Comedy Movies – 2009

This year, movieplexes are packed with comedies. Maybe it’s because of the economy, or maybe it’s the war. Whatever it is, movie studies have decided the American public needs to laugh. With this slate of comedy movies, you’re sure to find at least one to tickle your funny bone. Assuming you can afford the ticket.

St John of Las Vegas – January 29
Epically downtrodden Steve Buscemi returns to Las Vegas to investigate a car accident involving a stripper. As is prone to happen in Vegas, everything goes wrong. It’s got all the comedy tropes – an office job, a black guy, a little person, and a stripper. What more could you want?

When in Rome – January 29
Cute as a button Kristen Bell stars in this romantic chick flick about a successful, single New Yorker who meets sexy Josh Duhamel while attending her sister’s wedding in Rome. Even though she’s falling for him, she’s pursued by several other men whose coins she plucked from the “fountain of love.”  Really, does the plot matter? Josh Duhamel is in it. Women will go for that alone.

Cop Out – February 26
Bruce Willis got his start in comedy, and he’s known for his cop movies, so we guess he figured “Why not combine them?” Kevin Smith directs him and Tracey Morgan in a caper involving a mobster and a baseball card. It’s a lot like Lethal Weapon. Hopefully it will be equally funny.

Multiple Sarcasms – March 1
So far we’ve got one for the ladies and two for the gents, so let’s even things out a bit. Set in 1979, it stars Mira Sorvina, Dana Delaney, and Timothy Hutton in a dramedy about an aspiring playwright who decides to write about his own life. Expect wise pronouncements from children and less astute comments from adults.

Our Family Wedding – March 12
What do you get when a black guy and a Latina girl decide to get hitched? You get Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia going head-to-head with the wedding plans. It’s got a little something for everyone. Whether it will please anyone remains to be seen.

Hot Tub Time Machine – March 19
John Cusack is back! John Cusack is back! And he’s got Rob Corddry with him. That’s pretty much all we need to know. Is it time to buy tickets yet? But just in case you want more, they and two other friends travel back in time to the 80s via a time machine serviced by Chevy Chase. We didn’t say it made sense. John Cusack is back!

Date Night – April 9
Tina Fey and Steve Carell team up as suburbanites who head out on a “romantic date night.” They get more than they bargained for, but it’s still probably the best date night in the history of all spark-igniting date nights. Married people take note – this is how it’s done.

MacGruber – April 16
Remember that series of less-than-funny SNL skits starring “MacGruber”? The pathetic-guy who is so not MacGyver? Now it’s a whole movie. Sigh, Hollywood, it’s over. Time to pack it in.

Death at a Funeral – April 23
Okay, seriously? For those of you keeping score, this movie came out in 2007 as a hilariously quirky British film. It’s now been remade, just three years later, as a black family comedy starring Chris Rock. It’s the EXACT same plot. Even worse, there’s a key dwarf character, and they used the SAME GUY: Peter Dinklage. I understand that smaller actors can be hard to cast, but seriously? The same guy? Hollywood, we are done. We mean it this time.

We’ve got quite a good selection of comedy movies this summer and fall. From romantic comedies to quirky character portraits to buddy films and gross-outs, there’s a little something for everyone.