Category: Comedy
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Jackass Forever
“We have winners…and we have Steve-O.” Jackass Forever (Jeff Tremaine, 2022) Some truths are difficult to live with, and one of those truths is that this movie is undeniably good. When I wasn’t laughing, I was cringing. When I wasn’t cringing, I was covering my eyes and desperately trying to unsee what I just saw.…
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Raising Arizona
“There what’s right and there’s what’s right, and never the twain shall meet.” Raising Arizona (The Coens, 1987) What a weird movie. They never really did anything like this again, did they? I mean, O’ Brother Where Art Thou wasn’t even this kind of full-throttle whimsy and magical realism. This is perhaps Cage’s most appealing…
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The Menu
“The most offensive assault on the human palate ever contrived.” The Menu (Mark Mylod, 2022) Glass Onion meets Triangle of Sadness. Fun and entertaining enough but more interested in exploiting the statement it’s making rather than exploring it. Seared ham passing as haute cuisine. One of those movies that could’ve been a masterpiece if it…
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Sixteen Candles
“We have seventy dollars and a pair of girl’s underpants; we’re safe as kittens.” Sixteen Candles (John Hughes, 1984) Despite its super problematic components, this is very obviously a teen comedy classic. Definitely more in the Weird Science mold than really anything else in Hughes’s screenwriting catalog. The story bafflingly focuses far more on tertiary…
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St. Elmo’s Fire
“Marriage is a concept invented by people who were lucky to make it to 20 without being eaten by dinosaurs.” St. Elmo’s Fire (Joel Schumacher, 1985) This and The Breakfast Club come out in the same year, and the Brat Pack is born. The former is an exploration into who we are when we’re young…
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Some Kind of Wonderful
“Don’t go mistaking paradise for a pair of long legs.” Some Kind of Wonderful (Howard Deutch, 1987) A step up in screenwriting and filmmaking from Pretty in Pink. I think it’s because there is a larger population of better actors. Stoltz is excellent, and I wish he got the career that Zemeckis and Spielberg promised.…
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Pretty in Pink
“It’s so insane that someone you’ve never met, never talked to, can be your enemy.” Pretty in Pink (Howard Deutch, 1986) Not the definitive Hughes ’80s classic but a favorite for many. It’s hard to judge these movies because even their faults, the things that don’t age well, seem to derive from a place of…
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Dr. Strangelove
“Peace is our profession.” Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) A surprisingly great comedy given the gravity of the filmmaker. Sellers is preternaturally gifted, and Scott is hilarious. A tight ninety minutes and not a beat is missed. They don’t make ’em like this anymore.
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The Nice Guys
“I had to question the mermaids.” The Nice Guys (Shane Black, 2016) Just give Black twenty million bucks and let the man make any Los Angeles-based noir comedy he wants. They are stellar. This movie is an absolute riot; hilarious through and through. While Gosling and Crowe don’t quite obtain the natural chemistry of RDJ…
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Punch-Drunk Love
“I don’t know if there is anything wrong because I don’t know how other people are.” Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002) A remarkably quaint follow-up to two massive ensemble pieces. Less triumphant than I remember, but a fun time nonetheless. It still surprises me how good Sandler is in this film. He makes all…
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Triangle of Sadness
“So is this runway casting for a grumpy brand or a smiley brand?” Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund, 2022) A fun exploration of how wealth, beauty, and decadence only establishes a master class in civil society. But none of those characteristics can save you from the torments of nature and the constraints of true human…
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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
“Do not play detective.” Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Shane Black, 2005) The directorial debut of one of the most successful and prolific screenwriters in Hollywood history. The use of voice-over narration, mid-scene pauses, and fourth-wall breaking indicates that the script was likely written in the mid-90s but wasn’t able to get produced until the mid…
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Bodies Bodies Bodies
“They’re not as nihilistic as they look on the internet.” Bodies Bodies Bodies (Halina Reijn, 2022) This is not a horror movie despite being marketed as a kind of new-wave slasher flick. It’s basically a Gen-Z, TikTok-culture version of Knives Out…which is a pretty great idea for the current climate. Despite being a silly movie…
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Bottle Rocket
“On the run from Johnny Law ain’t no trip to Cleveland.” Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1996) Anderson’s directorial debut is a fascinating glimpse into the auteur’s ability before he developed the aesthetic and unique visual language that he now employs. It’s not a bad movie, but it’s not really a good movie either. What really…
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Palm Springs
“You gotta find your Irvine.” Palm Springs (Max Barbakow, 2020) I’m old enough to say this without getting put in movie opinion jail: Palm Springs is superior to Groundhog Day in every way. I love it so much. Samberg is hilarious and charming. Milioti is a goddamned revelation and astonishingly perfect in the role. There’s…
olde zoetrope 