Comedies involving Aziz Ansari

Aziz Ansari was credited as actor in the following film.
At the time, he would have been about 26 years old.
Funny People
      2009 | USA | Laughs: 5.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.3
      who was involved?

A comedian at the top of his career (Adam Sandler) hires a comedian who is starting out to write jokes for his stand-up show. He has cancer but recovers midway through the movie, so we get a whole second film as a bonus. Not only did this movie make me laugh several times, it had a strong plot with characters that behave like real people (well, mostly).

Edit:
After watching Funny People a second time nine years later, I feel that this movie is an underrated little gem.

First off, the cast is spectacular. Adam Sandler has some funny bits — and some that flop, but that's the role, a thankless one. Seth Rogen is at his best. Jonah Hill is thrown in as a two-pack bonus. Several of the supporting actors made a name for themselves as comedians during the following years, such as Aubrey Plaza and Aziz Ansari from Parks and Recreation. Torsten Voges (someone I'd never heard of) is funny as a humorless German doctor. Jason Schwartzman and Leslie Mann are perfect for their roles and keep the smiles going. Eminem has a short but terrific intervention. And as a late treat in the final part of the movie, we're introduced to a new character played by Eric Bana, who featured in The Castle, perhaps the best Australian comedy of all times.

There is a prescient joke about Robin Williams slitting his wrists (at around 19'40" on my tape, during Rogen's first stand-up set). There are many other things to like. Are there some things to dislike? Yes. But overall, this is a really special film which I hope I remember to watch again ten years from now.

(Last viewed: Jan 2010 July 2019)

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Aziz Ansari was credited as actor in the following film.
At the time, he would have been about 27 years old.
Get Him to the Greek
      2010 | USA | Laughs: 4.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A record label employee gets assigned the mission of escorting a particularly difficult rock star from his London home to the Greek theater in Los Angeles for a major concert. This starts out funny but then just turns into a pretty good movie, with strong and attaching characters, so you forget that you started watching because you wanted to laugh. Russell Brand, whom I'm never seen before, impressed me with his excellent, believable performance. Jonah Hill was very good too. Warning: rampant adult themes, recurring crassness and gross-out scenes, presumably to please the 21st century crowd. (Last viewed: Sep 2012 September 2019)

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Aziz Ansari was credited as actor in the following film.
At the time, he would have been about 26 years old.
I Love You Man
      2009 | USA | Laughs: 4.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Faced with the fact he doesn't have any male friends, a man who is about to get married tries to get a buddy, and soon succeeds. A cute story with perfect Los Angeles weather and a fun cast (but no side-splitting scenes). It was nice to see a bit of Andy Samberg from Hot Rod. In the main roles, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Rashida Jones all did a great job. Well worth a watch. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Aziz Ansari was credited as actor in the following film.
At the time, he would have been about 30 years old.
This Is the End
      2013 | USA | Laughs: 3.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A group of Hollywood celebrities barricade themselves in a house on the day of the Apocalypse. Apart from a few good lines from Jonah Hill, much of the humor in this film stems from the grotesque nature of the plot and situation. Usually, when a movie is bad that is because it fails at what it sets out to do, but that is far from the case here. In essence, it seems to me that the producers tried to make a "cult movie" (something that is so bad that it becomes good for a certain audience), and they achieved that goal to perfection. If you're into cult movies you will probably enjoy this. I'm not, hence the low rating. (Last viewed: October 2013)

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