Comedies from the 2010s

Game Night
      2018 | USA | Laughs: 2.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A group of friends who gather weekly to play games gets treated to a lifelike high-end game that brings them into a world of real gangsters.

No real laughs but a few chuckles—an entertaining if forgettable watch. (Last viewed: May 2018)

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The Big Sick
      2017 | USA | Laughs: 2.5 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A stand-up comedian of Pakistani origins cannot tell his family about his "white" girlfriend because he is expected to go along with his mom's wish for an arranged marriage. Although this sweet movie had no laughs, it had a lot of humor and a fine script. I relished spending more time with one of the actors from the TV show Silicon Valley—in fact the entire cast did a fine job. (Last viewed: September 2017)

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Ingrid Goes West
      2017 | USA | Laughs: 2.5 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A disturbed young woman works herself into the life of a social media star. This was not a laugh-out-loud comedy, but it may have been a worthwhile watch for the glimpse it offers into a world that I'm grateful not to be a part of. (Last viewed: November 2017)

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Instructions Not Included (No se aceptan devoluciones)
      2013 | Mexico | Laughs: 2.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A woman abandons her baby daughter at the door of the presumed father, then returns to claim her through the courts seven years later after the man has raised the girl in the most caring fashion. This endearing movie could be an effective component of a campaign for men's rights.

On the comedy side, many moments made me smile and I even chuckled a couple of times, but there were certainly no belly laughs. Some of the minor characters had the funniest parts, such as the man who carries on about death in a particularly awkward way.

Overall, a decent if forgettable family flick. (Last viewed: March 2018)

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God Bless America
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 2.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A fed-up man and an angry teenager decide it's time to rid America of all the people who "deserve to die", such as those who use their cell phones in movie theaters. Apart from one scene that's too heavy on the blood for my taste, this can be a pleasant watch if you go into it expecting to see something from the "cult" shelf—quirky rather than mainstream. If you can tune in to the director's sense of humor you may find the film funny, though it's not laugh-provoking material. And for those who haven't stepped inside the United States in a long time, some scenes offer a worthwhile look at the state of decay in that mighty country's culture. (Last viewed: March 2013)

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What fault of the child is it? (¿Qué culpa tiene el niño?)
      2016 | Mexico | Laughs: 2.4 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.7
      who was involved?

A woman from a high social strata discovers she got pregnant at a wild wedding party, and tracks down the suspected father, a younger man from a working-class background. This well-produced movie gives you a chance to spend time in Mexico without seeing a single gun or narcotraficant. As romantic comedies go, it is entirely watchable, but I can't say that it made me laugh. (Last viewed: March 2018)

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Three Superfluous Weddings (Tres Bodas de Más)
      2013 | Spain | Laughs: 2.3 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The first minute of this movie was a great surprise: I got to see the face of Berto Romero (from my favorite Spanish podcast Nadie Sabe Nada) breaking up with his girlfriend at a wedding, and the delivery made me chuckle.

Sadly, there's very little Berto in the movie. What's left is a cute romantic comedy with some funny moments and not as much gratuitous crass scenes as might be expected. The thread is three weddings which the hapless women must attend, each involving one of her ex-boyfriends.

Not great, but not terrible.

(Last viewed: January 2019)

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Wanderlust
      2012 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 5.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After losing their jobs, a couple of yuppies find themselves trying to live on a commune. The concept and cast were decent, but the script was severely lacking in the laughs department. The communal house looked more like a Beverly Hills mansion than the kind of building likely to be found on an intentional community, and most other things about the commune also felt fake. It's not just that the caricature was rough: it seemed that whoever wrote the script didn't bother doing any research and instead chose to follow the lines of the most common stereotypes. For instance, it was heavy on free love, but missed what in my experience is one of the main issues of communal living: division of labor. Why do the same people do all the work while others spend their days "sending energy" or plucking their guitar? There's a lot of humorous potential in such situations. A for concept, E for effort. (Last viewed: September 2015)

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Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed (Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados)
      2013 | Spain | Laughs: 2.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

An English teacher drives to Andalusia in the hope of meeting his idol, John Lennon. Along the way, he picks up two stray characters.

