The new Kevin Hart/Mark Wahlberg buddy film Me Time isn’t John Hamburg’s first comedy rodeo. The director of I Love You, Man; Along Came Polly; and the cult classic Safe Men has been working in the genre for more than two decades now. Comedy is tough to break down intellectually — laughter is literally an involuntary reaction, after all — but if anyone can do it, it’s someone who’s spent this long making audiences crack up.

Hilarious Comedy Movies to Stream NowReady for a good laugh?

So what does John Hamburg think is funny? “Gosh, that’s a tough one,” he tells Tudum. “It’s so hard to define.” Thankfully, he gives it his best shot anyway. Below, check out John Hamburg’s definitive rules for comedy. If you can’t crush a 10-minute set at the Comedy Cellar after you read this, well, that might be a “you” problem.

Saeed Adyani/Netflix

From left: Kevin Hart, as Sonny; writer, director, producer John Hamburg; and Mark Wahlberg, as Huck, on the set of Me Time.

1. Have a mismatched pal.

“It’s naturally funny to see a tall guy and a short guy,” Hamburg says. And think about it, is he wrong? Abbott and Costello, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, this stock photo: How can you resist a tall guy and a short guy? But this rule goes deeper than that. “We all have different parts of ourselves,” Hamburg says. “We have the person that’s an introvert and an extrovert. I think combining these two sides kind of clicks into people where they watch these movies and they may go, ‘Oh, I’m really that person, but I wanna be the other buddy.’ ” In other words: When you watch Me Time, you’re really doing some light internal therapy.

2. Project confidence.

“False confidence is funny,” Hamburg adds. “Somebody who’s more confident than they have any right to be is funny to me.” Not a surprise: Hamburg co-wrote Zoolander, which stars one of the more hilariously overconfident buffoons in modern comedy.

Sonny & Huck Go Flying in Wingsuits | Me TimeOpen your arms like a starfish!

3. Believe in yourself.

No, this isn’t suddenly a self-help list. “Somebody with great conviction [is funny],” says Hamburg. “I think a lot of comic characters [that] are certainly my favorites or in movies I’ve done, I’ve tried to do this. These characters really believe in something, and they may be completely misguided, but they believe that they’re right.” Actually, that’s also just generally good advice. Hey, maybe this is a self-help list.

4. Be serious when it counts.

“I always say I want the characters in my movies to think they’re in a drama,” Hamburg says. “When people are trying to be funny, it rarely works, but when they’re just taking themselves seriously, and the situation is comedic, that to me allows for a lot of comedy to come through.” Don’t wink at the camera — Mark Wahlberg’s 44th birthday party is a serious matter! (It’s not really.)

 5. Commit to the bit.

Hamburg’s last tip comes with the stamp of approval of one of the great actors: the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. While filming Along Came Polly, the crew had to stage a brutal pratfall for Hoffman. “I had this stunt coordinator there and, you know, we were trying to think of ways to do it so Phil wouldn’t get hurt,” Hamburg recalls. “But he was so committed to the craft that he just said, ‘All right, just put a pad on me and I’m gonna go down.’ ” And go down he did. “We greased up the floor,” Hamburg continues. “There are no special effects, no pulleys or rigs, that’s Philip Seymour Hoffman walking and truly having the courage to let his legs go out from under him and fall on his side.” There you have it, from an Oscar winner no less: You can never go too far for a laugh.