Comedy Films

[TJ]

For some reason, comedy films rarely ever get discussed on here, maybe because it's hard to maintain the momentum for a whole thread about a single film. With this in mind, this thread is for discussing anything about any comedy film, and hopefully will spiral out into something very interesting and readable.

It'd be easy to start off by talking about obvious stuff like This Is Spinal Tap, Young Frankenstein, Life Of Brian, Take The Money And Run etc, but I thought I'd kick off by mentioning a couple of comedy films that I love, or at least find interesting, but aren't so well known and may be 'new' to some posters on here.

Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush - mad, psychedelically-hued, Traffic-soundtracked tale of a paisley-shirted teenager chasing 'skirt' in Swinging London. My favourite film of all time bar none.

Privilege - Johnny Speight-penned satire on the pop industry and the insidious power of advertising, starring Paul Jones out of Manfred Mann. Rarely seen these days for some reason.

200 Motels - Frank Zappa's garish tale of life on the road in a rock'n'roll band, with more pertinent social commentary than Rob Newman could find exaggerated camp voices for. "Centerville - A Great Place To Bring Up Your Kids!".

Work Is A Four Letter Word - Cilla Black 'drops out' and starts flogging (and taking) Magic Mushrooms. I kid you not.

If.../O Lucky Man!/Britannia Hospital - testing people's definition of 'humour', perhaps, but there's much to be amused by in this strange Malcolm McDowell-starring trilogy satirising respectively the public school system, international big business and the National Health Service.

I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle - tongue-in-cheek homage to the Brithorror flicks of the early 1970s, in which Neil Morrissey buys a possessed Harley that runs on blood.

[TotalNightmare]

I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle - tongue-in-cheek homage to the Brithorror flicks of the early 1970s, in which Neil Morrissey buys a possessed Harley that runs on blood.

And famous for its 'talking poo' scene.

Le sigh!

[trotsky assortment]

Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush - mad, psychedelically-hued, Traffic-soundtracked tale of a paisley-shirted teenager chasing 'skirt' in Swinging London. My favourite film of all time bar none.

"Knickers!"

Yes...mmm.  I haven't seen this in a many a year, at least not all the way through.  There seem to be dodgy copies doing the rounds at most given times.  I'm still wondering if it'll see the light of day officially.

[TJ]

"Knickers!"

Yes...mmm.  I haven't seen this in a many a year, at least not all the way through.  There seem to be dodgy copies doing the rounds at most given times.  I'm still wondering if it'll see the light of day officially.

There are actually two different edits of it - the original cinema release, and the director's cut which runs a few minutes longer and was once screened by Channel 4. They're easy to tell apart - in the former Judy Geeson is clothed in the post-skinny dipping scene, and in the latter she isn't.

Still not sure why there hasn't been a DVD yet; I can only assume that there's some sort of contractual dispute over the music. In fact there was a hastily-withdrawn reissue of the soundtrack about ten years back (not the same as the MGM one; this had loads of bonus tracks and alternate takes, and sadly I never managed to pick up a copy), which would seem to lend weight to that theory.

[Marv Orange]

Hercules Returns, I almost pissed myself when i first saw it.

[trotsky assortment]

Still not sure why there hasn't been a DVD yet; I can only assume that there's some sort of contractual dispute over the music. In fact there was a hastily-withdrawn reissue of the soundtrack about ten years back (not the same as the MGM one; this had loads of bonus tracks and alternate takes, and sadly I never managed to pick up a copy), which would seem to lend weight to that theory.

That's a shame.  I suggest we camp outside Dave Mason and Steve Winwood's houses until they cave in.  ;-)  

Damn, it's making me want to listen to Traffic now.

[Catalogue Trousers]

TJ wrote:

I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle - tongue-in-cheek homage to the Brithorror flicks of the early 1970s, in which Neil Morrissey buys a possessed Harley that runs on blood.

Agreed - a much-underrated little gem, featuring the delights of a (brief, wordless) Burt Kwouk cameo among all of the Boonerisms...

But I must be pedantic. The possessed bike is not a Harley, but a good honest British Norton, IIRC!

[TJ]

Speaking of underrated gems, I must confess to being very fond of Bullshot, the Handmade Films secret agent spoof with a Legs Larry Smith theme song. It gets bashed by the critics on the rare occasions it resurfaces, but it really isn't a bad little film at all.

[Darrell]

Five of my favourites that I never see in lists:

Brain Candy - Glorious, woefully misunderstood psychedelic masterpiece by the Kids In The Hall, satirising the entire notion of hype. Not a frame goes by without it reaching into your One of my favourite films ever, period. And a soundtrack to die for on top of everything.

