Movies: Comedy Enthusiasts, what matters most to you in comedy movies?

[aleshemsky83]

Dirty work sucks, there's some funny jokes in there but in general it wasn't that funny. I imagine it suffered from the same thing as half baked, which also sucked.

It's an R-rated premise and script, that got focus grouped and edited into a PG movie. According to Norm Macdonald they actually filmed the filthy stuff but it never made it in. I'm sure that's not true as there would have been some kind of uncut version that made it to home video. Half baked they just turned into a kids movie basically. If Jim Breuers character was not a studio creation than its easily the most unfunny thing Dave Chappelle or near Brennan ever wrote

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

That's like, your opinion man.

Dirty Work has a bunch of fantastic comedians in it, which is why it was awesome even though the script wasn't anything amazing. The movie is great for Chris Farleys lines alone.

You would immediately get kicked out of my house if me and some friends threw on dirty work and you started trashing it. That's a no no in House Sidorkiewicz. Think of Jazz being thrown out by Uncle Phil.

 

[Ozz]

I can agree the overall product of Dirty Work was pretty bad, but despite that I still liked it. Some/much of it was lame, slow, whatever, but I don't need to be constantly impressed when I watch a movie. Just entertain me and throw in a few good yuks and I'm good. The fact that I can still laugh at it all these years later, that's pretty good.
Don Rickles was hilarious in it, but he could play himself anywhere and do that.

This still cracks me up even just by looking at the still:

 

[OzzyFan]

I don't think there's too much confusion here either way. That sounds exactly like what I thought I was responding to, maybe even the worst version of it, because it's starting to sound like you're literally preaching that self-help-book "positive thinking" mentality.

To me, that's an argument for wanting to see the world through rose-colored glasses out of fear of disappointment as a way to avoid facing negative realities. The issue isn't that it would be a difficult change, the issue is that I find that to be an outright objectionable way of being. I think it's much more rewarding, humanizing, and honest to see things for what they are, feel the full range of emotions, and realize that having negative reactions where appropriate (in all aspects of life, not just something as harmless as this) is a feature, not a bug. I don't seek comfort/escape from it that badly, nor would I want to.

Considering the fundamental area that we're disagreeing on here, I don't think we're going to be able to make much headway on this one. Almost reminds me of religion-related arguments.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some passive to forcefully positive monster. . I experience pain and sadness and negative thoughts just like everyone else, especially when it's directly affecting me. And I'll even admit that some of the lowest points and times in my life that were hardships were often some of the times of greatest personal growth/learning for me. That said, if there is something I can walk into knowing it will hurt me or make me sad or "pissy"/negative, I try and pregame myself with an optimistic "silver linings" approach and it makes a world of difference. Although I only suggested you do that with comedies, it's funny but true that it should leak into other parts of your everyday life, imo obviously. Again, I see it as more of a personal growth, expanding yourself, and liking the world thing more than a coping mechanism/blind positivity thing. Again, we are talking small scale "predictive" things here which I try and minimize, I still go through most of the "big" stuff. To each his own though.

 

[Shareefruck]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some passive to forcefully positive monster. . I experience pain and sadness and negative thoughts just like everyone else, especially when it's directly affecting me. And I'll even admit that some of the lowest points and times in my life that were hardships were often some of the times of greatest personal growth/learning for me. That said, if there is something I can walk into knowing it will hurt me or make me sad or "pissy"/negative, I try and pregame myself with an optimistic "silver linings" approach and it makes a world of difference. Although I only suggested you do that with comedies, it's funny but true that it should leak into other parts of your everyday life, imo obviously. Again, I see it as more of a personal growth, expanding yourself, and liking the world thing more than a coping mechanism/blind positivity thing. Again, we are talking small scale "predictive" things here which I try and minimize, I still go through most of the "big" stuff. To each his own though.

Yeah, I get that, and I didn't mean to paint you in that light. We just fundamentally disagree that this is a good thing to want/seek, whether predictive or not. I can't see how it's personal growth/expansion rather than regressive personal delusion/positive thinking on a smaller scale (which actually seems less understandable/necessary to me than with bigger things, because we're talking about something that is so marginal that I'm not even sure it can be considered a harmful risk that anyone could even feel compelled to get rid of-- as I said, it can be almost recreational/positively self-affirming in a good way). I just value honesty over comfort, especially in cases where there's no actual damage to be considered, like with the former, and conversely, I'd contend that there might be character lost with the latter. The same way you might lose a bit of respect for someone if they were dishonest with you, I might lose a bit of respect for myself if I were dishonest with myself.

 

[OzzyFan]

Good example today, just saw Why Him?. It was a mediocre storyline, formulaic, over the top a little and played too much on swearing humor, but Franco/Cranston had good chemistry and some of the gags and jokes in it were pretty funny at times with a lot of "lingering smiles" stuff. On paper, mediocre to subpar movie, but good comedy none the less.

The same way you might lose a bit of respect for someone if they were dishonest with you, I might lose a bit of respect for myself if I were dishonest with myself.

Dishonesty? I'd say it's more like blissful ignorance. Not to mention, if we talk about this in the context of relationships, it's a disaster. Have you never said "white lies" to a significant other? Nothing dark or self-covering/protecting from evil acts, but you know like ones that prevent you from speaking honest critical truths about one of their likes or tastes in stuff, or even go as far as about their viewpoints on stuff or even on "a crappy acquaintance". Have you never? . I know you must have been put in the position, everyone has.

I mean, you are turning the movie "liar liar" into a disastrous outspoken filterless reality by doing that. Is biting your tongue or putting on a smile or even say blanking out a parent verbally punishing you that different from what I'm suggesting? I don't believe so.

