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Funny movies

The Big Sick (2017)

23/07/2017 · by Joy

Critics are hailing The Big Sick as “one of the best movies of the year” and “a traditional rom-com that’s so original,” but I have to be honest with you… it was pretty cut and dry for me. It works, it’s good, but it’s nothing that’s breaking the mold for me. It was just… a good movie. I didn’t leave upset that I had spent money to see it in theatres, but I didn’t leave overwhelmed with passion for how great the movie was (ahem, Baby Driver)… I left saying, “It was… good!”

It was funny and I did, I laughed a lot. I thought both leads (Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan) were really great – their acting was enjoyable and their chemistry was really robust – but the plot was formulaic, even with the cross-cultural dilemma thrown in there. I will give it that – I learned some things about Pakistan that I, admittedly, didn’t know. Before now, I had no idea that Pakistan had the largest irrigation system in the world… but aside from being educational, I wasn’t… moved. I get what it was trying to do and I get that it’s his and his wife’s real life story, but it just wasn’t really all that touching to me.

I couldn’t help but feel that it was just another romantic comedy. A critic (the name is escaping me now) compared it to Annie Hall… I believe he said “for the ISIS age,” and that’s just insane… I don’t think it should be compared to Annie Hall. Annie Hall was and is iconic. That’s a rom-com that breaks the mold. A rom-com full of neuroses. They tried to do the neurotic thing with Emily, but it just didn’t really work.

I appreciate that Kumail did this, he made a film that normalizes and includes Muslim and Pakistani culture. That’s great, and that’s a wonderful thing, but if you take that out of the equation, it’s just another rom-com that I could take or leave. It was just… okay. It was nothing super special and if I could do it again, I’d probably wait to see it on Netflix.

Edge of Seventeen (2016)

21/03/2017 · by Joy

I’ve always been pretty intrigued by films about high school. I don’t know what that’s about seeing as I’m a full-fledged adult now (yeah… yeah, that’s what I am). Also, I’m a fan of Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit remake, anyone?) I love the way she says everything so, like, deadpan. It’s great. Just great.

I’m not too sure what struck a chord with me about this particular coming-of-age dram-com. I think it was the fact that more than it was a teen comedy, it was a comedy about a teen, who is so unlikeable to begin with that she’s likeable.

I really enjoyed pretty much every performance in Edge of Seventeen and, setting Hailee Steinfeld’s aside, Woody Harrelson’s was particularly notable. He is always enjoyable, but I find his role as strange, supportive mentor to be one of my favourites (hello, Haymitch!) The story was enough to sustain the film and I was actually pretty sad when it ended – I wanted more.

I just loved watching Nadine go from selfish, narcissistic teen dramatician (that’s a word I just made up, don’t Google it) into a slightly less selfish, slightly less narcissistic teen dramatician. It was an enjoyable ride. Maybe it wasn’t Oscar-worthy material, but it was fun and it was good!

Swiss Army Man (2016)

26/12/2016 · by Joy

I watched Swiss Army Man a couple weeks ago and I fell in love. Like, super in love. I went into this film with obviously low expectations because how good can a movie about a guy bonding with a corpse actually be? But man, was I blown away… There were flaws, as with any directorial debut, but they were so minimal compared to what I was taken with.

The plot of the movie sounds ridiculous and stupid and everyone I’ve talked about it with has been like, “I am 100% not going to watch a movie about a flatulent corpse and a crazed, lonely, lost little man,” but it’s so good. I want to watch it again and again. Sure, it could have used less fart jokes and the plot is beyond ridiculous and unbelievable, but it’s so heartwarming and so funny that I just can’t. I can’t even.

It is the most bizarre work of art that I have ever even took a notion to think about watching. It is insane and wieird. Paul Dano is amazing, Daniel Radcliffe is amazing, and they are amazing together. Watching Daniel Radcliffe play a dead man who is practically a foreign life-form in that he knows nothing about anything ever. The questions are like those you hear on a daily basis from a toddler, but they delve deeper and deeper into existential discussions. It’s.. the silliest thing that I got attached emotionally to a corpse. I was endeared by him and his child-like wonder.

