I have an unusual sense of humor. I generally don’t find the things that the apparent majority of people find hilarious to be in the least bit amusing. I’ve never enjoyed a Farrelly Brothers’ film or any movie associated with Judd Apatow. I’ve got no use for Hangovers or elderly Virgins. I stare at the Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men dumbfoundedly wondering how anybody could find any ounce of humor in any of it. Broad comedy almost always falls flat to my ears and even more esoteric and odd comic film like Borat or Archer barely crack a smile on my face.
That doesn’t make me special and I’m not in anyway trying to sound hipster here, I just have a strange sort of funny bone. It’s not like I don’t like some popular comedies, I think Young Frankenstein is of the funniest things ever made and Mel Brooks isn’t exactly a crazed genius playing for tiny crowds in obscure theaters. The Coen Brothers usually know how to tickle me pink and I’ve been known to stop strangers and berate them with the genius of 30 Rock and how The Simpsons stopped being interesting after season 10.
I keep hearing great things about Drunk History but have so far kept my distance. Tell the truth, until moments ago I had no idea what it was all about, but throw “drunk” into the title of anything and I’m likely to get a little snobbish. But then I started looking through this week’s releases trying to find my pick and I decided to find out what the deal was. The concept is pretty ludicrous but also kind of amazing. The way it goes is they find someone who knows an interesting story about history then get them loaded on drink and have them tell it. As time passes, they continue to lay down the drinks and the stories get a little bit crazy. That in itself doesn’t really interest me but then they get top name actors to act out the story the drunk is telling, perfectly syncing everything up.
That’s so crazy it just might be brilliant. It’s like all those YouTube videos where they get someone’s mom who hasn’t seen a really famous movie to tell it from the bits and pieces they’ve culled from pop culture. This is something I can get behind and hopefully sync up with everybody else and laugh.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Nymphomaniac: Extended Director’s Cut Volume 1 & 2: Lars Von Trier’s controversial double header finally gets put together with extended cuts.
What If: A romantic comedy with Daniel Radcliffe in the lead. If I generally find straight comedies unfunny, I especially find romantic ones to be quite terrible. But Radcliffe has proven he’s willing to take risks on interesting projects so I’m willing to bet on him.
Merry Friggin’ Christmas: One of the very last movies Robin Williams ever made. It’s also got Joel McHale.
November Man: Pierce Brosnan in an old fashioned action flick.
The Giver: My mother gave me the book when I was in college and told me I just had to read it. I didn’t. Still haven’t. But lots of people love it. The movie seems to be pretty universally unloved.
The Expendables 3: More big dumb action from pretty much everyone who made an action flick in the ’80s.
Les Blank: Always For Pleasure (Criterion Collection): A documentary about a documentarian.
L’Avventura (Criterion Collection): Michelangelo Antonioni’s existential Italian drama about a young woman’s disappearance during a boating trip. I keep hearing great things about Antonioni and this film. It’s time to give them both a try.
