comedy

Coming up on TV: Sturges classics

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William Demarest and fellow Marines comfort Eddie Bracken in HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO

On June 30, Turner Classic Movies is broadcasting six classic comedies by the great writer-director Preston Sturges.  Sturges’ masterpiece, of course, is Sullivan’s Travels, a fast-paced and cynical comedy about a pretentious movie director who goes out on the road to be inspired by The Average Man – and gets more of an adventure than he expects.

The brilliantly funny Hail the Conquering Hero is one of Sturges’ less well-known great comedies.  Eddie Bracken plays a would-be soldier discharged for hay fever – but his hometown mistakenly thinks that he is sent home a war hero.  Hilarity ensues.  All the funnier when you realize that this film was made in 1944 amid our nation’s most culturally patriotic period.

TCM’s other Sturges choices are thigh slappers, too: The Lady Eve, The Palm Beach Story, The Great McGinty and Christmas in July.

Here’s a snippet from Sullivan’s Travels.

The Intouchables: a crowdpleasing odd couple comedy

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The Intouchables is the second most popular movie of all time in France – and it’s easy to see why.  It’s an odd couple comedy that’s a real crowd pleaser.

A very, very rich French aristocrat has become a quadriplegic due to a hang gliding accident and hires a Senegalese good-for-nothing street hood as his caregiver.  The plot, really just a series of set pieces, mines familiar territory as the poor guy learns about living in a mansion (see Down and Out in Beverly Hills) and revitalizes the rich guy’s zest for living.  But it’s really well done and very funny.

The rich guy is played by the great Francois Cluzet (Tell No One), who gives a tremendous performance using only his head and neck.  Omar Sy plays the poor guy and actually edged out The Artist‘s Jean Dujardin for France’s top acting award last year; that’s hard to figure, but Sy is very funny in The Intouchables.  Overall, it’s a very satisfying comedy.

 

DVD of the Week: The Locksmith

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Somehow, this comedy gem never earned a theatrical release, despite winning the low budget award at Sundance.  A decent guy is serving out his drug sentence and has a day job as a locksmith on work release.  He is determined to keep his nose clean and not get in any more trouble.  He meets a kooky gal, who – despite his resistance – introduces all kinds of chaos into his life.  The Locksmith was originally titled Homewrecker.

If it had been released into theaters, I think that this working class comedy would have become a real crowd pleaser.  Fortunately, it’s now available from Netflix.

Hysteria: a feminist lark

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Hysteria is a breezy, feminist lark.  Victorian doctors are befuddled by all manner of female complaints, which they lump together into the diagnosis of hysteria.  One physician becomes popular when he pioneers pelvic massage as treatment.  Who knew that rubbing their clitorises (clitorii?) made them happy?

Thankfully, director Tanya Wexler keeps the whole thing light.  Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as a proto-feminist and High Dancy plays the doc who invented a proto-vibrator.  Rising star Felicity Jone (Like Crazy) pulls off a secondary role.

Where Do We Go Now?: comedy as a matter of life and death

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Christians and Muslims live together in a very isolated Lebanese village.  The men, none too bright, flare any perceived grievance into testosterone-fueled tribal fury.  Knowing that any trivial incident can spark an escalation to sectarian slaughter, the women, aided by the imam and the priest, work tirelessly to extinguish every possible provocation.  The women will stop at nothing, including sabotaging the village’s only TV, faking a miracle, medicating the pastries and even hiring a van full of Ukrainian strippers.

This story could have been played broadly like Lysistrata.  There are many funny moments, but Where Do We Go Now? is more than farce.   To these women, war is not theoretical.  We can tell from their language, which references men crouching in the attics and looking under beds, that they have survived past sectarian violence.  And we see the village cemetery, filled with the headstones of young men.  The women and the clerics have seen war, and they are desperate to avoid it.  That desperation adds a sting to the comedy, and makes Where Do We Go Now? a pretty good movie.

DVD of the Week: Let the Bullets Fly

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Ever seen a movie where the outlaw rides into town and sticks up for the little guys against the local bully of a crime boss?  Well, maybe so, but you probably haven’t seen a movie like Let the Bullets Fly (Rang Zidan Fei), which is set in southeastern China in the Chinese warlord period around 1919.

For one thing, it’s an unusually exuberant film that’s extremely funny for an action western.

For another, it’s a deeply cynical assessment of government corruption.  It quickly becomes apparent that the professional bandit is more honest and reliable than any of the local institutions.  (That subtext is not lost on the Chinese public.)

And the Chinese movie fans have embraced Let the Bullets Fly.  It’s the highest-grossing Chinese language movie ever, and is the all-time #2 most popular movie in China (behind Avatar).

