PicoBlog

Comedy movies don’t really make me laugh anymore. This is because comedy movies aren’t funny anymore. This is just a fact. It’s unfortunate that a solid studio comedy like Game Night is an oddity, and smaller comedy films — like the fantastic Bad Trip, or the less-than-fantastic (in my opinion) Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar — offer mixed returns. So, finding a movie that really makes me laugh out loud for over half the runtime is a precious commodity these days, and I find that many of the comedies I’m drawn to are far more rejected by the general and critical audience at large than with other genres. I don’t know if it’s a matter of audiences being turned away from comedies with low critical scores, or people with my sense of humor not bothering to check them out. But I’d like to dedicate some time to suggesting a few gems that I believe are genuinely hilarious or at the very least, entertaining and delightful. You may disagree with many or most of them already, or may go to watch a couple and find you don’t like them, but the important thing here is that I tried. (Note: two movies that would normally be on this list — Movie 43 and Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie — but which I’ve already written about at length, will not be included, as there’s only so much I can do).

Clifford (1994)

Clifford has seen a delicious resurgence in popularity recently. This was furthered in the wake of the death of its co-star — comedy legend Charles Grodin — last month, but I would feel remiss if I didn’t dedicate a spot to further singing its praises. I was actually shocked to discover it holds an abysmal 13% on Rotten Tomatoes — only ten percentage points away from my beloved Movie 43! In what I once saw described on Twiter as a “Joker origin story,” Clifford follows successful businessman Martin (Grodin) who gets on shaky footing with his girlfriend (Mary Steenburgen) when it becomes clear he’s uncertain about having kids. He tries to fix this by temporarily taking in his nephew, Clifford, played by a pallid, 40-year-old Martin Short in little boy’s clothes and who has the criminal inclinations of a domestic terrorist. Martin Short playing a child is pretty funny, but it would be nothing without the increasingly unhinged Grodin, who truly shows off his mastery of playing the normie everyman who has it all then slowly loses the plot, the devolution of his character paying off in dividends by the climax.

The House (2017)

Like Movie 43, this is a film I find overwhelmingly hilarious that feels like a comedic masterpiece totally hidden in plain sight. I don’t even remember The House ever hitting theaters in 2017, I just remember reading one really memorable negative review of it in which the critic was left completely dumbstruck and felt the film was actually very dark and disturbing, which is what inspired me to eventually seek it out. I think this was a case of people expected it to be one thing and got another, in this case another typical goofy, general audience-pleasey Will Ferrell comedy and it is absolutely is not that. It’s not that it isn’t funny, it’s just not accessible like Step Brothers or Talladega Nights. It feels like a fusion of the type of comedy in Wain/Showalter stuff and surrealist Tim and Eric stuff, so if you’re a fan of either of those this comes highly recommended. It’s easily one of my favorite comedies of the past few years.

Land of the Lost (2009)

I think Land of the Lost is a perfectly suitable Will Ferrell comedy like the rest of them; far better than most of his recent stuff and arguably better than some of his early stuff too — but there are many people who would disagree with me. I’ve seen it three or four times at this point and am due for a rewatch, and it always make me laugh. It’s a loose adaptation of the 1974 television series of the same name and received numerous Razzie nominations when it came out. Unnecessary. I fail to see what’s so bad about this film. Besides being very funny, it’s got some fun, creative set pieces and practical effects, like the alien Sleestack people who are just guys wobbling around in rubber costumes, and Jorma Taccone very dedicatedly playing a horny cave man. I also believe that out of all Danny McBride shows/movies I’ve seen, he looks the hottest in this.

The Foot Fist Way (2006)

The first ever collaboration between the artist/muse partnership of Jody Hill and Danny McBride preceded their HBO breakout Eastbound and Down by a few years, and is definitely something of an underappreciated treasure. It’s not as laugh-out-loud as their television work, nor is it as biting as Observe and Report — Hill’s sophomore feature. It’s also a little slow and awkward (as I’d argue many first features are), but it’s still a funny, frustrating look at performative masculinity in the form of a loud-mouthed, insecure taekwondo instructor named Fred Simmons (McBride). It runs on the same frequency as future Hill/McBride vehicles, but with far less self-assured panache and more of a toned-down performance from McBride. Still, The Foot Fist Way places a typical Beta-masquerading-as-Alpha McBride character in the same scenarios of finding humor and second-hand embarrassment in male entitlement.

