Comedy - Old Movies

December 17th 2011 07:07

I have to confess that I am a huge fan of the TV show of which this film is a continuation. Whilst it's often crass or vulgar (or perhaps because of this) I feel that it captures the modern teenage life of boys so perfectly... we all know a Jay or a Neil or a Will, and so much of The Inbetweeners is recognisable to me that the jokes resonate all the more, evoking a feeling of nostalgia for my not-too-distant younger days. The way these characters interact is 100% spot on - that mix of constant faux-antagonism, shared social awkwardness, and the occasional (rare) glimpses of genuine friendship - it all rings true for the teenage experience. I was sad when the TV show finished, so the prospect of a film that followed up the post-school adventures of these characters made me quite happy.

Neil, Will, Jay and Simon have just finished high school. Dubbing themselves the 'Pussay Patrol', they decide to go on a holiday to the hedonistic Greek islands - determined to party hard and have copious amounts of sex. Upon arrival they find that their hotel is a horrible dive; the proprieter is fishing a dead dog out of the communal well and warns them that shitting on the floor of their room will result in a $50 fine. Each time. The boys go out on the town, and their attempts to get fresh with 'the ladies' seem just as depressing as the hotel. That is, at least until they meet four British girls in a particularly empty bar.

The first thing that I should say is that you don't need to have seen the TV show to appreciate this film. No back story is required, it's basically just a British version of American Pie or The Hangover. For those who have seen the TV show, a familiarity with the characters will only deepen the appeal. Every minor character from the TV series shows up in some capacity (even Fat John), and the exploits of the boys go much further than the constraints of television ever allowed. Some parts of the film won't be for the faint of heart (or stomach) but my sides literally hurt from laughing too hard and frequently. It's not exactly new ground for comedy or unpredictably plotted, but the half-cocked charm of the four leads ensures that the material is approached with buckets of enthusiasm and energy, and the comedy is of a realistic kind that should seem familiar to anyone who had a traditionally mispent youth.

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Comedy

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How to Get Ahead in Advertising

July 14th 2011 08:35

"Nobody remembers a late television advert, they only remember a bad one"

In 1987 Bruce Robinson wrote and directed Withnail and I - a witty and bittersweet cult classic about two actors who go on holidays 'by mistake'. It's one of my favourite films, and features a breakout performance by the then-young Richard E. Grant as the melodramatic and debauched Withnail. Robinson and Grant, high on their 'indie' success, decided to team up again in 1989 with How to Get Ahead in Advertising.

How to Get Ahead in Advertising is a wonderfully cynical look at advertising and consumer culture. At the time critics and audiences didn't really know what to make of it as it features a Kafka-esque plot involving Dennis Dinbleby Bagley (Richard E. Grant) growing a second head out of the side of his neck (the film's title is a pun). In a way, with the film coming at the end of the 1980s, it's a blackly satirical look at the worst aspects of the decade... consumerism, ruthless marketing, yuppies, business success through pressure, and idealism as a trend. It's pretty easy to follow but Robinson might have been more successful if he'd made his satire in a less fantastical manner. The film we get though is quite an odd duck - surreal, grotesque and driven primarily by Richard E. Grant interacting with himself.

Dennis is a capable and ultra-successful ad exec who finds himself stumped when he has to come up with a campagn for a pimple cream. He starts cracking up when he can't get a handle on it, and an alarmingly large boil starts growing on his shoulder. The boil starts talking to him, spouting advertising-styled voiceovers and other awful things, and soon other people start hearing the boil talk as well. It's hard to tell at first if this is in Dennis' head or if the boil is genuinely able to talk as we see its manifestation through his eyes. As Dennis begins to turn against advertising, the boil starts to take control of him by becoming a punishing conscience... it becomes bullying, aggressive, authoritarian, etc. The boil is a symbol of our ugly consumerist impulses and (hilariously) as it takes over Dennis' body and grows into a second head it decides to try and market boils!

How to Get Ahead in Advertising is a satire of the darkly absurd, calling to mind Kafka's Metamorphosis in the way in combines fear and absurdity to comment on dehumanising aspects of our society. When Dennis suffers a complete psychological breakdown into two different personalities the film takes it a step further... mindbogglingly, both Dennis and his boil-head try to cover up the existence of the other. Dennis' darker side speaks as the 'boil' but his other side also hears it and tries to pretend it's really him that's doing the talking. It's hard to explain unless you watch the film, and I suspect this psychological complexity may also be part of the reason why some people have trouble with the film.