Writer-director Wen Jiang plays the stalwart bandit hero who substitutes himself for the newly arriving appointed Governor (played by You Ge as a hilariously unabashed sleazeball).  Jiang’s bandit comes up against the local baddie (Chow Yun Fat), who doesn’t want to relinquish any of his power or ill-gotten gains.  As the two match wits, a fast, funny and utterly rambunctious ride ensues.

In this case, 1.3 billion Chinese are correct – this is one fun movie.

Bernie: East Texas, Jack Black and a very funny story that happens to be true

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BERNIE

This is one very funny movie.  Playing against type, Jack Black is Bernie, an assistant funeral director who is the kindest, most generous guy in a small East Texas town.  Bernie becomes entangled with the most malicious town resident, the rich widow played by Shirley MacLaine.  We are used to seeing Black playing venal and devious characters, but Bernie is utterly good-hearted.  He has built up so much good will in the community that when he snaps and commits one very gravely wrong act, he is still locally beloved.  Black also gets to show off his singing voice on some heartfelt gospel hymns.

But the real main character is really the East Texas town of Carthage.  Director Richard Linklater has the local residents (some played by actors) tell the story in capsule interviews.  Through this chorus, we see how the locals view Bernie and the widow, and we learn a lot about the local values, customs and colorful language.  Linklater is from East Texas himself and clearly revels in sharing the culture with us.  It’s very, very funny.

The plot takes one improbably funny turn after another – but it’s a true story, which makes it even funnier.  You can look it up in the New York Times [major spoilers in the article].  During the end credits, we even see Jack Black conversing with the real Bernie at Bernie’s current residence.

(I’m not embedding the trailer, because it doesn’t make clear that Jack Black’s character is not the winking, edgy guy that he usually plays.  Just see the movie.)

 

DVD of the Week: 50/50

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who has reliably excellent taste in his choice of movie scripts) stars in this cancer comedy.  Yes, cancer comedy.  Seth Rogen plays his buddy.  And it’s funny.  Pretty damn funny.

Writer Will Reiser takes the story from his own bout with the Big C.   Reiser’s real life friend Seth Rogen helped him through the ordeal.

As usual, Gordon-Levitt is excellent.  And, if you’re out chasing skirts while bald and weak from chemotherapy, who could be a better wing man than Seth Rogen?

Anna Kendrick (so good in Up in the Air) plays the cringingly green psychologist assigned to help the patient face his 50/50 chance of survival.   Bryce Dallas Howard (excellent as the achingly fragile survivor in Hereafter) plays the girlfriend with the best intentions but neither aptitude for care giving or unlimited loyalty.  Angelica Huston plays not just another smothering mom.  They’re all very good – good enough to play against Gordon-Levitt and Rogen.  So are Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) as fellow cancer patients.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: much more than a fish-out-of-water comedy

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As you can see from the trailer, this story of aged Brits seeking a low-budget retirement in India looks like enjoyable fluff with a great cast.  I was expecting a fish-out-of-water comedy, but found much more than that.  Besides dealing with the culture shock issues (which are plenty funny), the characters each forge their own journeys of self-discovery.

Of course, the cast is a superb collection of British acting talent:  Bill Nighy, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith,  Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey).  Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire is their genial and scattered host.

Nighy is especially brilliant as a guy trapped too long by his own profound decency.  Dench delivers an equally outstanding performance as a woman determined to make her own way for the first time.  In another acting gem, Tom Wilkinson follows a thread from his secret past and uncovers a moving revelation.

But those are just the highlights.  Go see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the rest.

The Five-Year Engagement: romantic comedy with authenticity

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In The Five-Year Engagement, a couple falls crazy in love as their careers are on the verge of taking off – she’s an academic, he’s a chef. She gets the opportunity to do a post-doc at the University of Michigan, so he shelves the opening of a San Francisco restaurant to follow her to Ann Arbor, where she flourishes.  However, he sputters and finally spirals into deep unhappiness.  Can their love overcome all?  [Yes – this is not Romeo and Juliet where everybody dies].

Of course, they have zany best friends and the usual maddening parents.  And a move from the Bay Area to Ann Arbor (depicted as perpetually snow-laden, with occasional parades of reveling frat boys) creates plenty of comic opportunities, especially as he shops his skills in cutting edge cuisine among the local eateries.

But the best thing about Five-Year Engagement is the authenticity of the situation.  There are no wacky plot devices; this story could all really happen – and is the narrative for some couples today.

Another plus is that Jason Segal and Emily Blunt are very good as the appealing couple.  Overall, the cast is excellent, although the Australian actress Jacki Weaver, who carried Animal Kingdom, is wasted in a one-note role as a nagging mother.

In fact, I feel guilty that I didn’t like Five-Year Engagement more than I did, but it did seem to drag in places.  Still, it’s a worthwhile romantic comedy.