Today, I watched the movie I never made.
Me and You and Everyone We Know creates a world of such believability that’s also full of such ridiculous eccentricities that I fell in love with it instantly. I feel that in a slightly different life this is the type of film I would have created. I won’t go into all the subtleties that made me connect so strongly with this film, although people who know me will no doubt see them for themselves. This flick isn’t for everyone, people who don’t like to feel awkward or always want loose ends tied up or only like happy endings might want to steer clear of this one, go rent the tiresome 40-Year-Old Virgin again. For some reason afterward, I thought of Garden State. Everyone is definitely more of an art film than Garden State, but both left me with a similar feeling. Anyway, I haven’t done this film justice, there are so many wonderful things happening within its 97 minutes, go check it out for yourself.
Currently watching: Me and You and Everyone We Know
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Not to knock independent films, I like ’em too, but c’mon, 40 Year Old Virgin was hilarious (though it was no Ron Burgundy).
I just felt it tried too hard. And believe me it had a lot going for it and I could totally relate to the main character, but the jokes, characters and overall feel of the movie seemed fake. And I really love Steve Carell too (the Office is hilarious), but that wasn’t enough. 40-year-old Virgin is mildly entertaining at best, but in my book, it’s no comedy classic. Dont get me wrong, the more “no-brainer” comedy flicks I watch, I feel that writing a decent story along with integrating a slew of hilarious jokes must take loads of talent. Call me old fashioned, but movies like Billy Madison, Dumb & Dumber, Office Space and even Old School seem to pull it off with a higher level of creativity and more laughs.
In no way did I mean to come across as saying those movies were the classics I was referring to. But, it’s this idea of a “stupid silly” comedy that differs Virgin from some of the great movies you’ve listed. “Stupid silly” comedies, like 40-year-old Virgin, stick to a central idea or theme and all the jokes are based off that. I guess movies like Top Secret! and Real Genius do similar things, but can’t you see how much better they are? I guess it’s a matter of taste, I do however think “stupid silly” comedies are the most difficult to pull off successfully. I think the problem lies where this new crop of “stupid silly” movies ends up being funnier due to their one-liners than as a whole. So, dont get me wrong Virgin had some great one-liners, but Im sticking with it just didn’t have the supporting cast to make it a good, solid comedy flick. I hope you see then, the movies you’ve listed are awesome indeed, but they fall into a different category.
Just to redeem myself here are some great older comedies that got it right:
Three Amigos
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Joe Versus the Volcano
Raising Arizona
Christmas Vacation
Better Off Dead
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Clue
The Meaning of Life
Fletch
Airplane!
Top Secret!
Real Genius
Spaceballs
Young Frankenstein
Weird Science
European Vacation
Up in Smoke
Coming to America
Caddyshack
Scrooged
Spies Like Us
Ghostbusters
What About Bob?
Little Shop of Horrors
Stripes
The Great Outdoors
Vacation
The gods must indeed be crazy!
You forgot my personal favorite! “The Gods Must Be Crazy” is far superior to most comedies, and should be recognized. Yes, I love Monty Python, but mainly people focus on Holy Grail.
Can “The Gods” step out of that shadow?