The 10 Funniest People, Videos and Things of the Coming Year

One of Hannibal Buress's stand-up bits goes like this: He got so high in Amsterdam that he learned Dutch. He got so high in Amsterdam that he helped substitute-teach a third grade class in geography, in Dutch. And then he was walking around Amsterdam with a few extra euros in his pocket, so he just bought a white baby. The joke is vintage Buress, who infuses a casual hipster sensibility with deadpan jokes that are often more complicated than they at first appear. And his approach seems to be working: At 27, he already has a career that most comics twice his age would be envious of. After a year writing for Saturday Night Live, he was tapped in September to write for 30 Rock; his comedy album, My Name is Hannibal, recorded in his hometown of Chicago, came out in July to positive reviews; and — among other accolades — he was named Best Male Comedian by the Excellence in Comedy New York awards in 2009 and one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch in 2010.

—D.S.

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