Sitting around on a Saturday night can get a guy thinking. I was watching an old comedy on the computer and reminiscing about the good old days when it occurred to me to do some movie reviews for the blog. I decided to take a different slant though and review some of the classic "under-the-radar" comedies by some of Hollywood's most respected comedians. As follows is a list of movies that I highly recommend watching for the first time or dusting off and checking out again. These aren't the movies that got these guys noticed, but on Betamax these were comedic gold.
1. Armed and Dangerous (John Candy): Better known for films like Uncle Buck and The Great Outdoors, Armed and Dangerous is actually my favorite film starring John Candy. Teamed up with Eugene Levy, and co-starring a young and cute Meg Ryan, the story follows an ex-cop and a disgraced lawyer who get involved with a security company to make ends meet. Watching Candy and Levy together is a riot, they really act well against each other. Their hijinks lead them to uncover some crazy plot and they're forced to figure it out or die trying.
Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 87%
2. Running Scared (Billy Crystal): At the height of the "buddy cop" phenomenon of the 1980s Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines team up for an action comedy that few could imagine when thinking about these two. You've got a midget Jew and a tap dancing black guy who both manage to pull off convincing Chicago cops with style and humor. While Crystal's career moved on to movies like When Harry Met Sally and his unforgettable cameo as Miracle Max in The Princess Bride, I will always look fondly on his portrayal of the plucky smart mouthed Danny Costanzo in Running Scared and dream silently about the sequel that should've been but never was.
Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 92%
3. Club Paradise (Robin Williams, et al.) An ensemble cast make this rarely remembered gem worth watching. Robin Williams stars as retired fireman Jack Moniker, who makes his way to the islands for the easy life only to fall head over heels into all kinds of mayhem and hilarity. Compared to his subsequent work this movie almost makes Williams look like a normal human being and not a coked out schizophrenic character of himself. Great reggae music, costarring an actually funny Peter O'Tool, a young Rick Moranis, and Eugene Levy, it's a movie I can actually watch over and over and not get tired of.
Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 90%
4. Bowfinger (Steve Martin): I know this movie isn't that old but I really think it doesn't get enough credit. Starring Martin and Eddie Murphy, this movie is really a good contemporary film by two actors who by all other accounts forgot how to be funny after 1991. In 1999 this movie was so unexpectedly good that most people just didn't even see it...after all, Murphy had just done the UN-funny Dr. Doolittle and Holy Man, while Martin had done the equally retch inducing Father of the Bride II and Sgt. Bilko. Bowfinger was a fresh cool comedy about a nearly-over-the-hill director who wants to make his masterpiece before his Hollywood time runs out. Yes, it's easy to say that Eddie Murphy steals the show, however I really enjoyed Steve Martin's performance as Bobby Bowfinger...his easy comedic style was a welcome departure from his more over-the-top performances (see The Pink Panther etc.)
Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 95%
5. The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew (Rick Moranis/Dave Thomas): Before there were the movies Half Baked, Beer Fest and the host of other movie-to-get-wasted-by there was Strange Brew. This is a movie about two loser brothers who couldn't find their way out of a wet paper sack, do nothing but drink beer and eat donuts, and yet somehow manage to make us all laugh and enjoy a rather bland looking movie (supposed to be Canadian so I guess BLAND is the way to go). Just a lot of fun watching Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas act like sloshed idiots...this movie made the word "Hoser" popular...if you don't know what a hoser is it means most likely you are one.
Lars T. Rating out of 100%: 88%
OK...go to Netflix and order these movies.
Other notable, not-so-famous comedies to check out include:
Fletch Lives (Chevy Chase) I thought this was a good sequel, but apparently I'm in the minority
PCU (Jeremy Piven) Great 90s college movie, pre-American Pie and Van Wilder bullcrap.
Airheads (Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler)...dumb funny, but worth watching.
Trading Places (Akroyd and Murphy) just in case you forgot about this one. A Classic!
Pure Luck (Martin Short and Danny Glover) shut up I liked it!
Lars T.
Life doesn't make any sense, and we all pretend it does. Comedy's job is to point out that it doesn't make sense, and that it doesn't make much difference anyway. -Eric Idle
