Dark Comedies
Updated: Aug 8, 2023
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster #1
Last night’s movie was Knives Out starring Daniel Craig and Jamie Lee Curtis.
I had a big problem with Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi. The comedic moments caught me off guard and so much of the dialogue was un-Star Wars like. (And I hated the video game look of it. But that’s another story).
Now, having seen my 2nd Rian Johnson flick, Knives Out, I have a new perspective on The Last Jedi. In fact, I think it was quite the brave choice of the Star Wars people to have RJ take the reigns of one of their feature films. His sense of humor is really good and his over all style is clever and, well...stylish.
Knives Out is, from what I can tell, RJ’s Masterpiece so far in his youngish career and It’s a great one.
This classic whodunnit features my favorite ever role of Jamie Lee Curtis’. Same with Don Johnson. And Daniel Craig makes you forget that he’s James Bond with his southern drawl.
This one is basically about a large family that has been spoiled by their rich and famous patriarch who ends up dead after a party. Did he commit suicide? Or was it...(duhn duhn Duuuhhnn)...MURDER? Daniel Craig plays an amusing detective who intends to find out. And everyone is a suspect.
The result is a super entertaining and funny ride and I look forward to seeing Knives Out 2. It’s a bit light hearted to actually consider this a dark comedy but it still has many of the elements. All of the characters are great, the music was killer, and the social commentary was perfectly
perfect. 4 Black Hearts for Knives Out 🖤🖤🖤 . Tonight’s movie will be Drop Dead
Gorgeous. 🖤You
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster #2 Last night’s movie was Drop Dead Gorgeous starring Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards.
The best thing about this flick is the performance of one of my current Celebrity Girlfriends, Kirsten Dunst❤️. She’s cute and likable and her comedic skills are understated. After seeing her in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and especially in Melancholia, Dunst is really becoming one of my favorite actresses.
This flick, set in 1995, in a small town in Minnesota (complete with a lot of the cast employing Minnesotan accents), a teen beauty pageant is about to take place. This pageant is a big deal in this small community and there is a lot at stake for the contestants and their pageant obsessive mothers (a couple of which are former contestants in their youth).
On the surface, you’ve got the good girl (Dunst) whom we’re all rooting for as she’s a trailer park chick with a hard partying mom. Then you’ve got the antagonist spoiled rich girl (Richards) whose mom (Kristie Alley) is the head of the pageant and takes the whole thing waaayyy too seriously.
There are also a ton of terrific and hilarious side characters like the judges, the towns people, and the other contestants. Everyone is uniquely funny in this with the assistance of the great editing of the film. The editors had a talent of knowing when to cut a scene right on time without letting a comedic moment linger for too long.
The fact that this flick is a bit predictable actually made it pretty comforting to watch. That’s not to say that there weren’t some dark comedy twists. Not a masterpiece, but still cool. 3 Black Hearts for Drop Dead Gorgeous🖤🖤🖤. Tonights movie will be Arsenic and Old Lace reviewed by super cool guest reviewer Geoff Hill! 🖤You billydisaster.com #moviereview #moviereviews #dropdeadgorgeous #kristendunst
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster # 3
Tonights movie was Arsenic and Old Lace by guest reviewer Geoff Hill!
Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) doesn’t just hate the institution of marriage; he’s made a career as a critic, and his go-to theme is “marriage sucks”. So when this movie inexplicably begins with our anti-marriage protagonist waiting in line at the courthouse for a marriage license with his bride-to-be (played adequately by Priscilla Lane), we already know that logic and character development will not be prominent players in this Frank Capra production. But who needs such hogwash when we have hijinks?
