Unfunny Comedies?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by driverdrummer, Jul 29, 2015.

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  1. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    My parents and I were talking about this movie called Dinner For Schmucks recently and how my dad didn't find the movie funny at all. In fact, my dad had to force a laugh out when a certain scene came on.
     
  2. EddieVanHalen

    EddieVanHalen Forum Resident

    And Richard Pryor.
     
  3. Grand_Ennui

    Grand_Ennui Forum Resident

    Location:
    WI

    Regarding your dad having to force out a laugh: Was he watching it with someone who loved the movie and said "Wait till this scene comes up, you're gonna bust a gut laughing" or something like that and he didn't want to disappoint them so he faked it?
     
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  4. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    My mom didn't like the movie either.
     
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  5. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    His first two comedies with Gene Wilder are hilarious. My favorite being Stir Crazy.

    I also remember liking Brewster's Millions with John Candy and The Toy with Jackie Gleason.

    Also, some of his standup comedy concert films are hilarious (and the soundtracks on LP.)
     
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  6. Moshe

    Moshe "Silent in four languages."

    Location:
    U.S.
    No offense to you at all, but I don't understand why anyone would "force a laugh".
    I've seen other people do this and I just don't understand it.
    If something's not funny, then it's not funny. Why laugh?
    If something's not funny, I just don't laugh.
    ...sorry, no offense. Just thinking out loud I guess.
     
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  7. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I liked "Stir Crazy" when I was a kid. Saw it again a couple of years ago and was much less enchanted. It's not terrible, but it's not that funny:

    Stir Crazy [Blu-Ray] (1980)
     
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  8. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Oh, I kinda like that one! Certainly not Smith's worst - "Clerks 2", "Cop Out" and "Mallrats" were much worse!
     
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  9. keefer1970

    keefer1970 Metal, Movies, Beer!

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Funny you mention Mallrats, I just revisited that one recently (within the last year or so) for the first time in many years, and though I remember liking it a lot back in the 90s, it hadn't aged well at all. It ran out of gas by the halfway point.

    The original "Clerks" is still a favorite, though, but I can take or leave "II."

    Kevin doesn't look back very fondly on "Cop Out" either. It was his first -- and last -- gig as a director-for-hire.
     
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  10. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Ironically, Smith has put out arguably his worst work in the "screw it, I'm gonna do whatever I want" post-"Cop Out" era.

    That "Yoga Hosers" movie was an outright, utter, complete embarrassment.

    10 years ago, I counted myself as a fan and thought Smith was funny, clever and endearing. Now he seems more like a self-parodying n0-talent whose bitterness toward show biz harpoons his work...
     
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  11. keefer1970

    keefer1970 Metal, Movies, Beer!

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I have yet to see "Yoga Hosers," it's gotten so much bad word of mouth that I'm honestly in no hurry to, either, haha
     
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  12. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    It deserves all the negative comments - it really is an atrocity:

    Yoga Hosers [Blu-Ray] (2016)
     
  13. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    You could be right. As with most comedies I've seen in my youth, I refuse to rewatch them again years later. Main reason is because when younger (high school, college,) sophomoric humor is much funnier. But as you get older, that type of humor doesn't hold up as well. Most of my all-time favorite comedies are from the late '70s through the '80s (middle school through college and some grad school.) Animal House, Spaceballs, Stripes, Bachelor Party, Revenge of the Nerds, Porky's, Blues Brothers, the original Ghostbusters, etc. are amongst my favorites and I haven't rewatched any of them in years. I want to keep my memories intact about them when I first saw them. I'm afraid if I do rewatch some of them, my opinion will change, thinking they aren't as funny as I remembered and I don't want that to happen. Stir Crazy probably fits in that same category. I suspect only a few of those listed will still give me the same feeling (Animal House and Spaceballs.) I remember seeing Stir Crazy at the theatre when it was released and laughing my ass off. Then a year or two later, we got HBO and HBO used to show that movie all the time in the early '80s. I would watch it every time I had a chance and still thought it was hilarious, Though, I admit I haven't watched Stir Crazy since the early '80s back when HBO was constantly showing it.
     
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  14. daca

    daca Currently on Double Secret Probation

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Well, I attended Julliard, I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I’ve seen The Blues Brothers about 167 times and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it!
     
  15. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    Anybody mentioned "Hail Cesar!" yet?
     
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  16. Luvtemps

    Luvtemps Forum Resident

    Location:
    P.G.County,Md.
    Friends,Sienfield...boring!!
     
  17. PNeski@aol.com

    [email protected] Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    never lump Seinfield with that
     
  18. Luvtemps

    Luvtemps Forum Resident

    Location:
    P.G.County,Md.
    To each his own...Seinfield sucks!!!
     
  19. knob twirler

    knob twirler Senior Member

    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    It's not horrible, but there's a constant feeling of 'This should be funnier than it is. Why isn't this getting across?' As a failed writer, I have experience with that feeling, but - given the subject matter - a Cohen script for this should have been a slam dunk.

    BTW, I am a fan of George Clooney, but I think he's awful whenever he does his Broad Comedy dummy bit in a Coen Brothers movie. It's a well-intentioned mismatch of actor and filmmakers.
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2017
  20. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I get that attitude, but I think a lot of the films you mention still hold up. I continue to be amused by "Animal House", "Stripes" and "Ghostbusters".

    I never liked "Blues Brothers" or "Spaceballs" much, so there's nothing to ruin there. "Nerds" isn't great but it has some charm.

    "Bachelor Party" and "Porky's" have faded badly, though - I think both are terrible movies.

    On the other hand, both feature copious amounts of hot naked women, so no complaints here! :D
     
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  21. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I like the Coens when they do dramas but not comedies, mainly because I think their comedies are too smug and self-satisfied.

    I don't think the Coens are naturally funny, but they believe they are and foist they brand of "humor" on us, with all its back-patting self-adoring pseudo-cleverness.

    "Hail Caesar" fits that bill, and it's also far too infatuated with its own attempts to spoof/duplicate circa 1950s cinema.

    Which it actually does well - the "movies within the movie" replicate their influences in a fairly accurate manner.

    But that's all it is: a collection of movie scenes with a loose plot to join them together.

    It's a dull movie with excellent production values...
     
  22. cgw

    cgw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    Blues Brothers is good for the cameo performances.
    It is pretty funny.
    Worth it just for the owners description of the music they play at Bob's Country Bunker.
     
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  23. danner

    danner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Birmingham, AL
    You mean country and western?
     
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  24. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I admit I always think I dislike "Blues Brothers" more than I do. The movie does have some moments, but overall, I think it's pretty witless and unfunny - too rambling and aimless...
     
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  25. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    In Australia it was a major hit and ran for over ten years. When it was first on TV stores ran out of blank VHS tapes.
     
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