Waiting For Guffman - The least-seen (in this country at least) of Christopher Guest's improvised films, this is an amazing grower. When I first saw it I really liked it, and with subsequent viewings I fell more and more in love with it. The 35 minute package of stuff on the DVD (only the R1 version I believe, sadly) from the second-to-last edit of the film really enhances the experience. And it's got David Cross in it for about 30 seconds (and Bob Odenkirk for about two frames).

Wilt - The Smith and Jones-starring 80s filming of the Tom Sharpe novel, with an adapted screenplay by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick. A wonderful experience and brilliant in every way - *bloody* good performances too. Lee and Herring never mention this one when they're whingeing tunelessly about Morons From Outer Space. Sadly been deleted on DVD, although the last release didn't use an amazing print.

The Odd Job - Clearly flawed and with a stupid ending, this nevertheless is an essential slice of clumsy 1970s comedy filmmaking, with Graham Chapman, David Jason and Bill Paterson (and Richard O'Brien!) being bloody ace as usual.

The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse - I'll go on and on about this until I'm blue in the face. It's a preposterously perfect fantasy-comedy which in a world with any justice will eventually be hailed as one of the great cult films. And I genuinely mean that. I often believe that if it had been the exact same film but the League of Gentlemen had done no other projects before it, it would probably be being showered with all sorts of awards and fawning critics.

[Catalogue Trousers]

Darrell wrote:

Waiting For Guffman

"Dybbuk, Schmybbuk! - I Said, 'MORE HAM!'"

Agreed, absolute bloody comic genius.

Not so sure about Wilt. It's very toned down from the source novel (in particular, the grotesque American couple are prettied-up and generally made just generically unlikeable as opposed to downright vile), and the thing of having the apparently kindly old vicar turn out to be a murderer just to allow Wilt to be a hero doesn't work at all. But yes, Smith and Jones do turn in sterling performances, and the Pork Pie Misdirection stuff is marvellous.

Heh. The comments on The Odd Job have reminded me that, in the novelisation, Richard O'Brien's character is depicted as a big, butch, muscly bloke - I can only guess that the novelist was working from the script and not watching the finished film! Although he does manage to make that somewhat stupid ending rather moving.

[TJ]

Wilt - The Smith and Jones-starring 80s filming of the Tom Sharpe novel, with an adapted screenplay by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick. A wonderful experience and brilliant in every way - *bloody* good performances too. Lee and Herring never mention this one when they're whingeing tunelessly about Morons From Outer Space. Sadly been deleted on DVD, although the last release didn't use an amazing print.

You can actually still get it as one of those ED JEFFERSON'S FIVE CLASSIC COMEDY FILMS FOR SEVEN POUNDS type box sets. I think it's accompanied by utter bilge, though.

The Odd Job - Clearly flawed and with a stupid ending, this nevertheless is an essential slice of clumsy 1970s comedy filmmaking, with Graham Chapman, David Jason and Bill Paterson (and Richard O'Brien!) being bloody ace as usual.

Yeah, the ending is where it falls down. Otherwise it's a really good film, although it would have been even better if Keith Moon had played Jason's role as planned.

The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse - I'll go on and on about this until I'm blue in the face. It's a preposterously perfect fantasy-comedy which in a world with any justice will eventually be hailed as one of the great cult films. And I genuinely mean that. I often believe that if it had been the exact same film but the League of Gentlemen had done no other projects before it, it would probably be being showered with all sorts of awards and fawning critics.

I really don't understand what people's problem with it is. It's way better than the third TV series for a start, and they also make fun of some of their own previous ratings-chasing excesses. Plus Papa Lazarou made me laugh in it, for the first time since his very first appearance.

[Bert Thung]

Wilt - The Smith and Jones-starring 80s filming of the Tom Sharpe novel, with an adapted screenplay by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick. A wonderful experience and brilliant in every way - *bloody* good performances too.

I haven't seen this since it was in the cinema (I think I'm one of three people to have also seen the Whoops Apocalypse movie on its original cinema release. You could only see it in Edinburgh for one week in the afternoon only back in the day).  Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais were the original screen adaptors, but were fired from it.

Lee and Herring never mention this one when they're whingeing tunelessly about Morons From Outer Space. Sadly been deleted on DVD, although the last release didn't use an amazing print.

Oh sod them, recieved opinion dressed up in maverick clothing as ever. I can't stand Lee and Herring.

[Darrell]

I really don't understand what people's problem with it is. It's way better than the third TV series for a start, and they also make fun of some of their own previous ratings-chasing excesses. Plus Papa Lazarou made me laugh in it, for the first time since his very first appearance.