Minutes later we’re introduced to Mortimer’s aunts, Abby and Martha, who’ve been luring older bachelors into their home with the promise of affordable lodging, before murdering them with poison, and burying them in the basement. Next, we meet Mortimer’s brother Teddy, who believes he’s Teddy Roosevelt and never leaves a scene without screaming, “CHARGE!”, while blowing a deafening blast on a bugle and dashing up the stairs to his room. The stage already seems sufficiently set for mayhem and madness. But wait! There’s more! Enter another brother, Jonathan, ALSO a murderer, accompanied by his alcoholic accomplice, Dr. Einstein. Mortimer, who was supposed to be leaving on his honeymoon to sexy and luxurious Niagara Falls, instead must abruptly cancel his marriage, and have Teddy committed into a mental institution, to avoid the cops figuring out that his homicidal aunts are, well, serial murderers. Never mind brother Jonathan who’s decided he wants Mortimer to be his next victim, because Mortimer is complicating Jonathan’s plans to bury his most recent victim in the basement, along with Abby and Martha’s 12 former tenants. . . Makes perfect sense.
Spoiler alert: Nothing happens in the rest of the movie. Just kidding. The following 70 minutes are a smorgasbord of madcap hilarity, classic black and white shenanigans, equal parts insanity and imbecility, the latter provided courtesy of a cadre of bumbling and incompetent cops, who can’t figure out what the hell’s going on, despite literally having it explained to them.
Despite zero depictions of violence, even the suggestion of serial homicide must’ve been titillating, if not downright sensational in 1944, when this Broadway hit was adapted for the Silver Screen. Nearly every scene taking place in a single set feels cheap, initially, but ultimately pretty novel, as it really highlights the brilliant script of otherwise forgotten playwright Joseph Kesselring.
Nearly 80 years later, the salacious aspects of the movie feel quaint. The “darkest” thing about Arsenic and Old Lace may be how tame, even comforting it feels in its antiquity. But that doesn’t prevent it from being a worthwhile watch. Originally released as a Halloween movie, with no shortage of popular Christmas Horror movies available in 2021, Arsenic would make a fine companion as double-feature for Capra’s better-known It’s a Wonderful Life, for those of you with holiday hearts of darkness. 3 black hearts for Arsenic and Old Lace🖤🖤🖤. Tonight's movie will be Eating Raoul. 🖤You
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster #4 Last night’s movie was Eating Raoul starring Mary Woronov and Paul Bartel
I imagine Paul Bartel, who wrote, starred in, and directed this flick, going in to various offices of producers around Hollywood and pitching this idea to them...
Paul Bartel: ”Hi, my name is Paul, I’ve got a script you’re gonna LOVE! It’s about a prudish married couple that get involved in killing perverted, rapey asshole douche bags.
Potential Producer: “Im listening..”
Paul: “See, what they do is lure these creeps into their home by saying the wife will satisfy their sexual fantasies and then the husband beats them to death with a cast iron skillet. Then they steal their money. Sounds great right??!”
Producer: “Is that it?”
Paul: “Nope! They get a dude named Raoul involved who disposes the bodies for them. Raoul sells the bodies to a dog food company. Turns out, he’s also a bit of a prick that sleeps with the wife among other things. Some zany shit happens and the husband and wife kill him, cook him up and serve him to a real estate agent. So What do you think?
Producer: “Is there any T and A in it?
Paul: “You bet your sweet ass there is!”
Producer: “SOLD!
3 Black Hearts for Eating Raoul 🖤🖤🖤 . Tonight’s movie will be Thank You For Smoking. 🖤You
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster #5
Last night’s movie was Thank You For Smoking starring Aaron Eckhart and Robert Duvall.
My Grandfather was an ad man back in the 60’s. He and his team came up with the ad campaign for the 1st women’s cigarette...the Virginia Slim along with the famous slogan, “You’ve Come Along Way Baby”. I’ve heard some great stories about that campaign and how the whole idea was to participate in Women’s Lib...with cigarettes!...Wow, how times have changed.
Which brings me to this flick. It’s basically about a lobbyist (Eckhart) for the tobacco industry and his task of fighting against the people and organizations that want to bring it down. Eckhart is a pretty decent man with a questionable job. He’s a good dad and an all around charming guy.
