Gilmore Girls has many hilarious characters, including Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her best pal, Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy). Whether hanging out on Lorleai’s front porch or going into business together, the two are involved in each other’s daily lives and always making each other laugh. They’re particularly good at feeling out each other’s true thoughts and emotions, and they know each other’s quirks very well.
If these two characters were pitted against each other for their witty remarks and sense of humor, who would win? Here are 5 reasons that Lorelai is the funniest character on Gilmore Girls and 5 reasons it’s always been Sookie.
Lorelai: Her Love Of Coffee Is Hilarious
Whether she’s begging Luke for coffee in the pilot or explaining her views on the hot caffeinated beverage (one of her best quotes: “Coffee-coffee-coffee is a saying. Like an exaggeration. It’s a funny, desperate cry for caffeine”), it’s clear that Lorelai Gilmore really adores this drink.
Lorelai’s love of coffee is hilarious, and it’s the thing that she is most famous for. Without her ability to wax poetic on the wonders of coffee, the character wouldn’t be nearly as funny, and she wouldn’t have as much pep in her step.
Sookie: She’s A Klutz In The Kitchen
On the other hand, Sookie is funnier than Lorelai because she’s a klutz in the kitchen and that physical comedy really adds another layer to her character. This is especially true in the first season when she’s running around the kitchen at the Independence Inn, banging into pots and pans and generally wreaking havoc.
This aspect of Sookie’s character delivers a lot of laughs on Gilmore Girls. It also makes her likable and relatable.
Lorelai: She Can Deliver A Monologue Like No One Else
There’s something really special about the monologues that Lorelai delivers on Gilmore Girls. Whether she’s ranting about random things that bug her or telling Rory that she should open herself up to telling Dean that she loves him, Lorelai can talk… and talk… and talk.
No matter how funny Sookie is, her dialogue will never be any match for Lorelai’s. It really does feel like Lorelai could be the only character talking for an entire 42-minute episode and it wouldn’t even seem weird.
Sookie: Her Obsession With Her Magic Risotto Is Hilarious
In the first season, fans learn that Sookie makes a dish that she refers to as “the magic risotto.” In a famous scene, a restaurant critic says it’s “fine” and doesn’t seem to even realize that this dish actually has magical powers. Sookie is totally and completely devastated and nothing will stop her from getting him to change his mind. She even knocks on his door with the risotto and wine, wanting him to get the right pairing.
This scene alone would allow Sookie to win the “who’s funnier?” contest between her and her best friend. It’s something that stands out for fans of the show.
Lorelai: She’s The Pop Culture Reference Queen
Are there any TV or movie characters who can make a pop culture reference like Lorelai Gilmore can? It definitely doesn’t seem like it.
The show is well-known for these references, and Lorelai brings them to life. One of her best ones is in the season five episode “How Many Kropogs to Cape Cod?” when she says, “My daughter, my sister, my daughter …” to Luke (Scott Patterson) when he’s getting confused. She’s referencing Chinatown and it’s so funny.
Sookie: She Makes Up Songs
One of Sookie’s best moments is when she makes cookies that Rory’s boyfriend Dean (Jared Padalecki) absolutely adores. She also comes up with a song that she thinks is great, and she just sings the same thing over and over again: “Cookies for the love and the Dean.” Even when she’s alone, she’s still singing.
Sookie’s ability to come up with a great song and to make any moment light-hearted makes her a truly funny character. It’s just not the same when Lorelai sings.
Lorelai: Her One-Liners Are Something Special
Although Sookie can belt out a song with her own random lyrics and make viewers laugh, Lorelai can do the same thing with her one-liners. Sometimes the statements that she makes are so out-of-the-box and clever that rewinding that scene a few times wouldn’t seem strange.
Some of her best one-liners include telling Rory about Dean, “If you’re going to throw your life away, he’d better have a motorcycle,” or her take-out order of “Cheeseburger, onion rings, and a list of people who killed their parents and got away with it. I’m looking for heroes.”
Sookie: Her Relationship With Jackson Brings A Lot Of Comic Relief
Gilmore Girls fans loved watching Sookie fall in love with Jackson Belleville (Jackson Douglas). The two share a love of awesome produce, and they definitely started flirting while he was delivering fruits and vegetables to the kitchens where Sookie has worked.
Whether Sookie is telling him that his produce is no good or they’re on their disastrous first date where they can barely talk to one another, this couple is always making fans laugh. And since this relationship brings a lot of comic relief, like when Sookie redecorates her house to make it more “manly” when Jackson moves in and he hates it, that makes her a funnier character than Lorelai.
Lorelai: She Has A Child-Like Fascination With Snow
Lorelai’s child-like fascination with snow is one of the funniest things about her. She acts like a little kid again, saying that she can smell it and wanting to walk around the town of Stars Hollow, seeing how pretty everything looks under a blanket of white.
Lorelai talks a lot about this in the first season episode “Love And War And Snow,” and it’s so quirky and hilarious.
Sookie: She’s Super Innocent In A Charming Way
Ultimately, it seems like Sookie is a funnier character because she is so innocent, especially when compared to Lorelai. In one scene, Lorelai says “Life is a funny, funny thing, huh?” and Sookie’s response is, “Yeah I love that Jim Carrey.” She doesn’t get that Lorelai is trying to say “funny” as in “weird.” When Lorelai says she’s “being philosophical,” Sookie replies, “Oh. Very serious face. Jean-Paul Sartre.”
Sookie’s kindness and innocence are charming, and on a TV show full of people who funny without even meaning to be, like Kirk and Taylor and Luke, Sookie still stands out.
