Comedy

  • Martin Scorsese – Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

    Drama1991-2000ComedyMartin ScorseseUSA

    This tense urban drama stars Nicolas Cage as Frank Pierce, a paramedic on the brink of physical and emotional collapse. Frank has worked for years in one of New York’s most brutal neighborhoods, and the pressure of his job has taken its toll; plagued with self-doubt, he is haunted by the spirits of the people he couldn’t save, and while he desperately wants to quit his job, outside forces won’t let him walk away. Bringing Out the Dead brought director Martin Scorsese back to the streets of contemporary New York, one of his favorite locations, after three films set elsewhere: Kundun, Casino, and The Age of Innocence. The film also reunited Scorsese with screenwriter Paul Schrader, who scripted Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. The supporting cast includes Patricia Arquette as the daughter of a heart attack victim that Frank has fallen in love with, and John Goodman and Ving Rhames as two of Frank’s fellow drivers. — Mark DemingRead More »

  • Kon Ichikawa – Wagahai wa neko de aru AKA I Am A Cat (1975)

    1971-1980ComedyJapanKon Ichikawa

    Review from clydefro.com
    I wasn’t sufficiently acquainted with Kon Ichikawa’s work (and, truthfully, I’m still not), but the entire tone of his relatively obscure I Am a Cat caught me somewhat by surprise. I’d loved Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain, a deeply and darkly humorous look at the ridiculousness of war played against that looming seriousness that’s always prevalent in those kind of films. I was then ready for some kind of Japanese incarnation of Harry and Tonto. That’s really not what I got, though. I Am a Cat is definitely steeped in comic undertones, with Tatsuya Nakadai almost parodying himself, but it’s absolutely far removed from Harry and Tonto. Instead, we’re left with some odd tribute to Nakadai’s eternally grumpy protagonist and the stray cat who’s his only true confidante.Read More »

  • Cheryl Dunye – The Watermelon Woman (1996)

    1991-2000Cheryl DunyeComedyDramaThe Female GazeUSA

    Quote:
    Cheryl is young, Black, and lesbian, working in Philadelphia with her best friend Tamara and consumed by a film project: to make a video about her search for a Black actress from Philly who appeared in films in the 30s and was known as the Watermelon Woman. Following various leads, Cheryl discovers the Watermelon Woman’s stage name and real name and surmises that the actress had a long affair with Martha Page, a White woman and one of Hollywood’s few female directors. As she’s discovering these things, Cheryl becomes involved with Diana, who’s also White. The affair strains Cheryl’s friendship with Tamara. More discoveries bring Cheryl (and us, her audience) to new realizations.Read More »

  • Mike De Leon – Kakabakaba ka ba? AKA Will Your Heart Beat Faster? (1980)

    1971-1980ComedyCultMike De LeonPhilippines

    PLOT: Kakabakaba Ka Ba? (lit. Does Your Heart Beat Faster?) is a 1980 musical-romantic comedy film produced by LVN Pictures (in its last offering) in 1980, with Mike De Leon as director.

    The film revolves on two couples who found themselves in conflict with the foreign commercial giants that control the Philippine economy, the Japanese and the Chinese. Moreover, it involved the Catholic Church which has a stranglehold on the Philippine society itself. The film reflects on the Philippine economy and society being primarily controlled by other forces for their own benefits and become instruments in performing illegal activities. Actors Christopher de Leon, Sandy Andolong, Jay Ilagan and Charo Santos starred as main cast in the film, while Johnny Delgado and APO Hiking Society’s Boboy Garovillo portrayed as main villains.Read More »

  • Alex Holdridge – In Search of a Midnight Kiss [Colour] (2007)

    2001-2010Alex HoldridgeComedyRomanceUSA

    Quote:
    The film follows the plight of Wilson (Scoot McNairy), a 29-year-old man who has just suffered through the most miserable year of his life. A new arrival to the City of Angels, Wilson ends up alone and penniless as New Year’s Eve rapidly approaches, and avows to lock his doors, pull his blinds, and climb into bed – until best friend Jacob (Brian McGuire) talks him into posting a Craigslist personal ad. In seemingly no time at all, the message leads Wilson to Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a young woman who is determined to be with the “right” man at the stroke of midnight.Read More »

  • Russ Meyer – Beneath the valley of the Ultravixens (1979)

    1971-1980ComedyExploitationRuss MeyerUSA

    Believe it or not even in Smalltown USA there are still people who are unfulfilled and unrelieved in the midst of plenty. Levonna and Lamar could have the perfect relationship if it were not Lamar’s obsession with rear entry.Read More »

  • Don Hartman – Holiday Affair (1949)

    USA1941-1950ComedyDon HartmanRomance

    Quote:
    Nothing like a love triangle to spice up Christmas, right? Don Hartman’s Holiday Affair delivers that and…well, not much else, but it’s still an enjoyable romantic comedy that’s fallen well under the radar during the last 70 years. At the center or if all is young widow Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh); she lives with her precocious son Timmy (Gordon Gebert), works as a comparison shopper, and has been dating lawyer Carl Davis (Wendell Corey) for two years. After a mistake almost costs Connie her job, she’s saved by clerk Steve Mason (Robert Mitchum)… that is, until he’s promptly fired for not calling her out. Nonetheless, their resulting afternoon is spent together and she takes a liking to the smooth- talking war veteran, who also leaves quite an impression on little Timmy. Carl, of course, is skeptical.Read More »

  • Arthur Hiller – Teachers (1984)

    1981-1990Arthur HillerComedyDramaUSA

    From imdb
    A well meaning but burned-out high school teacher tries to maintain order against the backdrop of a pending lawsuit against his school district when it comes to light they gave a diploma to an illiterate student.Read More »

  • Marco Ferreri – La donna scimmia aka The Ape Woman (1964)

    1961-1970ComedyDramaItalyMarco Ferreri

    Quote:
    A modest Neapolitan man meets a young woman with excessive hairiness. He exhibits her at fairs and marries her.It is after marriage that he receives a tempting offer from a French manager.Read More »

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