Best
Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953)
This is essentially a silent comedy with sound effects as there is almost no dialog, and what little there is carries very little pertinent information. There are funny things going on all the time, but many of them are so subtle the audience can miss them if they are not paying attention. Even in the background, odd things are happening. There’s the bodybuilder who is always doing weird stretching exercises as he walks around, there is the elderly man who is always shadowing an elderly woman, there is the single song that seems to be on all the records, and the door to the dining room that makes a funny sound when it closes, much to the chagrin of the head waiter. Mr. Hulot is charming in this wonderfully pleasant film that is very rewarding if the audience is willing to give it their undivided attention.
Worst
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008)
I knew this would be bad, being chock full of Adam Sandler “humor.” What I was not expecting were countless shots of Sandler’s bare behind and an overdose of perverse sexuality as Sandler’s Zohan has sex with every woman possible. And he is considered endearing for it! And then there are the numerous jabs a Mel Gibson. One or two might have been kind of funny and topical, but when they kept coming they were just beating a dead one trick pony. Ironically, I think the Jews should be more upset at this movie’s cartoonish portrayal of them than a single drunken midnight antisemitic rant from Mel Gibson.
Coming up next: The best of the best and the worst of the worst. Any guesses as to which ones those will be?
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