The movie is titled Swiss Army Man because Daniel Radcliffe’s character, dubbed Manny by Paul Dano’s character, Hank, is literally a swiss army man. He is a multi-purpose tool good for starting fires, shooting things in the air, using as a speedboat of sorts… he’s a fountain, a compass… he’s everything someone “stranded” on an island could want or need.

And don’t even get me started on the beautiful score which I have since added to my Google Play library. It’s gorgeous and whimsical and I fricken love it.

Give Swiss Army Man a chance… like, a real… good chance. I bought it before I even watched it and I am so glad I did because I can’t wait to rewatch it.

Ghostbusters (2016)

09/10/2016 · by Joy

This is a film I wasn’t ever really that interested in seeing. I figured, how could they possibly improve on the original which had everything anyone could ever have wanted in a film about a bunch of people literally bustin’ ghosts. And the whole “now with women” thing wasn’t all that intriguing either. I’m all for equality and I’m totally all for feminism and empowering women, but that doesn’t mean we need to remake classically male-casted films with women. It’s fate was pretty much already set as “not as good as the original.” Despite that, though, it did an okay job of being it’s own movie. It was entertaining enough and it had it’s moments.

The star of the show, by far, was Chris Hemsworth who played the lovably stupid receptionist, Kevin. I found myself pretty much just waiting for his appearances because they were just downright hilarious. Of course, Kristen Wiig is always funny too, but I was really living for Chris in this one.

But to be honest, the story was lacking – it lacked originality, it lacked depth, and it lacked intrigue. I didn’t honestly care what the outcome was and I didn’t care about any of the characters’ fates. They weren’t fleshed out or given much backstory at all. Okay, so Kristen Wiig’s character is a professor at MIT up for tenure when her friend from yore decides to publish their book about paranormal activity which pretty much asserts that she believes in ghosts over the scientific method. I don’t care if her character gets tenure.

Clearly they had fun filming it and it’s an entertaining time, but it just wasn’t enough to captivate me and I’m sorry to say, but I simply wouldn’t watch it again.

Sausage Party (2016)

19/08/2016 · by Joy

Even though I enjoy any kind of movie, I would still say that Sausage Party is not the type of movie I’d usually go see in theatres. I’m partial to horror films, thrillers, that kind of thing. But something about Sausage Party just told me to do it and thus, I did. And I went with my mother. Luckily, my mom is not a prude because if that were the case, it would have been a suuuuper awkward hour and a half of my life.

It was… it was probably the number one most raunchy film I’ve ever seen. That’s right, even raunchier than the atrocity that is Good Luck Chuck. The difference between the two is that Sausage Party was actually funny (sorry, not sorry, Dane). I really don’t know what I was going into the movie expecting. I had seen the trailer and yet I was not fully prepared. I don’t know if you can ever actually be prepared for food orgies.

It was a smorgasbord of Seth Rogen (and clan’s) best, most racist, most sexual jokes, directed by Greg Tiernan, previously known for his work on Thomas & Friends (yeah, that’s what I said…) and Conrad Vernon, previously known for Shrek and sequels, Madagascar and sequels, Bee Movie, Flushed Away, and probably some other stuff. The jokes were hilarious and absolutely, truly disgusting at times. I think they literally covered every single food joke ever uttered.

The plot made sense (in a disturbing, cartoonish, pornographic sort of way), the animation was on point, and it was a lot of fun. Certainly not for the poised, and definitely not for children (although there were a few in my theatre…), but absolutely worth watching. I don’t know if I’d pay to see it in theatres again, but I would give it a rewatch while kicking back with some friends and some drinks!

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

16/06/2016 · by Joy

I actually went to the theatre and saw Popstar on Friday night and it is now Wednesday evening and I am just now sitting down to talk about my thoughts about Conner 4 Real nnnnoowww… my life is a black abyss of studenthood, full-time employment and professional TV show binge-watching at the current time, so I haven’t had any time to sit down and think about this movie.

Which is OKAY in the long-run because there is not a lot of thinking required for this one, my friends. If you are not familiar with The Lonely Island then I can’t help you and you should probably leave this post now and then not return until you’ve educated yourself a little bit. But seriously, if you haven’t been living under a rock since 2001 (you’ve literally had 15 years to get to know this wonderful trio!!), you know who Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone & Akiva Schaffer are and what they have done.