The best part about this movie is it has a ton of great and and entertaining characters performed by a killer cast. My favorite being Rob Lowe as the eccentric Hollywood agent. He’s fucking hilarious.
The downside of this flick is the story itself. Eckhart’s big idea to get the tobacco industry on track is to get actors to smoke more in movies. That’s the best they could come up with? Not exactly the most original idea. They should have gone retro 60’s and used the whole Virginia Slim story. That would have made this fun and well crafted flick a classic.
3 Black Hearts for Thank You For Smoking 🖤🖤🖤. Tonight’s movie will be In Bruges. 🖤You billydisaster.com
#moviereview #moviereviews #Thank youForSmoking
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster #6
Last night’s movie was In Bruges starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh in his feature film debut.
I am now a self certified fan of Martin McDonagh. In addition to this film, he directed two of my favorite Sam Rockwell flicks (https://www.billydisaster.com/post/sam-rockwell-flicks), Seven Psychopaths, and the brilliant Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In this movie, we have Farrell and Gleeson, two hitmen hiding out in Bruges, Belgium after a work related mishap in London. That’s as deep into the plot as I’ll go, but I will say that these two characters are as interesting as any duo as I’ve ever seen.
Gleeson is the more subdued of the duo. He conveys an emotional energy that is such a perfect contrast to Farrell’s (and his insane eyebrows!) hectic and lightning fast comedy.
Speaking of comedy, If you have seen this and laughed at some of the gags, YOU’RE GOING TO HELL! And I’ll see you there. The jokes in this are so expertly and patiently set up and knocked down that it completely left me in stitches.
One of the most amazing things about this flick is the combination of the dark humor and the emotional impact of the story and the characters in it. With the beautiful imagery of the Belgian town and the seriously wonderful soundtrack predominantly featuring the music of Carter Burwell, you almost feel like you’re watching a euro-period piece...and then some fucking gag gets thrown in and punches you right in the face. Truly amazing.
This is my 1st perfect score for this Dark Comedy series. 5 Black Hearts for In Bruges
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 . Tonight’s movie will be Dr. Strangelove. 🖤You
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster #7
Last nights movie was Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Peter Sellers, Slim Pickens and Peter Sellers.
Being the last person on earth to have seen this flick, I now feel like I’ve joined the rest of the human race. It’s gonna take all of the restraint I can muster not to write an entire booklet about this.
It’s almost a shame that this was a comedy. The story and the telling of it was so good that it could have just been a killer non comedic Cold War flick. And I particularly loved the battle scene where Kubrick gives us the point of view of the shooting soldier. It felt like a real war movie and actually had me a bit frightened.
I also really loved how Kubrick spent so much time focusing on the instrument panels with the cool switches and buttons inside the plane that was on the bombing run. It felt like I was on that plane with them.
Then there’s the unbelievably awesome characters. All 3 of Peter Sellers roles were so different from each other. It was amazing. The hapless President Muffley talking to Dimitri like he was a whining spouse! Mandrake and his brilliant scenes with General Ripper (played by the perfectly cast and filmed Sterling Hayden). And of course Dr. Strangelove himself. His internal battle with his Nazism had me laughing so hard I think I ruptured my spleen.
The hilarious satire of the Cold War mixed with the insanely great overall filmmaking by Kubrick equal 5 enthusiastic Black Hearts for Dr. Strangelove 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤. Tonights movie will be Happiness. 🖤You
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster #8
Last night’s movie was Happiness starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jane Adams.
Well, this is definitely one of the most disturbing flicks I’ve ever seen. It also might be one of the smartest comedies I’ve seen in this Dark Comedy series. What we’re dealing with here is the intertwining stories of some troubled people ranging from very sad to truly sick and disturbed. The subject matter ranges from rape to pedophilia. I’m troubled by what would compel director/writer Todd Solondz to create a movie of this extreme, but it’s also kind of amazing how interesting each character is and how well placed the gags are. Truly dark comedy.
