Top Comedy Movies of 2006

1. Thank You for Smoking

This was a good year for you art-house comedies, so to speak. I'm amazed how Nick Naylor manages to be the goodest bad guy of about any movie I've seen. Great mix of actors ranging from Maria Bello to J.K. Simmons to Sam Elliott. The really impressive thing is how well it manages to make the contemptible funny and never feel preachy. Also, great job sidestepping the dated source material.

2. Stranger Than Fiction

This is admittedly one of my favorite movies (we're talking top 3), so it's jumping a couple spots due to favoritism. Beyond that, it's a shockingly heartfelt performance by Will Ferrell. Somehow putting Dustin Hoffman, Tony Hale, Emma Thompson, Queen Latifa (why hasn't she dropped the stage name yet?), and Maggie Gyllenhaal worked out exceptionally well. I can't recommend it enough, but I don't want to hear if you didn't like it.

3. Little Miss Sunshine

The little Indie comedy that could. It is almost impossible to determine why this movie worked so well but it just did. An almost impossible to hate movie. I'm not sure how something like that got so much critical and award love while the above two didn't, but that's a gripe about the academy, not this enjoyable film.

4. Idiocracy

So stupid it's funny. So stupid it gets funnier the more you watch it. So stupid you think about turning it off several times watching it the first time, then watch it all the way through the next day on Comedy Central. It hits you over the head with it's high concept, single-note premise, but so many of the jokes are grounded by unsettling truth. My favorite line: "Welcome to Costco. I love you."

5. The Devil Wears Prada

Damn. 2006 comedies got some Oscar love. Granted, it's more likely for Meryl Streep to get a Supporting Actress nomination for her cameo in Stuck on You than her not getting Lead Actress love for a role like this. The movie also happily welcomed Anne Hathaway into the world of lead actress in legit films (this after her boobtacular 2005 to drop the Disney branding). This manages to be one of those chick flick concept films that guys can sit down and watch (or maybe I'm telling myself that since I can't pass it up on FX).

6. Clerks II

The great thing about Kevin Smith is that you can't trust a word he says. After every movie he makes a claim about something he'll never do again which he promptly goes back on. I believe Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was supposed to be the end of his View Askewniverse or final appearance of Silent Bob or maybe he just said he'd never revisit Clerks. Regardless, I'm glad he went back on whatever he said and made this gloriously irrenverent comedy. Some knock it for not being Clerks. I praise it for being what Clerks would've been if he had a budget. "I'm bringing it back!"

7. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Before the "Will Ferrell as outrageous era-character" thing got old, there was this delightful Adam McKay movie. Not quite as brilliant as Anchorman. Not quite as tired as Semi-Pro. It is full of intentionally over the top acting and plenty of jokes of varying effectiveness.


HONORABLE MENTION

Night at the Museum
Ridiculous premise made forgivable by being a family movie. It succeeded where Gulliver's Travels failed a few years later.

The Break-Up
A pretty standard RomCom with a surprisingly un-Hollywood ending. I still don't think the ending fits the tone of the rest of the movie, but I respect it for not being controlled by the audience expectations.

Accepted
Even when watched for the first time, I felt like I'd seen this before. That isn't a knock, per se. I quite liked it, but it brought nothing new to the table.

Snakes on a Plane
Snakes on a Plane knew it was Snakes on a Plane. It had all the needed elements for a cult classic except that it knew it could be a cult classic. I respect SLJ for signing on for the fuck of it, but the movie was too self-aware.

Grandma's Boy
This movie taught me an important lesson that has rung true ever since: Happy Madison productions should always have Adam Sandler in them. The rest of his crew can't hold strong on their own. The movie did have some funny moments though.