Underrated Comedies

[Wes Mantooth]

(08-09-2021, 09:37 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: I love Waiting. Definitely an underrated flick from before Ryan Reynolds blew up. That movie hits close to home for me as I cooked in restaurants during my early-mid twenties.

A couple I highly recommend are Best in Show and What We Do in the Shadows. Especially if you’re into mockumentaries like This Is Spinal Tap.

Best in Show is a mock about a bunch of eccentric people who compete in a Westminster style dog show. I’ve watched it countless times and it just always cracks me up.

What We Do in the Shadows might not really be underrated anymore with the success of the FX show, but the movie is even better. It’s about a group of vampire roommates and basically just follows their every day lives. It’s definitely one of my favorite “modern” comedies.

I love Best in Show.  There's so many great lines in that but some of my favorities are Fred Willard's announcing.  Some of the stuff he says is hysterical.

I have not seen What We Do in The Shadows.  I keep meaning to watch it, the movie and the tv show.

PS Fwiw, I've legitimately seen Spinal Tap over 100 times.  I worked in a music store and we had a Spinal Tap promotion one month (It was called "Tap into Savings") and the movie played on a loop on our TV for the entire month.  It was on all day, every day, for 30 straight days.  It's such a good movie that I've still watched it a good half of dozen times since then.

[Vas Deferens]

Not sure I would consider Best in Show 'underrated', its on another level.

I'll add MacGruber to the list. Don't here a lot of people mention it often, but it's very funny.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

Watched Raising Arizona last night. Might be my favorite of the Coen brothers movies.

[Benton]

(08-08-2021, 10:12 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Share your underrated comedies here.  Here's a few of mine....

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

You might not think this is underrated.  I know a lot of people like it.  Why I am including it as I think it stands toe to toe with any of the best comedies from that era.  You often here about Old School, or Wedding Crashers, or Stepbrothers, or Superbad, but you never really hear this one brought up.  I won't say it's the best of all of them, but I think it belongs in the same conversation.

Strange Wilderness

This movie has an absolutely absymal critics score, and a lot of the user ratings are really harsh.  But if you're looking for a stupid, laugh out loud comedy I think it's way better than people give it credit for.  Steve Zahn is great.  It's got a young Jonah Hill, Farva from Super Troopers, and Justin Long.  I really enjoyed this.  The scene at the end where they encounter Bigfoot was hysterical.

Waiting

To me this is an absolute classic.  I've probably seen it close to a dozen times.  It's one of the rare rentals I had from Blockbuster that I watched twice before returning.  There's so many great characters and lines from this.

Hot Rod

This move was ahead of it's time.  Andy Samberg made it before The Loney Island stuff took off.  It definitely takes a certain type of person to appreciate it.  It's so damn stupid but that's what makes it great.  It also has an early in his career Danny McBride.  When he tries to fight that guys and says "I've been drinking Green Tea all damn day" I lose it every time.

The Watch

I don't think a lot of people have seen this.  I don't think it's as good as some of the other ones I've listed but I'm including it because it's either completely forgotten or never seen.  For those that don't know, this movie's biggest downfall was that it got released right around the Tayvon Martin stuff.  Obviously the studio didn't push a neighborhood watch movie.  It has Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughan and Jonah Hill all in their comedic primes, shortly before the genre kind of started to die off.  It's definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it.

Comedy is subjective, and that's the hard part of it. I haven't seen The Watch (I hate Stiller), but I've watched the rest and didn't get into them, outside of Waiting. It was decent. Not super funny, but watchable. The other three, I dunno if I even finished.

[Benton]

(08-10-2021, 11:09 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I love Best in Show.  There's so many great lines in that but some of my favorities are Fred Willard's announcing.  Some of the stuff he says is hysterical.

I have not seen What We Do in The Shadows.  I keep meaning to watch it, the movie and the tv show.

PS Fwiw, I've legitimately seen Spinal Tap over 100 times.  I worked in a music store and we had a Spinal Tap promotion one month (It was called "Tap into Savings") and the movie played on a loop on our TV for the entire month.  It was on all day, every day, for 30 straight days.  It's such a good movie that I've still watched it a good half of dozen times since then.

(08-10-2021, 01:42 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Watched Raising Arizona last night. Might be my favorite of the Coen brothers movies.

Best in Show is outstanding, and so is Raising Arizona. RA is one of my top 10 favorites, so good on so many levels.

[CarolinaBengalFanGuy]

(08-10-2021, 01:42 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Watched Raising Arizona last night. Might be my favorite of the Coen brothers movies.

I could be wrong, but I don't think Raising Arizona falls under underrated. Maybe when it originally came out, but then the Coen Brothers blew up and anything of theirs became appropriately rated?