The best Papa Lazarou line was cut - him and Tubbs in the corridors of the railway station, Tubbs suggesting getting a cup of tea, and Laz replying with "no, they're really dear in stations", still with ridiculous voice and swagger.

I do love the background joke (not dwelled upon either, refreshingly) that Reece Shearsmith's house is plastered with framed photographs and paintings of him, with a big over-the-top awards display cabinet on one wall.

[ffogems]

Three Businessmen An Alex Cox film, made in 1998 I think. More of a comedy-drama, but it does have some very funny moments. The premise, as well as the shooting style (there are less than 200 cuts in the whole film) is very simple - Two businessmen meet in the restaurant of a Liverpool hotel (the Adelphi). Finding it completely bereft of chefs, waiters, and other guests, they decide to explore the city for somewhere else to dine. Unfamiliar with Liverpool and its many intricacies, they inevitably lose their bearings. Through the wonders of public transport they travel through various countries, motivated by their quest for food, while still believing themselves to be in Liverpool the whole time.
To say anymore to people who haven't seen it would spoil it, but it is the only film I know I could watch repeatedly on a loop until I exhale my final, moribund breath (although I would like to go abseiling at some point).
What makes it so enjoyable are the exchanges between them, their chosen topics for discussion that say so much about the insecurities of man in the current cultural climate.
It is available at amazon very cheaply (got mine for about £6) and it is worth the effort to seek out if you haven't seen it.

[Cack Hen]

Withnail & I. Easily my favourite comedy film, I suppose there's an argument that it's not entirely a comedy (especially considering the ending and the deleted ending where Withnail blew his brains out) but I can't think of any other film that's made me laugh quite so hard. Examples of why-

"I feel like a pig shat in my head"

"We've gone on holiday by mistake"

" Right, here's the plan. First, we go in there and get wrecked, then we eat a pork pie, then we drop a couple of Surmontil-50's each, means we'll miss out on Monday and come up smiling Tuesday morning"

"This place has become impossible. Nothing to eat, freezing cold and now a madman on the prowl outside with eels"

"Monty, you terrible cunt!"

"SCRUBBERS!"

"As a youth I used to weep in butcher's shops"


I could go on.

[TJ]

I haven't seen this since it was in the cinema (I think I'm one of three people to have also seen the Whoops Apocalypse movie on its original cinema release. You could only see it in Edinburgh for one week in the afternoon only back in the day).  Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais were the original screen adaptors, but were fired from it.

They were also involved in Bullshot, Water (which I'd love to see again), Still Crazy (a lot more enjoyable than I expected) and a late 1960s spy thriller parody called Otley, which I've never seen.

Oh sod them, recieved opinion dressed up in maverick clothing as ever. I can't stand Lee and Herring.

I like 'em a lot, but they're way off the mark about Morons. It's worth it for the theme song alone.

[Catalogue Trousers]

The Adventures Of Rocky & Bullwinkle. Seriously. This is much-maligned, but I enjoy it immensely. The unsubtle but intelligent satire on television's mind-rotting influence, in-jokes from Taxi Driver to 2001, lovely animation/live-action paradoxes and gags, and a genuine sense of charm and - dammit, yes - even human nobility among all of the quick-fire gags.

And the original Bedazzled. For some reason, this one's attracted a lot of flak over recent times, primarily for Cook's performance and Moore's score. But I love both. As to the latter, Moore blends everything from bombastic, mock-epic pop (the main theme), to ridiculously slinky loungecore (Lust's almost comically seductive piano-and-strings theme), silent movie stylings (the "God" letterbox scene) and of course those memorable pop pastiches "Love Me!" and "Bedazzled".  And as for Cook's performance as Spiggott - it's brilliant. He's dryly charming, affable, and even ultimately tragic - everything that a good Satan should be, in fact. And the comedy works marvellously, as well!

[TJ]

Withnail & I. Easily my favourite comedy film, I suppose there's an argument that it's not entirely a comedy (especially considering the ending and the deleted ending where Withnail blew his brains out) but I can't think of any other film that's made me laugh quite so hard.

Where do you stand on How To Get Ahead In Advertising? I quite like it, and once again I'm unsure as to why it has such a bad reputation.

[TJ]

And the original Bedazzled. For some reason, this one's attracted a lot of flak over recent times, primarily for Cook's performance and Moore's score. But I love both. As to the latter, Moore blends everything from bombastic, mock-epic pop (the main theme), to ridiculously slinky loungecore (Lust's almost comically seductive piano-and-strings theme), silent movie stylings (the "God" letterbox scene) and of course those memorable pop pastiches "Love Me!" and "Bedazzled".  And as for Cook's performance as Spiggott - it's brilliant. He's dryly charming, affable, and even ultimately tragic - everything that a good Satan should be, in fact. And the comedy works marvellously, as well!

