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Comedy

American Graffiti (1973)
Director: George Lucas
Theatrical Feature Running Time: 112 mins.

Walt says this has always been one of his faves and really fits in with our website.

It's the last night of summer 1962, and the teenagers of Modesto, California, want to have
some fun before adult responsibilities close in. Among them are Steve (Ron Howard) and
Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), college-bound with mixed feelings about leaving home; nerdy
Terry "The Toad" (Charles Martin Smith), who scores a dream date with blonde Debbie
(Candy Clark); and John (Paul Le Mat ), a 22-year-old drag racer who wonders how
much longer he can stay champion and how he got stuck with 13-year-old Carol
(Mackenzie Phillips) in his deuce coupe. As D. J. Wolfman Jack spins 41 vintage tunes
on the radio throughout the night, Steve ponders a future with girlfriend Laurie (Cindy
Williams), Curt chases a mystery blonde (Suzanne Somers), Terry tries to act cool, and
Paul prepares for a race against Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford), but nothing can stop the
next day from coming, and with it the vastly different future ushered in by the 1960s. Fresh
off The Godfather (1972), producer Francis Ford Coppola had the clout to get his friend
George Lucas's project made, but only for $750,000 on a 28-day shooting schedule.
Despite technical obstacles, and having to shoot at night, cinematographer Haskell Wexler
gave the film the neon-lit aura that Lucas wanted, evoking the authentic look of a
suburban strip to go with the authentic sound of rock-n-roll. Universal, which wanted to call
the film Another Slow Night in Modesto, thought it was unreleasable. But Lucas' period
detail, co-writers Willard Huyck's and Gloria Katz's realistic dialogue, and the film's
nostalgia for the pre-Vietnam years apparently appealed to a 1973 audience embroiled in
cultural chaos: American Graffiti became the third most popular movie of 1973 (after The
Exorcist and The Sting), establishing the reputations of Lucas (whose next film would be
Star Wars) and his young cast, and furthering the onset of soundtrack-driven,
youth-oriented movies. Although the film helped spark 1970s nostalgia for the 1950s,
nothing else would capture the flavor of the era with the same humorous candor and latent
sense of foreboding. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Blind Date (1987)
Director: Blake Edwards
Theatrical running time: 95 mins.

Gary says, "The laughs are continuous; every time you watch it you will find new humors."

When speaking of Laurel and Hardy's first feature film Pardon Us, Stan Laurel described it
as "a three-story building on a one-story base"---in other words, a 2-reeler stretched and
bloated into 6 reels. Much the same could be said of Blake Edwards's Blind Date, though
one wonders if Stan Laurel could have even gotten two reels out of its wafer-thin premise.
At the outset, yuppie Bruce Willis is warned not to let his blind date, southern belle Kim
Basinger, drink anything stronger than lemonade. So what does Willis do the first chance
he gets? That's right, kids; he plies poor Basinger with champagne. And then he wonders
why his life rapidly goes to hell in a handbasket. In his first starring movie role, Bruce Willis
manages to find all sorts of nuances in his one-note role, while Kim Basinger is very funny
when she's blotto---at least, for the first five minutes or so. John Laroquette costars as a
character straight out of a 1920s bedroom farce; he's also pretty good, even though his
dialogue is numbingly unamusing. Blake Edwards is famous for his ability to make a lot out
of a little...but there has to be a limit somewhere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide (Hmmm.
Erickson didn't like it...but you know how reviewers are. But, then, you know how Gary
is.You have to decide for yourself.)

Chocolat (2000)
Director: Lasse Hallström
Theatrical running time: 122 mins.

A Favorite of Rob

The most tempting of all sweets becomes the key weapon in a battle of sensual pleasure
versus disciplined self-denial in this comedy. In 1959, a mysterious woman named Vianne
(Juliette Binoche) moves with her young daughter into a small French village, where
much of the community's activities are dominated by the local Catholic church. A few days
after settling into town, Vianne opens up a confectionery shop across the street from the
house of worship -- shortly after the beginning of Lent. While the townspeople are
supposed to be abstaining from worldly pleasures, Vianne tempts them with unusual and
delicious chocolate creations, using her expert touch to create just the right candy to
break down each customer's resistance. With every passing day, more and more of
Vianne's neighbors are succumbing to her sinfully delicious treats, but the Comte de
Reynaud (Alfred Molina), the town's mayor, is not the least bit amused; he is eager to
see Vianne run out of town before she leads the town into a deeper level of temptation.
Vianne, however, is not to be swayed, and with the help of another new arrival in town, a
handsome Irish Gypsy named Roux (Johnny Depp), she plans a "Grand Festival of
Chocolate," to be held on Easter Sunday. Based on the novel by Joanne Harris, Chocolat
features a distinguished supporting cast, including Judi Dench, Lena Olin, Carrie-Anne
Moss, Peter Stormare, Hugh O'Conor, and Leslie Caron. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie
Guide

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Director: John Hughes
Theatrical Feature Running Time: 102 mins.

