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<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not hard for comedies to slip under the radar. Like any \u2018genre film\u2019, so many are pumped out each year that it\u2019s almost impossible to keep track of which ones are good. Unless something gets an alarmingly high rating on Rotten Tomatoes, or was made by people you trust no matter what the Tomatometer says, you probably aren\u2019t going to see it. And then you\u2019re going to forget it even existed. Here\u2019s ten great ones that probably passed you by.<\/p>\n
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Dan in Real Life<\/a> (2007) | Dir. Peter Hedges | 98 min.\u00a0<\/b> They\u2019re very different movies, sure, but they\u2019re pretty comparable as far as quality. They\u2019re movies where even if you don\u2019t like them, you have to admit they\u2019re good for what they are. Dan in Real Life is way less joke-y, but I found myself laughing just as much. And it\u2019s just as sweet. Plus, it\u2019s got a gorgeous, warm color palette and real-feeling sets. And the story is very tightly constructed and paced. There\u2019s seriously nothing wrong with this movie whatsoever. Anything I\u2019d say that was wrong with it would just be nitpicking.<\/p>\n After I saw it, I really thought it was going be a huge movie\u2014but then, I saw the marketing. The marketing of this movie was abysmal. The trailers did not capture the tone of the movie at all, and neither did the poster. The poster is seriously one of the dumbest things I\u2019ve ever seen in my life. Carrell\u2019s head on some fucking pancakes. For no damn reason. It\u2019s like the person who made the poster didn\u2019t even watch the movie, and simply had a picture of Carrell and a stock image of pancakes lying around. This is a sensitive, lovely movie, dammit. And everyone really acts in it. Even Dane Cook. <\/i>Please see the damn thing. Also, the guy who did this, Peter Hedges, did an overlooked movie before this one, Pieces of April<\/a>, which you should definitely check out as well. That one is more of a drama.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My Blue Heaven<\/a> (1990) | Dir. Herbert Ross | 97 min.<\/b><\/p>\n This is a huge favorite from my childhood. I\u2019ve seen this movie maybe fifty times. It\u2019s one of those purely delightful movies that can always put you in a good mood, and doesn\u2019t gets old no matter how many times you\u2019ve seen it. But for some reason, either people have no idea this movie exists (which is bizarre, considering it stars Steve Martin and Rick Moranis) or they saw it once ages ago and barely remember it. Well, it\u2019s my favorite Steve Martin movie. There\u2019s something so pitch-perfectly preposterous about his Italian mobster persona. And Moranis plays off him perfectly. It\u2019s my favorite Rick Moranis movie, too.<\/p>\n Nora Ephron wrote this, and it\u2019s clear she had a lot of fun with it and didn\u2019t take it too seriously. Which is what makes it her most restrained, and best work. It doesn\u2019t have any of that forced romance that bogs down her other scripts. The romance here is handled lightly, not obsessed over.<\/p>\n Also, it features a lot of shots of blue skies with big white clouds, which is one of my favorite things in film. I have a sneaking suspicion Paul Thomas Anderson aped this movie\u2019s blue-sky-and-clouds chapter breaks for Magnolia<\/a>. Watch both and you\u2019ll see what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Career Opportunities<\/a> (1991) | Dir. Bryan Gordon | 83 min.<\/b><\/p>\n The hottest Jennifer Connelly has ever looked. I repeat\u2014the hottest Jennifer Connelly has ever looked<\/i>. That\u2019s reason enough to see this movie. But it\u2019s also quite good too. Frank Whaley, one of the most underrated actors of the 90\u2019s, gives a stellar starring performance\u2014his best to date. And all the supporting characters are wonderful too. It\u2019s a perfect little John Hughes movie that for some reason just isn\u2019t revered like his other work is. I guess what makes it forgettable in peoples minds is that it\u2019s a very succinct, small story about two people in an enclosed environment. Movies like that tend to be overlooked. (The extreme example of this being Oleanna<\/a>, one of Mamet\u2019s best\u2014yet I\u2019ve never met a single other person who has seen it.