Grant is great in the lead role. No one swears quite like Richard E. Grant and this film is the sort of snidely funny project that suits him to a tee. Unfortunately the nature of the film and his character was probably too bizarre for him to attract any critical accolades or awards, which is a shame because it's a great performance that no one else could've pulled off quite like Grant does. It's a fascinating and entertaining comedy that takes the less easy path too, which is something to be admired.

Originally published on Really Long Link

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I Love You Philip Morris

December 13th 2010 23:30

It can't be said that Jim Carrey is afraid of stretching his talents. This quasi-comedic indie flick features the actor combining his comedy skills with a brave, open-hearted performance to depict Steven Russell, a highly-intelligent southern conman in search of an identity. I Love You Philip Morris is directed by the writing team behind Bad Santa, and whilst this film shares a similarly black vein of humour and a willingness to embrace the taboos of western society, it's less an out-and-out comedy due to the fact that it's based on an amazingly unbelievable true story. Made in 2009, it didn't actually get a cinematic release in any English-speaking countries until late 2010 due to a lack of distributor interest. This isn't unusual in itself, but in this case in happens to be a brilliant and entertaining film.

Steven Russell is a happily-married police officer who has a near-death experience in a car accident one day. He has a kind of epiphany as a result and decides to embrace his homosexuality, moving to Miami to live the life of a flamboyant gay man. He turns to fraud and con-artistry to support his lifestyle, and this leads him to prison - a place ideally suited to his unique talents as a hustler. He meets Philip Morris (Ewen McGregor) and falls head over heels in love. Upon their release from prison, Steven begins posing as a lawyer to make money. From here on in, Steven's skills of deception grow exponentially.

There isn't much I can say about this film without spoiling it too much, it's just one of those amazing true stories. The real life Steven Russell holds some kind of record for prison-escapes - all of which he achieved non-violently and through the power of his unassuming intellect. The nature of this story (prison romances on film are few and far between) allows for the director-writer team to heavily mine it for dark laughs. The film is full of brilliant contrast.... one scene shows Philip and Steven snuggled up in prison watching an old movie, and the camera then pans across to show a sex offender having his way with himself. There's also a running motif of divine observation, possibly suggesting that only a higher power can truly judge Steven's actions. The person Steven hurts the most is certainly himself... at the core of the film are his indentity crises, a search for acceptance that allows him to continuously adapt or hide his true self, but his single-minded pursuit of what he perceives to be happiness will cost him almost everything.

Carrey completely owns this film. There are touches of The Truman Show in his performance, only here he plays the flipside - the conner rather than the connee. He's naturally funny enough to make the more outlandish comedy sequences work without it feeling like a betrayal of the character or the film. Non-Carrey fans can relax, he doesn't do any of his rubber face stuff... he knows how to be funny in other ways, and he brings a bittersweet earnestness and an almost paradoxical innocence to his role. McGregor is suitably sensitive in the less-showy role of Philip, affecting a southern accent more than a little remniscent of Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire, and between this and Carrey's performance you'll believe in their tumultuous relationship.

Unfortunately, the fact that this film remained unreleased for such a long time is a worrying sign that our society is still very much subject to open displays of discrimination when it comes to homosexuality. It seems that if gay-themed films don't have a tragic, politicised subtext then they won't be embraced enough by the film community to overcome the industry's prejudices. It's all well and good for films like Milk, Brokeback Mountain and A Single Man to break down the boundaries and attract high-minded plaudits, but when a genuinely funny and highly-engaging film like I Love You Philip Morris comes along (complete with A-list cast) and sits on the shelf for nearly two years before seeing cinematic release, it's a clear indication that the anti-homophobe PC brigade doesn't understand just how damaging it can be when they continue to weight their support in favour of stereotypically serious and downbeat gay films.

This is a film that deserves your support and attention, go see it and be amazed. It's just a really good film.

