The Funniest American Comedies

His Girl Friday
      1940 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Against the backdrop of an upcoming public execution, a ruthless newspaper owner tries to lure his journalist ex-wife back into his world.

To me Cary Grant's acting is gratingly affected and overplayed, making the movie, already chaotic due to its "screwball" classification, even harder to watch at times. However, quieter moments and inspired dialogues between minor characters make it an endearing flick after all. (Last viewed: May 2018)

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

The Kid
      1921 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 8.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After finding a baby boy who has been abandoned on the street, Charlie Chaplin's character "the tramp" raises the child, who becomes a partner in his broken glass repair scam.

Although the movie has lost the power to make me laugh (if it ever had it), I found it endearing and worth a watch as a cultural artifact. (Last viewed: Dec 1976 July 2018)

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

Lost in Translation
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.7
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Five stars. Bill Murray shoots a whiskey ad in Tokyo. For the full review, skip over to my "Brush up your Japanese" page. (Last viewed: Mar 2003 March 2010)

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

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)

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

The Ref (a.k.a Hostile Hostages)
      1994 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A thief on the run takes two hostages, a husband and wife who cannot stop bickering. While seeing Kevin Spacey in a comedy was refreshing and the premise was fun, execution was mediocre and the movie failed to deliver laughs. (Last viewed: March 2015)

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

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)

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

Mousehunt
      1997 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Renovating a valuable house in view of auctioning it, two brothers are pitted against a formidably clever mouse. Some people rave about this movie, going so far as describing it as "genius". That made me eager to watch it, but I'm sorry to report that I had to force myself to sit through it till the end. Much of the humor had to do with one of the brothers getting hurt in one way or another. I think I had outgrown finding that kind of movie funny around the time I reached ten. (Last viewed: June 2015)

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

Arthur
      1981 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A young man from a blue-blood New York family drinks way too much, partly because his family wants him to marry a woman he doesn't love. When he sees a woman steal a necktie in front of his eyes, he falls in love. A very enjoyable movie, but certainly not a laugh-out-loud comedy. The 2011 remake is a definite skip. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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

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)

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

Beverly Hills Cop II & III
      1987 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Just Awful) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

BHC2: A typical sequel. More money, less juice. Idiotic plot, you only watch because of the actors. BHC3: better than number two, but still weak, though Alex Fowler and Serge give you plenty reason to smile. Lots of blood, not many laughs. (Last viewed: September 2009)

More About Beverly Hills Cop II & III:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Beverly Hills Cop II & III

The Pink Panther Strikes Again
      1976 | USA | Laughs: 1.9 (Just Awful) | imdb: 7.2
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Clouseau is now Chief Inspector of the Sureté. Dreyfus escapes from the madhouse, kidnaps a brilliant scientist and blackmails the superpowers to kill Clouseau for him—or else he will destroy cities! This film goes overboard in the sinister trend to turn Clouseau into an incompetent imbecile. Where is the charm of the absent-minded early character? Crude and cruel. (Last viewed: September 2009)

More About The Pink Panther Strikes Again:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Revenge of the Pink Panther
      1978 | USA | Laughs: 1.8 (Just Awful) | imdb: 6.7
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

In this very stupid script, the boss of the French connection sets out to eliminate Clouseau to impress an underworld partner. For this Peter Sellers finale in the Pink Panther series, the script writers continued their deliberate sabotage of the Clouseau character, completing his transformation into a complete moron. To watch out of nostalgia for Sellers, if at all. (Last viewed: September 2009)

More About Revenge of the Pink Panther:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Revenge of the Pink Panther

House Bunny
      2008 | USA | Laughs: 1.8 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 5.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Evicted from a mens' magazine's entertainment mansion, a "bunny" finds refuge at a college sorority, where she helps unpopular women improve their image.

Plot-wise, this sweet and predictable movie has about two shreds, which in my mind is plenty in the comedy genre if the laughs are there. Sadly, I'm afraid that the main reason (if any) to keep watching is not the humor, but the glitter, curves and skin.

(Last viewed: January 2019)

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

A Day Without a Mexican
      2004 | USA | Laughs: 1.8 | imdb: 4.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

One bright day, all people of Hispanic origin (about one third of the population) vanish from the State of California. Through a mixture of personal stories and journalism, this film documents the chaos that ensues.

The premise didn't sound bad, but I was too bored to continue past the 40th minute. I'm not exactly sure what to reproach the film, but it was probably a combination of low production values and pulling the cord too thin, or as the vanished might say, estirar el chicle.
(Last viewed: May 2019)

More About A Day Without a Mexican:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for A Day Without a Mexican

Grosse Pointe Blank
      1997 | USA | Laughs: 1.7 (Just Awful) | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A hitman travels back to his hometown for his ten-year high-school reunion. Great eighties music, no laughs, lots of bullets and yawns. (Last viewed: December 2008)

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