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Things Change<\/a> (1988) | Dir. David Mamet | 100 min.<\/b><\/p>\n And here\u2019s another<\/i> Mamet movie nobody talks about. A very funny and touching italian mobster comedy starring Joe Mantegna and the late great Don Ameche. It\u2019s one of those rare \u2018suitable for the whole family\u2019 movies that isn\u2019t dumb and doesn\u2019t pander to the lowest common denominator. It truly respects your intelligence, whether you\u2019re a kid or an adult. I\u2019m sure some of that comes from the fact that it\u2019s co-written by Shel Silverstein\u2014a fabulous writer famous for work that both kids and adults can enjoy.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re ever stuck during the holidays trying to figure out something to watch with a big group of family members with varying tastes, this one is perfect.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Big Top Pee-Wee<\/a> (1988) | Dir. Randal Kleiser | 86 min.<\/b><\/p>\n For some reason, everyone disregards Big Top Pee-Wee. I guess people wish it were Pee-Wee\u2019s Big Adventure<\/a> 2, and were disappointed when Paul Reubens didn\u2019t give them that. But I don\u2019t think you should compare the two movies. They\u2019re nothing alike. And there\u2019s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it\u2019s impressive. It proves Paul Reubens versatility as a comedic performer.<\/p>\n Whether you like Pee-Wee or not, there are tons of layers to the character. He\u2019s not at all one-note. He has tons of personality traits. The humor isn\u2019t \u2018easy\u2019. And my favorite thing about this movie is that the jokes comes from so many different places. There\u2019s broad visual stuff, witty stuff, subtle stuff, dry stuff, observational stuff, etc. Yet on the surface this is just a simple movie about a weird guy and his weird farm. It takes a true craftsman with an impeccably rich sense of humor to be able to mine that much depth from such simplicity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Top Secret!<\/a> (1984) | Dirs. Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker | 90 min.<\/b><\/p>\n When people think Zucker Brothers, they think Airplane<\/a>. Or the Naked Gun<\/a> movies. Or the Hot Shots<\/a> movies. And those are all fine, serviceable films. (Except Naked Gun: 33 1\/3rd<\/a>. Ugh.) But they don\u2019t represent what they\u2019re truly capable of. Top secret does.<\/p>\n Top Secret is absolutely their funniest film. It\u2019s solid from start to finish. And it actually feels like a real movie, not just a series of gags\u2014even though it\u2019s got tons of them. It\u2019s also one of the weirdest mashups ever: Cold war era spy movie meets Elvis movie-musical. It feels like a precursor to Team America<\/a>, in that sense. I\u2019m sure it made quite the impression on Trey and Matt when they were young.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Wrong Guy<\/a> (1997) | Dir. David Steinberg | 92 min.<\/b><\/p>\n Everybody who knows anything about comedy digs Kids in the Hall<\/a>. Or, at least, some of the sketches. It\u2019s damn near a rite of passage. It\u2019s not a show I think about often, but anytime I revisit it, it\u2019s clear how much it helped shape my sense of humor as a kid.<\/p>\n Some people are absolutely nuts about the show though. It\u2019s kind of the American equivalent to Monty Python in that sense, even though it\u2019s Canadian. Yet for some reason these same fans haven\u2019t rallied around this film, with Dave Foley wrote and stars in.<\/p>\n The sense of humor is a little Kids in the Hall-ish, but really, I think its most close cousin is stuff by members of The State<\/a>. You could replace Dave Foley with Michael Showalter and keep the script the same and it\u2019d feel like a movie David Wain made. So if you\u2019re a fan of those guys, definitely give this one a shot. It gets really zany as it goes on in the most lovely way possible, much like their stuff does.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Hammer<\/a> (2007) | Dir. Charles Herman-Wurmfeld | 88 min.