The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

A modern screwball comedy about the ever turning wheels of fate. After an absurd scene in which Waring Hudsucker, president of Hudsucker Industries, leaps out a window to his death during a business meeting, small-town optimist Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins) finds himself a puppet in Sydney Mussburger's (Paul Newman) evil scheme to take control of the company. Sydney promotes Norville from mail room clerk to president after Norville shows him the drawing above, explaining that it is a design that is "You know, for the kids" and that he's been working on it for years. Sydney assumes Norville is an idiot and therefore a perfect proxy during the transition after Waring's passing. What Sydney doesn't realize is that Norville has designed the hula-hoop, a toy that turns out to be one of Hudsucker Industries' biggest successes.

Screwball comedy isn't a genre term that gets thrown around a lot, and that's because it's a genre that more or less died out in the 1940s (with a handful of exceptions). Hudsucker is set in the same time period, and so the film can feel almost a little like parody rather than a new neo-genre, especially during the news paper room scenes, reminiscent of classics like His Girl Friday (1940), complete with a fast talking Hepburn-esque leading lady struggling to be one of the guys. Highly recommended if you enjoyed other cryptic Coen classics like Barton Fink or are a fan of the classic genre. Hilarious cast, guaranteed laughs throughout.

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

For those of you who haven't seen this film yet, this off-beat comedy features Adam Sandler playing a character different from his usual Saturday Night Live shtick. Barry Egan (Sandler) plays the highly eccentric head of a novelty item supplier company, perpetually wearing the same blue suit. He humorously suffers from high anxiety, rapid mood swings, and outrageous outbursts of irrational anger due to the incessant badgering of his seven sisters. The movie starts with Barry skittishly calling a phone hot-line that turns out to be scam headed by mattress store owner Dean Trumbell (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Barry spends the remainder of the film pursuing Lena Leonard (Emily Watson), a woman introduced to him by one of his sisters. Although Lena clearly has affection for Barry, their courtship is constantly interrupted by Trumbell's goons, Barrys obsession with purchasing copious amounts of pudding for promotional frequent flier miles, and his odd manner of displaying feelings.
This movie is notable due to Sandler's acting. It's incredible how much of the scenes revolve around his character silently interacting with really simple circumstances, and doing a terrible job of it. There is a constant ticking as part of the soundtrack while he scrutinizes over the comically small and seemingly insignificant decisions which leaves the audience with the distinct knowledge of just what is going on in his head. This flick will leave you feeling like you've had a good laugh at the expense of being put in a weird head-space, but you'll appreciate Paul Thomas Anderson's ability to get in your head.

Manhattan (1979)

 Manhattan is the story of Isaac Davis, a struggling, twice divorced, middle aged television writer as he attempts to decipher the endless complexities of love and romance in the middle of the titular city. Woody Allen writes, directs, and stars as Davis, a carbon copy of Allen himself, far removed from the camp of Bananas and Sleeper, but still tactfully cognizant of the absurdities of everyday existence. Davis first falls in love with a 17 year old girl named Tracy, 25 years her senior, and proceeds to patronize and educate her high school mind in the ways of love. The inherent irony is that Davis has nowhere near grasped the subjects himself, for if he did, he would not be involved with a high school junior. But after Davis meets his friend Yale’s mistress Mary (Diane Keaton), he quickly falls for her journalistic quick wit and elevated conversations, preferring their walks in the park and heated discussions of Ingmar Bergman to the innocence and youth of Tracy. The plot thickens and develops, all the while remaining comfortably simple and grounded.

Manhattan is a surprisingly straightforward romantic comedy for the likes of Allen. Whereas this could signal a move towards commercial acceptance on a larger scale, it instead alludes to a more developed narrative style of the prolific writer and director. The film is equal parts charming and unsettling (one can’t help but think of Allen’s more recent flirtations with pedophilia) with an infectious air of the urbane. Rather than a fierce comeuppance for the upper classes of New York society (Crimes and Misdemeanors), Allen realizes his own place in the pretentious milieu and embraces its incongruities, all the while skewering its conspirators. What sets the film apart from its encompassing catalog is the cinematography. Allen has an eye for the beauty of Manhattan while cinematographer Gordon Willis (The Godfather trilogy, Annie Hall) has a vision conveyed in a balanced black and white. Willis bathes the metropolis in a vapid dreamy fog and the scenes in the planetarium seduce the viewer with their sheer beauty. Allen’s perennially witty dialogue complements an already gorgeous film, possibly the most complete pairing of the two in his vast filmography. Ultimately, Manhattan is about one man’s love for a city of contradictions, envisioning each as both antagonistic and complementary in their ultimate, beautiful sum.