Walt says, "It helps to enjoy it if you've ever had teenagers."

Teenaged Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is a legend in his own time thanks to his
uncanny skill at cutting classes and getting away with it. Intending to make one last grand
duck-out before graduation, Ferris calls in sick, "borrows" a Ferrari, and embarks on a
one-day bacchanal through the streets of Chicago. Dogging Ferris' trail at every turn is
high-school principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), determined to catch Bueller in the act of
class-cutting. Writer/director John Hughes once again tries to wed satire, slapstick, and
social commentary, as Ferris Bueller's Day Off starts like a house afire and goes on to
make "serious" points about status- seeking and casual parental cruelties. It brightens up
considerably in the last few moments, when Ferris' tattletale sister (Jennifer Grey)
decides to align herself with her merry prankster sibling. A huge moneymaker, Ferris
Bueller's Day Off eventually spawned a TV sitcom. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide,
www.blockbuster.com

Men in Black II (2002)
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Theatrical Running Time: 88 mins.

A fave of Walt.

Otherworldly villains are on the loose again, and it's up to Earth's interstellar police force
to bring them to justice in this sequel to the sci-fi comedy blockbuster Men in Black. Agent
Jay (Will Smith) has become a high-ranking member of the Men in Black, the secret
government task force designed to deal with unruly visitors from other worlds, while his
former cohort, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), had his memory wiped clean and now
lives a simple but contented life as a mailman. However, an especially nasty alien threat
has reared its not-so-ugly head; Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) is a shape-shifting
Kylothian alien who is in pursuit of another escaped visitor who holds the key to powers
that would allow her to destroy the world. Making Serleena all the more dangerous is the
fact she's taken on the appearance of a lingerie model, making her irresistible to most
men. When the rampaging Serleena takes control of the MIB offices, Jay is forced to turn
to the only man who can help him save the world -- the former Agent Kay. After restoring
Kay's memory, the two remaining Men in Black set out to conquer Serleena with a motley
band of friendly aliens, including a handful of worm creatures and a talking dog named
Frank (voice of Tim Blaney). Jay, meanwhile, has his head turned by Laura (Rosario
Dawson), an attractive waitress who was an unwitting witness to an alien attack. Men in
Black 2 also features Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub, David Cross, Patrick Warburton, and
Johnny Knoxville. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Moonstruck (1987) (Romantic Comedy)
Director: Norman Jewison
Theatrical running time: 102 mins.

One of Rob's Faves

When there's a full moon over Brooklyn, anything can happen, and everything happens in
the neighborhood where widowed bookkeeper Loretta Castorini (Cher) lives. First, Loretta
agrees to marry a man she does not love, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), simply
because he knows how to propose properly. Before the wedding can take place,
Cammareri must visit his dying mother in Sicily. In his absence, Loretta is supposed to try
to patch up the differences between Johnny and his brother, bakery operator Ronny
Cammareri (Nicolas Cage). Having never forgiven Johnny for indirectly causing the
accident that crippled him, Ronny flies into a rage whenever his brother's name is
mentioned. He does, however, fall for Loretta like a ton of bricks. After a torrid affair,
Loretta tries to avoid Ronny out of respect to Johnny, but he's just too fascinating to resist.
Meanwhile, Loretta's father (Vincent Gardenia) is fooling around with his mistress Mona
(Anita Gillette), while Loretta's mother (Olympia Dukakis) is wooed by a college
professor (John Mahoney). These brief flings are forgiven and forgotten, but there's still
the delicate situation of Loretta being in love with her future brother-in-law. A now-classic
romantic comedy, Moonstruck won Oscars for Cher, Olympia Dukakis, and screenwriter
John Patrick Shanley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Theatrical running time: 129 mins.
See Ann L's comment, photo, video, and review at Drama.

My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Rated R
Theatrical running time: 120 mins.
Director: Jonathan Lynn

A fave from Judy ER.

