Category Archives: Comedy

2018, Acceptable Trash, Action Film, Action Hero, Action sequences, Amusing banter, Car Chase, Chase film, Coarse manners, Comedy, Conspiracy, Corruption, Crude Talk, Exaggeration Comedy, Explicit sexual discussion, Fist Fight, Frenetic, IMDB streaming, Improbable details, International thriler, Invincible Hero, Mayhem, Mercenaries, Mixed Martial Arts, Murder, Must suspend disbelief, Nudity, Physical fighting, Plot twists, Psychopath, Romance, Ruthless Killer, Satirical ultra-violence, Spy Versu Spy, Suspense, Violent, Vulgar, Vulgar Action Comedy, Witty dialog

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

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From IMDB:

Audrey and Morgan are best friends who unwittingly become entangled in an international conspiracy when one of the women discovers the boyfriend who dumped her was actually a spy.

From IMDB you can stream this 2 hour thriller comedy.

If you register with IMDB, then for FREE you can stream using IMDB some of the films you find on that site.  Locate a film and then on that page you will see a list of just which sites stream that film.  Now and then one of those streaming sites will be IMDB.

One of my guilty pleasures is watching acceptable trash films for which I need a new category.   As time goes by such films are in competition to provide the most vulgar conversations, the most explicit nudity,  the most explicit sexual activity, and the most violent scenes possible. Often such films are touted as “comedies”.  So from now on, if I call a film a “vulgar action comedy,” then you know what I mean.

This film under review fits all those criteria except that there is just kissing instead of sexual activity.

Until the end of the film you really do not know who the good guys are.  But as is so often the case,  each of the candidates can shoot guns so well that they never miss a shot.  In addition these candidates are superb athletes that have mastered gymnastics and martial arts and can leap over tall buildings.  Here the two leading competitors are Justin Theroux (from American Psycho) as Drew and Sam Heughan (from Outlander) as Sebastian.

Another requirement for such films are the wild, out-of-control car chases. Usually the car must travel the wrong way on a one-way street or highway.  There must be several collisions in which some cars are turned upside down.

Why do I love this type of film?

2021, Accidental Death, Action sequences, Addiction, Black humor, Bloody scenes, Brother-Sister relations, Comedy, Cover-up, Defies Categorization, Drama, Eccentric cast of characters, Ethical struggles, Fist Fight, Forensics, Funeral Director, Hopeless Love, Murder, Murder Investigation, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Norwegian, Norwegian Comedy, Nudity, Outrageous Behavior, Plot twists, Police Investigation, Problematic Ending, Quirky, Small Town

Post Mortem: No One Dies In Skarnes (2021)

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From IMDB:

Live Hallangen is declared dead but hours later she suddenly wakes up with a sudden urge for blood. Meanwhile, her brother Odd tries to keep the family driven funeral home afloat.

From Netflix:

It’s just another average day in this small Norwegian town
until a young woman is found dead in a field. But things are not as they seem.

From Netflix you can stream 6 episodes of this Norwegian series. Each episode lasts about 44 minutes.

Categories such as comedy, drama, and thriller have been applied to this off-beat series.  If I tell you what the series is about, I am afraid you will not watch it.  Let me begin, therefore,  by saying that no matter the theme, this is NOT a vampire story.   More than any other characterization,  for me “comedy” rings true because it shows Live (pronounced Lee-Va ), her brother Odd, the policeman Reinert. and Dr. Sverre getting in deeper and deeper in their combined efforts to conceal the truth about them and the strange secret of the town of Skarnes while trying desperately to keep the chief of police, Judith, off their trail.  Some comedies such as this one are built on a succession of outrageous events. When was the last time you saw a completely clothed woman having a mud fist fight with a completely naked man with a plastic bag tied over his head?

Well done and well worth the watch.

 

2005, Action Hero, Action sequences, Amusing banter, Black humor, Bloody scenes, Bromance, Car Chase, Comedy, Complicated, Detective, Eccentric cast of characters, Gay theme, Kanopy streaming, Mayhem, Murder, Outrageous Behavior, Romance, Satirical ultra-violence, Suspense, Torture, Uncategorized, Violent, Witty dialog

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

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From Kanopy:

From producer Joel Silver and screenwriter Shane Black, both of Lethal Weapon fame, comes an action-comedy spoof of rough-and-tumble buddy films–KISS KISS BANG BANG. A private detective (Val Kilmer – Alexander), a thief posing as a struggling actor (Robert Downey Jr. – Gothika) and an actual struggling actress (Michelle Monaghan – The Bourne Supremacy) become entangled in a murder mystery filled with twists, turns, betrayal and, most importantly, romance.

From Kanopy you can stream this 103 minute complete film.

Is it possible to call a film a comedy in which there is a succession of murders by gun shot ?  No matter what that says about our current culture,  the non-stop action and the rapid-fire bromantic (yes, Webster lists that word) dialog was just plain fun.

Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey) is a screw-up from start to finish whose skin is regularly saved by Gay Perry (Val Kilmer). Yes, Kilmer plays a gay man named Gay Perry.

Yet another violent guilty pleasure.

1999, Amazon Prime, Bad Acting, Comedy, Eccentric cast of characters, Eccentric Detective, Explicit sexual discussion, Happy ending, Love Story, Male Prostitute for Women, Mostly About Sex, Nudity, Outrageous Behavior, Sex Scenes, Slapstick, Somewhat ridiculous plot, Tourette's Syndrome, Trash, Vulgar

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)

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From IMDB:

An average aquarium cleaner house-sits for a gigolo, only to be forced to become one himself.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 28 minute comedy film.

It seems I have reached the very bottom. Rob Schneider plays the hapless aquarium cleaner in a very trashy film that offers crude language,  a large set of strange and bizarre women who will pay for our hero’s services, and some genuine belly laughs.

Our gigolo actually never has sex with his “clients”,  instead trying to make each woman happier about herself.

You must appreciate slapstick comedy to enjoy yourself.

I LOVE TRASH!

2016, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Amazon Prime, Amusing banter, Barely Acceptable Trash, Coarse manners, Comedy, Contract Killing, Crude Talk, Eccentric cast of characters, Exaggeration Comedy, Explicit sex, Father-daughter relations, Friendship, Gay theme, Often downright silly, Outrageous Behavior, Quirky, Sex Scenes, Violent, Vulgar

Nice Package (2016)

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From IMDB:

A wannabe professional thief, his gay best friend, a sexy hostage, some thugs and a mystery package everyone wants.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 38 minute complete film.

If vulgarity, goofy characters, tongue-in-cheek violence, satiric sex scenes, and absurd conversations are your thing, this barely acceptable trash will hopefully provide you with some laughs.

Motto: I LOVE TRASH!

2010, Acceptable Trash, Amazon Prime, Amusing banter, Comedy, Corny at times, Crude Talk, Eccentric cast of characters, Exaggeration Comedy, Father-son relations, Love Story, Mother-son relations, Sight Gags, Slapstick

Cougar Town (2010)

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From Amazon Prime Video:

Courtney Cox stars as Jules, a recently divorced single mother exploring the truths about dating and aging. While most women in their twenties go through life experiencing the challenges and pitfalls of meeting men, Jules took on the responsibilities of marriage Now in her forties, she embarks on a journey to self-discovery surrounded by divorcees and singletons eager re-live a time gone by.

From Amazon you can stream this 6 season  comic soap opera. Seasons and number of episodes are: 1 has 24, 2 has 22, 3 has 15, 4 has 15, 5 has 13, 6 has 13 making a total of 102 trashy and funny episodes. Each of the 102 episodes lasts about 22 minutes.

“Acceptable trash” is probably the most accurate characterization of this binge festival.  Making it the last video I watched in the day just put me in a good mood. Humor style remains constant but there is enough clever repartee to keep the fun going.  Almost all the characters are around for the entire collection except for Bobby Cobb who leaves  at the beginning of season 6.  Eight constant characters are the main actors:

  • Courteney Cox plays Jules Cobb, the lead female character.
  • Christa Miller plays Ellie Torres, the cynical people-hater.
  • Busy Philipps plays Laurie Keller, the slut-proud dumb blond.
  • Dan Byrd plays Travis Cobb, son of Jules and Bobby.
  • Josh Hopkins plays Grayson Ellis,  Jules’ new neighbor boy friend.
  • Ian Gomez plays Andy Torres, Ellie’s husband.
  • Brian Van Holt plays Bobby Cobb, Jules’ divorced husband.
  • Bob Clendenin plays Tom, the misfit surgeon neighbor.

Courteney Cox might be familiar to you as Monica from “Friends.”

When I had seen all 102 short , funny,  trashy, and sometimes corny episodes I felt bereft.  Enjoy the nonsense!

 

2020, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Amazon Prime, Barely Acceptable Trash, Bloody scenes, Comedy, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crude Talk, Embarrassing episodes, Farce, Father-daughter relations, Grungy, Kazakh, Kazakhstan, Male Chauvinism, Nudity, Outrageous Behavior, Political Satire, Remarkable Costumes, Satire, Sight Gags, Slapstick, Vulgar

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

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From IMDB:

Follow-up film to the 2006 comedy centering on the real-life adventures of a fictional Kazakh television journalist named Borat.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 35 minute complete film.  Spoken language is  Kazakh (which is a Turkic language), the official language of Kazakhstan, and English. Part of the fun of the film is that the Kazakh is translated into English subtitles written in ungrammatical garbled phrases.  Just listening to Borat murdering the English language is a hoot.

