Expert: Barbara L. Baker - 5/14/2006

Question
My wife and I could really use some humor right now. We don't have much time to waste trying to get lucky finding a good comedy, but can you recommend some funny movies for us based on this fact: Our all-time favorite comedy is Multiplicity with Michael Keaton! It's one of the few movies we own. We love this movie and have seen it a bunch of times and both know a lot of the lines etc. That movie had a lot of great moments and also was interesting too in the theme. Does that give you a hint as to our tastes? We've been going through some difficult family stuff and really could use some laughter----thanks a million!


Answer
Wow, you don't ask for much, do you?  This is a bit hard to answer, since comedy is so personal--what I find funny, you might not.  I do relate, however, to the need to laugh due to "difficult family stuff" (been there, done that), so I'll try to give you some suggestions based on your favorite comedy, as well as what has worked in my Film Comedy classes, divided as follows:

1. Since you liked a film by Harold Ramis, you might find other Ramis films funny, esp. Caddyshack (1980), Groundhog Day (1993), and Analyze This (1996)--better than its sequel.  He also wrote a film my husband and I find funny and often watch, called Armed & Dangerous (1986), which is considered a cult favorite.  Reviews of all these are on the Internet Movie Data Base (imdb.com) which I recommend checking out to see how others reacted to these (and other comedy) films.

2.  Since your favorite film stars Michael Keaton, perhaps you'll also like another family comedy film starring Keaton with Terri Garr, Mr. Mom (1983).  A different Keaton comedy is Beetlejuice (1988).

3.  On the Multiplicity site on imdb.com, the staff recommends the following family comedy films not already mentioned: Mary Poppins (1964), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Parenthood (1989), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005--but this film is, I think, an acquired taste mostly for Johnny Depp fans).  They also recommend several other slapstick comedies such as The Nutty Professor (1986).  Again, I strongly encourage you to check out the reviews of any film you are considering on imdb.com, since posted by ordinary people (as opposed to critics, although the site has links to those, too).

4.  The Internet Movie Data Base also has a listing of their Top 50 Comedy Movies at http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Genres/Comedy/average-vote  
All kinds of possibilities are listed there.  A few that relate to families that you might like include the animated films Finding Nemo (2003) and The Incredibles (2004).  Finding Nemo is one we've watched a lot (it is very charming).

5. My husband and I also have enjoyed the following comedies and often watch them when we need to laugh (some are also on the Top 50 list, noted above):

Cats and Dogs (2001)
The Princess Bride (1987)
both animated Toy Story films
both animated Shrek films
the animated Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Mom and Dad Save the World (1992)--one of our all time faves

Many of these are silly, but that's what one is looking for, sometimes.  We have other favorites, but they tend to be darker, more satirical comedies, or cult films, and that doesn't seem to fit the type of comedy you like best.

I hope this provides some answer to you--but again, I really urge checking out any of these on imdb.com, as that will give you the plot of each, who stars in them, and how regular audiences rated them, along with a wealth of other information for each film (including recommendations). Just type in the title in the search box to get to a particular film.  Good luck!