Given the state of the world these days, we figured now's the perfect time to recommend some good comedies. Ren, Morgan, Andrew, and Erik pick several comedies ranging from 80's to now, from slapstick to witty, and from crude to clean.
And if you act now, we'll even throw in a bonus rant! Yes, Erik has finally seen the overrated atrocity that is 2001: A Space Odyssey. He swears he'll never complain about pacing in a film again (though we all know that's not true). His is a story of tragedy and pain, but those around him find it highly entertaining.
RC_025: Comedies (and Erik's 2001 Rant)
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Here are some comedies that I would like to add to the list:
1 – Obscure – The Big Hit. Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips and a few more names that you would never associate with the words “madcap” or “zany” actually pull off a great comedy. The basic gist is Marky Mark wants out of his life as a hit man and hilarity ensues. This movie encapsulates what was funny about the 90′s and never takes itself seriously, which is why the gags work so well.
2 – Educating the Young ‘Uns – a couple of nights ago we had some friends over (early 20′s), one of whom had never seen Real Genius. We fixed that and in so doing introduced another person to the amazing comic talent that was a young Val Kilmer. If you’ve seen Real Genius, try Top Secret instead – a film by the makers of Airplane! and one of the great absurdist comedies I have ever seen on film. The image of people floating down to pee on a statue of a pigeon and then flying away is one of the best “things you have to watch the movie a couple of times to catch” ever.
3 – Educating the Old ‘Uns – It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – I fell in love with this movie in college and if you think that older comedies don’t translate then you haven’t seen this film. First of all, it stars EVERYONE – Spencer Tracy, Jonathan Winters, Mickey Rooney, Sid Ceaser, Ethel Merman, Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett all play major roles with cameos by the like of Carl Reiner, Jack Benny and the 3 Stooges. This movie has great dialogue, amazing character dynamics and some of the best physical comedy ever. If you think Jim Carey is funny, you need to watch Jonathan Winters single-handedly destroy a service station. This is simply one of the best casts ever and you need to see the masters at work,
4 – DVD extras – This is Spinal Tap. You may have seen this, but if you have not seen this on DVD then you need to watch it again. Then watch the almost 2 hours of deleted scenes that you can set to watch back to back. It’s like watching the movie again only “behind the scenes”, which, considering the format of the film, is great. Watching Bruno Kirby singing My Way in drag while really, really high is worth purchasing the DVD for.
5 – Recent movie – Knocked Up. Loved it. Everything about it. Rent it.
6 – Movie that you’ve probably forgotten – Uncle Buck. I think this is one of John Candy’s best performances and his ability to combine an extremely outgoing and banal-seeming character with earnestness and sincerity is really missing from most modern comic acting. If you want to see the inspiration for a lot of the work that Seth Rogen does these days, get to know John Candy.
7 – TV on DVD set – Red Dwarf. One of my favorite Britcom’s, Red Dwarf is a big part of the British Geek scene, but hasn’t gotten the play over here that Monty Python or Black Adder have. Besides the clever dialogue you might expect part of what makes this show so great is the creativity used in character creation. It is very clear that all involved had a good time making this show and I think that most people who form their “to watch” lists from a podcast will have a good time watching it.
Real Genius is a classic, of course. As for John Candy films, I prefer Great Outdoors over Uncle Buck, but they’re both good. And I almost included Knocked Up.
I still haven’t seen Spinal Tap. [sigh]
http://www.stevemartin.com/world_of_steve/print/times_roman_font_announces_shortage_of_periods.php
Thought I would throw my picks in there, too.
Recent theater: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, I personally laughed more then any other movie in the theater recently, (this includes Role Models, but doesn’t included Bolt).
Brit/Monty Python Pick: The Meaning of Life, a smarter Monty Python comedy.
Odd Comedy: Freaked, just a odd movie I seen as a kid, and always made me laugh.
Classic Comedy: Dirty Work, only thing I like Norm McDonald in…I think.
Break up movie: Joe’s Apartment, Singing roaches…
Mockumentary: Best in Show not a fan of the genre, but this one did make me laugh
Indie pick: I Heart Huckabees, it is a dark comedy, and is a very good example of the genre.
I can’t believe I forgot about Joe’s Apartment. I LOVE that movie! “Funky Towel” FTW!
I think “The Meaning of Life” is my favorite film from Monty Python. Oddly, I’ve seen Holy Grail about 50 more times, but when you’re in Theatre you don’t get much of a choice…
Dirty Work is now a classic. Metallica is now classic rock. I am old.