So this week College Humor released the results of their "Most Underrated Comedy of the Last 10 Years" poll with a list of the top 25 vote-getters. I decided it'd be fun to rank those 25 choices per my tastes.
HERE is CH's list if you wanted to see it in full.
My scale is as follows:
1 = Not Good
2 = Had It's Moments
3 = Good Enough
4 = Very Good
5 = Amazing!!!
First off as you'd expect. Let's start with the ones I've never seen and thus can not rank:
25. Sex Drive
Grade: Never Saw
CH Rank: 24.
CH explanation: A movie about teenage hormones literally driving its characters across country? You're revving our comedy engines. With James Marsden as an uncharacteristically unlikeable homophobe, Clark Duke as the unlikely pick-up artist, and Seth Green presenting the sarcastic Amish, this movie fires on all cylinders.
24. Stardust
Grade: Never Saw
CH Rank: 23.
CH explanation: It's a true testament to the magic of Neil Gaiman that this adaptation conjured Claire Danes, Ricky Gervais, Michelle Pfeiffer, a pre-Daredevil Charlie Cox, a pre-Superman Henry Cavill, the voice of Ian McKellen, and Robert De Niro. Another spell cast by director Matthew Vaughn: it's truly fun for the whole family. Even with Robert De Niro doing the weirdest iteration of Shakespeare you've ever seen.
23. Black Dynamite
Grade: Never Saw
CH Rank: 18.
CH explanation: You don't see an American blaxploitation action comedy film every day -- or ever. That's what makes Black Dynamite a special addition to this list and to the pantheon of American films where President Richard Nixon is defeated in a kung-fu battle. (Still the only one?) What makes Black Dynamite really pop is how effortless the parody is: everything just feels dyna-right.
22. Hail, Caesar!
GradE: Never Saw
CH Rank: 17.
CH explanation: The Coen Brothers are the kings of detail and should be hailed for their very specific send-up of post-war Hollywood. This all-star comedy stars all the stars: George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johanson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and even Channing Tatum. It's the perfect marriage of silly and sophisticated in the Hollywood studio system, and has the weird, meandering shaggy nature that some of the best Coen Bros. films sport. It doesn't make for the most memorable story, but it's a fun ride.
21. What We Do In The Shadows
Grade: Never Saw
CH Rank: 10.
CH explanation: Vampires are categorically unfunny, unless of course, you group them up for a mockumentary horror comedy film, which is exactly what co-writers, directors, and stars Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi had the teeth to do. It's a smart, fresh, and funny send-up of four very unhip vampire roommates struggling to keep up in the modern world (and some werewolves - not "swearwolves").
20. Hot Rod
Grade: Never Saw
CH Rank: 8.
CH explanation: Hot Rod as a movie does to its audience exactly what protagonist, Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg), does to his stepfather Frank (Ian McShane) -- earns respect by kicking his ass. On the whole, Hot Rod is exactly what you've come to love and expect from The Lonely Island: offbeat, surreal humor. The greatest stunt the movie pulls off is how consistently it sticks the landing, even 10 years after its initial release.
19. The Watch
Grade: 1.
CH Rank: 21.
CH explanation: The bad boys of comedy (does anyone call them that?) teamed up for a suburban neighborhood watch group that no one should feel safe about. With Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill sharing the driver's seat, Richard Ayoade was left unsupervised to steal the show -- as an alien who has come to love the ways of human life, and oral sex. The movie's pretty solid, but underperformed for a number of reasons - namely, coming out at the EXACT wrong time: right after the tragic death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman. So, uh, not really the ideal time to release a movie about a group of neighborhood watch guys goofing around.
18. The World's End
Grade: 1.
CH Rank: 2.
CH explanation: This is Edgar Wright's icing on the Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz cake. It naturally follows a group of friends who discover an alien invasion during an epic pub crawl. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost do a lot of the hilarious heavy-lifting in this apocalyptic science fiction comedy. We'll drink to that!
17. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Grade: 2.
CH Rank: 4.