Flak from revisionist idiots determined to look 'controversial' as far as I'm concerned. The soundtrack's superb, and this 'Cook was never much of an actor' twaddle that's gained favour in recent years does my head in. So what if he wasn't much of a straight actor? Practically everything he ever played was at the very least vaguely comic, and he did 'comic' better than just about everyone else who's ever tried it.

The most risible factor of all this is that it suggests that Cook wasn't as 'good' as someone like Leonardo DiCaprio or whoever. Well, fathead can come back when he's done something as life-enrichingly fantastic as 'In The Club' from NOBA.

[ffogems]

Where do you stand on How To Get Ahead In Advertising? I quite like it, and once again I'm unsure as to why it has such a bad reputation.

It was free with the Sunday Times a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it. Not something thats so complex it's worth a treatise, but it did have bits that got the old cogs working and it was very pleasurable seeing a british film so unabashedly odd and unique.

[Cack Hen]

Where do you stand on How To Get Ahead In Advertising? I quite like it, and once again I'm unsure as to why it has such a bad reputation.

I haven't actually seen it yet but I've seen it for a just a couple of quid down my local video shop, I should probably pick it up.

[smid]

Return of the Killer Tomatoes - A classic jokey cult movie...

Hawks - A classic black comedy with Timothy Dalton and Anthony Green in a cancer ward dying... Far funnier than it sounds...

Frankenhooker - Always fun in the meet the feebles type of comedy horror way.

[Catalogue Trousers]

TJ wrote:

The soundtrack's superb

And surprisingly clever and subtle, as well. It was only when I started humming bits of it in the shower earlier today that I realised that both "Love Me!" and "(I'm) Bedazzled" are both songs whose basic melodies are two variations on the main title orchestral theme...

[Garam]

I'm constantly changing my mind as to which is my favourite Coen comedy; Lebowski or Arizona. But I'm choosing Arizona for the following reasons:

- I love imagining how they went about advertising it. It's a movie with a baby a la Three men and a baby, so it's fun for all the family, right? Oh, it's 15 rated. Hmm. Well, maybe if we have an ad campaign where...hmm.

- Featuring Nic Cage's career best performance. Better than Adaptation, better than Leaving Las Vegas, better than that other film where he's running around Las Vegas, better than the Lynch film he was in that I'm sure was set in Las Vegas. I really think it's a perfect performance.

- All the metaphors in the film. For example, Gale and Evelle exiting the prison through the womb-ditch entering an extreme world of discomfort. Of course, Gale and Evelle are representing H.I.'s fear of manhood. Rah rah rah. Then there is H.I.'s doppleganger, Lenny Smalls who he shares his tattoo with. Lennie represents the nihilistic lawless side of H.I.'s personality which is jeapordising his newfound fatherhood. Lenny's name is of course a reference to the Of mice and men character who is incapable of touching something without harming it.
When Smalls is dragging H.I from under the car, the shot is reminiscent of the earlier shot in which H.I drags the baby from under the crib. Both are being removed from their places of comfort.

- The relevent references. The cinematography is borrowed from The Evil Dead, and so this immediately reminds us of Evil Dead, which makes us uneasy. What both films have in common is that they feature the dangers of the outside world entering the confines of the household.
  Then there's the reference to Dr Strangelove with the O.P.E and the P.O.E on the wall. P.O.E - Peace on Earth/Purity of essense = simple enough. O.P.E is the recall codes for the planes and so O.P.E represent the hope for a better future.
  Or they just fancied sticking a Kubrick reference in for the hell of it.

- The chase.

- The 11 minute long opening with the yodeling.

- John Goodman and William Forsythe's double act of Gale and Evelle.

Gale: "Alright, everybody Freeze! Everrrrrybody down on the ground!"

(nobody moves)

Old man: "Now which is it, young feller?"

(Gale looks mightily confused and scared)

Old man: "Do you want us to freeze or get down on the ground? If I were to get down on the ground I'd be in motion, and you said..."

Gale: "SHUT UP!"

Old man: "Oooook, then."

Gale:  "Everyone get down on the ground."

Evelle: "You can all forget dat part about freezin', noww."

- The absurdness of H.I.'s linguistic skills.

