Welcome to HPL's film and television blog, highlighting staff-recommended movies or television.
STAFF CONTRIBUTOR:
Mary S., Public Services Assistant
It wasn't until the last 10 years that I noticed I delighted in dark humor. I then noticed it was also in my favorite movie choices. A quick Google search of "dark comedy movies" brings up movies I wouldn't necessarily describe as dark, but Google did provide some that definitely fall into the category for me. I think I place dark comedies more in making fun of the human rat race and our mortality.
Let's start with one of the older dark comedies I enjoy--Harold and Maude, made in 1971. I generally struggle with movies from the 1970s, as it feels they are trying really hard to be dramatic and artful. Harold and Maude though, is dramatic, artful AND funny, with what seems like little effort. It's a teenage boy (Harold) obsessed with death (he drives hearse) much to his mother's disdain. He then meets Maude (a woman in her late 60s) who also enjoys crashing funerals and graveside services. However, she is much more eccentric and shows him instead how to live.
I'm going to "fast forward" to the 1990s and suggest Boondock Saints. It is listed as an action/thriller. However, there are a lot of humorous parts that lean dark. Generally, this is when Willem Dafoe makes fun of the incompetent Boston cops helping him with the crime scenes. Pulp Fiction is another one listed as action/thriller, but it still shows up as a dark comedy on some lists. Another classic dark comedy from the 1990s is Fargo. Need I say more than, "I guess that was your accomplice in the woodchipper?" I'll end the '90s with the cult classic Office Space. This is the only movie I've mentioned from this era that doesn't have some form of violence. So, if you want to just stick with a strict comedy from the 1990s, this is the one to seek out.
Slipping into the early 2000s there is Death to Smoochy. As you can tell from the title we are back to some action and violence. This movie has a hectic feel, but it adds to the mania of the Robin Williams character. Robin plays unhinged as great as Edward Norton plays innocent and naïve. As I mentioned earlier about the human rat race, you could probably include the 2001 version of Rat Race in the dark comedy category. There is some dark humor mixed in (Jon Lovitz having a run in with a Nazi museum), but mostly it's a fun comedy.
One final "fast forward" to 2019 with the movie Parasite. This movie is from South Korea (expect subtitles) and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. And for good reason! The title comes from the idea that the poor in society live off the rich and vice versa. There are some very funny parts, but the movie escalates into a thriller that turns into violence at the end (spoilers?) just so you are not surprised.
I know I breezed past some that you might think deserve to be mentioned, but I really think these would be a great start to any dark comedy binge.