They Came Together (2014)

Probably the best post-Wet Hot film that David Wain and Michael Showalter have made, it truly is a miracle of a film and once a month I see someone tweet about it like “They Came Together deserved better” which is absolutely true, yet still has not happened. I would say it’s just as funny as Wet Hot America Summer, and it’s the same sort of humor just with slightly better production values. The film a satire of romantic comedies and follows Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd’s characters telling the story of how the unlikely pair “came together” — and also, it’s almost like New York City is another character in the story. Some extra stuff: Ed Helms plays a guy named “Eggbert” (I’m chuckling as I type this), Michael Shannon shows up in a leather duster wielding a sword; Christopher Meloni’s character shits himself. There’s a lot to like here.

The To-Do List (2013)

An extremely underrated sex comedy that I remember drew some criticism for its “blasé” portrayal of sex at the time, I think its the film’s casual approach to sex and relationships is just one of the many things that makes it great. Aubrey Plaza plays a newly-graduated, virginal high school valedictorian in the ‘90s who makes it her mission to become an expert in sex acts before she starts college. Following in the footsteps of films like American Pie and Superbad portraying high school boys trying to get laid before college, it’s nice to have a film that allows girls to be equally horny weirdos, while simultaneously being very open towards women’s sexuality (there’s a scene where Aubrey Plaza’s character learns how to masturbate, which is cool). Aubrey Plaza obviously nails the role of the awkward teen, and it’s funny because I’m pretty sure every other actor in this film playing a teen is an adult in their mid-twenties to thirties. Special shoutout to Bill Hader, who is particularly fantastic (and hot) in this.

The Beach Bum (2019)

There is an ever-growing sect of people who believe The Beach Bum is a genuine masterpiece, and I think that history will look back on us and realize that we were right. Harmony Korine’s ninth film has been disregarded by some as irreverent, silly, nihilistic; I once saw someone call it something along the lines of “the smartest dumb movie they’d ever seen.” These sentiments are all incorrect, and while the stoner comedy does flirt with nihilism, I’ve argued that it’s more optimistic and aligned with the absurd. It is a deeply existential film, more about death and decay than I’d realized by my third watch. It manages to be hilarious (Matthew McConaughey is in the boozer role of a lifetime; Jonah Hill offers a cartoonish southern accent; Zac Efron wears jeans with pant legs so wide you could fit another Zac Efron in them) and profoundly sad, and also very sweet.

Smiley Face (2007)

In my humble opinion, Smiley Face is the greatest recreation of what it feels like to be stoned ever put to film. Not only is Anna Faris incredible at portraying a person being high (I generally don’t like Anna Faris, and believe she’s one of our worst comedic actors), but the filmmaking itself adeptly adds to replicating the disorienting, slothful, often paranoiac experience to a T. Even Seth Rogen’s movies don’t do it as well, because Smiley Face is not only about a stoner, it’s about what it feels like to be a stoner. Smiley Face is the perfect encapsulation of everything you think is gonna go wrong when you’re high, but normally doesn’t, because you’re high and just overthinking shit. In that way, it’s almost like a horror film. John Krasinski is also in this playing the role he was born to play — a fucking loser dweeb.

Dude Bro Party Massacre III (2015)

Admittedly, I have not seen this in quite a while. I think I tried to rewatch it during lockdown but got too high and distracted and wasn’t paying attention, so I turned it off. But the first time I watched it I thought it was fantastic, and ended up watching it again the next day (I was not high either of these first two times, mind you). It was created by the online comedy group 5-Second Films and it has a lot of “theater kid vibes” if you know what I mean. Usually, comedic acting that comes off as too evidently “this person did improv” is cringe — but I also think it’s at least partly intentional here since they’re homaging/satirizing B-movie slasher flicks. I had no idea who 5-Second films was before I saw this and I’ve never seen any of their other stuff (and I won’t), but I’d say 70-80% of this movie is still very funny. Also, Greg Sestero has a small role in it which was part of the reason why I watched it initially, because I had just read The Disaster Artist and was going through that phase in every college girl’s life — their “I’m fascinated by Greg Sestero and Tommy Wiseau” phase. Anyway, Greg’s actually really funny and I think he should do more comedy films!!

MacGruber (2010)

It seems as if nearly everything The Lonely Island touches is bound to end up as a cult classic (minus the extremely crowd-pleasey Palm Springs). Released only three years after the now-cherished Hot Rod, people are more recently being vocal about the fact that MacGruber is a similarly good, similarly underappreciated comedy. I watched it last year and I personally don’t think it’s nearly as untouchable as Hot Rod or the equally cult-beloved Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping, but I feel compelled to include it on here because I identify with the film’s burgeoning fanbase, did find it a bit funny, and I am a strong proponent of The Lonely Island, so check it out.