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s sad to me that Adam Carolla has this reputation as an insensitive guy by people who don\u2019t know much about him. He\u2019s actually extremely sensitive. Dude feels fucking everything. In fact, he\u2019s been diagnosed hypervigilance. And his acute sensitivity definitely comes through in this movie.<\/p>\n This is a beautiful little indie film, stuck in a crappy DVD cover that make it seems like a dumb cheap-o bargain bin movie. If you like touching sports movies with sprinklings of romance, and also like to laugh, this one is for you. It strikes the perfect balance. Adam\u2019s attention to detail here is immaculate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pumpkin<\/a> (2002) | Dirs. Anthony Abrams & Adam Larson Broder | 113 min.<\/b><\/p>\n The best Todd Solondz movie Todd Solondz never made. Christ, this one has bite. I don\u2019t think people really picked up on that aspect when it came out. And so it was cast aside and now nobody remembers it ever existed.<\/p>\n I think this one has the capacity for a resurgence. Its satirical elements are pretty clear as day now. Our collective sense of humor has evolved\u2014most people these days can recognize the difference between a crappy late 90\u2019s movie and a movie pretending<\/i> to be a crappy late 90\u2019s movie.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Brothers Solomon<\/a> (2007) | Dir. Bob Odenkirk | 93 min.<\/b><\/p>\n What the heck is wrong with people? Bob Odenkirk, Will Arnett, and Will Forte all involved, and still<\/i> people assume this is some throwaway comedy to avoid like the plague? Did it ever occur to you comedy nerds that maybe the reason this has a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes is not because it\u2019s unfunny, but because it\u2019s too <\/i>funny? Too funny for most critics to be able to understand? Smart comedy is by and large unpopular. Deal with it. Now, when I say \u2018smart comedy\u2019, I don\u2019t mean big words and literary references and whatnot\u2014I\u2019m not talking Whit Stillman. (Although I adore him, Damsels in Distress<\/a> aside.) What I mean by smart comedy is jokes where the joke isn\u2019t the joke. On the surface, yes, this is a stupid movie. But it takes smarts to truly do stupid well.<\/p>\n Now, is this a perfect movie? Absolutely not. There are misfires here and there. But by and large, this is a delight. I\u2019d liken it to the TV show Stella<\/a>. In fact, if ever a Stella movie were to exist, it\u2019d probably be pretty similar to this. So, if that sorta thing is up your alley, definitely give this one a shot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s not hard for comedies to slip under the radar. Like any \u2018genre film\u2019, so many are pumped out each year that it\u2019s almost impossible to keep track of which ones are good. Unless something gets an alarmingly high rating on Rotten Tomatoes, or was made by people you trust no matter what the Tomatometer says, you probably aren\u2019t going to see it. And then you\u2019re going to forget it even existed. Here\u2019s ten great ones that probably passed you by.<\/p>\n
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\nI caught this one at a free advanced screening my sister got tickets to. Hadn\u2019t heard anything about it, didn\u2019t know what to expect. Simply knew it was a Steve Carrell movie, and that\u2019s all I needed to know. This was back when his career was on the up\u2014he\u2019d just had The 40 Year Old Virgin<\/a> and Little Miss Sunshine<\/a> back to back. Which is like ridiculous. Just thing about that for a second: two crowd-pleaser comedies back to back, one a total game changer for the genre, the other an Oscar darling. After that, yes, Evan Almighty<\/a>, but still, that one wasn\u2019t even all that bad. I remember everyone shat on it when it came out, but it actually has some funny parts, and overall it\u2019s genuinely sweet\u2014which is a hard feat for such a dumb premise. But anyway, those three movies in a row meant he had earned my trust. I\u2019d see whatever movie he was in next, because his burgeoning movie career was looking pretty damn good. And Dan in Real Life did not disappoint. In fact, it\u2019s just as good as 40 Year Old, if not better.<\/p>\n![\"blue\"](\"http:\/\/smugfilm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/blue.jpg\")
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