What follows is a list, in no particular order, of films of many genres, but all with some sort of humorous component to help you get you through your day or night
The Nice Guys (2016) - IMDB.COM lists the synopsis of this as “in 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star.” The keyword there is “mismatched” - as in the old mismatched partner trope. But then the director and co-writer of this film, Shane Black, is the writer of perhaps the Citizen Kane of mismatched cop-buddy films, Lethal Weapon. And unlike other writer/directors who return to familiar territory, Black manages to upend expectations and find new angles to play with here. Ryan Gosling as the sleazy PI dragging his adolescent daughter around and Russell Crowe as the PI who isn’t above nefarious work for hire (the cast Gosling sports for much of the film is the result of an injury received during his first encounter with Crowe) but still has his own code of honor that he lives hard and fast by. Oh and the other keyword(s) in that description is “1970s Los Angeles” as in addition to getting the details of that period correct, this film is also a bit of a throwback to the kind of hardboiled crime drama from the 1970s and 1980s that we don’t see much of anymore. Gosling and Crowe even uncover one of those vast conspiracies we used to find in those movies. The quips come fast and furious, but they work well. ( Hulu, $3.99 Amazon/Google/Youtube/Vudu, $14.99 iTunes)
Fandango (1985) - The story behind director Kevin Reynolds first film is that Steven Spielberg saw his senior film at film school and liked it so much he helped Reynolds raise the money to make Fandango. A bunch of freshly graduated Texas college students abruptly leave their graduation party to go on one last road trip to Mexico before the realities of real life, marriage and the Vietnam war turn their lives upside down. Kevin Costner, in his first starring role, plays the groups leader, Gardner Barnes who, incidentally, is the one who didn’t actually graduate (he failed out). What follows is a series of vignettes, drunken antics, comedic scenes and spiritual reckonings with what adulthood will immediately bring to our heroes. Incidentally, there is a scene in the middle, where co-star Judd Nelson (in a very different role than he had the same years’ Breakfast Club) takes a skydiving lesson from a hippy pilot that is a shot for shot remake of Reynold’s student film that attracted Steven Spielberg’s involvement in the first place. Costner would never be this good in a role again (though he’s come close in films like Bull Durham). And he and Reynolds would team up a few more times, in Robin Hood and Waterworld. But Fandango is far superior to either of those. ($2.99 YouTube/iTunes/google/Vudu, $9.99 Amazon )
Death At A Funeral (2007) - In one of the most beautifully ironic titles ever, Death At A Funeral is one of the funniest, laugh out loud farces of the new century. Check out the setup - a middle to upper middle class british family tries to hold the funeral for the patriarch in their home, wacky chaos ensues. Clearly it’s a delicate line to walk with such a morbid setting, but Frank Oz handles it all with the skill of a centuries old master. Somehow the tone of solemn reflection and insane goings on of the funeral (previously unknown friends coming out of the woodwork, daughter’s boyfriend greatly unliked by the father, crabby ol Uncle Alfie) give us a good example of how humor helps us get through the worst. Sharp eyed HBO fans will notice Matthew McFadden playing a much different role than the one of Tom he plays on Succession. The Amercian remake, from 2010, starring Chris Rock, Danny Glover, Keith David, Tracy Morgan and others (Peter Dinklage is the sole actor in both versions), I’ve never seen, but I hear it is the rare Amercian remake that is the equal of the original. Death At A Funeral (tubi/vudu, $2.99 amazon/youtube/google/iTunes)
Clue (1985) - Why does it seem like so many of the best, most, enduring comedies are considered disappointments when first released? Caddyshack and The Big Lebowski are sort of the gold standards of this type of flick. But this whodunnit Agatha Christie parody based on a boardgame, boasting a ridiculous all-star comedy cast (Michael McKean, Christopher Lloyd, Madeline Kahn, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren and Tim Curry among others) is a member of this club. Considered a disappointment upon release (“With that cast, it should have been funnier”) people have picked up on its ridiculous rhythms and the tropes it lovingly parodies. Another thing to watch for is Go-Gos guitarist Jane Wielden as a singing telegram girl. They shot three different endings to the film and the gimmick was, when originally shown in theaters you never knew what ending you were going to get. By the time it came out on VHS, the tapes contained all three endings. I’m assuming the streaming version has all 3 endings too. (Amazon/Crackle, $2.99 on youtube/google/vudu , $3.99 iTunes)
