Director: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Dreamworks Video   Theatrical: 2000   Rated: R
Languages (Country): English ()
Summary: "Almost Famous" is the movie Cameron Crowe has been waiting a lifetime to tell. The fictionalization of Crowe's days as a teenage reporter for "Creem" and "Rolling Stone" has all the well-written characters and wonderful "movie moments" that we expect from Crowe ("Jerry Maguire"), but the film has an intangible something extra--an insider's touch that will turn the film into "the" ode to '70s rock & roll for years to come. We are introduced to Crowe's alter ego, William Miller (Patrick Fugit), at home, where his progressive mom (Frances McDormand, just superb) has outlawed rock music and sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) has slipped him LPs that will "set his mind free." Following the wisdom of "Creem"'s disheveled editor, Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman in an instant-classic performance), Miller gets on the inside with the up-and-coming band Stillwater (a fictionalized mixture of the Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, and others). A simple visit with the band turns into a three-week, life-altering odyssey into the heyday of American rock. Of the characters he meets on the road, the two most important are groupie extraordinaire Penny Lane (Kate Hudson in a star-making performance) and Stillwater's enigmatic lead guitarist (Billy Crudup), who keeps stringing Miller along for an interview. From the handwritten credits (done by Crowe) to the bittersweet finale, Crowe's comedic valentine is an indelible, heartbreaking romance of music, women, and the privilege of youth. "--Doug Thomas"

Director: Laurent Bouzereau, Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Mary Steenburgen, Crispin Glover
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Universal Studios   Theatrical: 1985   Rated: PG
Languages (Country): English, French ()
Summary: Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis topped his breakaway hit "Romancing the Stone" with "Back to the Future", a joyous comedy with a dazzling hook: what would it be like to meet your parents in their youth? Billed as a special-effects comedy, the imaginative film (the top box-office smash of 1985) has staying power because of the heart behind Zemeckis and Bob Gale's script. High schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox, during the height of his TV success) is catapulted back to the '50s where he sees his parents in their teens, and accidentally changes the history of how Mom and Dad met. Filled with the humorous ideology of the '50s, filtered through the knowledge of the '80s (actor Ronald Reagan is president, ha!), the film comes off as a "Twilight Zone" episode written by Preston Sturges. Filled with memorable effects and two wonderfully off-key, perfectly cast performances: Christopher Lloyd as the crazy scientist who builds the time machine (a DeLorean luxury car) and Crispin Glover as Marty's geeky dad. "--Doug Thomas"
Critics and audiences didn't seem too happy with "Back to the Future, Part II", the inventive, perhaps too clever sequel. Director Zemeckis and cast bent over backwards to add layers of time-travel complication, and while it surely exercises the brain it isn't necessarily funny in the same way that its predecessor was. It's well worth a visit, though, just to appreciate the imagination that went into it, particularly in a finale that has Marty watching his own actions from the first film. "--Tom Keogh"
Shot back-to-back with the second chapter in the trilogy, "Back to the Future, Part III" is less hectic than that film and has the same sweet spirit of the first, albeit in a whole new setting. This time, Marty ends up in the Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd at the hands of gunman Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson, who had a recurring role as the bully Biff). Director Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western and comes up with something original and fun. "--Tom Keogh"

Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Starring: Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn, Julianne Moore, Oliver Platt
Genre: Comedy
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)   Theatrical: 1993   Rated: PG
Languages (Country): English, French, Spanish ()
Summary: An oddball love story about a fey loner named Sam (Johnny Depp), who falls in love with the mentally unbalanced Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson), who lives in the care of her protective brother Benny (Aidan Quinn). This 1993 story is hard to swallow, with its message that love can conquer a brand of mental illness that manifests itself in pyromania: Joon has a bad habit of going a bit around the bend and setting fires, but Sam's tender care apparently has the cure for what ails her. Still, if you want proof that Depp has significant chops as a physical comedian, give this film a try: He does note-perfect renditions of slapstick routines made famous by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. "--Marshall Fine"

Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Sony Pictures   Theatrical: 1983   Rated: R
Languages (Country): English, French, Spanish ()
Summary: Lawrence Kasdan's 1983 big-budget variation on John Sayles's "The Return of the Secaucus Seven" finds a cluster of old college radicals--who have since gone on to sundry professions and various degrees of materialism--reuniting over the death of a friend. Both playful and thoughtful, the film represents Kasdan ("Body Heat") at his most astute. The attractive cast meshes perfectly into a group of characters for which a former closeness is out of synch with their current lives, yet their warmth is enviable and inviting. The script may be a bit too glib, with many one-liners, but it is still a perfectly designed story with telling irony and no little passion. "--Tom Keogh"

Director: Ron Shelton
Starring: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Image Entertainment   Theatrical: 1988   Rated: R
Languages (Country): English ()
Summary: "Bull Durham" is about minor league baseball. It's also about romance, sex, poetry, metaphysics, and talent--though not necessarily in that order. Susan Sarandon plays a loopy lady who just loves America's national pastime--and the men who play it. At the opening of every season, she attaches herself to a promising rookie and guides him through the season. Unfortunately, the player she bestows her favors upon does not really deserve it. She knows it, and veteran Kevin Costner knows it. Her choice, a dim bulb played for laughs by Tim Robbins, is the only one who doesn't know it. The film, directed by its writer, Ron Shelton, a former minor league player, is rich in subtle detail. There are Edith Piaf records playing in the background, fast-talking managers, and minor characters as developed as the leads. Sarandon's retro-'50s outfits make you think she's just another bimbo, not an English teacher very much in control of her life. And Costner's clear-eyed, slightly vitriolic performance is devastatingly sexy and keenly witty. The love scenes, though tasteful, are almost as humorous as they are hot. Sarandon's character likes to tie her players up and expand their horizons by reading Walt Whitman to them, "'cause a guy will listen to anything if he thinks it's foreplay." How can you not love a movie with such a wicked sense of humor? "--Rochelle O'Gorman"

Director: Bob Clark
Starring:
Genre: Comedy
Studio:   Theatrical: 1983   Rated:
Languages (Country): English, French, Spanish ()
Summary: "A Christmas Story" is on its way to becoming an annual holiday classic, one to keep on the shelf with "It's a Wonderful Life", the puppet-animated "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", and "A Charlie Brown Christmas". It may have been directed by Bob Clark (responsible for the "Porky's" pictures), but it's based on the childhood memoirs of humorist Jean Shepherd (from his hilarious book "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash"). And it is Shepherd's wry, deadly accurate, and gently nostalgic comic sensibility that shines through in this kid's-eye view of an all-American Christmas in the 1940s. All little Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) wants under the tree on Christmas morning is a Daisy Brand Red-Ryder BB rifle. He not only wants it, he's consumed with an aching desire for it. Unfortunately, his mother (Melinda Dillon) repeatedly crushes his dreams with the familiar, harsh mantra: "You'll shoot your eye out!" Among the movie's highlights are a surrealistic visit with little brother Randy to a department store Santa, and the childlike mixture of delight, pride, and awe with which Ralphie's dad (Darren McGavin) takes possession of a spectacularly gaudy prize he's won in a radio contest. McGavin should have won an award for his splendid comic work as a middle-aged-kid-turned-patriarch who alternates between grown-up temper tantrums and unabashed juvenile joy. "--Jim Emerson"