Yojimbo (1961)

Samurai-flick meets spaghetti-western in this exciting comedy from (the brilliant) Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Sanjuro Kuwabatake (Toshiro Mifune) is one of the most bad ass and fearless ronins (masterless samurai) in all of old Japan. The only trouble is he's totally broke. So when he discovers a small town completely overrun by murderous outlaws, torn by gang civil war, and tainted by gambling and prostitution, Sanjuro decides he might be able to make an easy buck by trying to bring an end to all the vice. Mostly by way of killing off all the criminals in town, the majority of which are complete idiots.


This movie is gonna blow your mind. In just the comical use of violence alone, Yojimbo is decades ahead of its time. I kept feeling like I recognized shots from a Tarantino film or jokes from a Coen brothers movie. The soundtrack adds a theatrical and somewhat goofy attitude to the film's style, making even the most disturbing images seem harmlessly humorous. The aesthetic is flawless; a perfectly balanced composition of black and white (just check out the screen shots) with thoughtful and graceful camera movement that keeps you in the action constantly. Without a doubt one of my favorite films of all time, made by my favorite filmmaker. Definitely a must-see.

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)

This classic romantic comedy, full of Woody Allen's humorous mix of slapstick and witty dialogue, takes place one weekend at a great estate in the early 1900s. Andrew, played by Woody Allen, is an eccentric inventor with a focus on mysticism and the spirit world and his wife who invite two couples over to spend a weekend at their estate. Andrew wants to show his friends (a doctor, lawyer, and their beautiful young counterparts) a recent invention that led to a controversial discovery. All the while, love is in the air as the three couples reunite and we come to find out that their past histories have intersected in various compromising ways. There are several montages of them all frolicking around the Victorian estate between scenes of them sneaking around to swap sexual partners if only for the weekend. Woody Allen's comic wit drives this romantic comedy and I thought it was delightful while cheesy at times. The plot may have been slightly loose but the romantic engagements soon take the focus of the film and I found the dialogue to be charming and light. It's one I'm sure I'll watch again.

Comedy Central Presents: Kristen Schaal

The following is part of a series that profiles episodes of Comedy Central Presents, a collection of stand-up comedy available for instant viewing.


If you’re anything like me, first of all, congratulations. Second of all, you were surprised to imagine Kristen Schaal as a stand-up comedian. Schaal is actress, perhaps best known as Mel in HBO’s Flight of the Conchords or from her work as a Daily Show correspondent. She’s also appeared in Mad Men, Modern Family, and a few feature films. That said, her Comedy Central Presents episode is solid, more so if you are familiar with her more recent work. Her episode watches more like a one-woman show than a stand-up routine.


Schaal’s episode essentially puts her on stage for 21 minutes, and she puts forth a strong comedic offering. Technically titled ‘Anne Boelyn on Fire’, her show has some brilliant comedic moments that ebb and flow with her performance. She refrains from the rapid-fire jokes that mark more traditional comedians, but her performance displays tremendous command of tension/release, an important comedic factor. It’s definitely worth 20 minutes, if you’ve got ‘em, particularly if you like Schaal’s other work. If nothing else, you can check it out if you want something funny, fresh, and a little off-beat.

Spies Like Us (1985)

Dan Aykroyd writes and stars alongside Chevy Chase, and John Landis (Animal House, Blues Brothers) directs this comedic espionage romp. Aykroyd and Chase play two bumbling spies who don't realize that their job is to serve as decoys (needless to say, they end up getting into all sorts of hilarious trouble). Spies Like Us is occasionally pretty funny, but for the most part the jokes are predictable and not as frequent as you would like. The physical comedy is a highlight, especially by Chevy Chase, giving the feeling that enormous comedic talent is being wasted on a script that simply isn't that funny.