Bull Durham (1988) - What is it about baseball? It seems to be the only big American professional sport that has produced multiple good movies. Was recently arguing with some friends about which was the best. This one has always been my favorite. Famously based on first time director Ron Shelton’s career in baseball’s minor leagues, Bull Durham is laugh out loud funny while dealing with various stages of adulthood, from Tim Robbins’ hot shot young pitcher trying to figure out how to put it all together and, well, be an adult, to Kevin Costner’s (him again!?) veteran catcher navigating the tricky point of when is it time to finally give up on a dream and move on? This is one of those movies that really can be summed up with “it’s funny because it’s true!” Neato fact - this is the movie Susan Sarandon met Tim Robbins and began their 20+ year unmarried relationship. (Tubi/Vudu, $2.99 amazon/youtube/google, $3.99 iTunes)
Amelie (2001) - First foreign film on this list, this also may be the most uplifting. Jean-Pierret Jeunet’s previous films were about nightmarish slightly futuristic dystopias. Amelie is about the title character, who lives alone in Paris. A quiet cafe waitress with melancholy eyes, Amelie decides to do little good deeds to help folks around her. Jeunet’s films always have a very interesting visual style. And his dark sensibilities help keep this one from floating away with too much lightness. And Amelie’s sweetness does not prevent her from extracting revenge upon the fresh produce stand owner who is cruel to one of employees. It’s a pretty clever revenge. It’s a pretty clever film. (hulu, $3.99 iTunes)
Charade (1963) - We’ll stay in Paris, but relieve you of having to read subtitles. Cary Grant’s last film is often mistaken as a Hitchcock film (in fact, I do believe some have called it the only Hitchcock film not directed by Hitch). Part thriller and part Parisian romance, Audrey Hepburn plays a single mother who has men, claiming to be former associates of her recently late husband, approaching her for the money they claim he owes them. James Coburn and George Kennedy play two of these men. Walter Matthau rounds out the cast as the CIA contact helping Hepburn out. Director Stanley Donen, who just passed away in early 2019, was known for a wide range of films from musicals like Singin’ In The Rain to the romantic breakup classic Two For The Road. tubi/vudu $1.99 amazon, $3.99 youtube/google/iTunes
Out Of Sight (1998) - It’s hard to remember now, but when George Clooney left ER to become a movie star, there was much doubt that he could succeed. By the time OOS came out, Clooney had starred in 4 films, including Batman & Robin and From Dusk Til Dawn and after those films, the jury was still out on whether or not he’d actually become a star. Up to that point in time very few actors had made the jump from TV to Films. At the time TV was still considered a major step down from film. Stephen Soderbergh’s film adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name is both the best adaptation to date of crime fiction writer Leonard’s work and the film that showed us Clooney was, in fact, a movie star. An ex-con who breaks out of prison, Clooney is magnetic throughout the entire film as the smart, frustrated everyman who turned to crime simply because he knew there was no other way to get ahead. And his chemistry with Jennifer Lopez as the FBI agent who nearly foils his prison break and then falls in love with him while pursuing him is one of those legendary screen couples. With an amazing cast that features Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn, Don Cheadle, Albert Brooks, Dennis Farina, Nancy Allen and Albert Brooks, Out Of Sight remains an underrated masterpiece of American Cinema. (hulu, $3.99 youtube/iTunes/google/vudu, $6.99 amazon)
Naked Gun (1988) - When my buddy grabbed me after my last final of the semester and said “C’mon, we’re going to see Naked Gun” I had no idea what I was going to see. What followed was one of the funniest 90 minutes of my life. That Zucker Abrams Zucker formula, mastered with 1980’s Airplane! may have reached its zenith here. A gag a second and infinitely quotable, I should prepare you now that when OJ first appears on screen at the beginning of the film and then, from time to time throughout, it’s a bit startling. And for those of us old enough to remember when this came out, it reminds us OJ was a popular guy once. It’s a weird thing to see him in this now. But the rest of the film remains hilarious. And that final set piece, at the baseball game (see? What is it about baseball?) is one of the funniest in film history. (netflix, $2.99 amazon/youtube/google/vidi, $3.99 iTunes)
Sing Street (2016) - John Carney’s film follows Conor who, entering high school in the 1980s discovers music and girls. He forms a band to use the former to woo the latter. Or one in particular. I’ve noticed Irish films seem to get the what a band sounds like rehearsing and playing small time gigs actually sounds like. The humor here is light hearted, teenage humor. The music, parodying different 80s genres as the band goes through different phases is pretty spot on. “Drive It Like You Stole It’ was bound to be a huge huge hit had it been actually released in the 80s. The teenage romance works, the peculiarities (to Americans) of growing up Irish society are on display here (the catholic-ness of everything, the obsession of music in the culture, and the political realities all contribute). Like some of the others on this list, the movie manages the balance of being light heartedly uplifting without getting too corny or annoying.At a point when I think we could all use a good time and some good escapism, Sing Street can fit the bill. (vudu/tubi, $3.99 amazon, $5.99 iTunes)
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