The great thing about dark comedies that they are movies that they are not meant to be seen on a regular basis. They’re both funny and tragic. There’s an air of uncomfortableness about the various situations that are on display. If Marvel movies are event films, dark comedies are the antithesis of that. They are remembered for various reasons and some do stand the test of time.
This list is subjective but worthwhile to look at. Some of these may be your favorites, while there are others that movie fans may never have heard of. Here are 10 great dark comedies you probably forgot about.
Burn After Reading (2008)
The Coen Brothers have always had a talent for the absurd and this film takes the cake. The film is a combination of a spy thriller, which somehow involves 2 gym trainers played by Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand. The cast is stellar with John Malkovich, George Clooney, Richard Jenkins, and Tilda Swinton rounding off the rest of the ensemble. Like any other comedy, one thing leads to another as Malkovich plays a CIA analyst who quits his job and a disc containing his memoir is mistaken for sensitive government material. With a plot like that, it’s quite easy to see how that would go wrong.
Very Bad Things (1998)
This film was Peter Berg’s first feature and while he went on to direct memorable films like Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom and Lone Survivor, the growing pains were quite evident. The film starring Jon Favreau, Christian Slater, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Stern, and Jeremy Piven was basically The Hangover if people kept dying repeatedly.
The film depicts a bachelor party in Vegas, which goes wrong when a prostitute is accidentally murdered, which leads to the death of a security guard, which leads to members of the bachelor party dying one at a time throughout the film. It’s the definition of a dark comedy.
World’s Greatest Dad (2009)
While not the most memorable film on Robin Williams’s list of credits, it’s still interesting for a lot of different reasons. The film was directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and depicts Robin Williams as a struggling single father and high school teacher. Robin William’s character longs to be remembered as a great writer but has been rejected repeatedly by publishers.
His son accidentally commits suicide one night via autoerotic asphyxiation. Not wishing to see his son humiliated in death, Williams stages his death as a proper suicide complete with a note. The note is written so well that people take notice, and this leads Williams to fake a journal that his porn-obsessed son supposedly wrote. Now, that’s pretty dark.
Thank You For Smoking (2005)
Aaron Eckhart stars as Nick Naylor, who is a tobacco spokesman who speaks on behalf of tobacco companies. He’s a spin doctor that somehow finds a way to make smoking seem as simple as drinking alcohol. The film also stars Katie Holmes, Maria Bello, William H. Macy, Rob Lowe, Robert Duvall, and Sam Elliot.
The film is genuinely funny at times, with Eckhart shining as a PR man who has no real moral compass. Eckhart manages to bring the right amount of gravitas and witty charm that wouldn’t have worked if another actor had been cast. It’s a testament to his acting chops that the film was even better than it actually was.
Death At A Funeral (2007)
While there was a remake of this in 2010 with Chris Rock, the original British comedy is excellent in its approach as a farce in the midst of a tragedy. The original film stars the likes of Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves, Kris Marshall, Alan Tudyk, and Peter Dinklage. It deals with a family trying to solve various issues in the midst of the death of the family elder.
The cast is excellent as the movie maneuvers through various storylines and perhaps, the best part of the film is Dinklage’s character (Peter) trying to blackmail Macfadyen’s character (Daniel) into giving him money. Peter apparently had a gay love affair with Daniel’s father and felt that he was owed. It is scenes like this that really put this film above the rest.
Gross Pointe Blank (1997)
If Death took a holiday, hitmen went to their high school reunion. John Cusack stars as a depressed hitman, who takes on a hit job in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, which is also his hometown. The clincher is that his ten-year high school reunion is happening concurrently. At the same time, he has to avoid other hitmen who are on the same job as him. Now, that’s quite the reunion.
The film also stars Alan Arkin, Jeremy Piven, Mini Driver, and Dan Akroyd. The situation is hilarious but the subject matter is insane. It has all the essential ingredients of a black comedy.
Four Lions (2010)
What happens when a group of men decides that they want to become suicide bombers? Suffice to say, nothing goes according to plan. The film stars Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Nigel Lindsay, Arsher Ali, Adeel Akhtar, and a cameo appearance by Benedict Cumberbatch. The story is excellent, as it somehow balances the tricky issue with terrorism with comedy and excels at it.
The film’s dialogue is genuinely funny and the situations that the characters find themselves adds to the film’s overtones. Moreover, it does get serious but still manages to lay jokes through the tragedy that ensues at the end of the film.
In Bruges (2008)
What is it about hitmen that dark comedies love so much? Colin Farrell stars in this very apt tale as Ray, who accidentally kills a kid while out on assignment. He is sent alongside Ken (Brendan Gleeson) to Bruges where they have to await orders from Harry (Ralph Fiennes). The film is darkly funny with its barrage of conversations about the Vietnamese, race wars, drunk movie dwarfs coupled with abrupt situational violence.
Farrell is brilliant in this film, as is the rest of the cast. The film was written and directed by Martin McDonagh and received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Fargo (1996)
Directed by the Coen Brothers, this is the quintessential dark comedy of the 1990s. If anything, this film established their style going forward as they directed numerous films after the fact. The film, that inspired its anthology TV series, is a masterpiece in its story and execution. Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, and Peter Stormare give fantastic performances in a film that can be described as quaint yet thrilling.
The film won 2 Oscars with McDormand winning Best Actress and the Coens for Best Original Screenplay. In total, the film received 7 Oscar nominations including Best Picture.
The King of Comedy (1982)
The King of Comedy, when released in 1982, was a box office flop. But, in terms of critical accolades, the film is considered one of the best films of the 1980s. Robert DeNiro as Rupert Pupkin is a man obsessed with being a talk show host and ends up kidnapping his idol, Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis).
In recent times, the film suddenly came into public conversation with the recent release of Joker. The King of Comedyserves as a template for that film and its influence of reality intertwining with fantasy is very clear. Movie fans would be poorer if they haven’t watched this Martin Scorcese masterpiece.
