Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow discuss the dark side (Andy Dick?) of comedy

Kathy Griffin, wearing a borrowed Dolce & Gabbana gown, opened the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal this weekend. 

"This is rented," she explained while draped on a piano. "Remember I'm on the D list, so I don't get any  of this ... for free."

But Kathy's set was laden with so much profanity that the head of the festival begged her during a break to tone it down, because the show was going to be broadcast later on Canadian television. To which Kathy profanely proclaimed to the laughing crowd, "I just ... can't do it." 

Shocking? Sure. But not as much as comedian Andy Dick's recent arrest for drug use and  sexual battery. Given well-known comedians' drug and alcohol use (Robin Williams) and drug-related deaths (John Belushi, Chris Farley), some of fest's funniest guys talked about the dark side of comedy and the anger comedians express on and off stage and screen.

"You leave the dark side at home with your wife and children and hide it from the outside world," said Judd Apatow, winner of the Just for Laughs Person of the Year award. "That's how it's done.  You do always have to be mad about something on some level to be funny. If life is perfect for you, there's nothing to mock.  All jokes are basically hostility on some level."

Seth Rogen doesn't think having a dark side is a comedic prerequisite: "Steve Carrell and Will Ferrell don't seem to have a dark side at all. They're really nice guys. I don't think I really have a dark side. I often kill animals at night, but that's about it."

Bill Hader from "Saturday Night Live" told the Dish Rag about having his dark side:  "I don't think you have to have one. I don't feel like I have one. People do find dark stuff funny. I've written really [messed-up stuff], but I don't think I'm dark. I never understood that really. Will Ferrell is the nicest human being on Earth. These guys are the most loyal people you can possibly meet."

Hal Sparks (E!'s "Talk Soup") on the dark side: "I think everyone has a dark side, and you have to own that whether you like it or not. You have to speak to the truth. The reason people laugh at things that are shocking is that someone is speaking the words they dare not say.  That's where I think the idea of comedians having a dark side comes from. It's really that everyone has a dark side, but comedians can use it as a plaything."

Photo: Seth Rogen? Dark side? You gotta be kidding.
WireImage

Reporting: Leah Sydney

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