Basically this at times wildly funny satire is aimed at Donald Trump and his band of merry Trump Thugs.  Secondarily the goal is also to make fun of Kazakhstan.  Supposedly the plot is this: Borat must present his daughter to Donald Trump as a gift to avoid being executed in Kazakhstan in an “excruciatingly painful manner.”

Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen) paints Kazakhstan as a backward collection of shabby villages in which women, including his daughter,  are kept in cages with absolutely no rights. Throughout the film he and his daughter quote the Kazakhstan bible which instructs how to (mis)treat women.

In the past there was a TV program called “Candid Camera” in which unsuspecting participants were secretly filmed while being placed in awkward situations. Each Borat episode follows exactly that model. In most cases the episode features an individual or group of people who are Trump supporters. These victims are conned into revealing their appalling ignorance and conspiracy acceptance.

WARNING: “Embarrassing, vulgar, disgusting, crude” are a few adjectives that must be applied to some episodes.  How on earth did this film get past the decency censors?  Make no mistake, I am no prude. But there have to be limits on what is shown in public. You are warned.

Ignoring the crass downside,  you have some truly funny belly laughs in store.

2011, Acceptable for teenagers, British Slapstick, Comedy, Conspiracy, Eccentric Detective, Lot's of Fun, MI5, Netflix Streaming

Johnny English Reborn (2011)

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From IMDB:

Johnny English goes up against international assassins hunting down Chinese Premier Xiang Ping.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 41 minute British slapstick film.

If you enjoy British slapstick or have ever seen a Johnny English film and have not yet seen the Reborn version then you are in for a treat. Granted that slapstick is not everyone’s cup of tea, but yours truly howled with laughter throughout the film.

In good slapstick timing is everything. In many instances you can see what is coming which sometimes adds to the humor (or should I say “humour”).  Cast of characters include:

  • Mister Bean or should I say Rowan Atkinson as Johnny.
  • Gillian Anderson (of X-Files fame) as Pamela.
  • Dominic West as the perfidious Simon Ambrose. Mr. West has an impressively long resumé.
  • Pik Sen Lim (Who?  In fact she played in “Doctor Who”) as the cleaning lady assassin or Killer Cleaner.  Her resumé is also immense. You probably have seen her in one of her many roles even though just as probably no one knows her name.
  • Queen Elizabeth.

Even though I may have seen it somewhere in the dim past (is 2011 really that long ago?),  the second viewing was just as much fun.

2012, Acceptable for teenagers, Acceptable Trash, Adopted child, Alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease, Amazon Prime, Comedy, Corny, Dancing, Father-daughter relations, Feel Good Not For Children, Gay theme, Happy Family Gatherings, Love Story, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Personal Betrayal, Romance, Sign language for the deaf

The Perfect Wedding (2012)

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From IMDB:

Home for the Christmas holiday, a gay man starts falling for his ex-boyfriend’s lover, not knowing that the relationship is a mere pretense.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 22 minute comedy romance film.

When society is having a tough time, entertainment at that time can be grim. For example, in France after WWII the outlook was bleak which may explain why for a time La Grand Guignol was a popular live performance that featured torture. When times improved, that entertainment closed down.

So here we are in July 2020 suffering from the COVID-19 caronavirus.  At the same time there are quite a few streaming offerings that are real downers. Don’t despair – “The Perfect Wedding”  is an unabashed piece of acceptable trash that is a corny feel-good soap opera. And I guarantee you a happy ending for all four couples:  Mom and Dad must confront Dad’s incipient Alzheimer’s disease;  Daughter wants to marry her boyfriend in a simple wedding; Daughter introduces her girl friend to Son’s workmate; reformed alcoholic Son will find his male soul mate.

James Rebhorn, who plays Dad, is instantly recognizable. From his sizable resumé we see that he was Frank Mathison in Homeland.

What’s not to love?  Especially when I LOVE TRASH!

 

2020, Acceptable for teenagers, Accidental Death, Amusing banter, Chick Flick, Child custody, Comedy, Cooking and food, Corny at times, Flirting, Gay theme, Happy Family Gatherings, Improbable details, Lawyers, Love Story, Motorcycles, Netflix Streaming, Romance, Romantic comedy, Sex Scenes, Sports TV

Life As We Know IT (2020)

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From IMDB:

Two single adults become caregivers to an orphaned girl when their mutual best friends die in an accident.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 54 minute complete romantic comedy film.

For anyone who has cared for small children this film presents many familiar scenes.  Add to that mix the fact that Holly Berensen (played by Katherine Heigl) and Eric Messer (played by Josh Duhamel  are suddenly forced to replace the deceased parents and you have many comic moments.

Before the film reaches a happy ending there are the usual clashing career choices, side romances (including Holly with Sam, played by Josh Lucas), and an eccentric social worker. 

Of course there are corny moments and very improbable details but at least you can relax for two hours without seeing any violence.