I don't want to sound too much like I'm complaining, though. Although I rarely laughed out loud, I definitely enjoyed the movie; maybe because of the soft spots I have for spy movies and the 80's. The whole thing was remarkably likable, akin to a canned soup: you know it's not high quality, but that doesn't stop you from liking it. A true comfort film.

Comedy Central Presents: Alonzo Bodden

The following is part of a series that profiles episodes of Comedy Central Presents, a collection of stand-up comedy available for instant viewing.

Alonzo Bodden is a comic’s comic. His stage persona is relaxed and mature, his material is well-written and sharp, and most importantly, his jokes are funny. I first saw Bodden on the second season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, where he was runner-up to John Heffron. He came back again in Season 3 and won both redemption and the title, and he was a judge in Season 5. I remember him distinctly because he always had new material, whereas the other finalists, even the eventual winner, seemed to recycle jokes week-to-week. Bodden still works as a stand-up today, traveling and performing regularly. Watching him work, he really doesn’t do much besides talk into the mic. But it doesn’t matter, the guy’s a pure stand-up.

Bodden’s set is funny in all the right ways: it’s brave, funny, and sharp. He starts a bit slow but really hits his stride about five minutes in. His racial stuff is particularly memorable, making some funny points about the nature of stereotypes. His bit about his incarceration is also pretty strong (“The thing about jail is, if you haven’t been, don’t go”). He goes right at controversial topics, reminding the audience rather convincingly that “it’s ok to laugh.” The set isn’t perfect—Bodden certainly doesn’t go for laughs with on-stage antics, and I always find airplane security jokes a bit clichéd —, but if you want to see a true stand-up doing solid, textbook, craftsman-like comedy, Alonzo Bodden might be right up your alley.

Check him out at Alonzo Live.

Comedy Central Presents: A Primer

Nowadays, Netflix offers a surprisingly strong collection of stand-up for our instant-watching pleasure. But in my humble and completely biased opinion, Comedy Central Presents, a collection of half-hour comedy specials from the late 90s and early 2000s, remains the crown jewel in the queue’s rapidly expanding stand-up library.

With its 240 episodes, Comedy Central Presents is a lot of comedy, perhaps the longest single entry on Netflix. But beyond its sheer volume, the virtue of the collection lies in the wide array of comics assembled therein, a snapshot of the comedic voices of the time. Names like Zach Galiafinakis, Dane Cook, and Chelsea Handler stand out among the roster of comedians; it’s interesting to see them before their fame, and, more importantly, to see if they can do a solid 20 minutes.

I’ll be writing a series that highlights individual comedians/episodes, with an emphasis on how the special fits into his or her greater body of work. And in addition to those who went on to bigger endeavors, I’ll talk about some others (Dan Naturman, Greg Giraldo, etc.) who never got the recognition they deserve.

We'll start with Alonzo Bodden and Kristen Schaal.

The Trotsky (2009)

In this charming, quirky, indie comedy, Leon Bronstein (played by Jay Baruchel) is an eighteen year old Canadian student who believes he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky, the Marxist revolutionary. I know, pretty funny right? Well it doesn't really get much more clever from there. The whole movie is about Leon plotting revolution against, well, basically against high school being lame. What's up, DCOM* plotline? And as for the love story: Leon meets a woman almost a decade older than him named Alexandria, the same name as Trotsky's wife, which inspires him to stalk her constantly until she falls (hesitantly) in love with him. The jokes are mostly references to historical dictators and fascists, which gets pretty old quickly. I don't want to sound like a jerk here, but I honestly thought this movie was a waste of time. I had to start and stop it like four times because I got bored of watching it. Aside from the soundtrack and a clever political quip here or there, this is just...corny and bland.

