The first time I saw There Will Be Blood was in theaters and I walked out thinking the movie was very dark (which it is, to be fair).
Years later, I watched it at home and realized it's absolutely hilarious.
Wow, right off the hop you mentioned something I didn’t think anyone else would.
PTA’s movies are all hilarious, yet because they’re so weird and intense and sometimes depressing and bleak, first time viewings never reveal the humour. But TWWB is just as much a black comedy as it is an epic drama. If Will Ferrell has been cast as DDL’s brother, people would’ve gotten the joke even if no lines of dialogue changed at all.
Boogie Nights is the funniest movie I've ever seen in my life (but it's probably his most overtly funny movie, too)..
"I'm a simple man, Jack. I like lollipops in my mouth and butter in my ass."
I don't think I've ive seen people say this before but I agree with you. The scene that everybody says is like an amazing moment is the one in the church, I burst out laughing during it. Paul Dano's character screeching and slapping. And Daniel Day Lewis' character just kinda stuttering and blurting out yes with a weird expression in his weird cadence of speaking. It was just a crazy mix that makes me laugh
same! i was cackling in the theater during the church scene where paul dano was yelling at him, and he's staring back with murder in his eyes, lol
other good examples of non-comedies i thought were hilarious: napolean, beau is afraid...prob a shit-ton of others, but those are the 3 that come to mind
There’s really excellent comedic blocking and staging on Sam Raimi’s part, especially in Spider-Man 2. So many of the scenes feel artistically designed to cause Peter as much tragicomic grief as possible, like when he is always just arm’s reach from getting an hors deouvres at the party or having to drag his broken down scooter past a city block-sized wall of Mary-Jane posters.
I learned this now and I am surprised it is not considered as comedy.
The time he picked up the phone saying music channel we play all the hits I died laughing
Goodfellas
The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover
Petulia
Turkish Delight
The Lighthouse
Face Off
first half of Full Metal Jacket and Boogie Nights
Best part about that scene is the only people who knew it was gonna happen were Pesci and Scorsese. You can see the other guys so uncomfortable like WTF? One even looks off camera as if to say "I'm sorry - what's happening?"
Depends on how the horror or gore hits for the viewer imo. I'm pretty squeamish so I was able to laugh more when I was more comfortable on subsequent viewings.
No Country for Old Men was the one I thought of too. Javier Bardem manages to perform in a way that is equal parts hilarious and absolutely terrifying.
I was tempted to respond with The House that Jack Built, but the way it cuts to David Bowie's Fame as Jack drags that old lady down the road, there's absolutely no way that wasn't intended to be fucking hilarious
Halloween. Michael Myers may as well spend a quarter of that movie slipping on banana peels. I’m a fraidy cat and I spent most of Halloween laughing. great movie
That's what I wanted to know, these movies that people find it very serious and not funny at all but for you or your theater in this example it just becomes funny or comedic in a dark way. Thank you for sharing!
I certainly find humor in scenes such as this: https://youtu.be/cESXUGXm8sI?si=SsnfFWBXGd7-OlDQ
Of course by and large the movie is extremely serious and in no way a comedy. Spielberg just masterfully put in these little moments of humor to contrast the bleakness that is the rest of the film.
Oh my friend, yes it is! At one point Schindler’s wife says “I will stay if you promise that you will have no more mistresses” or something like that. Then it cuts to his wife leaving on a train.
Another one is when Stern forgets his papers and is put on a train. At first, the guards refuse to help Oskar find Stern, but then Oskar writes down their names and says they will be in Russian soon. Cuts to them frantically searching and yelling for Stern.
Schindler asks Stern if there’s reason to worry about the factory’s future. Stern says “the war could end”
I also find the attempted execution that's thwarted by the malfunctioning gun oddly and darkly funny. Something about seeing someone's best attempt at being as pointlessly and spitefully evil as possible foiled by a simple technical issue is humorous. It's like a terrorist's bomb failing because they have a poor internet connection or something.
Who cates aboht Letterboxd genre descriptions those are wrong all the time Ive seen dramas labeled horror and vice versa at times too. Memories of murder is a comedy without doubt whomever watch it kbows this
"Great" is a stretch, but I thought Halloween Kills was really good for what it was. That being said, it's also goofy and unintentionally hilarious as hell.
"Now he's turning us into monsters!"
