Comedy

[7] Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau give career-highlight performances as mismatched roommates Felix and Oscar in this comedy based on the Neil Simon play. Everyone knows the gist of the story: two men, one neat and one sloppy, are forced to share an apartment, whackiness ensues. But what you may not know is that Lemmon’s character is living with Matthau because he’s under suicide watch. …

[6] Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn star in a Frank Capra movie about the political and personal tolls of running for president of the United States. Van Johnson and Margaret Hamilton are fun in supporting roles. Angela Lansbury is nice as the cold, calculating antagonist — her first scene is one of the movie’s best.

[7] I can’t imagine a harder franchise to revive than The Muppets. They’re so innocent, so low-fi, so much a product of the 70s and 80s… is it possible for them to garner new fans, or are kids today just too busy and cynical to give felt a chance? The verdict is out (at least until the weekend box office results are in), but as …

[4] Miramax moguls Bob and Harvey Weinstein directed and co-wrote this uninspired teen comedy about three high school graduates who transform a dilapidated bed & breakfast into a hip & happening getaway for young people. It’s like leftovers from half a dozen John Hughes and John Cusack movies. With Marisa Tomei and Harold Gould.

[6] A pleasant screwball comedy from the versatile George Stevens. Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, and Charles Coburn play mismatched roommates during a housing shortage. Scenes where the three narrowly avoid collision while getting ready in the morning will remind you of a ‘Three Stooges’ skit. Coburn took home a supporting actor Oscar for his avuncular role. His costars were nominated, as were Stevens and the …

[9] When a movie’s main title is preceded by a lonely man riding a farting corpse off a desert island and across the ocean, you either leave the theater immediately, or settle in for a cinematic experience like no other. Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) plays the lonely one, and Harry Potter himself (Daniel Radcliffe) plays the flatulent one. Dano’s about to hang himself …

[7] In New York City, a young nymphet named Alice (surely a Wonderland reference) receives an obscene phone call and immediately falls in love with the caller. She embarks on an urban adventure to find her lover, meeting one strange person after another, until finally coming face to face with the mystery man himself. The Telephone Book is all about sex, but it’s not a …

[6] Emile Hirsch (Milk, Killer Joe) stars in this sex comedy about a high school boy who falls in love with a porn star who moves in next door. Talk about a movie constructed around wish fulfillment! Things are complicated when the young woman’s porn producer ex-boyfriend comes looking for her and wants to take her back. For a sex comedy, things get a big …

[4] Jake Gyllenhaal plays a pharmaceutical rep and Anne Hathaway plays a free-spirit with the onset of Parkinson’s. They get together and take us with them on a dreary tale that’s more sad than funny, kinda boring, and lacking much forward momentum. What’s most remarkable is the amount of time the romantic leads spend naked (like, REALLY naked).

[7] Diminutive Herve Villechaize (TV’s Fantasy Island) stars in this gift from cult movie heaven for which no summary could do justice, Forbidden Zone is a prolonged crash of the whacky and perverse. The utterly irreverent storyline tests my patience in a few places, but the inventive animation and catchy soundtrack (featuring Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo) keep things afloat. Susan Tyrrell is camp-tastic as the …

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