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When Comic Darkness Came into the Light

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MelodyThyestes
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
Unability to appreciate two of the greatest comedies of the 90's and 00's and miss the point?

"The 90s and early 00s were so boring and fatty and toothless, so we got the big comedies we deserved—dumb manic fare like Liar, Liar and Happy Gilmore"

Check.

Made up funny words?

"So with this new type of funne"

Check!

Be a happy player of the "Am I Outraged" game?

"we're not quite ready to laugh at maybe-date-rape yet. Well, most of us aren't anyway"

Check!

But what of pedantery disguised as insight?

"Whatever the reason, it does seem, increasingly, like old Nelson Mandela was right. It really is our light that most frightens us. Leaving our darkness to make us laugh."

CHECK!

Ladies and Gentleman this man is a comedy expert!
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Richard Lawson
06/08/09

@MelodyThyestes: Inability to spell words like, um, inability and pedantry?

Check!
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Lazy Susan
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
Director Stephan Elliott has a theory that the 'Great Legacy' left to America by the president George W. Bush - is a sense of irony.
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Iceland Spar
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
Denby is going to be pissed if he gave this movie a good review and it turns out he has accidently endorsed snark.
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Spirit Fingers
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
I dunno. I think the indies always seem to have the funnier moments, for like years. As kids we always knew it was better to sneak into the dirty little picture your parents never wanted you to see, than the big blockbuster one you could see with your little brother. I think the same holds true now, except the indies are now becoming big box office marketed movies. Pshsst! Back in the day a movie like the Hangover wouldn't have gotten any primetime promotion. It would have been that hilarious movie your big brother and his friends saw in the movies because the latest SNL alum poop-joke film was sold out.

Think about all the funny, cult, indie greats, Clerks, Royal Tenenbaums, Slackers, Rushmore... and when you saw them. For me it was usually on VHS or DVD, because there was no promotion for films like these, so they got little to no marketing and got buried by like Independence Day or some other Will Smith alien-shoot-a-thon. Even going waaayy back to Raising Arizona, the big budget schlock always gets top billing, until Hollywood realized there was a way to capitalize on a smarter, less sheep-like moviegoer, who decided talking gerbils just weren't funny. Eddie Murphy, you waste of comic genius, you.
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bess marvin, girl detective
06/08/09

@Spirit Fingers: to further your point of eddie murphy, just had a mini-murphy film festival that included greats like beverly hills cop, the golden child, coming to america and yes even the inferior beverly hills cop 2 . barring the nutty professor , what the fuck happened to his career choices?

disclaimer: i could not get past the first half hour of 48 HRS because the direction and nick nolte were so bad.
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Spirit Fingers
06/08/09

@bess marvin, girl detective: Sadly, I believe him to be insecure. I think he decided to opt out of adult humor long before people could say, "He no longer has it." And when Metro flopped, and Beverly Hills Cop: Crazy Carnival Parade was an abominable failure, he just simply retreated into what was comfortable, fat suits, CGI pets, and kids. It's a true shame. Apparently they're doing a Beverly Hills Cop: Why on Earth? that's supposed to be some nod to the original, but well, unless there's bodily excretions, I'm not sure Murphy will pull it off, not that anything he's done lately is any testament to his former flair for the funny.
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DeltaGuy
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
Ummmm, what, were you saying something? I was too busy looking at photos of Bradley Cooper naked, and doing a gay sex scene.

Honestly, though, great article. Let's hope this truly is a paradigm shift for Hollywood.
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valet_of_the_dolls
06/08/09

@DeltaGuy: And you're not providing a LINK?
Shame. on. you.
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onebadclam
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
Adam Sandler's Click had dialogue? I just remember two hours of clicks and whistles, much like listening to dolphins.
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Wendy_Kroy
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
I don't think it's a trend or anything. Land of the Lost had shitty previews and looked too puerile for grown-ups and too grown-up for kids. On the other hand, The Hangover had funny previews, great one-sheets (the "Who's Baby Is This?" poster actually made me giggle when I first saw it), and a well-thought-out cast (one indie comic with a cult following + one affable alum of Daily Show/The Office + one hot dude for the ladeez = something for everyone). It's also the only adult-oriented comedy in theatres right now, so it had the market to itself. AND it happens to be freakin' hilarious.

