Although not the best year ever for comedies, 2015 still turned in some interesting funny films that also warmed the heart and a few even spooked us and got our blood pumping in the process. Ladies and gentlemen, The Movie Mensch’s top 10 comedies of 2015!
10. American Ultra
People who discover a part of themselves that they never knew about always make for a solid comedy. But, American Ultra upped the ante when it came to Jesse Eisenberg’s stoner character whose sublime life of working at a convenience store was interrupted by something deep down being triggered and turning him into the most dangerous killers the world has ever seen.
Eisenberg and co-star Kristen Stewart make quite a one-two punch in this action comedy that turns everything we knew about action comedies right on its head. It’s whip smart. It’s fantastically funny. And who knew? Stewart has fantastic timing as a comedic actress!
9. Paddington
09had rumored problems from the get-go, never a good sign for a film. The original voice of the beloved bear, Colin Firth, backed out. He felt that his vocal presence was not a good fit. Turns out, he was right as the film landed in screens early in 2015 and charmed us in the most supremely heartfelt and hilarious of ways.
Ben Whishaw stepped in and nailed and it writer-director Paul King had one of the most surprising hits of the year. Look for the sequel in the near future. We will be among the first in line.
8. Final Girls
Final Girls was not a parody. It was more of a love letter to those famous slasher films of the 80s. It featured the story of a young woman in modern day who is missing her recently deceased mother, who was a scream queen during the Decade of Decadence. During her grief, she gets pulled into her mother’s most iconic movie from that period and has to fight for her life.
The film is hilarious funny and features a turn by Malin Akerman that reminds us why she is a star in the first place. Hollywood, can we please get more movies like this. There’s Meta, and then there’s The Final Girl and its kind.
7. Goosebumps
Speaking of Meta, Goosebumps arrived just before Halloween and showed us why we had been waiting so long for a movie based on the bestselling books by R.L. Stine. Hollywood couldn’t quite figure out how to do the author’s iconic books and which book to bring to the big screen first. Turns out, all of them was the answer!
The story would focus on Jack Black’s fictionalized version of the famous author and how his creatures are not just a creation of his mind. They are real and they are locked in the books from which they were born. When a careless and nosey neighbor comes over and accidentally opens one of the books, it sets of a chain of events that puts their entire small Delaware town in jeopardy. The film is outrageously funny, often times scary and a pure joy from beginning to end.
6. The Intern
The Movie Mensch appreciates the work of Nancy Myers (It’s Complicated, The Holiday, Something’s Gotta Give), but is not the hugest fan. You can imagine our surprise when The Intern arrived from the writer-director and rocked our world.
Robert De Niro plays a 70-year-old widowed retiree who takes a position as an intern for an online shopping company that is founded and run by Anne Hathaway. The elder winds up educating the younger in the ways of the world, romance and yes, business. The film is charming, delightful, beginning-to-the-end enjoyable and yes, filled with many laugh-out-loud moments.
5. The Night Before
The people who brought us This Is The End and The Interview shine their comedic spotlight on the holiday season and give us The Night Before. Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie star as three longtime friends who gather each Christmas Eve and mark the evening by drinking and partying in the most elaborate of ways to comfort Gordon-Levitt as it is the anniversary of his parents dying in a car crash.
Like most comedies worth their weight, it has heart the size of its hilarious moments and unlike many comedies, The Night Before has fully drawn characters (even down to the weed dealer played by scene stealer Michael Shannon). Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, indeed.
4. Sleeping with Other People
Leslye Headland wrote and directed the most surprising romantic comedy of the year in that it was also the realist rom-com that came at audiences during 2015.
Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie star as longtime friends who never found the time or the opportunity for romance. As the years go by, they find themselves wondering what if and as each one enters and exits relationships, they discover that maybe the two of them are more meant to be lovers and friends and not just friends. Sleeping with Other People is way ahead of its time and finally gives Sudeikis a rom-com leading man role that he deserves and illustrates why Brie might be the best thing to come out of Community.
3. Spy
Spoofing the spy movie genre is nothing new, but it sure got a much-needed shot in the arm of originality and humor with Melissa McCarthy’s Spy. Paul Feig directed his Bridesmaids breakout star, who plays a CIA desk jockey who finds herself getting swept into field duty and simultaneously finding herself over her head and perfectly suited for the mission at hand.
What else was utterly terrific about Spy was the comedic turn that came from the most surprising of places… Jason Statham. The man seemed to lampoon his action movie persona around every corner and lit up the audience with laughter. The sequel was announced soon after the film became a hit and The Movie Mensch for one, cannot wait.
2. Trainwreck
It was a great year for comedies and women. From Spy to Sleeping with Other people to Trainwreck, the fairer sex showed the men how it’s done in 2015. Amy Schumer co-wrote the screenplay with comedy master Judd Apatow and gave us a rom-com for modern times with a female lead who was content not finding love. In fact, if she did find love, she usually ran the other way.
That’s why it was such a shock when Schumer’s character met Bill Hader’s sports doctor and fell madly in love with him. Through both the stars, the storyline is believable and lovable. With a scene-stealing assist by LeBron James, the film added up to one of the most welcome surprises of the year in any genre. And let’s just say this about Hader, if he isn’t given more romantic comedy leading roles, it is an utter crime.
1. Inside Out
Pixar did it again with Inside Out. Pete Docter directed a story based on an idea he had watching his little girl grow up and it gave audiences all the feels. Not only is Inside Out a great comedy, but a great film overall. Look for it to also be on our top 10 movies of the year list due later this month.
Take a journey inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl who moves from Minnesota to San Francisco and is none too happy about it. Her tale is told by the emotions in her head, who could not have been more impeccably cast. Bill Hader is Fear. Amy Poehler is Joy. Phyllis Smith is Sadness, Lewis Black is Anger and Mindy Kaling is Disgust. You’ll weep. You’ll laugh. You’ll want to see it again (and again and again).