deplorable and also fairly depressing on his own, but Church adds a suiting brand of humor to Jack that can be found in few other similar characters. It’s best explained in the film. Go watch it. You’ll laugh. A lot.

42. Craig Robinson as Matheson (Pineapple Express, 2008)

Matheson is one half of drug kingpin Ted Jones’ henchmen duo (the other being the disgruntled Budlofsky), who are sent to find and destroy a stoner witness to one of Jones’ murders and the witness’ dealer. Matheson and Budlofsky are ice-cold killers, there’s no denying it, but Matheson has a bit of a soft side that sets him apart from Budlofsky and contributes a ton of laughs to an already gut-busting film, and does so with less screen-time than the leads. “I seent you pull somebody’s jawbone off. I seent it!”

41. Gary Cole as Reese Bobby (Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, 2006)

Gary Cole is one funny guy. Any of a handful of his roles since 2000 could have made their way onto this list, but I chose Reese Bobby because he seems to steal every scene he’s in—and he shares many with Will Ferrell and Jane Lynch. He’s a lone wolf—he scalps the race day tickets that his son left for him at will call—with a special ability: he makes the audience howl. (How’d you like that? Cheesy, I know.)

40. Steve Carell as Brick Tamland (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, 2004)

Brick Tamland is the weatherman for the Channel Four News team and a sworn companion to Ron Burgundy, Brian Fantana, Champ Kind, and any arrangement of office accessories (“I love lamp”). Brick makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in toasters, murders a competing news team’s member with a trident, and babbles off utterly worthless—and often incomprehensible—sentences. And, as you may have guessed by now (or already know from the film), he has an IQ of 40, making him one of few cinematic…uh, mentally-challenged folk that the audience can feel comfortable laughing at.

39. Jason Bateman as Rip Reed (Smokin’ Aces, 2007)

In a movie so dreadfully tedious and overwrought with snappy Ryan Reynolds sarcasm (you’ve thought this way about other movies, too?), Jason Bateman shines more brightly than he probably should have. And it’s a stellar feat, considering he holds just over three minutes on the screen. Think of Reed as an STD-ridden gigolo (he’s actually an STD-ridden attorney) version of Arrested Development’s Michael Bluth and you might start to understand why he’s such a hoot.

38. Jonah Hill as Matthew Van Der Wyk (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 2008)

Jonah Hill’s Matthew is just an awkward weirdo resort restaurant host. He’s puzzlingly obsessed with the ear-sodomizing music of pop star Aldous Snow, and when Aldous turns up at his resort, Matthew attacks him with disturbing praise and pampering. As it turns out, he’s also an aspiring musician himself—and he’d love nothing more than for Aldous to give his mixtape a listen.

37. Christopher Guest as Harlan Pepper (Best in Show, 2000)

In Chris Guest’s riotous mockumentary Best in Show, about a dog competition and five of its most oddball entries, the owners often (and purposely) bare a great resemblance to their animal companions—physically, in some cases mentally, and in one case both. That one case is Harlan Pepper, whose soft, slow-talking personality and hanging eyes match almost impeccably with his bloodhound, Hubert. But Pepper is undoubtedly deeper—and funnier—as a character than that. He’s a self-taught ventriloquist, and he’s a nut aficionado (“I used to be able to name every nut that there was”).

36. Zach Galifianakis as Alan Garner (The Hangover, 2009)

Alan just wants to have fun and ensure that his soon-to-be brother-in-law, Doug, has a great last bachelor weekend in Vegas. But perhaps he’s a bit too committed to fun: because of his actions, he and two of Doug’s groomsmen can’t remember what happened the night before—and they can’t find the groom. Alan is a goober if there ever was one. He (thinks he) knows little factoids that no normal person would bother knowing (“Tigers love pepper. They hate cinnamon”), and he seems to be as comfortable in just underwear (or a jock-strap) as he is in pants. He’ll stay in your mind whether you want him to or not—and I’ve found that to be a nice side-effect of The Hangover; always good for random chuckles.

35. Jason Schwartzman as “Cool” Ethan Dulles (Slackers, 2002)

There’s not much good comedy in Slackers, but “Cool” Ethan provides enough hearty laughs to make the time pass. He’s a psychotic reinvention of Schwartzman’s first ever—and still most memorable—film character, Max Fischer (’98’s Rushmore); yet instead of having his sights set on a first-grade English teacher named Rosemary Cross, they’re set on his University’s hot girl, Angela—and getting her boyfriend expelled for cheating on exams. His methods, however, are unorthodox: He has a shrine and voodoo doll of Angela, the latter of which he wove from her own hair (he also wrote a song about her and his “little black book” that’s worth automatic giggles, if not snot-nosed hysteria); and he attempts to frame her boyfriend by somehow incorporating them. Oh, and he has six toes on one foot. Creepy. (And funny.)

34. Seann William Scott as Steve Stifler (American Pie 2, 2001/American Wedding, 2003)

Stifler made waves through fraternities (and the hearts of every guy who wished he could be in one, but couldn’t) around the nation when he first appeared in 1999’s American Pie as its central comedic figure. And, say what you will about the films themselves, but the Stifmeister is deserving of his following. He’s unabashedly arrogant and cocky, completely perverted, and dependent on his charm and physical ability (he was a high school football star) over his intellect (qualities emblematic of Seann William Scott characters). And though he wasn’t the first Hollywood personality to dawn these traits—and he wasn’t the last, either—he redefined the standard with which they should be portrayed.

33. Craig Robinson as a club doorman (Knocked Up, 2007)

Robinson has only a brief cameo in this performance, but it was grand enough to make me laugh until I cried and ached. When sisters Allison and Debbie (Katherine Heigl and Leslie Mann) go to a club to prove to themselves they’re still sexy, this doorman denies Debbie: “I hate this job. I don’t want to be the one to pass judgment…makes me sick to my stomach…It’s not ‘cause you’re not hot—I would love to tap that…I can’t let you in ‘cause you’re old as f***…for this club, not for the earth.”

32. Bruce Campbell as a Maître d’ (Spider-Man 3, 2007)

This over-eager French restaurant manager does more than expected for Peter Parker, when he finds out Peter plans to propose to his girlfriend, Mary Jane. If there are surviving moments in the overblown, terribly messy third installment in the billion-dollar Spider-Man movie franchise, they’re the ones in which Bruce Campbell is playing cupid for Parker’s big night.

31. Danny McBride as Fred Simmons (The Foot Fist Way, 2006)

Almost—almost—the most foul-mouthed character on the list, tae-kwon-do instructor Fred Simmons commands the respect of and best effort from his pupils—and if he doesn’t get that, they can expect a shouting insult session to ensue. And though it can’t be much fun for them to bear, it’s nearly too much fun for us to.

29 & 30. Seth Rogen as Officer Michaels & Bill Hader as Officer Slater (Superbad, 2007)

If America ran law enforcement like these dullwits do, we’d be the biggest source of others nations’ amusement (wait a second, we alrea—): They ignore radio calls (unless they’re for bar fights; “For better or for worse, you always get a free beer out of it”), speed through stoplights, take target practice on street signs, and trash their own squad car to destroy evidence of their negligibility.

28. Nicolas Cage as Roy Waller (Matchstick Men, 2003)

Roy Wallers is a severely phobic con artist played perfectly by Nicolas Cage. He’s got a billion ticks (“Pigmies!”), which make him a bit of a hindrance in his line of work, but as far as a manufacturer of sympathy and bellying, he’s a catapult.

Stay tuned for Part II, which will be posted on Thursday, just in time for Funny People.