Saturday, January 17, 2015

What is the Most Underrated Comedy of All Time?

If a comedy falls in the woods and nobody laughs, why did nobody laugh?

We love to talk about underrated movies at F This Movie!, because it's a great opportunity to turn each other on to movies we might have missed/deliberately skipped but will now check out because someone we know and respect is giving it a recommendation. So let's do that for comedies! Obviously humor is VERY subjective, but what are the comedies you think should have been more successful or should have a better reputation than they do?

Don't say Weekend at Bernie's II. We already KNOW America missed the boat on that one.

44 comments:

  1. I think that "Club Dread" is a pretty funny sendup of 80's slashers. As far as horror comedies, it's no "Shaun of the Dead". But Bill Paxton is hilarious as the Jimmy Buffett-like singer.

    "Reno 911!: Miami" is worth watching just for Paul Rudd's Scarface impersonation alone.

    Also, "Support Your Local Sheriff" and "Support Your Local Gunfighter" are very funny and show that James Garner was a pretty good comedic actor. Jack Elam is great, too!

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    1. Club Dread is easily my favorite Broken Lizard movie. Piñacoladaburg forever.

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    2. The way that dude pronounces the name Penelope always makes me chuckle.

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  2. Brain Donors, a terribly-titled, mostly-forgotten Marx Brothers riff with John Turturro (who should do more comedy) as Roland T. Flakfizer, a con man dipping his toe into the apparently lucrative world of ballet production. Bob Nelson, Mel Smith and Nancy Marchand round out the cast and all appear to be having fun (Smith also directed another forgotten comedy I love, The Tall Guy with Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson). Consistently funny and eminently rewatchable, I don't know why it didn't become a basic-cable staple. Flakfizer is ballet!

    Another one is Oscar, one of Stallone's attempts at comedy, and his only successful one unless you count Staying Alive. A fun, lively farce about a gangster trying to go straight with a terrific supporting cast (Peter Reigert, Tim Curry, Marissa Tomei, Vincent "Full" Spano, Kurtwood Smith, plenty others) and great comic energy. People knock Stallone, but he's pretty great here and the movie is a ton of fun.

    Normally I'd include Joe Versus the Volcano on a list like this, but it feels like that one is beloved by those who have seen it. If you haven't, you should change that.

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  3. Okay it not a movie but Fawlty Towers is still my all time comedy show. And any live Bill Hicks Stand up act. Old Laurel and Hardy shows too.. As for a movie and I love horror so off the top of my head best comedy horror is Dead Alive aka Braindead. Im struggling to think of underrated comedy at the moment. The snow in the UK has froze my brain. A little bit Zombie is certainly much better than it should be and I never hear anyone else mention it. Brainssssss

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    1. Great picks, Dennis. I also love everything Laurel and Hardy and Braindead. Actually now that I think about it, there's actually some similarities between the two. Most Laurel and Hardy features some horrific gratuitous violence used for comedic effect, it's just bloodless... Will have to add Fawlty Towers to my queue.

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  4. I always like to give some love to Joe Dirt. I'll admit that it's kind of crude and mean spirited. It also plays up every dumb Southern stereotype in the book. It's just absurd enough that I don't care and always get huge laughs from it. Some of the situations are really creative, like when Joe confronts his parents and all they want to do is sell clown dolls, or when he befriends an ex-mafia Christopher Walken. I also like using Dennis Miller as a framing device, because he gives an outlet for our views on what's happening, but he's also kind of a douche which helps us sympathize with Joe. Anyhow, it's a dumb movie for teenagers, but it's one I still enjoy a lot.

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  5. Addams Family Values is basically a perfect movie.

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    1. Addams Family Values is great.

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    2. It really is. I have watched it so many times.

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  6. I want to give love to Ace Ventura 2. Maybe the whole movie doesn't hold together that well, but isolated comedic setpieces are hilarious. The Cliffhanger parody opening sequence is perfect and the whole rhino scene is surreal brilliance. Jim Carrey was still giving 110% and if Dumb and Dumber 2 (I refuse to use the stupid spelling) can make a ton of money why not make Ace Ventura 3?

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  7. Get Shorty. Devito saying, "That's what I think of you, asshole" during the scene where he's finding his motivation absolutely floors me every time. Incredible cast. One of my all time favorite movies.

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    1. Get Shorty is one of my top 5 comedies ever. Nice one!

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    2. It's the Cadillac of mini-vans.

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  8. The Hangover Part III, Your Highness, MacGruber, and Hot Rod are all great and woefully underappreciated, though those last two are starting to get some cult love... Never mind They Came Together; MacGruber is the spoof film of the decade. ;)

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  9. It's not really a pure comedy, but one of the movies I laugh at consistently every time is Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Shane Black is a really great writer of dialogue, and this movie has some real gems for me. Operation: Endgame is also a really funny movie nearly no one has heard of. It may not be for everyone, and I might like it just because I'm a dumb college student, but I think it is worth people's time.

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  10. I don't know of better off dead counts since it's kind of a cult classic now but I love the hell out of that movie. Apparently John cusack hated it though which breaks my heart because he's so god damn good in that movie. It's probably the comedy I've seen the most in my life and everytime I watch it, it makes me laugh which I can't say is true with even the best comedies so that gets my vote.