Director: Peter Faiman
Starring: Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, John Meillon, David Gulpilil, Ritchie Singer
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Paramount   Theatrical: 1986   Rated: PG-13
Languages (Country): English, French, Spanish ()
Summary: This 1986 comedy out of Australia is so old-fashioned in its romantic charm that one can't help but wonder what it would have looked like with Clark Gable and Carole Lombard in the leads. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine anyone besides Paul Hogan as the title character, a laid-back Aussie tracker who shows an American reporter (Linda Kozlowski) around bush country, then accompanies her to New York City. Sure, Hollywood has done the fish-out-of-water scenario to death in the last 20 years, and while this film has sufficient sport with the gimmick, it is largely driven by the principal characters and their developing love affair. Hogan cowrote the script and director Peter Faiman evokes the goofy, enchanted air of screwball comedies. The climactic scene, set in a subway station with scores of bystanders witnessing a conversation about relationship commitment, feels like vintage Capra. "--Tom Keogh"

Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Warner Home Video   Theatrical: 1993   Rated: PG-13
Languages (Country): English, French, Spanish ()
Summary: A heartwarming story of mistaken identity and idealism, director Ivan Reitman ("Ghostbusters") takes on the political establishment in this fresh, funny comedy. Kevin Kline ("Sophie's Choice", "A Fish Called Wanda") plays Dave Kovic, a sweet man with a big heart running an employment agency. Dave happens to be a dead ringer for the current president of the United States, and he hires himself out as an impersonator for parties and mall openings. When the real president has a stroke while in bed with an aide, his ambitious chief of staff (Frank Langella) decides to hold onto the White House by appealing to Dave's sense of patriotism and having him pose as the president. Soon, however, Dave is running the country in a way contrary to what the chief of staff would like, even as he finds himself falling in love with the unsuspecting first lady (Sigourney Weaver). The movie's unbridled optimism is its best asset, and it makes this a pleasant comedy worth seeing. "--Robert Lane"

Director: Jeremy Leven
Starring: Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway, Géraldine Pailhas, Bob Dishy
Genre: Comedy
Studio: New Line   Theatrical: 1995   Rated: PG-13
Languages (Country): ()
Summary: You might not get a thrill from the sight of Faye Dunaway and Marlon Brando throwing popcorn into each other's mouths, but that didn't stop "Don Juan DeMarco" from gaining a new lease on life thanks to cable television and home video. It's a quirky romantic comedy about a mental patient (Johnny Depp) who claims to be Don Juan, the world's greatest lover, and he gets quite a few women to believe it's true. Brando plays the psychiatrist who tries to analyze his patient's apparent delusion, and Dunaway plays Brando's wife, who wants to inject some Don Juan-ish romance into their marital routine. Walking a fine line between precious comedy, wistful drama, and delicate fantasy, the movie gets a big dose of charm from its esteemed cast, with Depp delivering dialogue that would have sounded ludicrous from a lesser actor. This may not be a great movie, but it is guaranteed to put you in an amorous mood. "--Jeff Shannon"

Director: Joel Coen
Starring: Larry Brandenburg, Steve Buscemi, Bruce Campbell, Gary Houston, Warren Keith
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Polygram Video   Theatrical:   Rated:
Languages (Country): English, French ()
Summary: Leave it to the wildly inventive Coen brothers (Joel directs, Ethan produces, they both write) to concoct a fiendishly clever kidnap caper that's simultaneously a comedy of errors, a Midwestern satire, a taut suspense thriller, and a violent tale of criminal misfortune. It all begins when a hapless car salesman (played to perfection by William H. Macy) ineptly orchestrates the kidnapping of his own wife. The plan goes horribly awry in the hands of bumbling bad guys Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare (one of them being described by a local girl as "kinda funny lookin'" and "not circumcised"), and the pregnant sheriff of Brainerd, Minnesota (played exquisitely by Frances McDormand in an Oscar-winning role) is suddenly faced with a case of multiple murders. Her investigation is laced with offbeat observations about life in the rural hinterland of Minnesota and North Dakota, and "Fargo" embraces its local yokels with affectionate humor. At times shocking and hilarious, "Fargo" is utterly unique and distinctly American, bearing the unmistakable stamp of its inspired creators. "--Jeff Shannon"

Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Paul Muni
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Universal Studios   Theatrical: 1982   Rated: R
Languages (Country): English ()
Summary: Before he became an overrated filmmaker, Cameron Crowe ("Jerry Maguire") was a reporter for "Rolling Stone" who was so youthful looking that he could go undercover for a year at a California high school and write a book about it. He wrote the script for this film, based on that book, and it launched the careers of several young actors, including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, and, above all, Sean Penn. The story line is episodic, dealing with the lives of iconic teen types: one of the school's cool kids, a nerd, a teen queen, and, most enjoyably, the class stoner (Penn), who finds himself at odds with a strict history teacher (a wonderfully spiky Ray Walston). This is not a great movie but very entertaining and, for a certain age group, a seminal movie experience. "--Marshall Fine"

Director: John Hughes
Starring: Lisa Bellard, Matthew Broderick, Virginia Capers, Del Close, Scott Coffey
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Paramount   Theatrical: 1986   Rated: PG-13
Languages (Country): English, French ()
Summary: Like a soda pop left open all night, "Bueller" seems to have lost its effervescence over time. Sure, Matthew Broderick is still appealing as the perennial truant, Ferris, who fakes his parents out and takes one memorable day off from school. Jeffrey Jones is nasty and scheming as the principal who's out to catch him. Jennifer Grey is winning as Ferris's sister (who ends up making out in the police station with a prophetic vision of Charlie Sheen). But there's a definite sense that this film was of a particular time frame: the '80s. It's still fun, though. There's Ferris singing "Twist and Shout" during a Chicago parade, and a lovely sequence in the Art Institute. But don't get it and expect your kids to love it the way you did. Like it or not, it's yours alone. "--Keith Simanton"

Director: John Cleese
Starring: Maria Aitken, Al Ashton, Roger Brierley, Ken Campbell, Cynthia Cleese
Genre: Comedy
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)   Theatrical: 1988   Rated: R
Languages (Country): English, French ()
Summary: Kevin Kline took home an Oscar for his performance as a self-absorbed lothario who prepares for lovemaking by drinking in his own "manly" musk, but it would be hard to single him out as the best thing about the film. The fact is, the entire cast of this hilarious comedy is perfect: John Cleese as the conservative barrister defending a member of sexy Jamie Lee Curtis's gang, Ms. Curtis as the conniving crook out to grab the haul for herself, and Michael Palin as the stuttering, animal-loving hit man whose attempts to murder a little old lady only decrease the size of her poodle pack. Cleese cowrote the zingy script with British comedy veteran Charles Crichton ("The Lavender Hill Mob"), whose smooth direction balances Monty Python farce, hysterically tasteless gags, and an unexpectedly romantic subplot with style and confidence. "--Sean Axmaker"

Director: Michael Lehmann
Starring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay   Theatrical: 1989   Rated: R
Languages (Country): English ()
Summary: This dark comedy from 1989 was a good showcase for Winona Ryder, playing a high school girl brought into a clique of bitchy classmates (all named Heather), and Christian Slater, doing his early Jack Nicholson thing. While Ryder's character mulls over the consequences of giving up one set of friends for another, her association with a new boy (Slater) in school turns out to have deadly consequences. Director Michael Lehmann turned this unusual film into something more than another teen-death flick. There is real wit and sharp satire afoot, and the very fusion of horror and comedy is provocative in itself. "Heathers" remains a kind of benchmark in contemporary cinema for bringing surreal intelligence into Hollywood films. "--Tom Keogh"

Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Jack Black, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Todd Louiso
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Touchstone / Disney   Theatrical: 2000   Rated: R
Languages (Country): English ()
Summary: Transplanted from England to the not-so-mean streets of Chicago, the screen adaptation of Nick Hornby's cult-classic novel "High Fidelity" emerges unscathed from its Americanization, idiosyncrasies intact, thanks to John Cusack's inimitable charm and a nimble, nifty screenplay (cowritten by Cusack). Early-thirtysomething Rob Gordon (Cusack) is a slacker who owns a vintage record shop, a massive collection of LPs, and innumerable top-five lists in his head. At the opening of the film, Rob recounts directly to the audience his all-time top-five breakups--which doesn't include his recent falling out with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), who has just moved out of their apartment. Thunderstruck and obsessed with Laura's desertion (but loath to admit it), Rob begins a quest to confront the women who instigated the aforementioned top-five breakups to find out just what he did wrong.
Low on plot and high on self-discovery, "High Fidelity" takes a good 30 minutes or so to find its groove (not unlike Cusack's "Grosse Pointe Blank"), but once it does, it settles into it comfortably and builds a surprisingly touching momentum. Rob is basically a grown-up version of Cusack's character in "Say Anything" (who was told "Don't be a guy--be a man!"), and if you like Cusack's brand of smart-alecky romanticism, you'll automatically be won over (if you can handle Cusack's almost-nonstop talking to the camera). Still, it's hard not to be moved by Rob's plight. At the beginning of the film he and his coworkers at the record store (played hilariously by Jack Black and Todd Louiso) seem like overgrown boys in their secret clubhouse; by the end, they've grown up considerably, with a clear-eyed view of life. Ably directed by Stephen Frears ("Dangerous Liaisons"), "High Fidelity" features a notable supporting cast of the women in Rob's life, including the striking, Danish-born Hjejle, Lisa Bonet as a sultry singer-songwriter, and the triumphant triumvirate of Lili Taylor, Joelle Carter, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Rob's ex-girlfriends. With brief cameos by Tim Robbins as Laura's new, New Age boyfriend and Bruce Springsteen as himself. "--Mark Englehart"

Director: Garth Jennings
Starring: Martin Freeman|Mos Def|Sam Rockwell
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Touchstone Home Video   Theatrical: 2005   Rated: Suitable for 12 years and over
Languages (Country): English ()
Summary: Don't panic! After twenty years stuck in development (a mere blink compared to how long it takes to find the answer to life, the universe, and everything), "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has finally been turned into a movie. Following the radio play, TV series, commemorative towel, and books, this latest installment in the sci-fi-comedy franchise is based on the screenplay and detailed notes by Douglas Adams. For those unfamiliar with the story, everyman Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) wakes up one morning to discover that his house is set to be demolished to make room for a bypass. Little does he know the entire planet Earth is also set to be destroyed for an interplanetary bypass by the Vogons, a hideous and bureaucratic race of aliens realized in the film by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Whisked off the planet by his best friend, alien-in-disguise Ford Prefect (Mos Def), Dent embarks on a goofy jaunt across the galaxy accompanied by his trusty Hitchhiker's Guide, which looks like a really fancy PDA. The guide itself provides some of the funniest bits of the movie, little animated shorts that explain the ludicrous life forms and extraterrestrial phenomena our heroes encounter. Along the way Arthur meets the two-headed party animal/president of the galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) and develops an unrequited crush on fellow earthling Trillian (Zooey Deschanel). The creatures and sets are inspired and answer to the sci-fi fan's primal need to see lots and lots of cool stuff. Where the story stumbles is in the telling--as books, the Hitchhiker's Guide was foremost about goofy and brilliant ideas that raised questions about our place in the universe while getting a laugh. The movie has enough trouble figuring out how to get the characters from one fantastical location to the next that Adams's funniest concepts often feel left in the dust. While the reverence the filmmakers felt toward Adams's legacy is apparent, one wonders what we could have expected had the creator of this science fiction universe lived to see it with his own eyes. "--Ryan Boudinot, Amazon.com"

