An updated look at a handful of films that, without fail, change my mood and make a bad day infinitely better.
What makes a film funny? Is it the actors, the timing, the script, the director? Impossible to say, and if someone could, it would be bottled. It's likely a combination of all, and an overall sense of timelessness that allows certain films to endure and become classics.
Comedy – it’s hard to define, and it's completely subjective. A gag for one person may not tickle the fancy of another. There are also degrees of comedy. Some extraordinary comic films that I love – Martin McDonagh’s darkly brilliant In Bruges, or Jacque Tati’s gorgeous masterpiece Playtime, produce a smile or a chuckle, but not a full belly laugh.
I’m talking about those all-out, laugh-so-hard-you’ve-got-tears-streaming-down-your-face kind of films that you never forget. They may not be popular or critically perfect, but everyone has a handful of those go-to movies. The following, without fail, have stood the test of time and change my mood. On a challenging day, I turn to one of these for a laugh-out-loud good time.
1938 | Bringing Up Baby
Starring Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn / Directed by Howard Hawks
What? Nerdy Dr Huxley unexpectedly joins forces with flighty Susan Vance for misadventures involving a missing dinosaur bone and a leopard named Baby.
Why? I saw it for the first time when I was about 10. This screwball comedy begins in a museum and revolves around a missing bone and a leopard. It’s funny already and I was hooked. It’s a ridiculous plot along with plenty of slapstick. The timing and chemistry of the leads along with Hawks swift direction make it great. One of the scenes that makes me laugh even thinking about it: George (Susan’s dog) is missing and has buried the intercostal clavicle (the missing brontosaurus bone) – Hepburn is tailing Grant, each calling out for “George” “Baby” “George” “Baby” in an alternate chorus…
1963 | The Pink Panther
Starring David Niven, Peter Sellers / Directed by Blake Edwards
What? Master jewel thief, the Phantom, is on the hunt for the world’s largest diamond. Bumbling French Inspector Jacques Clouseau is dispatched to catch the thief.
Why? The film features Peter Sellers’ razor-sharp timing as the clueless Inspector, along with an international ensemble as European jet setters. It’s a farce about a jewel heist, with endless slapstick and pratfalls, and a great final line set to Henry Mancini’s iconic soundtrack. Sellers wordless participation and bumbling dance in the après-ski scene during the song, Meglio Stasera, consistently cracks me up.
1982 | Tootsie
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange / Directed by Sydney Pollack
What? Unemployed New York City actor Michael Dorsey can’t get work. Labeled too difficult, he vows to show them all. And he does, except he gets more than he bargains for along the way.
Why? Just thinking about Dustin Hoffman as a woman is laughable. But hearing him utter the line, “They kill their own” does me in every time. The banter between Dorothy/Michael and Sydney Pollack’s character, George – Dorothy is engaged to Les, while Julie thinks she’s a lesbian and Sandy thinks Michael gay – is priceless. Part social commentary, part mistaken identity, Tootsie boasts a first-rate cast combined with sharp direction, against a terrific script and cast. I cheer for Tootsie to succeed and root for Michael to figure it all out.
1999 | Galaxy Quest
Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman / Directed by Dean Parisot
(May be my all time favorite, having just watched it again. The film has risen to cult status. This year on its 20th anniversary, the documentary, Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary will be released.)
What? Washed up TV sci-fi actors get the gig of their lives when they’re mistaken for a real spaceship crew by aliens with an agenda.
Why? A satire of the original Star Trek series with Tim Allen doing a spot-on send up of William Shatner’s James T Kirk. With smart writing and a great cast, the film works because it lampoons the original series, and then uses those very elements that made Star Trek endure for decades to unravel its own story. One of my favorite continuing gags is crewman #6 (Sam Rockwell) – as the no-name, expendable character. Anyone who loved the original Star Trek series and even mildly considers themselves a Trekkie will roar – the sci-fi conventions, the quoting from the episodes, and the general confusion between reality and fantasy. Surrender the laughter.
Starring Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo / Directed by Michel Hazanavicius
What? Suave, and arrogant Secret Agent OSS 117 foils Soviet/British/Belgian/Nazi plots, bringing peace to the Middle East.
Why? Spy genre mixes James Bond’s pretentions with Matt Helm’s tackiness to great effect. A stylish parody with a well-assembled cast and an on-target script pays homage to Clouseau, Technicolor, and 1950s/60s filmmaking. This film had me from the get-go with its beautiful opening credits and music. Agent Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath is sent to Cairo, undercover, to head up a poultry business. His complete cultural ignorance should create international incidents, but… Best ongoing gag: De la Bath’s fascination with the light switch and the chickens is hysterical. It’s all very French, in a very politically incorrect way, and very funny.
More laughs: Arsenic and Old Lace, The Producers, The Freshman and We’re The Millers.
In anticipation of the upcoming awards season, I’d love to hear others’ choices. What’s your all time favorite laugh-out-loud comedy?
* No definitive attribution, but spoken by Peter O’Toole’s character in the film, My Favorite Year. The quote is widely alleged to be a variation on the dying words of British actor Edmund Kean.
Design and animation: © 2019 Janet Giampietro. Original vector: Freepik.
