August 28th, 2008
Off the top of my head, here are some comedies of the last 25 years that Entertainment Weekly forgot:
RAISING ARIZONA — The Coen Brothers second feature is one of their funniest, with perfectly over-the-top performances by Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter (and the rest of the cast) and an endless series of classic lines, scenes and character moments.
BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN — I don’t think I’ve laughed as loud or long at a movie in the last quarter century. Maybe ever. I wasn’t always proud of myself for laughing, but I laughed anyway.
GROUNDHOG DAY — A truly great (and even profound) comedy starring Bill Murray as a nasty weatherman forced to live a single day over and over (and over and over) until he gets it right. Trivia note: I read somewhere that screenwriter Danny Rubin considered Murray to have spent the equivalent of 10,000 years living Feb. 2.
RUSHMORE – Bill Murray’s other great movie of the 1990s was this Wes Anderson comic-drama about a student (Jason Schwartzman) desperate for greatness. One of my all-time favorites. Two of Anderson’s other movies — ROYAL TENENBAUMS and THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU — are great too, but they’re more drama than comedy.
GROSSE POINTE BLANK — Forget HIGH FIDELITY or SAY ANYTHING, this is John Cusack’s best movie, a razor sharp action comedy about a hitman forced to grow up a bit when he attends his high school reunion. Bonus points for including Dan Aykroyd’s best work in years.
IDIOCRACY – It barely got released, even on DVD, but this dark satire from Mike Judge is smart and funny. In fact, it might be too smart to be too funny — parts of it seem to have already come true.
BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA — Speaking of Mike Judge, where’s the love for his big screen take on his infamous teen twosome? It wasn’t SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER AND UNCUT (few movies are), but it was still funny.
ELECTION — Matthew Broderick plays a gone-to-seed version of Ferris Bueller battling teen-queen Reese Witherspoon (in one of her best performances). Very smart satire of politics, high school and otherwise.
SWINGERS — Let me get this straight: EW includes the lesser Vince Vaughn comedies OLD SCHOOL and WEDDING CRASHERS, but omits the slacker classic that made him a star. Idiots.
WAG THE DOG — One of the best political satires in decades, this look at a war sparked to distract from a scandal was smart, funny and featured one of Dustin Hoffman’s best performances (aping legendary producer Robert Evans). Too bad it bombed at the box office.
OK, now you tell me — what did I forget?
August 28th, 2008
Have nothing better to do than put the wrong movie on the cover of the Fall Movie Preview issue, the culture vultures over at Entertainment Weekly have compiled another list, this one of the “Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years.” Here are their picks, with my inevitable comments:
1. GHOSTBUSTERS — Lots of great moments, but the funniest movie of the past 25 years? Really? It’s not even the best Bill Murray comedy of the last 25 years. (That would be GROUNDHOG DAY, in case you were wondering.)
2. NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION — Definitely the best of the VACATION films, though it definitely peaks too early and the ending — despite the best efforts of John Candy — drags. Watching people ride a rollercoaster isn’t much fun.
3. BEVERLY HILLS COP — Not as good as Eddie Murphy’s best movie, which is sitting down there in the No. 15 spot. It has its laughs, but boy is it dated.
4. THIS IS SPINAL TAP — Now this I could see in the top spot. Brilliant, groundbreaking and endlessly rewatchable.
5. OFFICE SPACE — Or this one. A true classic. Lots of funny characters, biting humor and a drop-dead perfect portrait of modern office life.
6. SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER AND UNCUT — Or, frankly, this one. Very funny, shockingly profane and actually about something. And, don’t forget, it was nominated for an Oscar (for the song “Blame Canada.”)
7. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY — It has its moments (most of them involving Matt Dillon), but the Farelly Brothers best movie remains KINGPIN. Now there’s a comedy classic!
8. THE BIG LEBOWSKI — It’s very good. As a die-hard Coen fan, I don’t dispute that. But I’ve never loved it enough to become part of the whole Lebowski cult. Me? I’m a member of the HUDSUCKER PROXY cult. The only member, probably.
9. A FISH CALLED WANDA — I’d almost forgotten about this movie, but yes, it’s pretty damn funny. Especially Kevin Kline (who won an Oscar for his performance).
