Nicholas Stoller

So, Nicholas Stoller—this dude’s basically a comedy machine. Born in London, ended up in the States, and then just started cranking out funny stuff left and right. People probably remember “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” that awkward, painfully hilarious breakup movie with Jason Segel and Kristen Bell. Stoller directed that one, and honestly, it kind of set the bar for rom-coms that don’t take themselves too seriously. Then, because apparently he can’t get enough of cringe comedy, he turned around and did “Get Him to the Greek.” That’s the wild spin-off with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, where things get weirder, louder, and a whole lot messier. Stoller wrote and directed that too, which—if you think about it—is no small feat, considering how unhinged the whole thing is. He’s also the guy behind “The Muppets” reboot. Yeah, the one that somehow made puppets cool again for like five minutes. And if you ever caught “Neighbors” with Seth Rogen and Zac Efron—yeah, Stoller was running the show there too. The dude just has this thing for chaos, awkward situations, and characters who are always kind of in over their heads. Oh, and he teams up with Jason Segel a lot, so if you see Segel in a movie and it’s funny, odds are Stoller’s lurking somewhere behind the scenes. His style? Irreverent, a little bit sweet, and never afraid to go for the ridiculous. There’s real heart under the jokes, though—it’s not just slapstick for the sake of it. Stoller’s got a knack for mixing the painfully awkward with the strangely touching, which is probably why his movies keep popping up in your recommended list.