Comedies from the 2000s

Death at a Funeral
      2007 | U.K. | Laughs: 1.3 (Just Awful) | imdb: 7.4
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Two out of ten. At a funeral in England, everything goes wrong. I laughed once and spent the rest of the time cringing at the weak plot, acting and dialogues. The style of humor is more that of a sitcom. Sitcoms only last twenty minutes, and for a reason: you can only take so much looseness in a plot in one sitting. I don't mind implausible behavior, but here it clashes with the otherwise "believable" ambiance of the film. Two examples. First, one guy accidentally takes a hallucinogenic. He then starts acting goofy without seeming to grasp that he is not in his normal state. Sorry, but if you are tripping, you are aware that you are experiencing an altered consciousness, so in real life this guy would freak out. Second example: another guy is accidentally given a fatal (or so everyone thinks) dose of pills. Everyone's immediate action plan: finding a way to get rid of the body. Sorry, but how about making him vomit or grabbing the doctor in the room next door? One of these strange movies that get a high rating on IMDB for inexplicable reasons. Perhaps one of the actors has a teenage following? (Last viewed: October 2011)

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Legally Blonde 2 (a.k.a Red, White & Blonde)
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 1.2 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 4.8
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While the original Legally Blonde was surprisingly entertaining, this first sequel has very little to offer. It takes place in Washington, DC, where our heroin takes a job with a congresswoman in order to push an animal rights' bill. The movie missed the "just awful" category, but not by much. (Last viewed: July 2015)

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Spinning Boris
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.6
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IMDB wrongly labels this movie as a comedy. It's a good movie, but don't expect to laugh. Three American campaign political advisers are hired to help run the reelection campaign of Russian president Boris Yeltsin. Australian Anthony LaPaglia makes a convincing American, and I'm always happy to see Jeff Goldblum. (Last viewed: October 2013)

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The Pope's Toilet (El Baño del Papa)
      2007 | Uruguay | Laughs: 1.0 | imdb: 7.3
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This movie can only be called a comedy in so far as the very last line made me chuckle.

¡Carmen! ¡Tengo una idea!

There. Now you have nearly the entire comedic content of the film — unless you want to come at me with qualifiers such as "understated" or "dark humor".

Apart from that, this movie presents the touching story of the poor folk of a frontier town who buy into the idea that a visit by the Catholic pope is going to save them economically if only they mortgage their houses to buy sausages to feed the visitors. As a movie, I recommend it highly. For laughs, you'll need to look elsewhere.

(Last viewed: January 2019)

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How High
      2001 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 (Smirk) | imdb: 6.3
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With the help of a ghost, two potheads get admitted to Harvard.

Every once in a while, I try a well-reviewed pothead movie to see if it deserves all the accolades. Call me close-minded and conservative, but for me the two best pothead movies are Half-Baked (1998) and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), and this film did nothing to change that view. I was given to understand that it was a vehicle for a couple of people I'd never heard from, and that may have something to do with its inability to make me laugh despite the actors' best intentions. It may have caused a chuckle, but in no way was it subtle.

(Last viewed: January 2019)

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My Best Friend (Mon Meilleur Ami)
      2006 | France | Laughs: 1.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.7
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A friendless man scrambles to find a "best friend" in order to win a bet. Apart from the presence of stand-up comedian Dany Boon, I'm not sure why this movie is classified as a comedy, as it is often sad and sometimes stressful, but neither hilarious nor even funny. That said, it is watchable, and I'm sure it has some insights about what constitues friendship—and what doesn't. (Last viewed: October 2012)

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Micmacs (Micmacs A Tire-Larigot)
      2009 | France | Laughs: 1.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.2
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This is an artsy movie in a carnival-character, circus bohemian, cartoonish kind of way. That was never my thing, and I didn't laugh, so I didn't enjoy the film. But I can see how it would appeal to some people I know, because in that style, it is well made. (Last viewed: November 2012)

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The Man Who Copied (O Homem Que Copiava)
      2003 | Brazil | Laughs: 1.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.6
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A young man falls in love with a young woman he spots with his binoculars in a nearby building. I don't see how this movie can be called a comedy, but I loved it. (Last viewed: July 2014)

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Just Married
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 5.4
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A young man and woman from different social backgrounds have a nightmare honeymoon in Europe. This movie is watchable but the comedy is such low-grade (slapstick, mostly) that it's really not worth the effort. It's astonishing to me that it should have the same rating as Dude, Where's My Car, also featuring Ashton Kutcher. (Last viewed: August 2022)

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Sydney White
      2007 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.2
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Rejected by the vicious president of a beauty farm (err… I mean, sorority), a college freshman joins the dorks and campaigns for student council. After She's The Man, I enjoyed seeing Amanda Bynes in a role with hints of tomboy once again. The movie didn't make me laugh, but it was cute and I smiled a lot. (Last viewed: June 2015)

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Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
      2002 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 (Just Awful) | imdb: 6.2
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In the tradition of Woody Allen's What's up Tigerlily, this film lays new dialogue over a B-movie, in this case a Hong Kong martial arts flick. New footage was added. The film must have been very funny to make, but it's certainly not funny to watch, unless perhaps you are a fan of underground "cult" movies. Do yourself a favor and watch Enter the Dragon instead. It's not a comedy (though it has quite a bit of humor), but it's an excellent film for the martial arts, the characters, the 1970s costumes and the social commentary. (Last viewed: July 2012)

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One-Way Ticket (Un Aller Simple)
      2001 | France | Laughs: 1.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 4.8
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This is movie is misclassified as a comedy, but it's a decent (and underrated) movie featuring Jacques Villeret from The Dinner Game. Here he plays a government employee who must escort a young man "back to his native Morocco"—without realizing that the young man has never set foot in that country. The landscapes and music are terrific, and even if the plot doesn't have much tension it's pleasant enough to amble along with Jacques and his two able companions. (Last viewed: July 2014)

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Wisdom of the Pretzel (Hochmat HaBeygale)
      2002 | Israel | Laughs: 0.9 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.3
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This movie is tagged as a comedy, but it's miles away from the laugh-out-loud genre. It's a light-hearted exploration of the friendship and romantic lives of a group of twenty-something young men from Tel Aviv. But apart from that, by the end of the movie I couldn't quite tell you what the movie was about as the script is a bit unfocused and uninspired (the cinematography shares this latter trait). An acceptable way to spend 97 minutes if you're in the mood to hear some Hebrew—otherwise don't bother. (Last viewed: September 2015)

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Accepted
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 0.8 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.4
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To fend off his anxious parents, a young man who has been rejected by several colleges prints out an acceptance letter from a fake college with a fake website. Things get out of hand when a hundred "students" offer him tuition. This movie is surprisingly not crass. By the same token, despite everyone's good intentions, it is surprisingly unfunny. I can't think of a good reason to watch it. (Last viewed: July 2015)

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Promedio Rojo
      2004 | Chile | Laughs: 0.8 (Just Awful) | imdb: 5.4
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This movie tries to pattern itself after the age-old high-school romp formula found in the comedy catalogs of countries as diverse as the USA, France and Turkey.

Even if you speak Spanish, the language they speak here will be all but unintelligible unless you are Chilean. ¿Cachai? Sipó.

But apart from the fact that a great deal was lost on me, I'm confident stating that the movie is awful on its own demerits, which include plot, dialog, acting, cinematography, sound and editing, among others.

(Last viewed: March 2020)

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