Comedies from the 1990s

Would I Lie to You? (La Vérité si je mens !)
      1997 | France | Laughs: 7.3 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Mistaken for a Jew, a jobless man is given a break by a succesful Paris tailor. A trip into the world of France's Sephardic Jews. Very funny. (Last viewed: February 2011)

More About Would I Lie to You?:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Would I Lie to You?

Would I Lie to You? 2 (La Vérité si je mens ! 2)
      1997 | France | Laughs: 7.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.3
      who was involved?

Surprisingly, this sequel is a tad funnier than the original thanks to beautiful writing and splendid acting. Too many sub plots to summarize this rich movie, in which Eddie and his friends try to break into mass retail. Only regret: the disappearance of the original Dov (Vincent Elbaz) and Sandra's dad (Richard Bohringer of Diva). This is partly offset by the entry of Gad Elmaleh. (Last viewed: February 2011)

More About Would I Lie to You? 2:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Would I Lie to You? 2

So I Married An Axe Murderer
      1993 | USA | Laughs: 7.1 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A series of coincidences makes a hesitant young man wonder if his girlfriend might be the serial "honeymoon killer" his mom read about in the National Enquirer. A chance for Mike Meyers to polish two of his characters four years before Austin Powers. The laughs are there, but somehow I looked forward to the movie ending, perhaps because I have overdosed on Mike Myers' antics. (Last viewed: December 2011)

More About So I Married An Axe Murderer:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for So I Married An Axe Murderer

Dirty Work
      1998 | USA | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Desperate to raise cash for a surgery, two friends set up a business that helps customers get revenge. This comedy was a great surprise. There isn't much of a plot, but I smiled throughout and had some good laughs. At times the pacing was terrific: you come to a great punchline, and just as it hits you and makes you want to laugh, the action carries on as if nothing had happened, which makes the gag even funnier. (Last viewed: April 2016)

More About Dirty Work:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Dirty Work

That's Life (Cosi E La Vita)
      1998 | Italy | Laughs: 6.8 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.9
      who was involved?

This is a comedy by the same trio as in Three Men and a Leg. Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo are thrown together when Aldo escapes from jail and hijacks a police car. There are many chuckles, ans one extremely funny scene involving a fake telephone. Well worth watching once. (Last viewed: July 2014)

More About That's Life:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for That's Life

There's Something About Mary
      1998 | USA | Laughs: 6.8 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.1
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Hankering for "what could have been", a thirty-year-old man (Ben Stiller) hires a private investigator to track down his high-school flame, Mary. The investigator finds Mary but falls for her. Ben Stiller made me chuckle with the same charming awkwardness that made him shine in Meet the Parents. A particular treat for me was his best friend Dom (Chris Elliott), whom I recognized from his role as Larry the cameraman in Groundhog Day, one of my favorite comedies. The first half had some good laughs, the second half was entertaining.

EDIT: In 2022, twelve years after the previous viewing, this movie still works for me. Laughed and smiled. At the rate of once every ten years, I may be able to watch this film twice more before I die. Looking forward to it.

(Last viewed: Sep 2010 October 2022)

More About There's Something About Mary:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for There's Something About Mary

Fierce Creatures
      1997 | U.K. | Laughs: 6.8 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Nine years after A Fish Called Wanda, the same four lead actors were reunited in this John Cleese movie. It's not a sequel—the plot has to do with the staff of a zoo defending their animals after a media moghul acquires their employer. If you need to compare the film to Wanda, you won't be happy: individually, each of the main characters is less than its 1988 counterpart, apart perhaps from John Cleese, who might be even better as a zookeeper than he was as a barrister. The plot is cute rather than twisted, the humor is straight rather than sadistic. Nevertheless, it's a good effort by a great crew, and if you forget comparisons for a while, you are sure to enjoy the movie and to laugh more than once. (Last viewed: April 2012)

More About Fierce Creatures:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Fierce Creatures

Meet the Parents (original)
      1992 | USA | Laughs: 6.7 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This movie is the original Meet the Parents, from which the 2000 film featuring Ben Stiller was later adapted.

It's delightfully similar to yet different from the remake. Some characters are rougher around the edges and the plot is more cruel. It was made on $100,000, but it made me laugh more than the vast majority of big-budget comedies.

If you're a fan of the 2000 movie, don't miss this little jewel.

(Last viewed: September 2022)

More About Meet the Parents (original):
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Meet the Parents (original)

Happy Gilmore
      1996 | USA | Laughs: 6.7 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Happy Gilmore has always dreamed of becoming a professional ice hockey player, and although he has formidable power when shooting the puck, he cannot skate. When the IRS threatens to auction his grandma's house, Happy unwillingly enrolls on the pro golf circuit after discovering that he can drive the ball over an exceptional distance. Cute and often funny, but not tight enough that I'd want to watch it again. (Last viewed: September 2010)

More About Happy Gilmore:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Happy Gilmore

Liar Liar
      1997 | USA | Laughs: 6.6 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

After his five-year-old boy makes a wish that his dad wouldn't tell a lie for a day, an aggressive lawyer is unable to utter a single lie. That's a perfect source of comic situation for Jim Carrey—until then, the movie started rather slow. I'm not so fond of Jim Carrey's facial contortions, but I love that he makes me laugh anyway. (Last viewed: July 2010)

More About Liar Liar:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Liar Liar

Sister Act
      1992 | USA | Laughs: 6.4 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

To protect her from her mobster ex-boyfriend, the police places a loud-spoken casino singer (Whoopi Goldberg) in a convent. Starts slow, but cute and clean, with a few good laughs. (Last viewed: March 2011)

More About Sister Act:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Sister Act

Johnny Stecchino
      1991 | Italy | Laughs: 6.3 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Italian, with Roberto Benigni. An innocent guy is seduced by a mafia woman because he is the spitting image of her husband, who is in hiding. (Last viewed: August 2009)

More About Johnny Stecchino:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Johnny Stecchino

Encino Man
      1992 | USA | Laughs: 6.2 (Watch Once) | imdb: 5.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This was recommended to me by a clerk in a video store who said it was one of the rare movies where she couldn't stop laughing. I don't have quite the same sense of humor, but maybe you do. If you watch this movie in a generous mood, you're sure to enjoy it because it is fun, and at times very funny. It's refreshing to watch a high school comedy that doesn't run on sex and alcohol. Two friends introduce their high school to Link, a young man from the Ice Age whom they found while digging a pool. As silly as it sounds… and that's a good thing. (Last viewed: May 2010)

More About Encino Man:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Encino Man

Tommy Boy
      1995 | USA | Laughs: 6.2 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.1
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A recently orphaned underachiever must rescue his late dad's auto parts factory from the claws of his gold-digging mother in law. Starts slow but eventually gets to third gear, with a good range of comedic situations that will probably have you smiling throughout. (Last viewed: January 2013)

More About Tommy Boy:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Tommy Boy

Clueless
      1995 | USA | Laughs: 6.1 (Chuckle) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A high-society Los Angeles high-school girl tries her best to improve the lives of those who surround her. I'm told by someone with a bit of culture that this movie is an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Emma, perhaps the best ever made. I can't say, but I do know that I was entertained and chuckled more than a few times.

I can't quite believe that it took me all of 25 years to watch this movie. I guess 1995 feels like yesterday, so in that sense it was only a day. If you haven't seen it either, treat yourself, it has aged tremendously well.

(Last viewed: November 2020)

More About Clueless:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Clueless