When sweet Northern college kid Bill (Ralph Macchio) and his buddy Stan (Mitchell
Whitfield) are picked up and thrown into the slammer in a hick Southern town, at first it
looks like no big deal. Then they are informed that they are accused of murder. Penniless
and without a single friend in the area, Bill decides to call his goofy cousin Vinny (Joe
Pesci), who has somehow recently become a lawyer. Full of family feeling and bravado,
Vinny, who has never tried a criminal case in his short life as a lawyer, rides south to
defend his trusting relative. He's an expert motormouth and street-level logician from the
wilder reaches of metropolitan New York, complete with a thick accent and the attitude to
go with it. Otherwise, he's much less well qualified than your average public defender.
When he arrives on the scene with his equally brassy girlfriend Lisa (Marisa Tomei), Bill
is fairly sure he's going to be sentenced to death. His buddy Stan is even less confident of
his legal representative, if that's possible, and the first thing Vinny has to do is to regain
the consent of his clients to represent them. The local judge doesn't seem any too
sympathetic to Vinny's verbal shenanigans either, and even the most optimistic supporter
of the boys would begin to have doubts at this point -- and Vinny's no exception. With the
insistent moral encouragement of his girlfriend, Vinny somehow accomplishes the
impossible and wins grudging (if very irritated) respect from all concerned, for once
studying as if his life depended on it. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

O, Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Theatrical feature running time: 103 mins.
Director: Joel Coen

A fave of Dewey.

The writing, directing, and producing team of Joel Coen and Ethan Coen created this
picaresque comedy (inspired in part by Homer's The Odyssey) set in the Deep South
during the Depression. Suave and fancy-talking Everett Ulysses McGill (George
Clooney), dim-witted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson), and easily-excitable Pete (John
Turturro) are serving time together on a prison chain gang. Everett knows where $1.2
million is hidden that's theirs for the taking, and the three manage to escape; however, a
stranger soon warns them that they'll find treasure, but not the sort they're looking for. As
Everett and his partners hit the road, they happen upon a gluttonous bible salesman, Big
Dan Teague (John Goodman); meet up with Baby Face Nelson (Michael Badalucco)
as he robs a bank; encounter three Sirens doing their washing; run into Everett's
estranged wife Penny (Holly Hunter), who has told everyone her husband was killed in a
train wreck; find themselves in the middle of a heated campaign between political boss
Pappy O'Daniel (Charles Durning), and reformist candidate Homer Stokes (Wayne
Duvall); and even find time to make a hit record as The Soggy Bottom Boys. Noted
songwriter T-Bone Burnett helped compile the songs (combining vintage country blues
tunes with originals in the same style), while Carter Burwell composed the background
score. Incidentally, the title O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a reference to the classic
Preston Sturges comedy Sullivan's Travels, in which a director plans to make a serious
"message picture" with that name. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Party (1968)
Director: Blake Edwards
Theatrical running time:

Gary says, "Any Peter Sellers flick is plenty much fun, certainly the best comedic talent of
his time."

Peter Sellers plays a bumbling foreigner once again (but this time he's not from France) in
this cult-favorite comedy. Hrundi V. Bakshi (Peter Sellers) is an accident-prone actor
from India who has come to California, hoping to make a name for himself in Hollywood
movies. However, Bakshi quickly makes the wrong impression on producer C.S. Divot
(Gavin MacLeod) and studio chief Fred Clutterbuck (J. Edward McKinley) when he
accidentally blows up the set for his first film. Clutterbuck jots down Bakshi's name to
remind himself to have the actor blacklisted, but he doesn't realize that he's put the name
on the guest list for an upcoming party at his home. Bakshi sees the social event as an
opportunity to get back in Clutterbuck's good graces, but from the moment he arrives, one
thing after another goes wrong, with increasing effect; it doesn't help that he finds himself
infatuated with Michele Monet (Claudine Longet), Divot's latest starlet discovery. Director
Blake Edwards shot The Party with a minimal script to allow Peter Sellers and the other
comic actors greater room for slapstick improvisation, which helps explain why many of the
film's most memorable scenes feature little or no dialogue. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Director: Jeff Kanew
This plot review is from Wikipedia.

Jan says, "Being a life-long nerd, I loved this! But of course, NONE of OUR athletes or
cheerleaders were like these jerks."

