The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame V: Comedy Edition

Blithe Spirit (1945) A truly excellent start to this HoF.
Delightful with quick-draw sharp wit, the performances truly make this such an enjoyable comedy for me. After a seance, a previous wife, Elvira (Kay Hammond), returns as a ghost that only her husband Charles (Rex Harrison) can only see to the utter agitation of his present wife Ruth (Constance Cummings). The highlight of a list of highlights is Margaret Rutherford as the enthusiastic, very British matron medium, Madame Arcati. I utterly adored her. I genuinely need to see a few Agatha Christie's Miss Marple films. I really do.

As things transpired and past and present wives clash while Harrison is downright snippy with everyone, I got a kick at learning how none of the three leads are all that nice. Not really. It gave a pleasant edge to the polite facade of their upper class. The peeks beneath the veneer kept me chuckling and, at times, burst out laughing. That balance of remaining both charming and little sh#ts was quite ideal for me.
And then, when Ruth dies, things catapult into a marvelous spiral of extremes. As she turned the teasing tables on Elvira, I was thoroughly invested and giddy at where it would go from there, even more so when I found Madame Arcati stuck around attempting to remove both ghosts. And then, having no prior knowledge of what becomes of Charles, my continually growing delight climaxed wonderfully. The two women waited on the bridge for the sound of Charles' car crashing with his displeased ghost plopping down between them was the perfect ending for me.

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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

I haven't heard of the first three films reviewed, and it's The Happiness of the Katakuris that I am the most curious about. I've only seen a couple of Miike's films, including the outrageous Ichi the Killer , so to read that there is a balance to the absurd has got my curiosity.

Parade, 1974

In Jacques Tati's final film, we watch as an audience of adults and children take in a circus performance, presided over by Tati's lead clown.

This is definitely a film that I'll have to revisit at some point, and I want to start by saying I'm really going back and forth on how I felt about it.

Honestly, I think that the mental "split" I'm having right now is about how I approached the film. I came at it with a comedy lens, looking for whatever it might have to offer in that department. And there is some really strong physical, visual comedy on hand, particularly in the form of Tati's mime routines. It's also really clear that the circus acts assembled are incredibly talented, from the musicians to a really stellar juggling/acrobatics trio.

But where this film really worked best for me is in its borderline-documentary function. This is a really sweet glimpse at a cultural/artistic moment that is both dated and enjoyably universal. The clothing! The haircuts! And yet the wonderful, always-true fact that in the presence of any show there will be one child who is enraptured and another child one seat behind them who is falling asleep.

The film floats back and forth between the performance and the events backstage. This gives the movie a kind of dreamy vibe that lands somewhere between documentary and fiction. The pace is very gentle, and the humor is mostly physical silliness.

I didn't have much to criticize about this one. I don't think that I was on the film's wavelength for the first 30 minutes or so, but I vibed with it a lot more as it went on. Like I said before, I probably owe this a rewatch with a different mental filter. I didn't super care for a sequence where audience members (ringers?) try to get on a bucking mule. It just looked very dangerous--for the animal and for the people!--and it made me uncomfortable to watch, especially one part where the mule's head was pulled down by a man trying to catch it.

Overall this was a fun and different watch. It was a neat cousin to the other Tati films I've seen so far.

(but this may go up if I revisit it before the end of this HoF).

He has quite the range. He made my favorite segment in the anthology Three . . . Extremes, "The Box".

In just the few I've seen it definitely shows.

My nominations :

Kung fu Hustle (2004)
Brand Upon the Brain! (2006)
The Hospital (1971)
Frankenhooker (1990)
The Player (1992)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Swiss Army Man (2016)
Visitor Q (2001)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Arthur (1981)

Swiss Army Man - Whomever picked this for me picked up on my taste pretty quickly, I've been eyeing this up for a while thinking that it looks good.

Kung Fu Hustle - I've been hearing about this on these forums lately and watched the trailer recently. Piqued my interest.

The Hospital - No idea about this one. There's a small bell ringing, meaning that I've come across it recently in my reading. Interesting film as a whole it looks like.

Frankenhooker - I remember seeing the VHS cover back in the day - it's pretty much imprinted in my mind. Haven't seen it though. That'll finally be remedied.

The Player - A classic that I've been meaning to see. They're the best nominations - the ones you've had on that list for ages.

