There are some films that may not have the strongest story or most original ideas, but instead inspire nothing but joy through their exuberance and love for the world that surrounds them. One of the most exceptional examples of this is in A Summer Tale (Swedish: Den bästa sommaren), the lovely comedy written and directed…
Category: comedy
The Big Chill (1983)
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder – but when this absence is broken by tragedy, it can unleash conversations that many would consider better having been left unspoken. This is where we first meet the characters at the heart of The Big Chill, a ragtag group of young people who previously went to…
The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)
Somewhere in the English countryside sits an idyllic hamlet, on which Nutbourne College stands. A prestigious boys’ school that has been operating for decades, it has been known to produce a high calibre of students, which can easily be attributed to the strong, willful headmasters who occupy the intimidating post at the helm of the…
The Longest Yard (1974)
The Longest Yard is a strange film for a number of reasons, many of them having to do with how imbalanced it feels. Helmed by the ever-reliable Robert Aldrich (a chameleon of filmmaking, having worked in every conceivable genre, particularly in studio fare that were based on the supposed interests of the general public), and…
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
Nicolas Cage will be the first person who will point out the fact that he has been working for a long time. He will quickly remark on having been a working actor since the age of 15, which means that his career has lasted over four decades – and in that span of time, he…
Champagne for Caesar (1950)
Beauregard Bottomley (Ronald Colman) is something of a genius – it’s unlikely that one will find him without his nose nestled deeply within a book on nearly any subject, a multitude of facts residing in his middle-class brain. However, his preoccupation with educating himself on every matter has left him at a disadvantage when it…
Trees Lounge (1996)
As arguably one of the most distinctive faces in the history of independent cinema, to the point where his name is synonymous with a particular era and style of filmmaking as a result of his prolific career and role in the movement, Steve Buscemi certainly is someone we could expect to have learned a great…
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
Any film that starts and ends with the words “they lived happily ever after…or did they?” is bound to be something quite remarkable, especially one produced over eighty years ago. It’s hardly a surprise that the mind behind this simple but effective manipulation of a common trope is Preston Sturges, a filmmaker whose entire existence…
Brad’s Status (2017)
It’s tough to be mediocre – or at least, that’s the basic premise of Brad’s Status, which follows a middle-aged man as he tries to make sense of a world he no longer recognizes while undergoing a series of college tours with his gifted son, in whom he sees every lost ambition and broken dream…
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
How do you begin to describe My Cousin Vinny without veering too close to either side of the extreme? One of the many comedies produced by Hollywood every year that essentially follows the same structure of taking a major star or two, placing them in an unexpected situation (which may or may not included entirely…