Lewis Skolnick (Robert Carradine) and Gilbert Lowell (Anthony Edwards) are nerds
and best friends who have just graduated from high school. Gilbert is comfortable with his
reputation as a nerd, though Lewis hates being thought of as such. They enroll in fictional
Adams College due to its acclaimed computer science department. The college also
displays unethical favoritism toward its football team, the Atoms. This gives the coach
(John Goodman), who is an arrogant bully, and his team, stocked mainly by the equally
obnoxious jocks of the Alpha Beta fraternity, considerable power on campus. The
Administrative Dean (David Wohl) is largely intimidated into complicity in this favoritism by
the football coach. The Alpha Betas carelessly burn down their fraternity house during a
party and pressure the dean to let them take over the freshman dorm while their house is
being rebuilt. The freshmen are forced to bunk in the gym until they can find new housing
or join fraternities. The nerds and many other social outcasts, including Lewis and Gilbert,
are rejected, and their attempts to approach the fraternities on their own lead to them
being publicly humiliated and harassed. The nerds eventually find a rundown house that
they renovate. However, the Alpha Betas and their associated sorority, the Pi Delta Pis,
harass them, including throwing a rock that reads "NERDS GET OUT" through one of the
new house's windows. When the nerds approach the campus police, they are referred to
the Greek Council, which oversees fraternity affairs, only to find that Stan Gable (the head
of the Alpha Betas) is the president. He overrules their complaint because they are not a
fraternity. The nerds realize the only way they can gain representation on the Greek
Council are to start an Adams College chapter of a national fraternity, but all of the
fraternal organizations reject them, with the exception of Lambda Lambda Lambda, the
only one to which they did not send a group picture. It is, however, a predominantly black
organization and only one of the nerds is black (he is also openly homosexual). The head
of the national organization, U.N. Jefferson, is uninterested in having them join. However,
the nerds hold the Lambdas accountable to their own fraternity code that, as a petitioning
group, they have the right to join with probationary status pending ultimate approval by the
president. The nerds attempt to organize a party to impress the fraternity officials.
However, they are tricked by the Pis, who falsely offer to be their dates only to completely
snub them on party night. Another sorority, Omega Mu (known as the Mus, which sounds
like "Moos"), come in their place, but they consist of social rejects themselves and the
resulting awkwardness deadens the atmosphere. In desperation, Booger resorts to lighting
large marijuana joints to liven up the affair, which proves successful. However, the party is
spoiled by the Alphas who let greased pigs loose in the frat house. U.N. Jefferson and the
other Lambda officials seem to change their attitudes, seeing firsthand the discrimination
the nerds deal with and start to inwardly sympathize with them. The nerds, led by Lewis,
decide to retaliate. They first execute a panty raid on the Pis, which is actually a diversion
during which Lamar and Wormser install hidden cameras in the sorority's attic. The nerds
also saturate the Alpha's jock straps in liquid heat (a liniment that produces sensations of
heat) to create an agonizing and embarrassing experience at football practice. U.N.
Jefferson is pleased with the nerds' creativity, and a charter is granted for the chapter,
officially making the nerds members of Lambda Lambda Lambda (Tri-Lams). However, the
harassment by the Alphas only worsens, and the obviously biased Greek Council refuses
to respond. Deciding that they must take power themselves, the nerds compete in Adams
College's homecoming carnival, the winner of which will lead the council. The events are a
series of athletic contests, a fund-raiser at the carnival, and a final skit. The Tri-Lams and
Mus team up, and have a difficult time in a couple of events, but manage to win a few
others using their superior ingenuity. Some of the skills come naturally, such as Booger's
being able to belch the loudest. They design an ergonomically advanced javelin for Lamar
to win the javelin throw, and during a tricycle race/binge drinking contest they give Takishi
a chemical that will neutralize the effects of alcohol, allowing him to win the race as he
stays sober. They gain ground in fund-raising by selling plates with nude photos of the
Pis, to include Betty Childs (a Pi and Gable's girlfriend) which not only allows them to beat
the Alpha Betas, but also humiliate their female counterparts. During the carnival, Stan
spurns an offer from Betty to have sex with her in the Fun House. Seizing an opportunity,
Lewis pilfers parts of Stan's Darth Vader costume and tricks Betty into thinking he is Stan.
Lewis and Betty have sex, after which Betty proclaims, "That was wonderful. You did things
to me you never did before." Lewis reveals his identity to Betty but she is not upset; in fact
she is in awe of his love-making skills, which are better than Stan's. The nerds seal their
victory in the talent show with a spectacular song and dance routine using computers and
sound effects, which far outshines the Alphas' crossdressing skit. Lambda Lambda
Lambda is declared the official winner and will come to power on the Greek Council next
year, to which the nerds announce they nominate Gilbert to succeed Stan as council
president. Adding insult to injury, Betty officially dumps Stan for Lewis after the Tri-Lams'
victory. Following a jingoistic speech by their coach, the Alphas retaliate by wrecking the
Lambda house, and the nerds are again disheartened. Lewis is depressed and comes to
grips with the fact he is a nerd and social outsider. At that point, Gilbert tells Lewis and the
other nerds that Lambda Lambda Lambda was the first time he was part of an accepted
social group, and that he is not going to let this good thing go to pot. Gilbert then
personally confronts the Alphas at the homecoming rally. When Gilbert is about to be
beaten, the otherwise timid Dean, himself a nerd, finally stands up to the coach and
exercises his rightful authority, ordering the Alpha Betas to release Gilbert. As the Dean is
about to be beaten up himself, U.N. Jefferson arrives with a group of muscular Lambdas
from black colleges to confront the Alpha Betas while Gilbert is given a chance to speak
his mind to the audience. He poignantly speaks about how he and his friends were
harassed, but in spite of this, he re-affirms that he is a nerd and proud of it. Lewis also
appears, and is finally proud to be a nerd as well. Their friends gather around in support
and call on any of the audience who have ever felt left out or picked on to join them. Betty
is the first to rush to Lewis' side followed by Judy, Gilbert's girlfriend and finally the entire
audience does so, and the Alphas find themselves hopelessly outnumbered. The film ends
with the Dean taking charge of the campus and ejecting the Alphas from their building for
the Lambdas' use until the Alphas repair the damage they caused to the Lambda's house.
When the coach complains about the players having nowhere to live, Dean Ulich points
out that they are jocks, so they should be right at home sleeping in the gym.