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  11. Robert Townsend's "Hollywood Shuffle" is criminally underrated and never talked about. "Thick as Thieves" to me is freaking hilarious (Jai White kills it in that film). Peter Sellers' "The Party" is great until the last half hour.

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  12. I feel like Frank Oz doesn't get mentioned enough for his non-Muppet work. I'd definitely rate Bowfinger, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, In & Out and Little Shop of Horrors as great comedies. I even enjoyed the British iteration of Death at a Funeral.

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    1. Thinking about Bowfinger and re-reading JB's review reminded me of Living in Oblivion, another comedy set within the world of indie film-making. My favorite sequence is Catherine Keener's "perfect take" while the camera isn't rolling.

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  13. My shoutout goes to the one and only "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" with Christina Applegate at the height of her "Married with Children" hotness.

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  14. While I think its relatively respected amongst the people on this site I would have to say to the general public their is almost no love for Gremlins 2: The New Batch, in my opinion one of the best comedy sequels in cinema (note my avatar). While the thought of a reboot gives me douche chills, I will say tell me Joe Dante is back with full creative control for Gremlins 3 and Im their screening 1 day 1.

    Also gonna throw out for more recentish movies Role Models. That thing is a great piece of fun with epic LARPing and top notch performances from Paul Rudd and the underrated Sean William Scott. Paul Rudd helped write the script for Role Models so hopefully he brought some of that fun for Ant Man with him. Also Ken Jeong is in the movie and isnt the worst.

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  15. Wet Hot American Summer has a cult thing, so I can't go with that. I really enjoyed The Sasquatch Gang but that's a very very specific sense of humor. Addams Family Values was already mentioned.

    I'm going with Grosse Point Blank, which is ridiculously awesome.

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    1. Oh, and Ruthless People is really damn funny

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    2. Ruthless People is fantastic. "I love wrong numbers!"

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  16. There are loads I feel like don't get enough love (Be Kind Rewind, The Kings of Summer, Walk Hard) but most underrated? Hot Shots! Part Deux

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  17. I just re-watched Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking your Juice in the Hood on Netflix and I think that movie is really underrated. It's a great parody of "Growing up in the hood" movies while also commenting on life in poor black neighborhoods themselves.

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  18. DROP DEAD FRED, this is a movie that every time I find someone else has seen it, I find another fan, and we end up quoting lines back and forth for the next 10 minutes.
    "Cobwebs!"

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  19. Too few people know about Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. I knew nothing about it, but I heard a recommendation for it somewhere and bought it blind, and boy am I glad I did. Definitely one of the best horror comedies.

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  20. I saw Looney Tunes: Back in Action in a virtually empty theater (because that film only played to virtually empty theaters) and spent the entire running time laughing so hard it was embarassing.

    Consider the film's fate. Then look up the grosses for Space Jam. #WhyWeCantHaveNiceThings

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  21. The ORIGINAL Death at a Funeral! The good one, directed by Frank Oz.

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  22. I've always been a big fan of Walk Hard. I also love Not Another Teen Movie, and I think if it didn't always get lumped in with the Friedberg and Seltzer "movie" movies, it would get a lot more love.

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  23. I love this topic. But again not the most for me just a few that came to mind. For Tv I really wish Psychobitches gets a DVD and streaming release so lovely Americans can see it. It is so funny and so brave. I'm not sure they would get away with it anywhere else. I mean the idea is so fantastic. Give it a try if you can.

    Creature comforts did get an American version so I will go with an Aardman film, Flushed Away. Brilliant animated gem. Another film I love is But I'm a cheerleader, which I think is a very funny satire that is worthy of a wider audience. The Talk of the Town is a fantastic film. I love Jean Arthur and Cary Grant they are just such a treat in it. I want to give a shout out to Ginger Rogers who I think doesn't get enough credit for her talent in comedy.

    One more, It started with Eve is an incredibly charming film that I'm not sure many have seen. It always makes me smile.

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  24. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox story is the best parody movie of all time. It clearly has a lot of respect for the musical genres they make fun of, and John C. Reilly puts in a great performance.
    Besides from all that though, no movie has ever made me and my dumb friends laugh this hard.

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  25. There needs to be some Steve Martin love here. "The Man With Two Brains" is as bonkers as it sounds. I can't really separate it from my childhood and work out if it's a good movie, but Lord I love it.

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  26. L.A. Story comes to mind. The wife and I watch I Love You Man over and over and it keeps getting funnier. I got around to seeing Woody Allen's Alice awhile back. Very underrated.

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  27. Seconding Hot Rod. That falling sequence that goes for way too long was gold to me when I first watched it.

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  28. There is this great english slasher horror comedy called Severance, it's great in all the bloody ways, every one should be talking about that one.

    Nothing But Trouble get's way too much hate, it's not a perfect movie, but really enjoyable and John Candy is always great, I mean he made Cool Runnings great, sort of.

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  29. I remember laughing out loud at dirty rotten scoundrels.

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  30. Definitely have to go with Hot Rod. And I'm also nominating Gone Girl. Yes yes its popular, but not as a comedy, but that movie is freakin hilarious; especially if you've ever dated a crazy female

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