Director: Marty Callner
Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Barryte, Grace Bustos, George Carlin, Alan King
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Hbo Home Video   Theatrical: 1998   Rated: NR
Languages (Country): English ()
Summary: When "Seinfeld" wrapped up its ninth and final season in the spring of 1998, the popular show's namesake and cocreator decided to offer a symbolic gesture to his fans. Taped for HBO in August 1998, on the final date of Jerry Seinfeld's tour appearances at New York City's Broadhurst Theater, "I'm Telling You for the Last Time" presents the standup comedian's so-called "final" standup, or at least his final tour with the standup material that made him famous. The video opens with a great prologue in which Seinfeld's old material is literally laid to rest, with many of Seinfeld's comedy colleagues in attendance at the "funeral." (Jay Leno is there, but David Letterman is conspicuously absent, and while it's a bit self-congratulatory to show Seinfeld's fellow comedians fighting like vultures over his abandoned jokes, it's worth it just to see Garry Shandling pilfering from the catering table like a homeless intruder.)
Whether he's talking about airline flights, cab drivers, or memories of Halloween and an ill-fitting Superman costume, Seinfeld's observational humor is as timeless and sharp as the day he first performed it. Even the most familiar routines (such as the one about pharmacists with a superiority complex) are like old friends who still haven't overstayed their welcome. Seinfeld's delivery is polished to a shine--he's a consummate professional--and an impromptu Q&A with his appreciative audience demonstrates that he's equally adept with a fast and witty comeback. This performance certainly wouldn't be the last we'd see of Jerry Seinfeld, but from the perspective of phenomenal fame and fortune, it's a fitting farewell to the classic "bits" that took him to the top. "--Jeff Shannon"

Director: Jones, Terry
Starring: Connie Booth, Elspeth Cameron, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Carol Cleveland
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Sony Pictures   Theatrical: 1975   Rated: PG
Languages (Country): English, Japanese ()
Summary: Could this be the funniest movie ever made? By any rational measure of comedy, this medieval romp from the Monty Python troupe certainly belongs on the short list of candidates. According to "Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide", it's "recommended for fans only," but we say hogwash to that--you could be a complete newcomer to the Python phenomenon and still find this send-up of the Arthurian legend to be wet-your-pants hilarious. It's basically a series of sketches woven together as King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, with Graham Chapman as the King, Terry Gilliam as his simpleton sidekick Patsy, and the rest of the Python gang filling out a variety of outrageous roles. The comedy highlights are too numerous to mention, but once you've seen Arthur's outrageously bloody encounter with the ominous Black Knight (John Cleese), you'll know that nothing's sacred in the Python school of comedy. From holy hand grenades to killer bunnies to the absurdity of the three-headed knights who say "Ni--!," this is the kind of movie that will strike you as fantastically funny or just plain silly, but why stop there? It's all over the map, and the pace lags a bit here and there, but for every throwaway gag the Pythons have invented, there's a bit of subtle business or grand-scale insanity that's utterly inspired. The sum of this madness is a movie that's beloved by anyone with a pulse and an irreverent sense of humor. If this movie doesn't make you laugh, you're almost certainly dead. "--Jeff Shannon"

Director: James Frawle
Starring: Edgar Bergen, Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Dom DeLuise
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Sony Pictures   Theatrical: 1979   Rated: G
Languages (Country): English, French, Spanish ()
Summary: This simply irresistible first feature from the Muppets has Kermit the frog going from the swamps to Hollywood to be a star. As he travels and picks up his usual friends (Miss Piggy, Fozzie the Bear), Doc Hopper (Charles Durning) is in pursuit, looking for Kermit to be the spokesman for his frog-leg cuisine. A loose rendition of "The Wizard of Oz", the film incorporates the same cagey humor as their breakout syndicated TV series "The Muppet Show". This is one of the few times that a human cast (notably Steve Martin, Orson Welles, and Carol Kane) are integrated seamlessly with nonhumans. Worth noting is Paul Williams's score, which includes the Oscar-nominated "The Rainbow Connection." Williams's music, much like Howard Ashman's work on "The Little Mermaid" and other Disney films, provides more than atmosphere; there's a degree of magic here. Williams did not work on the future Muppet films until "A Muppet Christmas Carol". His contributions made these films the best of the Muppet series. "--Doug Thomas"