Sister Act I (1992)
Theatrical feature running time: 120 mins.
Director: Emile Ardolino

Shirlene says, "I loved Sister Act II, too. I love everything with Whoopi Goldberg in it."

A sleeper hit that received a lukewarm reception from critics but was a success with
audiences, Sister Act (1992) was star Whoopi Goldberg's first bona fide smash after her
Oscar victory for Ghost (1990). Goldberg stars as Deloris Van Cartier, a Reno lounge
singer who accidentally witnesses a brutal murder carried out by her gangster boyfriend
Vince (Harvey Keitel). Under the protection of a detective (Bill Nunn) who's trying to
bring down Vince's criminal operation, Deloris is placed in protective custody at a San
Francisco convent. Masquerading as a nun renamed Sister Mary Clarence, Deloris
shakes up the established order of the sisters' lives, particularly enlivening their choral
efforts. Although running constantly afoul of the Mother Superior (Maggie Smith), the
new, jazzed-up musical act becomes a huge hit in the community, even drawing the
attention of the Pope, but also alerting Vince to Deloris' whereabouts. Although credited to
the pseudonymous Joseph Howard, Sister Act was actually written by Paul Rudnick and
Carrie Fisher. The film was followed by a sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). ~
Karl Williams, All Movie Guide, www.blockbuster.com.

The Sting (1973)
Theatrical feature running time: 130 mins.
Director: George Roy Hill

An All-Time Favorite of Jan, who pants for Redford and Newman, and loves Scott Joplin's
ragtime.

Four years after setting box offices ablaze in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul
Newman, Robert Redford, and director George Roy Hill re-teamed with similar success
for The Sting. Redford plays Depression-era confidence trickster Johnny Hooker, whose
friend and mentor Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones) is murdered by racketeer/
gambler Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Hoping to avenge Luther's death, Johnny
begins planning a "sting" -- an elaborate scam -- to destroy Lonnegan. He enlists the aid
of "the greatest con artist of them all," Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman), who pulls himself
out of a drunken stupor and rises to the occasion. Hooker and Gondorff gather together
an impressive array of con men, all of whom despise Lonnegan and wish to settle
accounts on behalf of Luther. The twists and surprises that follow are too complex to relate
in detail -- suffice to say that you can't cheat an honest man, and that you shouldn't
accept everything at face value. The Sting became one of the biggest hits of the early
'70s; grossing 68.5 million dollars during its first run, the film also picked up seven
Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best
Adapted Score for Marvin Hamlisch's unforgettable setting of Scott Joplin's ragtime
music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.

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See the Nerds' Rap Performance
on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkzAJs7NutM