I expected a predictable feel-good movie but was pleasantly surprised by how well it hung together. It's not a laugh-out-loud comedy, but it's funny, thanks mostly to the wit of the main character, played by Javier Cámara.

I was left wanting to watch more movies with that actor, who seems to be one of those natural comedic talents.

(Last viewed: February 2019)

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The Hitman's Bodyguard
      2017 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Seeing that Eastern European assassins have connived with an Interpol mole to kill a world-class hitman before he can testify in court against a dictator, an Interpol officer hires her ex-boyfriend (a world-class bodyguard) to accompany the hitman to court. Tired already?

Apart from the fake imdb ratings, there isn't much to recommend this movie. There were (a few) funny moments, but overall the script is pathetic and the movie one big yawn, even if you usually enjoy Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, as we do. (Last viewed: September 2017)

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Lommbock
      2017 | Germany | Laughs: 2.0 (Smirk) | imdb: 6.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Sixteen years after the first Lammbock, the partners in crime are reunited as Stefan, who now lives in Dubai, must return to Germany to pick up a document before his wedding, with the expected ensuing mayhem. Not a Hangover-grade mayhem, just enough to keep you a little bit entertained.

This wasn't really worse than the original. Watch once if you're interested in German contemporary culture.

(Last viewed: September 2022)

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Peace After Marriage
      2013 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.4
      who was involved?

First things first: the first half-hour of this movie is awful, then it slowly turns into a decent little rom-com.

The awful part is about a man's addiction to graphic depictions of the female figure. The rom-com part is about the interplay between a Palestinian-American man and the Israeli woman who marries him for the papers. I can't guarantee you'll make it to the romantic part. The beginning is that bad—and yet I'm interested in the issues and in both cultures (Palestinian, Israeli) and languages (Arabic, Hebrew).

One redeeming feature that I see in the movie will be of interest to few. The reason I watched it is that everyone's favorite Middle Eastern actress (Hiam Abbass) plays the man's mother. I had seen her as a Tunisian, a Palestinian, a Lebanese, a Druze, a Syrian, and whatever she's supposed to be in Blade Runner 2049. Now she's added American to the list. (Last viewed: August 2018)

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The Watch
      2012 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Just Awful) | imdb: 5.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This movie scores points for casting Richard Ayoade from The IT Crowd. Apart from that, it's another chapter in the decline of the American empire. A group of concerned citizens form a neighborhood watch to solve a grisly murder mystery, and soon run into nasty extra-terrestrials. Ben Stiller is the best he's been in a long time, while Vince Vaughn is at his worst—possibly after completing a class in overacting. Jonah Hill and Ayoade do their best. None of this matter: the script is below third-rate. You really don't have to watch this kind of trash: stay sane and give the film wide berth. (Last viewed: May 2013)

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What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (Ma Kvar Yachol Likrot)
      2015 | Israel | Laughs: 2.0 (Smirk) | imdb: 6.0
      who was involved?

Although within ten minutes of its start this movie had convinced me that it was pretty hopeless, it unexpectedly started to grow on me and I watched it till the end. The plot falls squarely in the comical "quest" genre—two loser friends win a contest in a cap of soft drink which they must guard with their lives before the office opens the next day. The movie is still terrible, but what might make it worth a watch, in my opinion, is the faint echo, in no way accidental, to Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, starting with the fact that all but the last scene takes place at night. Feel free to skip, or treat yourself to a bad movie knowing in advance what you're going into. (Last viewed: November 2018)

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Get Hard
      2015 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Convicted of a white-collar crime he didn't commit, a millionaire hires a black man who is desperate for cash to toughen him up before his jail time starts, unaware that his mentor has never seen the inside of a parking infringement envelope, let alone a jail. It's crude, it's often crass, and no single moment really made me laugh, but the original concept and the cast's chemistry were good enough to keep me watching until the end… But if no one's twisting your arm, there are better things to watch. (Last viewed: June 2015)

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