Reviews & features: Comedy
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Anchorman 2: 5 things we’d like to see
24 May 2012
In honour of the sequel's new teaser trailers, we speculate on what should be in the final film
1 Champ’s struggle with his sexuality Sports presenter Champ Kind (David Koechner) obviously had a thing for Ron (Will Ferrell) in the first film – he broke down when Ron started spending more time with Veronica than the news team, and was visibly…
What To Expect When You’re Expecting
23 May 2012
A witless and bland work based on the pregnancy self-help book
‘You don’t know what love is until you’ve wiped someone’s ass,’ offers one of the many baby-boomers in Kirk (Waking Ned, Everybody’s Fine) Jones’ multi-stranded adaptation of the bestselling self-help book about the dos and don’ts of pregnancy.
Crispian Mills on A Fantastic Fear of Everything - interview
22 May 2012
The ex-Kula Shaker frontman has directed a black comedy starring Simon Pegg
Fearless The frontman of Kula Shaker directing a film? Given Crispian Mills’ family heritage it’s not such a surprise after all, discovers Paul Gallagher. Received wisdom might suggest that rock stars who try their hands at filmmaking are essentially…
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
18 May 2012
Crisp restoration of the 1940s satire by Powell and Pressburger
Spry and delightful nearly 70 years on, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is one of many masterpieces from filmmaking virtuosos Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, collectively known as The Archers. Their fifth collaboration, from 1943, is an…
Moonrise Kingdom
17 May 2012
Wes Anderson's latest echoes his earlier triumphs, but breaks no new ground
Wes Anderson’s seventh film feels like a Greatest Hits package. Which if you’re a Wes fan will make you very happy. Set on a New England island in the summer of 1965, the opening sequence of Moonrise Kingdom, with its incessant camera-pans around the…
The Dictator
11 May 2012
Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest has moments of solid satire but still feels stale
From the naked scrotum-in-the-face wrestling of Borat to the manifold outrages of Brüno, Sacha Baron Cohen is not a man overly acquainted with subtlety. His latest, The Dictator, drops the improvisational feel of those earlier films, but doesn’t lower…
A Fantastic Fear of Everything
11 May 2012
Crispian Mills' directorial debut starts well but quickly loses pace
A film by the former lead singer of Kula Shaker might not sound an appetising prospect. But before dismissing A Fantastic Fear of Everything, we should remember that Crispian Mills’ film pedigree is pretty spot-on. He is, after all, the son of Hayley…
Casa de mi Padre
11 May 2012
Will Ferrell's Spanish-language comedy is at once unfunny and too silly to take seriously
Funnyman Will Ferrell as a tough rancher in a violent Spanish-language Western? It could only be a joke, and that’s exactly what Case de mi Padre is, a ragged, silly spoof in the Airplane/Naked Gun mode. Unfortunately, as jokes go, it’s a not…
Dark Shadows
10 May 2012
A fun, if forgettable vampire movie, starring Johnny Depp, Eva Green and Michelle Pfeiffer
Like a kid who turns up late to a Halloween party, Tim Burton arrives with his latest, vampire movie Dark Shadows. After Twilight, 30 Days of Night and Let The Right One In, not to mention TV’s True Blood…aren’t fangs, dusty coffins and dissolving in…
New trailer for Danish comedy Klown
10 May 2012
Filthy, funny antics that diverge from Scandinavia's current reputation for serious TV drama
Every now and then, something comes along that makes you laugh, wince and sneeze coffee through your nostrils, in that order. Today, that experience comes courtesy of the trailer for Danish comedy Klown. The film follows Frank (Frank Hvam) and Casper…
New Hope Springs trailer appeals to the older cinema-goer
27 Apr 2012
Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones star in this romcom
There's been a shift in Hollywood in recent years towards films which appeal to the older cinema-goer - the likes of The Artist showed that the classic ways of filmmaking are still relevant; The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was teeming with venerable…
Little Miss Sunshine directors re-team for Ruby Sparks - trailer
26 Apr 2012
The film features performances from Paul Dano, Elliot Gould and Steve Coogan
Directing partners Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are re-uniting with Little Miss Sunshine star Paul Dano for new movie, Ruby Sparks. In it, Dano plays Calvin, an author who somehow manages to create his latest protagonist in real life. Big name…
William Friedkin's Killer Joe to open EIFF
18 Apr 2012
