While it is a genre that has gone in many different directions, when it comes to comedy, there are a few films that are considered not only deeply important, but essentially function as cultural touchstones, reflections of social and historical moments that are much deeper than just works of humour. La Cage Aux Folles is…

The stoner comedy has always been seen as a controversial genre – not only does it centre on protagonists that are known to partake in a forbidden substance, their behaviour supposedly condones laziness, disrespect and utter incompetence. Yet, they’ve remained so beloved for one simple reason: they’re relentlessly funny, and offer more valuable laughter than…

Absolutely no one did for American comedy what Preston Sturges did throughout his relatively short but brilliant career that brought forward many astonishing and unforgettable works. He is on the same level of wit and complexity as the likes of Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde, who are often seen as among the greatest comedic minds…

Some filmmakers do their best work when they are given the opportunity to be as weird as they desire. Kentucker Audley is one such filmmaker, someone whose body of work as both an actor and director may not be particularly well-known outside of a niche group of devotees, but who has proven himself worthy of…

At the perfect intersection between comedy, melodrama and romance stands a film that has been seemingly obscured entirely from history, but is surprisingly one of the most moving and captivating films of its era. The Peddler and the Lady (Italian: Campo de’ fiori), which was directed by Mario Bonnard (who collaborated with half a dozen…

It’s a scenario we’ve all imagined – in that ambigious space between life and death, we are led into a room, where we are presented with a montage of our life, giving us the chance to reflect on the past, and determine which of the two afterlives will be our home for eternity. Whether it…

There was no one quite like Rodney Dangerfield, with his gruff voice, piercing blue eyes and unique style of delivering jokes making him one of the greatest comedians of his generation – but yet, he’s somewhat faded out of the consciousness to a slight degree, being seen as a remnant of the past. This is…

When it comes to the subject of life-threatening diseases, we see that there are two major diversions in the world of exploring them through literature – either, they’re composed as bleak, harrowing stories of the trials and tribulations of those living with such diseases, or they’re irreverent comedies that try to bring out some humour…

Some films have got excellent concepts, while others have great casts. A few combine both of them with a strong story, excellent writing and an execution worthy of these qualities, which leads to unbridled entertainment. Sneakers is one such film, with the wildly inventive crime comedy directed by Phil Alden Robinson (written in collaboration with…

There may be many different forms of humour, but comedy has always been driven by a few major tenets, with every work that sets out to provoke some form of laughter following either one or a combination of these concepts. Mistaken or false identities have always been a very reliable source of humour, going back…