The fact that the subject matter of desperation is ever present makes every scene something to be afraid of. Hoffman plays a troubled loner with a serious sexual deviancy problem. Dylan Baker plays the regular soccer dad who is also a creepy pedophile. Honestly, the only safety in this flick is Jane Adams who is a lovely and mostly innocent but unlucky girl who can’t catch a break with anything.
There are quite a few other characters and storylines, each with their own uncomfortable circumstances. And every one of them is played so well that it further creeps me out that all of these actors took their roles so seriously.
Adding to the weirdness of this all is the almost Disney-like pleasantness of the music during most of the disturbing scenes that keep you from hiding your eyes when you really want to.
As good as this flick is, and it really is good, the subject matter is just too fucked up for me to give this one a really good score...Let’s say...3 Black Hearts for Happiness 🖤🖤🖤 .
Tonight’s movie will be Harold and Maude. 🖤 You. Billydisaster.com
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster #9
Last night’s movie was Brazil starring Jonathan Price and Robert De Niro Written and directed by Terry Gilliam.
I feel a little weird about writing anything about this flick as I’ve only seen it once. This is THICK with satire, comedic mastery, special effects that were incredible for their time and a huge list of other shit. It would probably be better if I watched it 4 times to do a proper write up, but I can’t so here goes a minor attempt.
The Terry Gilliam/Monty Python style of humor goes so far beyond the average framework of comedy that you almost need to train for it. It’s lightning fast. It’s absurd in the best way...
Sam: ”Give my best to Allison and the twins”... Jack: “Triplets.”
Sam: “Triplets? My, how time flies.”
Gilliam is also so great at imagining a dystopian future (12 Monkeys). With Brazil, it’s all about the ridiculousness of bureaucracy. A totalitarian society that’s gotten so out of hand that people won’t even look up from their dinner plates when a restaurant is attacked.
Among the many impressive things about this flick are the sets. Part Towering Inferno interiors, part Blade Runner exterior, part Jetsons home gadgetry. It’s dark, beautiful and fun.
I’m eventually going to watch this again (and again). I’m quite sure I haven’t appreciated half of this the way I should. 5 Black Hearts for Brazil 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 . Tonight’s movie will be Don’t
Look Up. 🖤You. Billydisaster.com
Dark Comedies With Billy Disaster #10
Last night’s movie was Don’t Look Up starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. Written and directed by Adam McKay. **SPOILERS**
55% on Rotten Tomatoes? I’m guessing people thought they were getting an Anchorman or some kind of Will Ferrell flick, which is reasonable given that this is an Adam McKay movie. However, McKay sheds away most of the Step Brothers style humor and replaces it with a more satirical approach and a more serious message.
DiCaprio and Lawrence play two astronomers that discover a comet big enough to wipe out the entire planet and it’s gonna smash into us in like 6 months and we need to blow it off course! They alert NASA who gets them a meeting with the President of the USA (Meryl Streep) who is more concerned with poll numbers than she is with this inconvenient truth. She is accompanied and advised by her dopey son (Jonah Hill)..(Who sucks ass in this role. He can be so fucking annoying).
Anyway, Since DiCap and J-law couldn’t get the proper response from the Prez, they set out on a media tour to garner some attention from the public. Unfortunately they aren’t very media savvy and become crazy tabloid fodder.
Meanwhile, President Streep cozies up to a cell phone celebrity CEO (played perfectly by Mark Rylance) who is a cross between an Apple and a Tesla. He figures he can send up machines to land on the comet and mine it for minerals to use for his products.
So now the world is either pro-science or pro-government/celebrity (sound familiar?). In my mind, the satire is so perfectly timed that I found this flick to be actually important. I just read an article in Forbes that the scientific community is thrilled with this film as it speaks to what they’ve been feeling for the last…forever.
Perhaps it’s because I just watched Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” the night before last that I’m tuned up to appreciate this movie in a certain way. I thought it was funny, well acted and edited, and downright entertaining. 5 Black Hearts for Don’t Look Up! 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤.
So that’s it for the Dark Comedy series. I’ll announce the next series in a day or 2. 🖤You