But if I'm talking about famous directors Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket was fantastic (his first movie). I talked about it in another thread here.

[Bengalzona]

I think Idiocracy is underrated.

Also, Boogie Nights.

[Nicomo Cosca]

Better Off Dead is one I really like from the 80’s. I recently showed it to my wife who had never even heard of it before. It has John Cusack and Booger from Revenge of the Nerds. I remember liking it as a kid, and watching it again I thought it held up pretty well.

[Wes Mantooth]

(08-11-2021, 05:09 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Better Off Dead is one I really like from the 80’s. I recently showed it to my wife who had never even heard of it before. It has John Cusack and Booger from Revenge of the Nerds. I remember liking it as a kid, and watching it again I thought it held up pretty well.

I always get that one confused with another one his movies from back then (Crazy Summer?).  Is that the one where the paperboy keeps asking for his 2 dollars?

[Nicomo Cosca]

(08-11-2021, 10:27 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I always get that one confused with another one his movies from back then (Crazy Summer?).  Is that the one where the paperboy keeps asking for his 2 dollars?

Yep. There’s a few running gags like that throughout.

[*bfine32*]

(08-10-2021, 01:42 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Watched Raising Arizona last night. Might be my favorite of the Coen brothers movies.

Raising Arizona is quite possibly my favorite comedy of all time, but as far as Coen Brothers..nothing beats O' Brother


One the flip side; I've tried to watch the Big Labowski a few times and always find myself turning it off.

[XenoMorph]

Ill add Role Models.. Dont know if its underrated but i liked it and constantly forget its name lol

[Wes Mantooth]

(08-11-2021, 12:49 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Ill add Role Models..   Dont know if its underrated but i liked it and constantly forget its name lol

I love that movie.  The scenes with Jane Lynch are especially hilarious.

[CarolinaBengalFanGuy]

(08-11-2021, 01:06 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I love that movie.  The scenes with Jane Lynch are especially hilarious.

I'm very discreet... but I will haunt your dreams.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(08-10-2021, 11:29 PM)Benton Wrote: Best in Show is outstanding, and so is Raising Arizona. RA is one of my top 10 favorites, so good on so many levels.

I will have to find Best in Show.

(08-11-2021, 04:51 AM)CarolinaBengalFanGuy Wrote: I could be wrong, but I don't think Raising Arizona falls under underrated. Maybe when it originally came out, but then the Coen Brothers blew up and anything of theirs became appropriately rated?


But if I'm talking about famous directors Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket was fantastic (his first movie). I talked about it in another thread here.

Yeah, just saying how much I love it.

(08-11-2021, 12:36 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Raising Arizona is quite possibly my favorite comedy of all time, but as far as Coen Brothers..nothing beats O' Brother


One the flip side; I've tried to watch the Big Labowski a few times and always find myself turning it off.

True, nothing beats O'Brother Where Art thou which is why I listed RA which is underrated to me after not watching it for awhile.

Big Lebowski has a bit of a turn in there where it gets a little weird. I just love the ferret in the bathtub part, the white Russians
and hanging out at the bowling alley. Once Julianne Moore comes in it gets a little strange, I can understand some not liking it.

[fredtoast]

(08-09-2021, 09:37 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Best in Show is a mock about a bunch of eccentric people who compete in a Westminster style dog show. I’ve watched it countless times and it just always cracks me up.

I like that movie a lot.

The same crew have done a couple of other movies in the same fashion.  "A Mighty Wind" is a play on a folk music festival, and "Waiting for Guffman" about a small midwestern town theatre troupe going crazy over the rumor that someone from Hollywood will be attending their musical.

[Wes Mantooth]

(08-11-2021, 05:48 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I like that movie a lot.

The same crew have done a couple of other movies in the same fashion.  "A Mighty Wind" is a play on a folk music festival, and "Waiting for Guffman" about a small midwestern town theatre troupe going crazy over the rumor that someone from Hollywood will be attending their musical.

This album cover from the movie alway cracked me up  (I think it's after they split) ...

[The D.O.Z.]

Run Ronny Run. David Cross plays a village idiot who constantly gets arrested, is discovered on “Cops” and gets his own reality show getting arrested in a new city each week. It pokes fun at Hollywood and “reality tv” with a slew of cameos like Jack Black, Jeff Goldblum, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, Mandy Patinkin.

[kalibengal]

(08-10-2021, 11:03 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: It's been a long time since I've seen it.  I remember liking it for the most part but t just seemed to really drag towards the end. 

Weird Science from way back in the eightys always makes me chuckle.  

[fredtoast]

(08-10-2021, 01:42 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Watched Raising Arizona last night. Might be my favorite of the Coen brothers movies.

It is my favorite comedy of all time.

I did not even remember hearing about it when it was in theatres, but when I first watched it I was blown away.