Barbie (5*)
Poor Things (5*)
American Fiction (4*)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (3.5*)
The Holdovers (3.5*)
Nimona (3.5*)
Elemental (3*)
El Conde (1.5*)
Comedy films are, admittedly, not my favorite genre. And I also don’t get why some films are put in that category. To me, a film might have some comic elements, but humor is a human characteristic which, usually, enhances the drama of a story but doesn’t stand on its own. Pure comedies are, for me, a waste of time, although injecting something funny into a serious story is good story-telling. But does that make it a “comedy”? I don’t think so, but I don’t make the genre decisions – other folks do. Eight of this year’s movies have been labeled comedy films and I can recommend six of them, although not necessarily because they are funny.
Two of my favorite films of the 2024 Oscar year, and both with distinctly funny elements, are Barbie and Poor Things. If you haven’t heard of Barbie, you are more out of it than I am. I know that you aren’t supposed to like Barbie, for a lot of reasons including that she is a commercial product and that the Barbie image is one that weds girls, and the women they become, to a limited ideal of what femininity means. But I actually think that Greta Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach have written a hilarious script that seriously punches holes in our stereotypical sex roles. Poor Things looks at womanhood in a very different way by putting a baby girl’s brain inside a mature woman’s body. There are hilarious moments especially as she reacts to sexual experiences. In addition to richly textured production values, there are plenty of comedy moments in this wacky sci-fi fantasy.
Satire is the underlying tone of American Fiction, a story of a Black author, living a perfectly middle-class life, but who can’t get published until he pretends to be from the ghetto! The movie pokes fun at racial bigotry and its horribly insufficient intellectual underpinnings. The movie goes back and forth between black and white worlds and comedy and drama, proving that all categories have fuzzy boundaries.
Three of this year’s comedy films just barely make my recommended list. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is the third and possibly the last in this series. It gives an origin story for Rocket, the rodent voiced by Bradley Cooper. His story isn’t exactly funny, but the film veers off into comic undertones when the Guardians bicker and joust in their usual funny ways. I especially like Drax and his droll sense of humor. Vol. 3 isn’t as good as the other two, but if you enjoyed them, you’ll want to see this one to complete the set.
The Holdovers is about three people stuck at a northern prep school during winter break. Their situations are all different but the interplay between them is filled with comic relief and heartwarming resolutions. Meanwhile, Nimona, an animated film about a knight and his servant seems more of a fantasy than a comedy. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, it was written by a transgender person and his main character is certainly a mix of genders. This movie is not for everyone, but is definitely different.
The last two comedy films I can’t really recommend. Disney’s Elemental was a major disappointment. It tells the story of two teens, one made of fire, and the other water, living in a world of four different cultures. They fall for each other but their story is the least interesting part of the movie. If you want to watch it, do it for the creative and detailed world-making in each of the four elements. And finally, El Conde is considered a dark comedy film, but frankly its main intent is not so much to entertain as to shock you. Watch only if you enjoy smoothies made in a blender from beating human hearts!
There are eight more comedy films from the 2023 Oscar season. The Best Picture winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once (4.5*) treats deep topics, like the multiverse and nihilism, with hot-dog fingers and is terrifically bizarre. The Banshees of Inisherin (4.5*) is more of a dark comedy that explores the need for relationships to change if they are going to endure. There are humorous scenes, but, frankly, I wouldn’t call it a comedy film. Another take on relationships is found in Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (4*), an intriguing mix of live-action and animation. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (4*) is a rich computer animation film from Dreamworks where Puss must face his mortality but decides to live his ninth life to the fullest. Glass Onion (4*) is a sequel to the Daniel Craig Knives Out movie, this one following business partners trapped on an island with a murderer and themselves living the rich life. A light family-appropriate film is The Sea Beast (3.5*) from Netflix with colorful animation and a story that parallels Moby Dick for the adults. Tell It Like a Woman (3.5*) isn’t a feature film but rather a collection of seven different shorts all by and about women. One or two of them have some comic elements. And finally, if you are a glutton for punishment, you might like the 3-hour-long navel gazing exercise of a man trying to capture dreams in Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (3.5*) (and maybe the comedy here is that you might have to watch it twice to get the Buddhist-based meaning.)
So, not all comedy films are funny, but there are many great movies in this category.
