The State of Comedy?

Have we entered the ‘platinum age’ of comedy in film? CNN seems to think so:

We are in the midst of a special era in movie history where a group of talented and diverse comedians are ruling the box office as actors, writers and directors, while balancing their mainstream hits with cameos, dramatic work and in a few instances some groundbreaking stand-up hilarity.

The story cites the success of “crossover stars” Adam Sandler and Mike Myers, but fails to mention they’re both coming off subpar, if not terrible movies (animated voice work not withstanding). But the author does go on to mention Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Dave Chappelle and Owen Wilson as up-and-comers enriching the silver screen’s funny bone (or whatever).
The article seems to be little more than a late mainstream look at some emerging sub-culture greats, but it does bring an interesting question, in part related to film, but really much broader: Is this era of comedy really emerging as one that can stand up against any of the classics?

From major films to student groups at the UCB to two-man improv at the IO to DVDs of sketch classics and ultra-hip Web sites, I’ve laughed my ass off in the past year. The now might not be any better for comedy in general than at times in the past, but there is certainly plenty to enjoy.
Near as I can tell the secret is simply access, technologically speaking. With the Web and DVDs of cult classics and current favorites, it’s easy to find the best and funniest there is out there.
The question of better or worse then simply becomes one of preference, and when there's so much more readily available, now certainly must be better. And in that regard, CNN gets it right:

We're spoiled. The digital age has made available to us everything under the sun, and just about any sitcom, comedy act or screwball caper is a few clicks away. Access has brought with it the ability for us to not have to settle.

Now if Saturday Night Live could only find its funny somewhere...