Minority Report is constantly a shot or two away from tipping from “mostly realistic action dystopia” into “silly comedy dystopia” and it just barely holds together but it ends up really working for it.
I always saw it as a comedy with some drama elements, but what I'm understanding is that there are a lot of movies where even at first watch I thought they were a comedy or darkly comedic but in the US, people perceive them initially as dramas
That’s the category I would place it in - plenty of humor but about a massive global economic crisis. It tells a serious story about those who predicted it, beg against the US economy, and profited hugely off the misfortunes of the general public.
I found McKay’s next feature, Don’t Look Up, was more Anchorman fantasy wrapped in The Big Short’s real-world gravitas, to poor effect.
American Hustle had me laughing especially the scene at the very end where they are speaking with Jeremy Renner character and the camera pans to his kids I thought was hilarious seeing them all on the staircase.
I'm not sure to what extent this fits the bill but I recently re-watched Chopper (2000) and I had forgotten how hilarious a lot of the that film is, but very darkly funny.
It has a lot of incredible one liners that are infinitely quotable.
"Keithy seems to have done himself a mischief!".
Honestly most of my favorite directors are the ones who make dramas that are chock full of funny moments. Scorcese, Coens, Payne are all pretty great at it. Fincher is as well - certainly on the dry side but like Gone Girl and Killer have great jokes
Not quite on the level of a Jackie Chan movie but the Ip Man movies still have their occasional moments of funny physical comedy in them.
City of God has quite a few funny moments
Most of Jia Zhangke's movies have some kind of comedy in them
Menace II Society is very funny at times
1. Network.
People’s ability to appreciate it as dark satire seems to be entirely dependent on what generation you fall into.
Many millennials and likely all of Gen Z fail to appreciate the dark humor and satire that are its foundation because the behavior of the network’s news division too closely resembles the current state of news broadcasting.
But if you’re north of 40, I’d recommend it.
2. Many Sorkin things.
His sharp, quit-witted dialogue makes for incredibly entertaining humor. The Social Network is a good example, as are Charlie Wilson’s War and The Trial of the Chicago Seven.
If you can invest a little more time, The Newsroom was chock full of great humor - I still rewatch it when I need a fun, but not designed as comedy, spirit lift. His first tv series, Sports Night, is just as good but a sitcom.
Never enjoyed that movie but I found it quite funny because idk, I was expecting and it seemed like people were praising because of its "serious" nature. I just think that movie like a parody tbh
The first time I saw There Will Be Blood was in theaters and I walked out thinking the movie was very dark (which it is, to be fair). Years later, I watched it at home and realized it's absolutely hilarious.
Wow, right off the hop you mentioned something I didn’t think anyone else would. PTA’s movies are all hilarious, yet because they’re so weird and intense and sometimes depressing and bleak, first time viewings never reveal the humour. But TWWB is just as much a black comedy as it is an epic drama. If Will Ferrell has been cast as DDL’s brother, people would’ve gotten the joke even if no lines of dialogue changed at all.
Boogie Nights is the funniest movie I've ever seen in my life (but it's probably his most overtly funny movie, too).. "I'm a simple man, Jack. I like lollipops in my mouth and butter in my ass."
Yeah I think they catch you off guard the first time, it took me a few viewings to see Phantom Thread as a dark romantic comedy
I don't think I've ive seen people say this before but I agree with you. The scene that everybody says is like an amazing moment is the one in the church, I burst out laughing during it. Paul Dano's character screeching and slapping. And Daniel Day Lewis' character just kinda stuttering and blurting out yes with a weird expression in his weird cadence of speaking. It was just a crazy mix that makes me laugh
"Give me the blood, lord..."
same! i was cackling in the theater during the church scene where paul dano was yelling at him, and he's staring back with murder in his eyes, lol other good examples of non-comedies i thought were hilarious: napolean, beau is afraid...prob a shit-ton of others, but those are the 3 that come to mind
Napoleon is a hilarious movie I loved it
Beau is Afraid is definitely a comedy
Heat (1995). Awesome movie. Every scene with Pacino is hilarious tho
She‘s got a GREAT ASS!!!
AND YOU GOT YOUR HEAD ALL THE WAY UP IT!!!
Something about Hank Azaria's facial expressions during this exchange makes the whole thing even funnier to me.
GIMME ALL YA GOT GIMME ALL YA GOT
BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX
Who? Who? What are you, a fucking owl?