Pretty similar to that, expect you're protecting yourself from something you know is "negative" and trying to spin it with your change of mindset and live through it as positively as you can. I guess in your point of view, it's trading "morals"/"personal happiness" for "self-respect"/"humanization", so to speak. Again, , lots of psychological and interpersonal stuff brought up here.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Yeah...if I wanted to be honest every time I spoke I probably wouldn't have a job.

Reminds of something comedy related, Dave Chappelles skit when keeping it real goes wrong, haha.

 

[Shareefruck]

Good example today, just saw Why Him?. It was a mediocre storyline, formulaic, over the top a little and played too much on swearing humor, but Franco/Cranston had good chemistry and some of the gags and jokes in it were pretty funny at times with a lot of "lingering smiles" stuff. On paper, mediocre to subpar movie, but good comedy none the less.




Dishonesty? I'd say it's more like blissful ignorance. Not to mention, if we talk about this in the context of relationships, it's a disaster. Have you never said "white lies" to a significant other? Nothing dark or self-covering/protecting from evil acts, but you know like ones that prevent you from speaking honest critical truths about one of their likes or tastes in stuff, or even go as far as about their viewpoints on stuff or even on "a crappy acquaintance". Have you never? . I know you must have been put in the position, everyone has.

I mean, you are turning the movie "liar liar" into a disastrous outspoken filterless reality by doing that. Is biting your tongue or putting on a smile or even say blanking out a parent verbally punishing you that different from what I'm suggesting? I don't believe so.

Pretty similar to that, expect you're protecting yourself from something you know is "negative" and trying to spin it with your change of mindset and live through it as positively as you can. I guess in your point of view, it's trading "morals"/"personal happiness" for "self-respect"/"humanization", so to speak. Again, , lots of psychological and interpersonal stuff brought up here.

Oh boy... This is getting really... yeah.

This is why I included the caveat: "... especially in cases where there's no actual damage to be considered". Obviously honesty cannot be the only thing considered, and its benefits need to be leveraged against the damage that can result from it, but it is an important positive attribute to consider and not throw away on a whim.

I don't think your example is analogous. A white lie is only defensible if the lie being made is a minor and the harm is unwanted/unmanageable. If your spouse is insecure about something and doesn't want to hear it, then that would be one of those cases. But if I'm perfectly content and happy to face a negative feeling, honesty about that can only be a positive. Similarly, if your partner is secure about these things and you're able to be honest with each other without devastating one another, that's certainly a more healthy relationship than one built on white lies. Suggesting to me, "No, even if you think you're okay with it, I assure you, you would be happier if you deluded yourself anyways" would instead be more analogous, in a relationship, to telling a white lie to your partner EVEN when they're happy to accept a negative truth and actually value that input, and telling them, "You don't understand, it's for your own good." I'm pretty sure they would find the suggestion as objectionable and wrong/non-respecting as I do.

As a general rule, I think blissful ignorance is a terrible thing to embrace. I'm not going to go out my way bursting the bubble to people who subscribe to it and hurting their feelings when it's unwanted, but it's not something that I think should be encouraged if possible.

That's kind of the same way I feel about religion. I'm not going to hold it against anyone for finding comfort in self delusion (in my opinion), but I think it's better/ultimately more rewarding to face reality and own up to the fear and uncertainty.

Edit: But uhmm... seriously, if you want to continue, maybe we should consider PMing instead of derailing this thread further

 

[OzzyFan]

Anybody have any other favorite films that meet this criteria?

I'll list a few more: I Spy, How High, and Anchorman.

Oh boy... This is getting really... yeah.

This is why I included the caveat: "... especially in cases where there's no actual damage to be considered". Obviously honesty cannot be the only thing considered, and its benefits need to be leveraged against the damage that can result from it, but it is an important positive attribute to consider and not throw away on a whim.

I don't think your example is analogous. A white lie is only defensible if the lie being made is a minor and the harm is unwanted/unmanageable. If your spouse is insecure about something and doesn't want to hear it, then that would be one of those cases. But if I'm perfectly content and happy to face a negative feeling, honesty about that can only be a positive. Similarly, if your partner is secure about these things and you're able to be honest with each other without devastating one another, that's certainly a more healthy relationship than one built on white lies. Suggesting to me, "No, even if you think you're okay with it, I assure you, you would be happier if you deluded yourself anyways" would instead be more analogous, in a relationship, to telling a white lie to your partner EVEN when they're happy to accept a negative truth and actually value that input, and telling them, "You don't understand, it's for your own good." I'm pretty sure they would find the suggestion as objectionable and wrong/non-respecting as I do.

As a general rule, I think blissful ignorance is a terrible thing to embrace. I'm not going to go out my way bursting the bubble to people who subscribe to it and hurting their feelings when it's unwanted, but it's not something that I think should be encouraged if possible.

That's kind of the same way I feel about religion. I'm not going to hold it against anyone for finding comfort in self delusion (in my opinion), but I think it's better/ultimately more rewarding to face reality and own up to the fear and uncertainty.

Edit: But uhmm... seriously, if you want to continue, maybe we should consider PMing instead of derailing this thread further

Fair enough. I understand your viewpoint, although I believe and you probably know that you're in the minority/exclusivity club here, for better or worse depending on your pov.

 

[kingsholygrail]

All about timing for me.

 

[kurt]

Really hard to put a finger on it as far as "what matters most" as comedies can be really funny for really different reasons. If I think of some of my favourites (Big Lebowski, Blues Brothers, Office Space, Airplane!, Uncle Buck, Grumpy Old Men, A Fish Called Wanda, Borat, Bridesmaids, 40 Year Old Virgin)... there aren't really a ton of common threads.

It's all in the quality of the writing, and how well directed & all-around well suited the actors are to the script, I guess.