Observe and Report (2009)

Jody Hill’s cinematic masterwork is undoubtedly Observe and Report: a dark, distressing movie that would double feature perfectly with Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell. The first time I watched it I chuckled here and there; the second time I laughed out loud quite a bit; by the third watch, I was mostly left disturbed. It’s an uncomfortable look at the incompetence of law enforcement and the marginalized men who worship policing, wish to emulate it, and are ultimately let down by a broken system working against them. I once wrote that Observe and Report is a better Joker origin story than Joker, but more than that it’s a scathing indictment of the criminal justice system, of who gets to be allowed to be a cop, and the entitlement of white men in believing that they deserve to enact law and order over others. I feel like I might not be selling this as a very funny movie, because it definitely has its moments. But it’s also incredibly off-putting, and bleak, and genuinely brilliant. Taking this time to say that I believe Jody Hill and Danny McBride do some of the best work critiquing white masculinity in pop culture.

Mister America (2019)

My inclusion of the generally well-received Mister America is actually a ploy to get anyone who isn’t watching On Cinema yet to start watching it now. Mister America is the culmination of nearly a decades’ worth of parodying of podcast film criticism in the form of the (previously) Adult Swim show On Cinema at the Cinema, hosted by comedians Gregg Turkington and Tim Heidecker. You see, the downside of Mister America is that I can’t see anyone getting into it who doesn’t understand the years of context that lead up to it. There’s some background information given during the film to try filling in details for those not privy to the On Cinema Cinematic Universe, but I don’t seeing it being very effective when there are 11 seasons, a spinoff show, seven Oscar specials, and a five-hour-long fake trial to watch that gave way to Mister America being able to happen.

That being said: consider starting On Cinema! Fan and current producer Justin Gaynor put together this handy timeline and one-stop shop for people looking to get acclimated to the series. On Cinema is no longer platformed on Adult Swim and they are entirely self-funded now, so access to new seasons and specials requires a subscription — but it’s well worth it. If you’re a seasoned Tim and Eric fan, this is much different than that type of humor. So, if you’re like me, watching it the first time can come as a bit of a shock. However, once you get into it and start getting into the extremely dry type of humor they’re doing, you realize that On Cinema is genius. And then you can watch Mister America, the movie I was originally supposed to be talking about here.

The Greasy Strangler (2016)

I love gross movies and believe there should be more of them, and this is, perhaps, one of the most disgusting films to come out in the past few years. I admittedly think writer/director Jim Hosking (who also directed the Aubrey Plaza-led An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn) has issues with pathos in his films. He wants to create a world so uncanny and disjointed from our own, so intent on revolting and alienating his audiences that he forgets to make his characters remotely human — which he actually accomplishes better in Beverly Luff Lin. Ultimately, his films are very much an acquired taste. But I think The Greasy Strangler is the funnier of the two, though I do recommend both. Hosking’s stuff has been heavily compared to Tim and Eric, which I’d say is accurate, but the humor is much drier. There aren’t gags-a-minute like in Billion Dollar Movie; his movies are difficult, and revel in awkward moments, uncomfortable silence, and stretching a weird joke past its prime. Hosking wants to make you feel the furthest thing from at ease, and enjoying his films is sort of masochistic.

Eagle vs. Shark (2007)

Before Taika Waititi was bought— I mean, employed by Marvel Studios, he was making warm, funny little films in his native New Zealand. His first film, Eagle vs. Shark, is often overshadowed by the comedies that followed — Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows — but it’s still really worth your time, even if it’s not quite as good as his later stuff. Jemaine Clement and Loren Horsley star as Jarrod and Lily; two weird adults who embark on a weird romantic relationship with one another, until their courtship is complicated when Jarrod starts planning to get revenge on his high school bully. As it is with all of Taika Waititi’s funny little New Zealand films, the comedy is deftly interwoven with grief and sorrow. Anyway, no reason but as I write this I’m just laughing to myself thinking about Next Goal Wins starring Armie Hammer and also Thor: Love and Thunder haha I love Marvel I can’t wait for more Marvel films.