[Ignatius_S]

The Adventures Of Rocky & Bullwinkle. Seriously. This is much-maligned, but I enjoy it immensely. The unsubtle but intelligent satire on television's mind-rotting influence, in-jokes from Taxi Driver to 2001, lovely animation/live-action paradoxes and gags, and a genuine sense of charm and - dammit, yes - even human nobility among all of the quick-fire gags.

Hear hear.

Waiting For Guffman - The least-seen (in this country at least) of Christopher Guest's improvised films, this is an amazing grower.

Always surprises me how this one is overllooked.

Three Businessmen An Alex Cox film, made in 1998 I think. More of a comedy-drama, but it does have some very funny moments..

Fantastic film - the BFI have also recently released it in a double-pack with Cox's Highway Patrolman.


Lord Love A Duck  - Fantastic black comedy Roddy McDowell plays a super-intelligent, Machiavellian student determined that a classmate gets everything she wishes for, even if a few people have to die.

Beat The Devil - cracking offbeat classic with a fantastic cast.

Head - funny, great soundtrack and a spectacular act of career suicide.

Crimewave - criminally (no pun intended) overlooked gem by Sam Raimi.

Consuming Passions - have seen it for years, but I used to enjoy Handmade Films' tale about cannabalism and chocolate.

[Narshty]

Privilege - Johnny Speight-penned satire on the pop industry and the insidious power of advertising, starring Paul Jones out of Manfred Mann. Rarely seen these days for some reason.

I agree it's a wonderful film (I saw it at the NFT a while ago) but... a comedy? Johnny Speight certainly came up with the basic concept of the script, but as ever with Peter Watkins, it's a very cynical and bitter film about capitalism and control of the masses, in whatever form.

Some of my faves:

Twentieth Century - Howard Hawks' best comedy is this 1934 screwball trailblazer with John Barrymore and Carole Lombard as, respectively, a maniacal Broadway director and his shopgirl/would-be-actress protege. Barrymore's magical performance is my favourite by anyone ever - a madly grotesque character, but never less than utterly convincing as a living, breathing, real human being. Repeatedly fires his staff with the memorable phrase "I close the iron door on you" and throws the mother of all hissy fits after discovering Lombard has left his latest production for a Hollywood contract.

The Bank Dick - W.C. Fields just does a bunch of things. As ever. But wonderfully.

A Very Brady Sequel - post-modernism at its most exquisite. Gags everywhere. After not quite sure in what direction to take the first film, the second one is firing on all cylinders, and yet only made it to video in the UK. Gary Cole, Christine Taylor and Jennifer Elise Cox are beyond praise. If you're ever stuck for a DVD to make up a 4 for £20 offer, don't hesitate.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

The Princess Bride- which was on a couple of days back

"Buttercup was raised on a small farm in the country of Florin. Her only interests were riding her horse, and tormenting the young stable boy who worked there. His name was Westley. Isn't that a wonderful beginning?"

Superb, even with a fairly crummy Cook cameo to spoil it. Even if you can make people laugh just by standing still, you've got to do more than that.

[Bert Thung]

The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer- Peter Cook as the ambitious ad man that becomes President for Life

The Case of the Mukkaniese Battlehorn - Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Dick Emery in one my favourite ever comedies. A half hour spoof of fifties Police dramas. Went out as the support feature to Monty Python and The Holy Grail in the mid seventies.

Porridge - One of the few films I can quote large sections of.  I love the celebrity football match "We might be able to get The Goodies"
"That'll make a change from all us baddies"

Pink Panther sequels with Peter Sellers - Love them all, including the seventies ones.

Le Petomaine - Leonard Rossiter farting

There's also another brilliant short with Leonard Rossiter as a man walking across London bridge, but in his head acting like he's overtaking people in the 800 metres. Anyone remember that. Haven't seen it in 25 years, but loved it at the time.

[neveragain]

Not Another Teen Movie - A fantastically funny multi-film spoof in the Airplane and Hot Shots mould, often overlooked because it was made by the Scary Movie people (although, upon finally watching them, they're not really as bad as people made out either). It may lose its steam by the end but there's some great manipulation of stereotypes and a fair few wonderful lines. My favourite gag of which may well be:

'I remember the night my father died. It was a really wet slippery road and he'd been drinking..'
'Oh my God! I'm so sorry. I never knew he died in a car crash!'
'No, it was cancer.'

And plenty of fine incest jokes too.

Oh, I'm also fond of Peter Jackson's frenzied back catalogue (Bad Taste, Braindead and Meet The Feebles). I couldn't really justify them though, it isn't as if they're hilarious and nor are they particularly well acted. Just charm I suppose.

[Charles Charlie Charles]

Man Bites Dog
My favourite Belgian film. Ever. Funny, nasty and great comedy acting.