Director: Jonathan Lynn
Starring: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, Mitchell Whitfield, Fred Gwynne
Genre: Comedy
Studio: 20th Century Fox   Theatrical: 1992   Rated: R
Languages (Country): English, French ()
Summary: When two Italian-American boys from New York are falsely accused of murder in a small Alabama town, they call for a lawyer--but the only lawyer they know is their cousin Vinny (Joe Pesci), who made six attempts before he passed his bar exam. "My Cousin Vinny" is a classic fish-out-of-water comedy; the flimsy plot about clearing the two boys and solving the murder is just a hook to support a lot of culture-clash humor. Thanks to the strong cast of character actors like Fred Gwynne, Austin Pendleton, and Lane Smith, it's pretty funny--even old-hat jokes about Brooklyn versus Southern accents come to life. Pesci has played a few too many schticky characters, but this time it works. There's just enough humanity in his caricature to make Vinny likable and entertaining. When the movie was released, there was controversy about whether Marisa Tomei, playing Vinny's big-haired and black-leather-wearing fiancée, deserved to win the best supporting actress Oscar (she beat out Judy Davis, Joan Plowright, Miranda Richardson, and Vanessa Redgrave); but seeing her performance on its own, it's a comic marvel and worthy of honor. "--Bret Fetzer"

Director: Ricky Gervais & Steven Merchant
Starring:
Genre: Comedy
Studio: BBC   Theatrical: 2003   Rated:
Languages (Country): English ()
Summary:

Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Sony Pictures   Theatrical: 1990   Rated: R
Languages (Country): English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Spanish ()
Summary: As its title might suggest, this movie based on Carrie Fisher's Hollywood struggle works better as a snapshot than as a complete film. Meryl Streep plays Suzanne Vale, a successful actress who is lost in her addictions. Her episodes are never as bombastic as "Clean and Sober" or other antidrug movies of the 1990s, however. Vale's a more lovable person, and as with all lovable people in Hollywood, other Hollywood people care for her: an understanding director (Gene Hackman), a philandering boyfriend (Dennis Quaid), and a bemused doctor (Richard Dreyfuss). But if you are going to talk about Fisher, you are going to mention her mom, Debbie Reynolds. And here Vale's mom is the die-hard Doris Mann, played with appropriate virtuosity by Shirley MacLaine. The love-hate mother-daughter relationship takes over the film in an entertaining way, with Fisher's sharp comic writing coming into play. You nearly forgive Vale's troubles for having to live under a hurricane like Mann (who goes into her nightclub act at the drop of a hat). The film's sweetest pleasure is seeing Streep loose and modern, nary a drab outfit or an accent in sight. Streep and director Mike Nichols make a risky--and rewarding--finale (fueled by the Oscar-nominated "I'm Checking Out" by Shel Silverstein) work effortlessly. "--Doug Thomas"

Director: Sydney Pollack
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Sony Pictures   Theatrical: 1982   Rated: PG
Languages (Country): English, Spanish, French ()
Summary: One of the touchstone movies of the 1980s, "Tootsie" stars Dustin Hoffman as an out-of-work actor who disguises himself as a dowdy, middle-aged woman to get a part on a hit soap opera. The scheme works, but while he/she keeps up the charade, Hoffman's character comes to see life through the eyes of the opposite sex. The script by Larry Gelbart (with Murray Schisgal) is a winner, and director Sydney Pollack brings taut proficiency to the comedy and sensitivity to the relationship nuances that emerge from Hoffman's drag act. Great supporting work from Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray, and pre-stardom Geena Davis. But the film finally belongs to Hoffman, who seems to connect with the character at a very deep and abiding level. "--Tom Keogh"