Top 5 Inferno: Dark Comedies

[Flick James]

Thanks to all who contributed to my first foray.  I hope I am able to spark more discussion as we go.

As for this day, I will use the term "dark comedy," only because the equivalent "black comedy" may be misconstrued. 

Today's post:

Top 5 Dark Comedies:

1.  "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) – because it's the father of all dark comedies, and because, despite the presence of Peter Sellers turning in solid performances on three different characters, the unexpected comic standout was actually George C. Scott.

2.  "Parents" (1989) – because it's often categorized as a horror film, which is why more than half the people who saw it probably didn't get it.

3.  "Heathers" (1989) – not because it's the 3rd greatest dark comedy of all time, nor because of Winona Ryder, who annoys me immensely, but because it punctuated the 80's teen movie, forever changing the genre and creating a disturbing portent of things-to-come on the high-school campus.

4.  "Fargo" (1996) – because it p**ses anyone off who watches it and doesn't realize it's a comedy, and because when I forced my friend from Minnesota to sit down and watch it, he commented quite vehemently, about halfway through the film: "Oh geez, we don't talk like that!"

5.  "Mother Night" (1996) – because it's the best adaptation ever done of a Kurt Vonnegut novel, and, while seemingly very complex, has a surprisingly simple and useful message: "be careful who you pretend to be, because you ARE who you pretend to be."

Dark comedies are very hard to pull off, and it may be argued as to whether or not all of my choices can be identified clearly in that sub-genre.  In my humble opinion, great dark comedies are successful when they are difficult to clearly classify as such.  "Very Bad Things," for example, while not a horrible film, is a perfect example of a film that brazenly calls itself a dark comedy, and then struggles to hit the mark.

[lester1/2jr]

Happiness

[Flick James]

Happiness!  That should have been on mine.

Also, I'm surprised I didn't include "How to Get Ahead in Advertising."  That should have replaced "Heathers."  Oh well, I'm critiquing myself now.

[JJ80]

Possibly "The Ruling Classes" with Peter O'Toole, although that is VERY tasteless indeed.

[Rev. Powell]

Certainly a hard genre to define; I won't even attempt to.   

1. DR. STRANGELOVE
2. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
3. NETWORK
4. SPIDER BABY
5. AFTER HOURS

[ToyMan]

i just want to mention man bites dog, and second dr. strangelove, fargo, heathers, and happiness. would you say that the slums of beverly hills or cemetery man might fit on a list like this?

[Psycho Circus]

Raising Arizona and Withnail & I

[Rev. Powell]

I thought of CEMETARY MAN but thought it was borderline for my idea of the genre, plus it wouldn't beat out any of my top 5 anyway. 

To me RAISING ARIZONA is too lighthearted to be a "dark comedy", but it just goes to show how difficult this genre is to define.

[Flick James]

I figured this one would be tough.  That's why they get so overlooked.  Good dark comedy goes right past the average movie-goer, either because they don't realize it's a comedy, or they know it's a comedy but because their idea of comedy is "Mannequin", they completely miss the boat.  On the other hand, films that clearly label themselves as dark comedies will only partially succeed more often than not because they go overboard in an attempt to shock the audience.  Great dark comedies have to enough pathos as to be hard to pin.   

[ToyMan]

rev. powell, i can see how you'd be on the fence about cemetery man. if we include it, that puts us on a slippery slope where films like an american werewolf in london could be included as well.

[Jack]

I could barely name five comedies I liked enough to put on a list, much less the narrower category of dark comedies.  Heathers was really good, I also liked A Fish Called Wanda, which I guess is sort of dark.  But it's extremely lighthearted at the same time.  Hard to say.

[peter johnson]

On another thread, some of us were dissing "The Ruling Class", but to me that film pretty much defines the genre -- I liked it then, and I like it now. 

Yeah, how far do you go in including horror films with comedic elements, etc.?  Where is the tipping point?  I get that "American Werewolf in London" could very well go here, for apart from the actual werewolf scenes themselves, you get The Giggling Dead making jokes through most of it.  Still, I'd hesitate to call that film a comedy.

How about "The Loved One"? 

peter johnson/denny crane

[Flick James]

I second "Network," Rev.  I forgot about that one.  Won some oscars, too.

[Rev. Powell]

rev. powell, i can see how you'd be on the fence about cemetery man. if we include it, that puts us on a slippery slope where films like an american werewolf in london could be included as well.

I like CEMETRAY MAN a lot, and although there's a lot of humor in it, I don't think of it as primarily a comedy (although I can see why others do).  It's such a unique movie that it's difficult to pigeonhole.  If I had to, I would probably consider it a surrealist or absurdist horror movie--not exactly a common genre.

[Raffine]

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN

I think James Whale's trio of post-FRANKENSTEIN horror films contain some of the best examples of black comedy:

THE OLD DARK HOUSE
THE INVISIBLE MAN
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN

There's some pretty funny stuff in FRANKENSTEIN, too, but it mostly a 'straight' horror film with some comic relief moments. Fritz (Dwight Frye) muttering to himself and stopping on the staircase to pull up his socks is one of my favorite movie moments - ever.