Looking at how this trio of genre titles kept the laughs coming this past year.
Besides being a mainstay when it comes to movies, the great thing about the comedy genre is the way it continues to evolve within every kind of film. Comedy is indeed a shapeshifting force in cinema which helps illuminate and absorb various aspects of life, bringing forward the hilarity of the every day. Comedy has been good for movies in 2019, with current Oscar nominees such as Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Jojo Rabbit, Parasite, Marriage Story and Knives Out utilizing humor in invigorating ways.
As good as all those titles are, each one (with the possible exception of Hollywood) isn’t a straightforward comedy in the traditional sense of the word. For many, Knives Out is a murder mystery first, while Marriage Story is, for the most part, a domestic drama. Both them and the other aforementioned titles feature comedic elements as an additional tool to help tell their stories. On IMDB, you’d have to scroll all the way down to the mid-30s on the list of the top films of 2019 in order to find the highest-rated “real” comedy, Zombieland: Double Tap. Although already largely forgotten, the decently-received sequel is one of the recent examples where comedy was at the forefront of the movie it was serving. It wasn’t however, the only one.
Indeed, 2019 at the movies gave us a trio of titles which took classic sides of the comedy genre and showed the fun that could still be had with them.
Good Boys– The Buddy Comedy
Good Boys was billed as one of the raunchiest comedies ever to feature minors in lead roles. But this story of a trio of 6th graders (Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon) who embark on one crazy adventure after another on the way to their first party ended up being one of the best-reviewed comedies of the year. The jokes definitely push the envelope considering how young the three leads are, but their innocent reaction to each sex-driven joke and drug reference is just too authentic and hilarious to ignore. Their showdown at the frat house, the experience with the sex doll and trying to cross that highway intersection all give the movie one sidesplitting laugh after another. But it’s the idea of brotherhood within the central friendship between the three which makes the movie as noteworthy as it is. The strength of spotlighting such a weird, transitional time in a boy’s life is shown in the bravery and natural instincts that each situation calls for Max (Tremblay), Thor (Noon) and Lucas (Williams) to have. Watching the trio interact with each other is especially when it shows how each boy is allowed to be himself as Good Boys illustrates the safety, comfort, support and strength which comes with real friendship. A runaway hit that proves you can mix naughtiness and heart.
Ready or Not– Dark Comedy
Few movies had as delicious a premise as Ready or Not. Another surprise hit, the movie told the story of the lovely Grace (Samara Weaving) who marries Alex (Mark O’Brien) and enters into the wealthy Le Domas family. However, when Grace is told she must play a game of hide and seek in order to officially become family, she agrees until it becomes clear that the family is playing to to the death. Ready or Not is a testament to the beauty of the dark comedy with its splatter moments and macabre jokes told at the expense of well-crafted bloodshed and terror. Every dark laugh works, from the accidental killing of the household staff, to the ineptitude of certain members of the family to operate weapons, to everyone’s belief in the ancient curse which is causing them to hunt down the new bride. However Ready or Not actually carries a bit of weight beyond the splatter comedy theatrics in the form of its central couple. In Grace, there is there a chance to be rid of the darkness from her past, while for Alex, the marriage is a way to escape the confines and expectations put on him by his family. Moving at a brisk pace that handles every twist perfectly, Ready or Not has no bones about laughing at the gruesome as it comments on the conflict that comes with family loyalty.
Jexi– High-Concept Comedy
Almost no one saw this very under-the-radar offering when it came out last fall, which is a shame given that this tiny movie is an enjoyable, if slightly flawed effort. Adam Devine plays Phil, a somewhat introverted one-time aspiring journalist now stuck in a job he hates and living an existence where his phone is his only friend. When an accident forces him to get a new phone, he meets Jexi (Rose Byrne), the AI voice who very quickly begins to take over Phil’s life and wreak havoc on it. As a movie, Jexi is as relevant as can be in terms of theme, commenting on the high level of dependency people have towards their phones as well as the rest of their devices. The notion proves to be so true, that it allows Jexi to go to places that are wildly outrageous, such as Jexi sending out nude pictures of Phil to his coworkers as an act of revenge when he makes her mad. The whole movie plays like a romantic comedy of sorts, with Jexi actually becoming a Fatal Attraction type of presence in what is actually a creative way of showing how simulated real life is now thanks to technology’s grip on everyday people. While the movie’s “sex scene” and over-the-top final sequence hammer the movie’s point home a little too much, Jexi is nonetheless the kind of well-made comedy that’s both high-concept and undeniably real.
It’s hard to do anything beyond speculate about what kind of comedy we’ll be treated to in 2020. While the genre will certainly be infused with other flavors the way it was this year, there’s definitely the hope that there will be as many worthwhile titles which revisit and lift up the nature of the comedic movie. At first glance, the upcoming Will Ferrell/Julia Louis-Dreyfus starrer Downhill looks to be the perfect indie comedy, while writer/director Jon Stewart’s Irresistible has all but guaranteed plenty of laughs from both the political landscape and leading man Steve Carrell. Whatever the comedy slate ends up being this year, 2019 has showed us that there are enough filmmakers eager to make audiences laugh.
Good Boys is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Ready or Not is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital from 20th Century Fox. Jexi is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital from Lions Gate.