Arsenic and Old Lace - I read the synopsis and I'm sold. Looks great.

Visitor Q - Ahh, I remember this coming up on the forums not too long back, and I really wanted to see it. I love all the Takashi Miike films I've seen so far - so this one is particularly awesome.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Another 2000s Countdown film will be struck down! This, of course, is one my watchlist. So this list gets better and better.

Brand Upon the Brain! - There's no doubt I'm going to love this. Like Hedwig and Player it's been released by Criterion as well, which always denotes that brand of quality. Very much looking forward to this one. (I'd never heard of it before now.)

Arthur - He he he he he he he. I hate Dudley Moore so much. Maybe, maybe, I can see past my personal opinion of him and enjoy watching Arthur. Hell, I have it on DVD and I've been meaning to watch it since forever. This is what is finally going to make me take that step.

I'm pretty excited about that line-up when I take a look at it. I tried my best when nominating films for everyone here, but I think I picked the hardest PR Hall of Fame to start in. Comedy is so much geared towards individual tastes, and the genre that can go the most wrong if you're out of step with the other person. Regardless, this is a lot of fun.

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She is hilarious here, and equally hilarious in her Marple films.

You're right about comedy being the most personal of the movie genres. It's hard picking a comedy movie for someone else, but looking at all the choices everyone made (and yes I know who picked what)...I can see that people made very intelligent decisions....Glad you decided to join!

Man, I have a hard enough time figuring out what kind of comedy I like myself, let alone trying to recommend a film for someone else haha.

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Here's my thoughts on the comedies I'll be watching:

See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)...Never heard of it, but I really like and find both Richard Pryor & Gene Wilder to be hilarious.

The Bank Dick (1940)...Dick=Detective btw. I've only seen a couple of W.C. Fields movies and I'm very interested in watching this one.

Victor Victoria (1982)...Think I'll like this one, Julie Andrews is a plus. Too bad I can't find a nice copy of the film, the one I found isn't that great looking.

Waitress (2007)...Love! that poster. It must be a good comedy because it was also chose for Allaby

Black Belt Jones (1974)...Might be real funny. Martial art films are among my least favorite but this is a comedy so could work wonders.

Bugsy Malone (1976)...Very curious about this one, I just might like it.

Ghost Town (2008) Synopsis: "Bertram Pincus is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts."..That sounds like a receipt for a funny movie! Looking forward to it.

Knives Out (2019)...I seen this mentioned at MoFo alot. The poster looks intriguing, high hopes here.

Take the Money and Run (1969)...I was hoping to get some Woody Allen films, especially his earlier ones as I've seen most all of his latest stuff.

Beetlejuice (1988)...Been wanting to see this one since it came out and yet I never had gotten around to it.

I imagine she would be.
I saw her opposite Alastair Sims in The Best Time of Your Life and loved the bickering between the two.

Pretty cool list and several unknowns for me to hear about.

I'm a HUGE fan of Kung Fu Hustle and have seen it countless times, be sure to watch the Dubbed version. VERY important. I am a fan of subtitles, use them constantly, but in Kung Fu Hustle the dubbed dialogue is a lot funnier than the subtitled. Also, the writer/director/leading actor took the time to get the dubbing right so it works exceedingly well.
I think one or two other folks have it as well, so this goes out to them as well.

peace and love but i don't think i'd have ever considered watching anything picked for me (outside of maaaybe Duck Soup and Josie and the Pussycats) so y'all better know something i don't here lmao

I'm surprised you've never seen Beetlejuice and curious how you feel about Knives Out. A bit curious about that one as well.
I sent you a link in Comments for Victor Victoria.

Same, which is why I'm sitting this out. I did kind of do a double take when I saw someone had Hedwig picked for them, though. Same thought as you had with Bon Cop Bad Cop.

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also since i guess we don't really need to be secretive about what we picked for Citizen i goofed his pick up bad since its not even really intentionally a comedy, just a bad version of a genre he hates lmaaaoooo.

Like others I had to pick for, it was a challenge deciding on something that, somehow, someway, might work for you. So, fingers crossed,

Will probably watch my first Monday, just wanted to make some hay in the 27th.

its ok, nothing i picked for anyone is funny either

*sweats profusely*

Really? I've watched the film countless times but never dubbed. Is it just being able to hear the inflections in the delivery?