Y'know, what with Star Trek, Up, and The Hangover, this has actually been very good season so far for genuinely entertaining studio movies.
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dado
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
I'm gonna say it right now..."Funny People" will be the worst movie since Nicholas Cage's "Boy in Blue."
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DahlELama
06/08/09

@dado: I hope you're wrong--I'm actually looking forward to it. But it's hard to be as bad as any Nicolas Cage movie (the Rock excluded) so I have my fingers crossed that you'll be wearing egg on your face over this one. Or whatever the kids are saying these days.
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Maciej
06/08/09

@DahlELama: Adaptation, Face-Off, Con-Air, Raising Arizona, Valley Girl, Wild at Heart, Leaving Las Vegas, Matchstick Men? None of these?
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DahlELama
06/08/09

@Maciej: OK, OK, mea culpa. Truthfully, of all of those, I've only seen Matchstick Men, but I liked it. Really I just hate Nicolas Cage for starring in The Family Man, which was literally the worst movie I've ever seen.
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dado
06/08/09

@DahlELama: Worse then "Weekend at Bernie's II?"
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parafilm
06/08/09

@Maciej:

Good call. Nicholas Cage gets a lot of flack, and it's mostly deserved since he's made some horrific movies... but you called out some good ones. Adaptation is one of my all-time favorites.
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freedc
06/09/09

@parafilm: That's what I was thinking! Adaptation is one of my favorites, I sometimes forget about it. And Raising Arizona, also a favorite. He annoys me sometimes, I thought Leaving Las Vegas was a particularly annoying movie, but just from those two other movies, I think he's a great actor.

I saw Hangover and loved it. It's funny and clever and also appealing to a lot of people, that's not a bad thing.
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QuinnButes
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
yeah what exactly is dark and subversive about racism, sexism, and homophobia? how is a standard dude-brow movie dark? and wasn't this movie made by the dude-bros that made old-school, which starred Will Farrell?
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Richard Lawson
06/08/09

@QuinnButes: It was directed by Todd Phillips, yes. But Old School didn't do near the same numbers that Hangover did, and it had bigger stars in it. So while they're certainly similar, they're not the same movie.
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clipper
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
I should add this though, that baby has the funniest baby face I've ever seen.
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kjack
06/08/09

@clipper: I love that he is looking right at the camera...daring us to not find him adorable.
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NigelAstydameia
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
I don't know. Every time a movie does well there's huge speculation about what it all means. After the Oscars we were supposed to make way for a slew of Bollywood movies, and now The Hangover means big comedies with big stars are done? If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times: A good movie is a good movie. The Hangover was funny and fresh, and Will Ferrel running around in his underwear isn't. Audiences knew what to do.
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bess marvin, girl detective
06/08/09

@NigelAstydameia: fresh? really.
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enriquez the water bottle
06/08/09

@bess marvin, girl detective: More than Land of the Lost.
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bess marvin, girl detective
06/08/09

@enriquez the water bottle: way to set your standards. there's nothing fresh about "the hangover". it was just positioned against a weaker movie. hell, it barely beat a fresher movie: "up".
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TheHonJudgeSmails
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
Until the trifecta of old racist jokes, overt chauvinism and exploitation of the mentally retarded returns into mainstream Hollywood comedy, I will not shell out $12.50 for a night at the movies.
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Sproing
06/08/09

@TheHonJudgeSmails: Did that trifecta ever leave?
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BxgrlJeri
06/08/09

@TheHonJudgeSmails: I'm not shelling it out until the trifecta of deaf old ladies, texting teens and crinkling candy wrappers are gone.

IOW, never.
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bytememehard
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
Will is so ovah. He can't even beat out crazy ol' Liza for a Tony anymore!
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Mount_Prion
06/08/09

In reply to When Comic Darkness Came into the Light
How was this film risque, exactly? They even put sunglasses on the baby to protect it from UV rays.
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onehotmess
06/08/09

@Mount_Prion: C.U.C.A.R.A.C.H.A.: why have i not "friended" you yet??
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