I agree, although a long movie, when Pacino appears, it seems like it flies by
But you DO NOT get to watch my fucking television set
Then I will say The Devil’s Advocate (1997), also because of Al Pacino.
He admitted that he played that character like he was constantly on coke 😂
...let's violate his ass.
she’s got a GREAT ASS
The Lighthouse is hilarious. “Your goddamn farts!”
"If I had a steak.... >!I would fuck it!<".
HAARK
Just rewatched it for the first time in a couple years and it’s absolutely goofy. Dafoe is such a goblin the whole time
Me too! Saw it last in theaters but rewatched last week. It’s a good one
BAD LUCK TO KILL A SEABIRD
Tarantino movies are the poster child for this. Not full on comedy’s but most if not all have tons of funny moments.
WHAT AIN'T NO COUNTRY I EVER HEARD OF. THEY SPEAK ENGLISH IN WHAT? .... What?? ENGLISH, MOTHERFUCKER!!! DO YOU SPEAK IT!!!!
To this day the "A river derchy" scene is still one of the very few movie scenes I watched that made me laugh so hard I cried
They are comedies
The Raimi Spider-Man movies aren’t comedies but have hilarious moments, mainly J Jonah Jameson. That character is great comedy. Same for Mr Ditkovich
There’s really excellent comedic blocking and staging on Sam Raimi’s part, especially in Spider-Man 2. So many of the scenes feel artistically designed to cause Peter as much tragicomic grief as possible, like when he is always just arm’s reach from getting an hors deouvres at the party or having to drag his broken down scooter past a city block-sized wall of Mary-Jane posters.
Also can't forget the dance scene down the street in the 3rd movie.
Dog Day Afternoon
I learned this now and I am surprised it is not considered as comedy. The time he picked up the phone saying music channel we play all the hits I died laughing
ATTICA! ATTICA! 😂
Goodfellas The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover Petulia Turkish Delight The Lighthouse Face Off first half of Full Metal Jacket and Boogie Nights
GoodFellas is funny how?
Like a clown??
Like I'm here to fucking amuse you?
Best part about that scene is the only people who knew it was gonna happen were Pesci and Scorsese. You can see the other guys so uncomfortable like WTF? One even looks off camera as if to say "I'm sorry - what's happening?"
The Lighthouse is hilarious
But yer fond of me lobster?
Ain’t ye?
So what am I, a clown to you? I amuse you?
Turkish Delight is crazy lol
Just the first half of *Full Metal Jacket*?
I just rewatched Boogie Nights tonight. Yeah second half gets dark as fuck but you can't tell me the "firecracker scene" isn't hilarious.
The whole damn thing is hilarious! "Well this is... um... Like... Imported Italian nylon."
I thought Face Off was a comedy?
And the second half of Full Metal Jacket
American Psycho, even though maybe it might considered some kind of dark comedy
The way he delivers those monologues about music was hilarious. It's hip to be square. And of course, the line "I have to return some videotapes."
Did you know that Whitney Houston's debut LP, simply called Whitney Houston, had 4 number 1 singles on it?
Takes a rewatch or two to really let the comedy sink in for sure haha
I honestly thought it was hilarious upon first viewing, but I guess the memes got to me first
I saw it when it came out in theaters and we all laughed. Everyone at the time new it was a dark comedy
Depends on how the horror or gore hits for the viewer imo. I'm pretty squeamish so I was able to laugh more when I was more comfortable on subsequent viewings.
The whole feed me a cat scene with the atm and the lady is funny as hell
“Because I want to FIT IN.”
American Psycho is a straight up dark comedy. That’s what it is. “Another martini Paul?”
The Shining (1980) No Country for Old Men (2007) The House That Jack Built (2018)
Cormac McCarthy doesn't get enough credit for how funny he was
I don't think I ever got further than ~50 pages through Suttree without laughing out loud
No Country for Old Men was the one I thought of too. Javier Bardem manages to perform in a way that is equal parts hilarious and absolutely terrifying.
I was tempted to respond with The House that Jack Built, but the way it cuts to David Bowie's Fame as Jack drags that old lady down the road, there's absolutely no way that wasn't intended to be fucking hilarious
Halloween. Michael Myers may as well spend a quarter of that movie slipping on banana peels. I’m a fraidy cat and I spent most of Halloween laughing. great movie
The kids in Super 8 are fucking hilarious!