So anyway, I went into Popstar with some pretty high expectations, as I generally have when it comes to Andy Samberg and I did not leave disappointed. This movie is a riot. It’s a mockumentary (think This is Spinal Tap) that is basically out-and-out making fun of Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never “documentary” which followed JB for 10 days leading up to some big ol’ concert he had or something and had some home movies and shit in there. Whatever. Who cares. Popstar was a trillion times more enjoyable and a gazillion times better.

Andy plays Conner (4 Real), a former member of the Style Boyz gone solo, who is literally the cutest, most clueless popstar in the entire universe. It is not overextended at 87 minutes, and it doesn’t feel nearly long enough (which is probably a good thing, because if it gets too long then it only leaves room to get worse). Imagine watching a Saturday Night Live skit… but it was 87 minutes long and hilarious from start to finish. That’s what Popstar embodies and it’s glorious. It features many prominent stars from the current pop and comedy world, such as Sarah Silverman, Usher, ASAP Rocky, Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusack, Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent, Ringo Starr, Simon Cowell, Adam Levine, D.J. Khaled… and almost all of them star as themselves commenting on Conner’s fame. It just works so fabulously!

In sum, there was never a dull moment… there was never a time when I wasn’t at least smiling ear-to-ear. Andy Samberg is just the greatest thing to grace this planet and I’m not ashamed to say it.

Tusk (2014)

16/03/2016 · by Joy

I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith’s. I am also a fan of Justin Long’s, but more so Kevin Smith. From Clerks (1994) to Red State (2011), including his stand-up Q&A sessions and books, he is just awesome. He’s apathetic when he speaks about his films, but he cares about what goes into them. So it goes without saying that I’d be dying to see Tusk since the day it was released. I don’t think it was shown in my local theatre, I checked many times only to find it wasn’t there, which was really disappointing so I’ve been waiting and waiting, but I found it at Ye Olde Movie Network!

It’s hard to describe what Tusk is about without sounding like a lunatic, but that’s really not that different from any other Kevin Smith film. How do you describe Clerks without sounding like you’re talking about the most boring home movie ever? It’s really difficult. “So you have this guy, Dante, right? And he works at a convenience store… and he gets called in even though he’s not even supposed to WORK that day… and so he and his good friend Randall goof off pretty much all day and then his ex-girlfriend accidentally bangs a dead guy.” ………yeah.

To be perfectly honest, Tusk felt like it was way longer than it needed to be. There was a lot of pointless dialogue between Justin Long and… well, pretty much everyone.

I mean, because I know it’s Kevin Smith’s film, I expected what I received excluding the overdrawn length. I expected a horror comedy starring slightly awkward but very funny Justin Long, Michael Parks, child star Haley Joel Osment and of course, the fantastic Johnny Depp. And we can’t forget the stars of the show, a brief appearance by Kevin Smith’s daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, and Johnny Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose Depp.

Michael Parks’ performance is actually pretty creepy at points. His character is sort of reminiscent of his character, Abin Cooper, in Red State (2011), except a little less religious. Other than that, I felt like the concept of Tusk was pretty ridiculous. I mean, it was like… The Human Centipede but with walrus and only one human. I found myself zoning out during many conversations and scenes…

I did really enjoy Johnny Depp’s character, Guy Lapointe, but only because he was so ridiculous, not in spite of it. The whole film was spent wanting to be creeped out and to really be immersed in the experience, but instead I had trouble even focusing on the story. It wasn’t realistic enough to be engaging. I mean, you expect it to be ridiculous, but at the very least it has to be just believable enough to be scary, right? The walrus suit Justin Long was wearing looked like a suit… it definitely didn’t look like his formerly human body was crafted into that of a walrus. It looked hokey.

This is the first time I’ve really been disappointed by a Kevin Smith film (and no, I have not seen Cop Out… yet) and it’s a really depressing experience. I will continue to watch Smith’s future films of course, but I don’t think I’ll rewatch this one. Sorry Kev, it feels like I wasted an hour and 42 minutes of my day…