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Comedy

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the woodsman A MOVIE YOU SHOULD SEE

September 22nd 2009 10:26

sup yall. i been away lately with my buddies in the gold coast just scopin out some locations and gettin ready for the end of school season. anyways i thought i would check in and help you all appreshiate a more obscure and older movie for a change. this movie is called THE WOODSMAN. i first came acorss this movie because it is from the producers of MONSTERS BALL. i havent seen monsters ball but if its mentioned on the front of another movie than it must be pretty good. turns out my hunch was rite

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Posted By: stu-kicks - Category: Comedy

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sistahood of the traveling pants 2

March 11th 2009 00:31

man i went to see this movie a while back and i cannot say that i was impressed. firstly when i hear the words sisterhood and traveling pants i imagine that it is about fine wimen whos pants travel from there bodies to the floor but no insted i got some movie about a bunch of girls who travel around the world and one of them thinks she is PREGNANT WHEN A CONDOM BREAKS but woah she isn't. the aforementioned pregnansy scare shows the possibilitie of this being a decent movie but we NEVER actually get to see the condom breakin or her getting pounded

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Posted By: stu-kicks - Category: Comedy

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Theres something about Mary

May 30th 2008 04:10

Adolf Hitler in his comedy film phase

i thought i would lighten things up and talk about a comedy today. comedies are movies that make us laugh and feel good they were invented by the americans because they have such a great sense of humour. the british have made a few comedies too but these generally aren't as good. to this date there has never been an asian or a european comedy as they have no sense of humour whatsoever. the french and germans in particular have never even considered making a comedy film for this exact reason. the one exception is adolf hitler who made many silent comedies in the early days of movie history. these comedies were not very well recieved and he eventually gave it up in favour of warfare and the mass extermination of jews and homos. just think, if more people dug these early german attempts at comedy we might not have had world war 2. im not pointing any fingers or anything its just a thought

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Posted By: stu-kicks - Category: Comedy

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lars and the real disappointment

May 1st 2008 00:27

yo wassup. cause i'm so deadly and awesome i just keep on watching movies after movies after movies. yesterday i watched Lars and the Real Girl and here's my sum up

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Posted By: stu-kicks - Category: Comedy

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Irma La Douce

February 20th 2008 11:00

Billy Wilder movies are something else - full of snappy dialogue and great characters, his films have left an permanent etch along the plaque of American cinema.

His comedy, "Some Like It Hot", is consistently voted as the funniest American film of all time, and I think I'd have to agree... it's one of my favourites, and features a dazzling Marilyn Monroe as the female lead

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Comedy

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Ghostbusters

January 1st 2008 09:15

It may not be that old (1984), but Ghostbusters is an eternal classic for me, a little boy that wanted to bust ghosts really, really bad.

The premise is brilliant - three dubious scientists get shucked from the world of academia and decide to take their research to the streets of Manhattan, making a buck off of paranormal activity

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Comedy

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Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

December 24th 2007 10:50

It's a comedy, but it scared the hell outta me when I saw it as a little kid. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein teams up the classic comedy duo of Abbott and Costello with classic movie monsters.

They run into Frankenstein (actually, Frankenstein's monster), Dracula and the Wolfman. I wasn't scared of the Wolfman, as he was kind of an animal, and I partly wanted to be a wolf. Dracula never scared me either, as I was pretty sure my cross on a chain would protect me. Plus, they didn't like garlic, and my mom's cooking as pretty garlic-intensive

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Comedy

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Roman Holiday

October 10th 2007 02:36

It's hard not to feel nostalgic for those long-gone days when all the women were princesses and all the men were honourable bastards. Roman Holiday introduced American audiences to Audrey Hepburn, who would go on and capture their imaginations for years to come. Pairing Hepburn with Gregory Peck, it's one of the most loved romantic comedies to come out of America.

Hepburn plays a princess from an unspecified country, who visits Rome on an official function. As part of her title, she has a responsibility to be seen in public gracefully, and answer questions from the media with tact

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Comedy

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Wayne's World 2

January 5th 2007 08:07

The laughs continue in 'Wayne's World 2', as Wayne and Garth get their own place and decide to put on a rock festival. Oh, and this time round, Garth has pubes

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Comedy

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Repo Man

January 4th 2007 07:34

Repo Man (1984)

Repo Man is a crazy, culty kind of movie that tends to get people all excitable - if only because it's soundtrack is so punk-rocking. I bought this video, expecting something cool and highly rewatchable after reading various articles pumping it up and hearing dudes say it was rad. Let's just say I wasn't impressed

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Comedy

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The Lavender Hill Mob

December 7th 2006 10:22

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

Another of the oft-celebrated Ealing comedies that starred Alec Guinness. This film, along with three others - 'The Man in the White Suit', 'The Ladykillers' and 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' - are often bunched together as the Ealing classics, and are all worthy entries in the Alec Guinness canon of classic peformances. 'The Lavender Hill Mob' is probably my favourite of these four films

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Comedy

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