The Dead Don’t Die (2019)

I think The Dead Don’t Die is pretty good. People get very angry about this film for some reason, I don’t really understand why. Perhaps, some of my fondness for the film does derive from the fact that when I went to see it, a group of of underage teenagers got kicked out for sneaking in, and it was hilarious to see teens get kicked out for sneaking into a [checks notes] Jim Jarmusch movie. I thought the dry humor was funny, I thought the metatextual jokes were funny; I liked Bill Murray and Adam Driver together. Steve Buscemi is in this, though he plays a uhhhhhhhh Trump Supporter. I should start an app like Shazam where you click a button and let the sound play during a movie and the app will let you know if Steve Buscemi is in the movie.

The Other Guys (2010)

Is this the most underappreciated Mckay/Ferrell collab? I think it might be. I actually couldn’t even remember if it was directed by McKay, and I feel like a lot of other people forget it’s an Adam McKay film, too. I’m not sure why this one falls so far under the radar. I actually think it’s better than Step Brothers, or at least I found that the humor of Step Brothers hadn’t aged as well for me as the humor in The Other Guys did. Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are a beautiful comedic pairing (the abysmal Daddy’s Home films pale in comparison, though), and Wahlberg is frustratingly good at being funny. Some of the best sequences in the film are magnificent, like a hypothetical discussion about a fight between a tuna and a lion, Wahlberg’s incredulousness over Ferrell being married to Eva Mendes, and Ferrell recounting his time as a pimp in college.

Big Daddy (1999)

Sandler films are an extremely mixed bag for me despite my latent affections for the guy. I was vehemently anti-Sandler in high school and college, despite loving both Punch-Drunk Love and The Meyerowitz Stories. But the warm celebration he received in the aftermath of his seminal portrayal of gambler Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems granted me a new perspective on his comedy performances. However, even after giving a number of his comedies a chance in the past year, I still don’t particularly vibe with his weird mix of absurdist humor offset by the detrimental insistence on schmaltz in most of his Happy Madison films. Sandler works best for me when he leans farther into absurdity, which is why out of the films of his I’ve seen so far I’ve been preferential to Click, Little Nicky, and Big Daddy, the latter of which has some truly incredible sequences; one of which includes wishing harm upon rollerbladers and the other features — yes, you guessed it — Steve Buscemi. I think that if, like me, you’re often on the fence about Sandler comedies, this is a good entry point to appreciating them.

30 Minutes or Less (2011)

I was prompted to revisit this film after watching the Netflix true crime doc series Evil Genius, which is about the high-profile “pizza bomber” case from 2003 where pizza man in Erie, Pennsylvania was forced to rob a bank with a bomb strapped to his neck. I was then quite shocked to learn via my own Wikipedia’ing while watching this series that the 2011 comedy film 30 Minutes or Less aligned very eerily to this real-life, genuinely fucked-up incident When the film received backlash from the family of the pizza man upon its release, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group insisted that the screenplay was not written with the case in mind, and that the similarities were merely a coincidence. I don’t know. I do think it’s weirdly similar, and it’s probably like, the filmmakers were aware of the incident and it unconsciously influenced their making of the film. I’d believe that they didn’t intend it, but it seems like a case of the knowledge seeped in regardless. The linking between this film and the incident is fascinating and bizarre, but beyond that I think it’s actually pretty solid (the movie, not the horrific incident).

Never Goin’ Back (2018)

This movie seemed to have came and went when it released back in 2018, and the people who saw it were really into it (me) and then it just kinda disappeared. I would like to rectify this. It’s a really cute coming-of-age film about a couple of silly gals — high school dropouts working minimum wages jobs while dreaming of starting a new life elsewhere — that offers far more Superbad spiritual vibes than Booksmart does. I don’t think we ever needed “Girl Superbad;” rather, it’s nice to see teenage girls get to be raunchy and foul in a film and have it feel truly authentic, in the same way a film like The Do-List embraces the awkward grossness of burgeoning female sexuality.

Top Secret (1984)

Top Secret! seems to be weirdly overshadowed in the Zucker Brothers’ filmography by Airplane and The Naked Gun, even though it’s just as funny, if not maybe funnier. I personally find myself preferential to this over the latter two comedies. It’s about a fictional, Elvis-adjacent young heartthrob (Val Kilmer), who travels to East Germany for a performance and ends up embroiled in an underground resistance movement. Not much else to say, it’s the same type of humor I just find it slightly funnier and if you’re a fan of the Zuckers’ other comedies and somehow never got to this, you should change that. It’s also Val Kilmer’s first feature film role and he’s really hot and funny!!!!!

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