Top 5 hilariously stupid characters of the 2000s
3. Hank Yarbo – Corner Gas
In the backwater (fictional) Canadian town of Dog River, this unassuming handyman wanders from place to place, dabbling in whatever hobby holds his short attention span and annoying the residents all the while. However, calling him a handyman may be giving him too much credit, as he really has no skillset to speak of.
Nevertheless, Fred Ewanuick brings a blue-collar charm to every bit of pseudo-wisdom that Hank has to offer. Much of Hank’s stupidity comes from casual chit-chat. He comes to shoot the breeze, and you’ll be blindsided by how nonsensical one of his little observations is.
Even when the other characters talk over his head and make fun of him, he doesn’t get it. He just carries on like it’s nothing, proceeding to annoy the others even more. It’s always funny to see such stupid humor arise from a seemingly normal conversation, and there’s no shortage of that with Hank.
2. Van Montgomery – Reba
Like many of us, Van is a man with ambitions, drive, and a desire to make things right with people close to him. Like the best onscreen idiots though, he rarely has the intelligence to do it. Steve Howey is good at those types of characters, having played a similar one on the US version of Shameless.
The high school sweetheart (and baby daddy) of Reba’s daughter, Van often thinks what he’s saying is more epic and heartfelt than it really is. Does that mean he can be overdramatic? You bet.
Rarely does he ever spot the holes in his logic or acknowledge how ridiculous he sounds, and Howey’s intensity makes it all the more amusing. He delivers even the dumbest lines with such over-the-top passion that it’s hard not to smile at his earnestness, as stupid as it is.
Even when his straight-faced stupidity lands him in hot water with his wife or his mother-in-law, he maintains his intensity to try and save face. As you’d expect, this only digs a deeper hole and makes it more hysterical when his pride finally shatters.
It all just feels so natural with Van despite how cartoonish he may seem at points. Such absurdity can be hard to sell, especially on a sitcom. That’s why Reba is one of the better ones out there, and it’s also why Van is one of the funniest “mo-rons” in Texas.