10. DAZED AND CONFUSED — Good pick. Very funny and a great portrait of the mid 1970s.
11. THE 40-YEAR-VIRGIN — Another good pick. The funniest parts involve the guys acting like, well, like guys, but the whole movie has laughs, and the “Age of Aquarius” ending fits perfectly.
12. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY — What? Really? Only if all the Woody Allen movies have been rented at your local video store. Not funny. Painful, in fact — except for the scene where they’re playing Pictionary and (the late) Bruno Kirby guesses “Baby fish mouth!” Now that’s funny.
13. WAITING FOR GUFFMAN — Very funny. This and No. 20 should come closely after THIS IS SPINAL TAP, considering they all come from the mind of Christopher Guest (and his talented casts).
14. WEDDING CRASHERS — Disappointing. I’d hoped for a movie with lots of wedding crashing, and I got a movie with a little bit of wedding crashing and a lot of boring romantic comedy (that wasn’t funny).
15. TRADING PLACES — Very good, but like I said in a recent Video Vault column, if you cut the whole train sequence, it’s a much better movie. Also, this is one that shows up on cable all the time, but also one that needs to be seen uncut. The profanity is a big part of the laughs. Seriously.
16. SUPERBAD — Good pick. I laughed constantly through this one.
17. TROPIC THUNDER — This has been out for what? Two weeks? I haven’t seen it yet, and I hear it’s good, but really, can’t we let it stand the test of time for a couple of months at least?
18. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE — Very funny. Slightly overhyped and people are probably sick of it by now, but when I saw it way back when in the theater, I laughed a lot.
19. CLUELESS — Not that funny. Couple of good lines, and it’s always nice to see Dan Hedaya, but this one’s a bit overrated. It does, however, give you a look at the old-model Brittany Murphy, who’s barely recognizable here.
20. BEST IN SHOW — See entry for WAITING FOR GUFFMAN. When Fred Willard said that line about putting a Sherlock Holmes cap and pipe on the bloodhound, I almost choked to death laughing.
21. CLERKS — Good pick. It’s poorly filmed, poorly (for the most part) acted and nothing much happens, but man is it funny.
22. OLD SCHOOL — It has a few good moments, but anyone who compares this to ANIMAL HOUSE in any way is a complete idiot.
23. AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY — At least they picked the funny one of the three, though that’s not saying much. If we have to include a Mike Myers movie, how about WAYNE’S WORLD? Now that legitimately deserves a spot on this list.
24. THE NAKED GUN — Solid pick. It’s no AIRPLANE! (few movies are), but it’s consistently funny from beginning to end. Plus — OJ!
25. WITHNAIL AND I — Haven’t seen this British cult comedy, though I keep hearing great things about it.
Coming later today (because this post is long enough as is): Movies EW forgot!
June 23rd, 2008
In the latest issue of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (the 1,000th), the magazine lists what it calls “the new classics” of movies, books, music, etc. This being a movie blog, we’ll focus on the cinematic list here. So, without further ado, the top 10 films of the last 25 years, according to EW. (The rest of the list, along with the other categories, can be found here.)
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
I was surprised SCHINDLER’S LIST didn’t make the top spot (or even the top 20), but PULP FICTION is, frankly, a better pick. For one thing, I think it has held up better than Spielberg’s Oscar winner, which looks like a movie from an earlier era (and that’s one of its strengths). PULP FICTION heralded a new era in movies, when the independent studios (whatever that means) grew to have real influence and movies about pop culture-obsessed killers dominated the screen. I saw it way back in 1994 on opening night, and I last watched it a couple of years ago on DVD — and it still holds up. The next time you watch it, focus on Samuel Jackson. It’s really his story, and it’s a great one.
I’m not going to comment on the whole list — I do have a day job — but I will say that it’s nice to see BLUE VELVET so high on the list. It’s a pretty amazing movie, and one that looks better (and stranger) every year. If you only know Dennis Hopper from those baby boomer retirement commercials, you really need to see him as Frank Booth. Hooo boy!
Also: TITANIC? Really?
And, in case you were wondering, I would’ve put GOODFELLAS in the top spot. BOOGIE NIGHTS, THE MATRIX, JFK, RUSHMORE, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, TOY STORY 2, MEMENTO, FIGHT CLUB, THE INCREDIBLES, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND and BRAZIL also would’ve ranked high on my list.
And you?