CH explanation: An underrated Wes Anderson film? Perhaps. But this ensemble cast, led by Ralph Fiennes, sets off on a nuanced adventure of Guess Who meets Dunston Checks In. Oh, and let's talk a little bit more about the cast, because it is completely insane:
Bill Murray
Jeff Goldblum
Willem Dafoe
Edward Norton
F. Murray Abraham
Owen Wilson
Tilda Swinton
Jason Schwartzman
Harvey Keitel
Saorise Ronan
Adrien Brody
...AND MORE! For real, even if the movie wasn't great (which it IS), it would be worth watching just to see some of the finest actors of their time making a film together.
16. The House Bunny
Grade: 2.
CH Rank: 25.
CH explanation: 2008 was a simpler time. Donald Trump was a TV host, American Idol hadn't peaked yet (see: Katharine McPhee in this movie), and the a reality show about an elderly man and his 3 young, blonde girlfriends living in his sex mansion was pretty popular - like, surprisingly popular. Popular enough that we got TWO movies centered entirely around Playboy as a brand within a year of one another (the other one was Miss March, which is properly-rated as "not good"). Also a service to her country is Anna Farris' pitch-perfect Playmate, falling from grace -- and landing directly on a steaming manhole cover.
15. Swiss Army Man
Grade: 2.
CH Rank: 22.
CH explanation: There aren't a lot of movies where farts and erections are funny for a full 95 minutes, but Swiss Army Man isn't a lot of movies. Paul Dano recalled to Stephen Colbert how he was pitched this movie, with Daniel Radcliffe as a flatulent corpse: "The first fart makes you laugh and the last fart makes you cry."
14. Goon
Grade: 2.
CH Rank: 13.
CH explanation: There aren't enough hockey comedies. Including Mighty Ducks 1, 2, and 3, hockey has typically only served as an inspirational sport. Enter Goon. Written by Jay Barchuel and Evan Goldberg and starring Sean William Scott and Liev Schrieber, Goon understands that the one-two punch of comedy is stunts on ice and locker room banter. You'll laugh so hard, you might knock a tooth out.
13. Reno 911!: Miami
Grade: 3.
CH Rank: 20.
CH explanation: The first of a few TV comedies to graduate to feature-length, Reno 911! brings its Comedy Central cops to the beaches of Miami. And in accordance with Miami's Law, a convention center that CAN be targeted for a biological attack WILL be targeted for a biological attack. Lieutenant Dangle and company bumble their way to success in an 80-minute episode that reads as a love letter to fans of the show -- and maybe as a ransom note to those unfamiliar.
12. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Grade: 3.
CH Rank: 11.
CH explanation: Walk Hard expertly walks the hard line of what makes a great parody: familiarity. The fake biopic's rockstar protagonist, Dewey Cox, is no stranger. He's basically Johnny Cash with a dash of almost every other popular musician of the time. The irony of the film is further enhanced by real, original, good music.
11. Keanu
Grade: 3.
CH Rank: 15.
CH explanation: In their first big-screen foray as a duo, Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key do what they do best: combining absurd premises and charming performances. Throw in a Mexican drug cartel, two identical assassins, and a kitten in a doo-rag and you've got yourself a movie that might as well be called Key & Peele: Hollywood. It's a fun film, it's got a cute cat, and it features two of our generation's greatest comedic minds doing what they do best.
10. ParaNorman
Grade: 3.
CH Rank: 19.
CH explanation: ParaNorman did a little bit of everything: 3D, stop-motion animation, comedy AND horror. Plus, a very surprising coming-out from the film's 18-year-old jock, voiced by Casey Affleck. It has all the makings of a classic children's movie (that's enjoyable for every other age, as well): ghosts, an actual witch hunt, sudden death, and adolescent camaraderie in the face of zombie adversity.
9. In Bruges
Grade: 4.
CH Rank: 9.
CH explanation: There's a reason Bruges tourism has spiked. That reason is this movie. Led by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson's terrific performances as Irish hitmen in hiding, In Bruges nimbly toes the Belgian cobblestone that connect witty dialogue and crime thriller elements. Plus, cursing with an Irish accent is never not hilarious.
8. The Nice Guys
Grade: 4.
CH Rank: 3.