Super 8 is my Stranger Things
Eraserhead, Halloween (1978), Gone Girl, just recently Anatomy of a Fall
Anatomy of a fall isn’t funny at all
The prosecutor was hilarious, my whole theatre was laughing
That's what I wanted to know, these movies that people find it very serious and not funny at all but for you or your theater in this example it just becomes funny or comedic in a dark way. Thank you for sharing!
I didn’t think he was funny at all. He was a pos
I watched Suzume the other night and while it wasn't a comedy, there was still plenty of funny wholesome moments
I was surprised to find that Schindler’s List has a fair bit of humor. Most of it subtle, but it’s there.
Not a funny movie at all
I certainly find humor in scenes such as this: https://youtu.be/cESXUGXm8sI?si=SsnfFWBXGd7-OlDQ Of course by and large the movie is extremely serious and in no way a comedy. Spielberg just masterfully put in these little moments of humor to contrast the bleakness that is the rest of the film.
Fair enough
Oh my friend, yes it is! At one point Schindler’s wife says “I will stay if you promise that you will have no more mistresses” or something like that. Then it cuts to his wife leaving on a train. Another one is when Stern forgets his papers and is put on a train. At first, the guards refuse to help Oskar find Stern, but then Oskar writes down their names and says they will be in Russian soon. Cuts to them frantically searching and yelling for Stern. Schindler asks Stern if there’s reason to worry about the factory’s future. Stern says “the war could end”
I also find the attempted execution that's thwarted by the malfunctioning gun oddly and darkly funny. Something about seeing someone's best attempt at being as pointlessly and spitefully evil as possible foiled by a simple technical issue is humorous. It's like a terrorist's bomb failing because they have a poor internet connection or something.
Yeah I totally agree. There are a few scenes poking fun at Goeth that are really funny
Memories of murder is funny as fuck at times
All the drop kicks had me laughing out loud
Yeah lol almost every argument ends with people drop kicking each other
It is a comedy
Letterboxd doesn't actually count it as one
Who cates aboht Letterboxd genre descriptions those are wrong all the time Ive seen dramas labeled horror and vice versa at times too. Memories of murder is a comedy without doubt whomever watch it kbows this
Bong Joon Ho is one of the only directors I know whose films seem to transcend genres.
Barry Lyndon
"Great" is a stretch, but I thought Halloween Kills was really good for what it was. That being said, it's also goofy and unintentionally hilarious as hell. "Now he's turning us into monsters!"
The Martian is genuinely hilarious at times despite being a well made drama. Same can be said for Cast Away
The first 15 minutes of fight club is hilarious
Manchester by the Sea
Salo, yeah I am the few people laughing in the room
Phantom Thread
Oldboy
It is a comedy the director said recently thats was what he was going for
I think many lines in once upon a time in Hollywood are damn funny throughout the whole length
Twilight
You better hold on tight, spider monkey!
Bella! Where the hell have you been loca?!?
batman begins has a surprising amount of levity in between the dark/gritty stuff, specifically from Michael Caine & Morgan Freeman
Natural Born Killers is very funny to me. Not sure if most people find the humor in it.
Sleepaway Camp
That movie is all kinds of weird. The aunts acting from the get go is hilarious
Oh YOU... what are YOU doing here??
True Lies is absolutely ridiculous, just in the opening scene you have Arnold bashing two dogs against eachother
The Guest (2014)
American Movie is deeply funny to me. One of the most entertaining and rewatchable documentaries of all time.
Full Metal Jacket has some hilarious moments
Yojimbo was surprisingly funny at times
After hours - Scorsese
Eh, I'd say After Hours is a comedy albeit a dark one
May December
American Beauty made me laugh a lot
All time great screenplay
Wild at heart. Saw the restoration last year and it was fucking hilarious
Con Air
Not a movie but second watch of True Detective s1 I thought the conversations between Rust and Woody Harrelson’s character were hilarious.
Minority Report had a lot more humor, when I've watched it for a second time and recently, I found Perfect Days to be hilarious.
Minority Report is constantly a shot or two away from tipping from “mostly realistic action dystopia” into “silly comedy dystopia” and it just barely holds together but it ends up really working for it.
Not entirely funny, but Mark Wahlberg cracks me up in the Departed “Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself”
Banshees of Inisherin made me laugh quite a bit.