The Exorcist director's comic thriller to kick-off 66th Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) organizers have announced today that comic noir thriller Killer Joe will be the Opening Gala on Wed 20 Jun 2012 in Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre. The film is directed by William Friedkin, best known for his…
Jeff, Who Lives at Home
18 Apr 2012
The Duplass Brothers' slacker comedy bears too much resemblance to its underachieving protagonist
(15) 83mins No one would have believed in the last years of the 20th century that of all the stars to emerge from Judd Apatow’s extraordinary talent nursery Freaks and Geeks, the household name would end up being Jason Segel. He’s not as gorgeous as…
Outside Bet
18 Apr 2012
Low-budget British horse-racing comedy falls at the first hurdle
(12A) 101mins The cinematic equivalent of the clumps of horse dung that characters repeatedly step into for the cheapest of laughs, Outside Bet is strictly a non-runner in terms of light entertainment. In this painfully naïve British comedy, Bob…
Interview: Jason Segel on Jeff, Who Lives at Home
17 Apr 2012
The Forgetting Sarah Marshall on new slacker comedy and future plans
Jason Segel may well look back on 2012 as his year. Already the 32-year-old actor-writer has seen The Muppets, his nostalgia-tinged feature film revival of the beloved TV show, gross $158m around the world. Even better, the film’s signature tune ‘Man or…
Apocalypse archives: Whit Stillman
17 Apr 2012
The Damsels in Distress director picks five films he’d save in an impending apocalypse
That Sinking Feeling (Bill Forsyth, 1980) ‘I wanted to include something Scottish. Aside from how enjoyable Bill Forsyth’s film about kids in rainy Glasgow is, I want to include it for its economy of means. To see how much was done with so little was…
Amara Karan, star of All in Good Time - profile
17 Apr 2012
The actress is also set to star alongside Simon Pegg in A Fantastic Fear of Everything
Born 29 March, 1984, London Background Oxford-educated Karan spent two years working as an investment banker before plucking up the courage to pursue her interest in acting. Her audition tape was enough to impress revered director Wes Anderson, who…
All in Good Time
17 Apr 2012
Sweet-natured culture clash comedy starring Amara Karan and Meera Syal
(12A) 93min Originally a 1965 play and subsequently a film by Irish writer Bill Naughton, this sweet-natured comedy became a theatre hit again in 2007 when East is East writer Ayub Khan-Din adapted it into a present-day British-Asian setting. The…
Watch the trailer for US indie American Animal
12 Apr 2012
A dark comedy from writer/director/star Matt D'Elia
This one looks interesting... Matt D'Elia writes, directs and stars in the story of Jimmy, a terminally ill (and, from the evidence available, totally unhinged) young man who discovers his best friend and roommate James (Brendan Fletcher) is getting a…
Simon Pegg stars in new trailer for A Fantastic Fear of Everything
10 Apr 2012
Pegg plays a hyper-phobic children's author in the new comedy
After high profile action appearances in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and JJ Abrams' rebooted Star Trek (not to mention the forthcoming sequel), it's nice to see Simon Pegg still has time to nurture his comedy roots. While we eagerly await the…
Mirror Mirror
5 Apr 2012
Snarky re-telling of the Snow White myth, with the odd visual flourish
Tarsem Singh is a frustrating director; he has a canny eye for striking imagery, but an uncanny knack for picking scripts with little or no charm (The Fall being his sole exception so far). So it was with J-Lo vehicle The Cell and Clash of the Titans…
Woody Allen's To Rome with Love - trailer
4 Apr 2012
The director delivers another Europe-set ensemble piece, with Alec Baldwin, Ellen Page and more
Woody Allen looks set to continue his love affair with Europe (following on from Midnight in Paris and Vicky Cristina Barcelona) with his latest release, To Rome With Love. The Eternal City forms a backdrop to various intersecting comedic tales…
Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass star in indie comedy Safety Not Guaranteed
2 Apr 2012
A time-travel romcom with impeccable indie credentials
It's not often we get to have a look at indie trailers well in advance of their release - smaller-budget films from outside the UK are less certain of overseas distribution, so we often don't hear about them until they're practically upon us. However…
Anchorman sequel announced by Will Ferrell
29 Mar 2012
The actor appeared in character on US talk show Conan O'Brien to reveal the plans
‘Mr Burgundy, we would be honoured if you will play some “yazz” flute for us one more time.’ That’s right, Ron Burgundy is due to hit our screens once more. Will Ferrell appeared in character as the moustachioed, suited and booted newsman on US talk…
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