CH explanation: It's everyone's favorite handsome hammer-wielding murder-driver, Ryan Gosling, and the guy everyone wants to pretend wasn't in Les Miserables, Russell Crowe! The Nice Guys knows exactly what it is -- The Odd Couple doing their best impression of True Detective. Or something like that. Regardless, The Nice Guys is a surprise delight - Ryan Gosling's constant physical ailments are hilarious (namely his attempt at breaking into a house), Crowe plays the tough-guy PI to a hilt, and their chemistry is perfect. But what really puts the film over the top is the Angourie Rice's breakout performance as Gosling's wise-beyond-her-years daughter.
7. Burn After Reading
Grade: 4.
CH Rank: 16.
CH explanation: The great part of the film is that it's ostensibly about the intelligence community in Washington DC, but every single character is too stupid, uninformed, or distracted to realize what's going on - which leads to one of the most bizarre and incredible endings of any film ever - JK Simmons desperately trying to understand what ANYONE in the film was actually trying to accomplish:
6. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Grade: 4.
CH Rank: 7.
CH explanation: Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island aren't alone on this regular-rated list of underrated movies. The trio takes the mockumentary format in ONE DIRECTION and gives us something to BELIEVE in -- the hilarious failures of a larger-than-life popstar, Conner4Real (Samberg). Featuring a soundtrack that could easily make its way up the Billboard charts if literally anyone else's name was attached to it.
5. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
Grade: 4.
CH Rank: 12.
CH explanation: A few rules of thumb: never meet your (meatball) heroes and your favorite kid's book will not be your favorite adult movie. The exception to both rules is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. But directors/writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller specialize in this kind of thing exactly - making a terrible-sounding adaptation that winds up being far better than you could have ever imagined (we're still in shock 21 Jump Street AND its sequel turned out as incredible as they did). The movie is full of heart, tons of incredible laughs (Andy Samberg's turn as a giant manbaby who becomes one with a giant roast chicken is something to behold), and honestly holds up a lot better than a good number of Pixar films.
4. MacGruber
Grade: 5.
CH Rank: 14.
CH explanation: Okay, here's the thing: MacGruber is maybe THE best comedy of the last 10 years - so, in this author's opinion - y'all messed up. While the sketches on SNL were funny, many people were unsure how the quick, under 5 minute sketches would translate to a feature-length film - and Will Forte 'n crew proved they knew exactly what they were doing, brilliantly sending up action movies and action heroes with the woefully incompetent MacGruber, who manages to accidentally murder his entire elite team, constantly begging to let him suck bad guys' dicks to get out of tricky situations, and have sex with his dead wife's ghost. Also, Val Kilmer plays one helluva villain.
3. Role Models
Grade: 5.
CH Rank: 6.
CH explanation: You can't spell crude without Sean William Scott and Paul Rudd. Well, you can, but it's just not the same. The pair gets into all the trouble it can as they fulfill their requirements for community service, forcing them to LARP with Augie, Christopher Mintz-Plasse in his first post-Superbad role. The film begs the question: is jail really worse than a medieval live action role-playing game?
2. Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
Grade: 5.
CH Rank: 5.
CH explanation: Y'all sure love your horror comedies, with Tucker & Dale topping the list of movies that can make you simultaneously pee yourself from Laughter & Fear. It gets gory in all the good ways and did "for killer rednecks what Shaun of the Dead did for zombies." High praise for two murderous(ly funny) hillbillies, if you discount its Midnight Audience Award win at SXSW.
1. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Grade: 5.
CH Rank: 1.
CH explanation: Another underrated Edgar Wright film, according to you. More like Scott Pilgrim vs. The Rest of This List. Michael Cera stars as 22-year-old Scott Pilgrim and BOY does he know how to play a lanky, awkward slacker -- and bass. The film is visually dazzling, levels up on crafty and clever dialogue, and includes pre-Captain America Chris Evans, pre-Captain Marvel Brie Larson, a post-Superman Brandon Routh! . Scott Pilgrim defeated 7 evil exes and 49 not-evil movies to secure its place as the most underrated comedy of the last 10 years. That's pretty Bob-Omb.
60. Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice
