Comedies That Should Have Been Awesome (And Weren't)
All of our favorite comedians phone it in for the paycheck once and a while. We can look the other way when Will Ferrell slums it up in loose, runny stool like Bewitched, so long as he's still writing and starring in great stuff like Talladega Nights. Sacha Baron Cohen made Borat: if he wants to pay for a new pool with a shitty cameo in Madagascar, who are we to judge?
But what happens when it's not a "phone it in" comedy? What if it's a labor of love? What if the comedian wrote, directed and starred in the thing? What if, essentially, it looked like everyone involved was trying to make a good movie, and it was stool anyway?
Well, then you get snarky no-talents like us picking apart your crappy movie in this article, apparently. Read on!
11
School for Scoundrels
(2006)
THE PITCH: Scot Armstrong and Todd Phillips, the writer and director of Old School, reteam for this black comedy! Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder gets lessons in self-confidence from Bad Santa's Billy Bob Thornton... but they end up competing for the same girl!
THE PAYOFF: Jon Heder and Billy Bob Thornton aren't masters of improvisation. They need a fun, sharp script to play off of, and they don't get it here. In one scene early in the film, for instance, Heder's character gets ambushed by two thugs who threaten to kill him. They then shoot at him while he tries to escape, and rob him after he passes out from a panic attack. Scoundrels wants us to take from this that Heder is a big pussy with no self-confidence-but the scene's played so straight, who wouldn't be fucking terrified in that situation? Welcome to every scene in this movie: mean-spirited, played straight, and about as funny as a guy shooting at you.
THE
PROBLEM: Scoundrels makes the mistake of thinking anybody
watches a comedy for its plot, spending one dull scene after another spelling
out who's doing what to who and why. When your comedy has talents like
Ben Stiller, David Cross and Sarah Silverman standing around explaining
characters' back stories like there's going to be a quiz when the movie's
over, you might be overthinking things.
Was anyone who liked Old School on the edge of their seats over whether or not the stars would graduate? Scot "Shakespeare" Armstrong and Todd "Bergman" Phillips seem to think we were. Guys-comedies are retarded. When a character slips face-first into a pile of cow shit, we don't need to know which cow it came from.
10
Nothing But Trouble
(1991)
THE PITCH: Dan Aykroyd writes, directs AND stars in a new comedy with John Candy and Chevy Chase! (This was back when then name "Dan Ackroyd" still meant "the guy who wrote Ghostbusters and Blues Brothers," not "that really fat guy playing Britney Spears' dad in Crossroads.")
THE
PAYOFF: Either Aykroyd has a different sense of humor from other
humans, or it's possible he just vastly miscalculated the hilarity that
would ensue by having grotesque, freakish psychotics attempt to viciously
murder people in a nightmarish premise involving transvestites, cannibals
with detachable penises for noses and Demi Moore attempting to act. John
Waters would have looked at this script and thought, "Wow, that's
fucking insane."
THE PROBLEM: Aykroyd apparently based the concept of the film around a real-life incident where he was pulled over for speeding in the back woods, then taken in the middle of the night to the mayor's house to be terrorized by hicks. If you're thinking, "That actually sounds kind of unsettling and horrible, and not a good idea for a laugh-romp comedy," you probably would have come in handy patiently explaining this to Aykroyd before he filmed a joyless, Deliverance-like movie about people getting pulled over for speeding in the back woods, then taken in the middle of the night to the mayor's house to be terrorized by hicks.
9
Tenacious D in The
Pick of Destiny (2006)
THE PITCH: the Greatest Band of All Time roars to the big screen in a hilarious musical comedy where they fight The Devil with the awesome power of their rock! Watch for funny cameos from Ben Stiller and Tim Robbins!
THE PAYOFF: After an inspired opening musical number involving a young Jack Black, Ronnie James Dio and Meatloaf, you can almost hear Black and co-star Kyle Gass put on the brakes and think, "Shit, that was our only idea." Tenacious D's premise (two fat guys with acoustic guitars think they're heavy metal rock gods) is, while pretty damn funny in short sketches, a bit of a thin idea for a feature-length comedy. Black and Gass figure this out about a half hour in, resorting to tired Cheech and Chong stoner gags to pad out the running time.
THE
PROBLEM: Nobody involved in the making of Pick of Destiny seems
to have the first clue why people like Tenacious D. Fans loved
Jack Black as a chubby, lovable loser with big metal dreams. Let's turn
him into a dumbassed pothead! Fans loved Kyle Gass as the quiet, mopey
yin to Jack Black's hyper yang. Let's make him an unlikable asshole for
the first hour of the film! (Gass himself complains about this on the
DVD commentary.) Fans really dug the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl in his cheesy
Devil cameos. Let's bring him back for the movie, then bury him in so
much make-up you can't even tell it's Grohl, and give him big stupid fake
teeth he can't talk through! It feels like everyone making this turkey
was too baked to pay attention. The only way to enjoy Pick would
be to follow their lead.
I agree with most of these. However where the f**k is Lost in Translation on this list? What a festering turd pile of a movie that was.
ReplyMy problem with Pick of Destiny is that it just wasn't filthy enough. The HBO episodes and the Liam Lynch shorts are perfectly raunchy, whereas the movie was just too cute to be true "D" material. I'm sure the cock/lasers scene and the pot references are the only reason it got an R rating.
ReplyHow, how HOW could you put Bowfinger on this list?! It's a terrifically funny movie. Murphy's "Jiff" is worth the price of admission alone. I can go with all the other movies being on this list, but BOWFINGER?! You are so off the mark.
ReplyI actually enjoyed Nothing but Trouble and Harlem Knights, each for different reasons. I'm not even sure Nothing but trouble was supposed to be a comedy to be honest. I enjoyed it for its imaginative twists and turns, and the design of the house. It seemed more like a horror movie with some comedy thrown in. Same with Harlem Knights. It was more like a crime drama with comedy thrown in.
ReplyAfter reading the background of what Nacho Libre was based off of, I hated the movie. I enjoyed it for the first viewing, but after the second, I realized that Jack Black was basically an unsubtle a*****e throughout the film. It could have been so much better and inspirational than it was.
I loved Nacho Libre, which maybe you have to be Mexican or married to Mexican to appreciate....myself (very Mexican) and my very white husband loved the movie.
ReplyI actually quite enjoyed Ali G and Life Aquatic. I didn't hate Nacho Libre. I don't think I've seen any of the other ones.
ReplyI liked Bowfinger, Harlem Nights, AND the Life Aquatic. What does that say about me?
ReplyBowfinger was an awesome movie, get your s**t straight homes
ReplyJay Pinkerton, how can you make an article wether a film is good or not, its all down to personal opinion...my opinion is that you don't like these films for your own personal reasons...and I like some of them because I was really high or just liked them because of my opinion...at the end of it...I think you are a count
ReplyI thought that Harlem nights was awesome, and had some top lines in it, too.
ReplyGood article though. :)
Nothing But Trouble! That was it! That was that f*****g movie! I was forced to watch that as a kid, wondering what the f**k was happening.
ReplyWhy were they in so much trouble for speeding a bit, and why does that warrant Chevy being forced to marry that ugly daughter or face being shoved onto a conveyor belt of bones. These are the questions a younger me failed to comprehend.
I totally object to Bowfinger being on the list, it was hilarious and smart.
ReplyAlso, Pick of Destiny worked fine for me.
um about something u said in the harlem nights one there is something called romantic horror check out thirst (2009) it's f*****g amazing
ReplyWhat the Hell, Me Myself and Irene was one of the funniest movies out there, due to it's over the top violence and sociopathy. Ali G is absolutely hilarious in it's immaturity and satire of modern 'gangsta' culture. Tenacious D is has a dynamite soundtrack, in which all the songs are amazing not to mention masterfully written by Kyle Gass. Bowfinger is also great, the jokes you mention are more insignificant plot points than critical jokes as you make them out to be. You really must have s**t for brains.
ReplyDefinitely agree with loving Me, Myself, and Irene and Pick of Destiny. Not sure if I ever saw Bowfinger though and as for Ali G - not a huge Sacha fan, so I haven't seen it.
In what universe, on what planet, in what country is life aquatic not a funny movie. Tenacious D and me myself and Irene were not terrible either. i'd be curious to see what you thought was a good comedy.
ReplyProbably the same universe where Jay Pinkerton misspells Farrelly five times in one paragraph
And in the same universe where Steve Martin directed Bowfinger, as stated here. Bowfinger was directed by Frank Oz.
I thought nacho libre and bowfinger were funny (esp. bowfinger), but the movie that should be on here is 1941, that sounded AWESOME from reading the summary on the back. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, starred John Belushi AND Dan Aykroyd, was had a massive budget, and still sucked. It was the most disappointing movie EVER. Go ahead, rent it, I dare you to sit through all 2.5 hours and not criticize it.
ReplyThe Life Aquatic was on par with Tenenbaums, although the comedy may have been slightly more deadpan (which isn't necessarily a con). If an Anderson film did deserve to make this list it would be Bottlerocket, but it still has its merits.
ReplyDude Bottlerocket is his second best film! (after Rushmore)
The Eddie Murphy/Jack Black/Bill Murray movies sucked because they were Eddie Murphy/Jack Black/Bill Murray movies.
Replya good chunk of this list is bs . feels like thee writer was stretching on this one. not surprising though. the quality of writing and humor on this site have both dropped markedly in the last few months
Replyyou're commenting on an article written in 2007.
Totally agree with this article!
ReplyEXCEPT.... I thought "Bowfinger" and "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World" both had some great moments. Sure, they weren't non-stop gut-busters from scene 1, but at least they weren't total disasters like "Nacho Libre" (or almost any other film starring Eddie Murphy). Heather Graham's line when first stepping off the bus in L.A. is perfect: "Is this where I become an actress?" Likewise, when Albert Brooks finally thinks he's found the ideal employee in "Muslim World", the woman asks, "You're not a Jew, are you?"
Seems like we're two of the very few who do agree (at least somewhat) with the list.
Never seen "Looking for..etc" (and really cba, tbh), or School for Scoundrels, and what little I've seen of Ali G (or anything else by SBC, for that matter) made me thank god I hadn't seen more. Quick Change I'm gonna watch asap, with a flicker of hope. But the rest of the list is pretty spot on. "Life Aquatic" was the equivalent of being promised a great f**k by one of the best fucks there is, then just getting a lousy handjob. "Harlem Nights" did have some funny moments (like the the pinky shooting) and dialogue, but it really failed to deliver what an old school Pryor/Murphy flick could and should have. Though, come to think of it, I haven't seen it in about 15 years, so maybe time for a re-trial. "Bowfinger" was just ok-ish. Not s**t, but far from great. "Pick of Destiny" just made me wish I was a stoner so I could have enjoyed it, and "Nacho Libre" was just sad, with very few entertaining moments. Who the hell thought that putting a leash and muzzle on Jack Black would be funny?
"Me, Myself and Irene", I liked because it gave exactly what it promised, imo. Cheap laughs and very unrealistic situational comedy, with some added Carey slapstick for good measure.