Comedy

  • Masayuki Suo – Shiko funjatta AKA Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t (1992)

    1991-2000ComedyDramaJapanMasayuki Suo

    Synopsis:
    Kyoritsu University’s sumo club is in danger of being shut down after years of failure and general disinterest. The hopeless Aoki (a hilarious performance by Naoto Takenaka) is the sole remaining member of the school’s once proud sumo team. At the start of a new school year, however, Professor Anayama (Akira Emoto) manages to recruit four new members, an unlikely cast of misfits who seem to be capable of doing nothing but heaping further embarrassment onto the woeful team. Can this motley crew of ragamuffins revive interest in the traditional Japanese sport and return the school team to respectability?Read More »

  • John G. Adolfi – A Successful Calamity (1932)

    1931-1940ClassicsComedyJohn G. AdolfiUSA

    Plot: Henry Wilton is an elderly millionaire saddled with his selfish young second wife Emmy ‘Sweetie’ Wilton and a pair of spoiled grown children (Peggy and Eddie). To test his family’s mettle, Henry pretends to have gone broke. Just as he suspected they would, his children rally to their father’s side and change their ways: Peggy forsakes the fortune hunter George Struthers for the nice young man she’s really in love with, the polo coach Larry Rivers; while Eddie applies for a demanding job and performs admirably. Only Sweetie seems to desert Henry. Written by RobertRead More »

  • Leo McCarey – Duck Soup [+commentary] (1933)

    1931-1940ClassicsComedyLeo McCareyUSA

    Quote:
    The small state of Freedonia is in a financial mess, borrowing a huge sum of cash from wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale. She insists on replacing the current president with crazy Rufus T. Firefly and mayhem erupts. To make matters worse, the neighboring state sends inept spies Chicolini and Pinky to obtain top secret information, creating even more chaos.Read More »

  • Aki Kaurismäki – Calamari Union (1985)

    1981-1990Aki KaurismäkiArthouseComedyFinland

    Quote:
    Fourteen desperate men named Frank, band together to escape from a repressive section of Helsinki. An English-speaking non-Frank named Pekka joins the barroom conspirators, whose avoidance of last names, and any affect, help them outsmart overwhelming forces as they sneak through dark subway tunnels and alleys, hoping against despair to reach magical seaside Eira. The Calamari Unionists take advantage of unending night to venture their intrepid journey.Read More »

  • Francisco J. Lombardi – Pantaleón y las visitadoras AKA Captain Pantoja and the Special Services (1999)

    1991-2000ComedyEroticaFrancisco J. LombardiPeru

    The Peruvian army captain Pantaleon Pantoja, a very serious and efficient officer, is chosen to set up a special service of ‘visitors’ to satisfy the sexual needs of the soldiers posted on remote jungle outposts.

    Starring: Salvador del Solar, Angie Cepeda, Mónica Sánchez, Pilar Bardem, Gianfranco Brero, Gustavo Bueno & Carlos Kaniowsky.Read More »

  • Giorgio Simonelli – I baccanali di Tiberio AKA Tiberius (1960)

    1951-1960ComedyEpicGiorgio SimonelliItaly

    Imdb:
    Cassio, a tourist guide, and Primo, his bus driver, are taking a bus load of tourists to visit villa Jovis, at Capri island. Close to the Salto di Tiberio (Tiberius Fall…) they have an accident, and they knock their heads hard, losing conscience. They come awake in Tiberius villa, in the midst of an orgy, complete with a group of British dancers, mostly blondes, who are performing for the emperor. Soon, they are wise to an attempt on the emperor’s life by his Secretary, who plans to bring the blame on Cassio and Primo’s heads. The two men dress up as dancers and try to mix with the British dancers, who are led by Cinthya O’Connor.Read More »

  • Ivan Reitman – Cannibal Girls (1973)

    1971-1980CanadaComedyHorrorIvan Reitman

    Newlyweds Clifford (Eugene Levy, AMERICAN PIE) and Gloria (Andrea Martin, BLACK CHRISTMAS and its remake) go way off the beaten path for a honeymoon in the snowy Canadian town of Farmhaven. The innkeeper Mrs. Wainwright (May Jarvis) tells them of the legend of the Cannibal Girls who lured men to their isolated farmhouse to kill and eat; then, of course, she recommends that they sample the local cuisine at a gourmet restaurant now residing in the same old farmhouse. The restaurant is run by the top-hatted and cloaked Reverend Alex St. John (Ronald Ulrich) and is staffed by three beautiful women (Randall Carpenter, Bonnie Neilson, and Mira Pawluk) and a hunchbacked henchman (Bunker). Read More »

  • Otto Preminger – Danger – Love at Work (1937)

    1931-1940ComedyOtto PremingerRomanceScrewball ComedyUSA

    A young lawyer is unable to get the Pembertons to sign a land sale contract until their daughter falls in love with him.Read More »

  • Guido Brignone – La fuga di Socrate aka Socrate’s Escape (1923)

    1921-1930ComedyGuido BrignoneItalySilent

    Synopsis:
    Socrate, a weird parrot, one day flies away through an open window. The mistress of the parrot imposes on her boyfriend Ajax a terrible condition: if he doesn’t find Socrate, she will marry another man. Ajax immediately starts to look for Socrate, but soon he discovers that the parrot has been captured and sold to a young lady leaving for Havana. Finally Ajax manages to get to Cuba, but once there he finds out that Socrate has already flown away to return to his original owner; she telegraphs Ajax asking him to return to her – but she will wait in vain: Ajax has already fallen in love with the young lady who emigrated to Cuba.Read More »

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