* DCOM: Disney Channel Original Movie

Dead Snow (2009)

This Norwegian Zombie Comedy easily outshines its English and American counterparts, Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Zombieland (2009). From the moment a rugged stranger recounts the Nazi occupation of the sleepy mountain town in Norway to a group of young medical school students on Easter vacation, the ludicrous storyline only grows more outrageous as the feet of intestine stretch and gallons of blood fly. As the Nazis pursue their vengeful blood-lust, the surviving group member genuinely grow in character and weapon wielding ability. You will laugh uncontrollably as chainsaws, axes, and snowmobile turrets mow down lines of zombies as the awesome soundtrack crescendos at a rapid staccato. By the final golden moments of the film you will be completely satisfied with the chaos that ensued.

Big Man Japan (2007)

Big Man Japan is easily the strangest mocumentary you're likely to find. The movie follows Masaru, a rather lonely and pathetic man who has a thing for umbrellas, played by Hitoshi Matsumoto who made his directoral debut with this film. As boring as that may sound, and despite a very slow start, this movie will have you on the floor laughing for reasons you can't explain and probably wouldn't want to if you could. The main character is a refreshing change from the typical leading man of action flicks and the monsters are so bizarre that after watching it you may seriously reconsider any positive attitude regarding stem cell research because these distorted forms of gigantic humanoids are disturbing and uproariously funny. Like any good action romp the fight scenes are violent and humorous although dry and a somewhat sparse. The last scene of the movie made me laugh so hard I had a difficult time containing my bodily fluids. I loved watching it and haven't been able to get it out of my head for a few days now. If you're looking for a an East Asian comedy, a super hero movie, or just strange twist on your day look no further, Big Man Japan is everything you need and so much more than you thought you would want.

The King Of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

Seriously, this story is so rich with strangeness and the characters are so unrelenting in their socially-awkward nerdyness, it's difficult to even believe this is a documentary. You're going to be laughing out loud while still sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting to see who will be crowned King of Kong. Billy Mitchell is a super star in the niche video game fan culture of old school arcade, being the holder of several world record scores. Billy is basically the greasiest, nerdiest prick of all time. Steve Wiebe is an unemployed dad with an original Donkey Kong arcade counsel in his garage, and after playing the thing night and day for weeks at a time, he thinks he's got the stuff to beat Billy's high score. Oh man, and things get soooo heated. I'm laughing to myself just thinking about it. Sabotage, insults, threats. It's crazy. A must-see doc. Very well done.

The Larry Sanders Show Season 1 (1992)

Do you like Seinfeld? Ya? What about 30 Rock? Curb Your Enthusiasm? Arrested Development? Then you're gonna love The Larry Sanders Show. This show was on HBO from 1992-98, following the life of Larry Sanders, a fictional late night talk show host played by comedian Garry Shandling. Whats really special about this show is every episode has excerpts from the show within the show, complete with celebrity guests, who always play slightly exaggerated versions of themselves. And we're talking early nineties guests. Like Catherine O'Hara, the mom from Home Alone. It's dry comedy, similar to what you'd see on Curb, and the subject matter, how show business can make you a neurotic mess, is familiar of 30 Rock and Extras. George Sr. from Arrested Development, Jeffrey Tambor, plays Larry's sidekick on the show, Hank. Jeremy Piven from Entourage plays the head writer. Rip Torn plays the Jack Donaghy-type producer. And here's the kicker: Judd Apatow gets a credit as Consulting Producer.

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Woody Allen writes, directs, and stars in this complex philosophical exploration of the wages of sin through the interweaving tales of seemingly unrelated characters. Allen plays a struggling documentary filmmaker attempting to chronicle the life and ideas of an enigmatic philosophy professor. Martin Landau stars as the foil to the downtrodden Allen, a highly successful ophthalmologist doing his best to dam his own covert indiscretions at no cost to his carefully constructed image.

The film is equal parts drama and comedy, envisioning the absurdly complicated and often reckless lives of society’s higher class citizens through the provocative direction and writing of Allen. Rife with meaning, Allen constructs a film that manages to navigate seemingly haphazard plot elements with a heartfelt esotericism upheld by his own black humor and well-developed characters. Mia Farrow, Alan Alda, Sam Waterston, and Jerry Orbach complement an already thoughtful film with precise acting.