Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Joan Cusack, and Carol Kane in a film with a script by Nora Ephron? It may not have ended up a complete winner, but damn if I didn’t find it charming, and watching Martin pretend to be a member of an Italian crime family who is part of the Witness Relocation…
Tag: comedy
The Mighty Quinn (1989) – Carl Schenkel
I don’t think The Mighty Quinn ever found the right tone. They don’t quite get the island life vibe right. A film that is supposed to be a mystery, thriller and comedy has to walk a fine line, and it never seems to be able to do that. It’s no fault of the cast, Denzel…
The Naked Gun (2025) – Akiva Schaffer
I never would have thought it before, but after seeing the first trailer, I thought, of course Liam Neeson can play the new Frank Drebin! And honestly, throughout the course of the film, it just feels like he’s having a great time. Taking a page from the original Naked Gun films, and its launching point,…
Cold Storage (2026) – Jonny Campbell
David Koepp has his fingerprints on some of the biggest movies ever, he’s scripted some very succesful films. You know he can tell a story. His novel, Cold Storage has been on my to be read shelf for quite some time now. So long that it seems he’s had time to make a movie version…
KPop Demon Hunters (2025) – Chris Appelhans, and Maggie Kang
Okay, I’ll openly admit that it took me a while to get to this one. Sometimes you just have to be in the right mood for something, and this one’s time had finally come. Sony, when it wants to, can deliver really solid animated films, I’m looking at you Spidey, and now, the KPop Demon…
Real Genius (1985) – Martha Coolidge
I loved this movie from the fist moment I saw it on video back in the 80s. And then when I worked in a video store, this is one that we threw on in the background and would say all the dialogue to, and crank the 80s tunes when they played. It’s just fun. And…
Stripes (1981) – Ivan Reitman
Bill Murray is charming and goofy in Stripes, but as has been pointed out the film is just a little too long, or, the last half hour could have been something different. The first two thirds of the film are fun and solid, though some of it is a little dated, and some of it…
Stargate SG-1 (2007) – Bounty, and Bad Guys
Bounty feels like a bit of a romp, a last fun adventure before the series makes its run to its finale. Directed by Peter DeLuise, it was written by Damian Kindler with excerpts by Robert C. Cooper and Ronald Wilkerson, this episode was first broadcast on 11 May, 2007. SG-1 has been getting under the…
TIFF 25: You Had to Be There – How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution… dir. Nick Davis
In 1972 and 1973 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre here in Toronto, almost everything we know about modern comedy was born. The cast included Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber and Dave Thomas. From the seeds planted by this special group being brought together sprang SCTV and SNL, not to mention…
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) – David Zucker
What with the reboot/sequel bringing comedic laughs back to the theatre, I thought I would take a look at the original The Naked Gun, which followed on the oh-to-short Police Squad! series. Leslie Nielsen is back as Frank Drebin, and if you were worried this movie wouldn’t be funny almost forty years later, you can…
The Mind Reels 