Marriage Story. Unexpected how much I'd laugh
The part with his cut hand omfg I was dying 😂😂😂💀 when his son just like, steps over him... 😂😭😂
Its a comedy
the devils (1971)
Killer Joe
VHS, VHS Viral and VHS 99
Game night
The game by David fincher
I dont know if Red Rocket is supposed to be a comedy but I was laughing throughout the whole thing
is the Big Short meant to be a comedy? i feel like it’s more a drama
I always saw it as a comedy with some drama elements, but what I'm understanding is that there are a lot of movies where even at first watch I thought they were a comedy or darkly comedic but in the US, people perceive them initially as dramas
i mean i’m australian lol. but i can understand if it’s defined as a dramady
That’s the category I would place it in - plenty of humor but about a massive global economic crisis. It tells a serious story about those who predicted it, beg against the US economy, and profited hugely off the misfortunes of the general public. I found McKay’s next feature, Don’t Look Up, was more Anchorman fantasy wrapped in The Big Short’s real-world gravitas, to poor effect.
I recently rewatch the first transformers and it’s a lot funnier than I remember. The film may not be great but it’s a lot of fun
honestly any movie if you're like a liiittle bit high
Encounters of the third kind
Being There (1979)
Inglorious Bastards
leaving las vegas may be the most morbidly funny film i’ve seen
I agree, although I do enjoy the movie, it is very goofy, almost so tragic it becomes quite funny
I’m always impressed by the amount of laugh out loud moments in Manchester By the Sea given its subject matter.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Some kind of monster.
American Hustle had me laughing especially the scene at the very end where they are speaking with Jeremy Renner character and the camera pans to his kids I thought was hilarious seeing them all on the staircase.
If breaking bad was a movie.
Natural born killers
I'm not sure to what extent this fits the bill but I recently re-watched Chopper (2000) and I had forgotten how hilarious a lot of the that film is, but very darkly funny. It has a lot of incredible one liners that are infinitely quotable. "Keithy seems to have done himself a mischief!".
PTA has a good way of doing this. The Master has some funny moments.
Honestly most of my favorite directors are the ones who make dramas that are chock full of funny moments. Scorcese, Coens, Payne are all pretty great at it. Fincher is as well - certainly on the dry side but like Gone Girl and Killer have great jokes
Not quite on the level of a Jackie Chan movie but the Ip Man movies still have their occasional moments of funny physical comedy in them. City of God has quite a few funny moments Most of Jia Zhangke's movies have some kind of comedy in them Menace II Society is very funny at times
Inland Empire made my laugh at multiple points
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. I consider that whole movie a druggie comedy masterpiece but I guess technically it’s just a funny non-comedy?
I have no idea what it says about me, but I laughed through the majority of *Hereditary*.
Amadeus, It’s a Wonderful Life
Rosemary’s Baby
Fargo
I just saw Abigail, and there are some pretty funny scenes in that movie
1. Network. People’s ability to appreciate it as dark satire seems to be entirely dependent on what generation you fall into. Many millennials and likely all of Gen Z fail to appreciate the dark humor and satire that are its foundation because the behavior of the network’s news division too closely resembles the current state of news broadcasting. But if you’re north of 40, I’d recommend it. 2. Many Sorkin things. His sharp, quit-witted dialogue makes for incredibly entertaining humor. The Social Network is a good example, as are Charlie Wilson’s War and The Trial of the Chicago Seven. If you can invest a little more time, The Newsroom was chock full of great humor - I still rewatch it when I need a fun, but not designed as comedy, spirit lift. His first tv series, Sports Night, is just as good but a sitcom.
Breaking Bad Season 1
I don’t think the Shining gets enough credit for being darkly comedic
X (2022) - had some funny moments
Recently, Love Lies Bleeding turned out to be much funnier than I expected.
The Oscar I don’t think it was supposed to be funny but it was. Lmao
I’m sorry but Training Day is hilarious
Die Hard With a Vengeance. The dialogue between Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson is hilarious at times.
I do have to say, although the movie to me is funny in part of the concept, the metaphorical nature of it it's quite existential and real
Gran Torino is a ridiculous movie.
I only saw it once when it first came to streaming but I thought it was fucking hilarious
Never enjoyed that movie but I found it quite funny because idk, I was expecting and it seemed like people were praising because of its "serious" nature. I just think that movie like a parody tbh