Kadath

I thought about that, and about suggesting ED , but I don't think we're being too stringent in our definition of black comedy. It doesn't matter, I suppose.

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anti fishstick

american psycho
and
american beauty

i'd have to say they are 'dark comedies' for witty dialogue. it's got some really funny, sarcastic lines/scenes.

and would monty python's meaning of life be a dark comedy?

also, edward scissorhands and beetlejuice.

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hucklebuck74

I'm climbing onto the Very Bad Things train here, it's my favorite dark comedy.

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paddyjoe

Man, some great choices so far, but my all time favorite dark comedy has to be 'Buffalo 66'.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, turn your computer off, go out the damn door, and rent it NOW!!!

mercury-hg

war of the roses tops my list i think

chingador

How about A Clockwork Orange. A funny, funny movie if you can forget what it is exactly that you're laughing about. The humor in the story is much more apparent in the book, however.

anti fishstick

oooooh. my girl.

and ghost world.

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wilbjammin

Is "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" a dark comedy?

If so, that's my favorite...

"Bob Roberts" is pretty dark due to the implications of it that are surprisingly true, even know...

And in the political vein - "Dr. Strangelove"!

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sherpahigh

gotta throw another vote in for Rushmore and add The Royal Tennenbaums

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Jesus Pimp

The Big Lebowski

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frankgrimes

Some excellent films here, though some of them would not fit my definition of dark comedy. Put me down as a huge fan of Rushmore, Being John Malkovich and The Royal Tennenbaums.I don't know if anyone remembers a film from the mid 80's called After Hours about a guy (Griffin Dunne) on a quest through a hellish New York Night. Very funny, but probably very 80's seen today. And speaking of Griffin Dunne how about An American Werewolf in London?

ratbastid

The Cohens are the kings of dark comedy. The Big Lebowski, Fargo, The Hudsucker Proxy.... Fantastic stuff.

I second the nomination of Delicatessen. Absolutely brilliant film--especially the scene where the whole building is working in rhythm! Hysterical!! Oh, man, and the woman who kept attempting suicide because she was hearing voices.... Dark, funny stuff.

Rodney

I guess I'm too dark. I'm a big fan of the Coen Brothers, but I never considered a lot of their films dark comedies. I guess Lebowski is, and Fargo, but I consider those all more absurd than dark. Matter of taste, I guess.

I'm an old guy, so I'm going to name some old films.

Dr. Strangelove and Clockwork Orange, of course. Kubrick rules.

The Loved One. All about death, American style. Cheaply shot in black and white, but with name star cameos. Check it out if you've never heard of it. You won't believe it.

Bluebeard. Sound comedy made by Charlie Chaplin about '50 about a guy who marries and kills women.

Psycho. It _is_ a comedy, if you look at it right.

Eating Raoul -- Paul Bartel's take on cannibalism in LA.

Night of the Comet -- valley girls with Uzis, flesh-eating zombies, what could be better?

Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town -- the only Troma film I've ever seen. Lot of fun, in a crude way.

Death Race 2000 -- let's not forget the classics!

Escape from New York, Escape from LA.

They Live.

burnhm

Personally, I loved Death to Smoochy, Brazil, Gross Pointe Blank, and Fight Club...

BUT

Only a few mentions of Dr. Strangelove? P'shaw...
Just the thought of the line "Gentlemen you can't fight in here, this is the war room!" makes me smile.

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josh_s08

Finaly, i thought no one was going to say Death to Smoochy. That is one of my favorit movies of all time.

clifclav

As Spektr was the first to point out: Grosse Pointe Blank.

It was good forn no other reason than it was actually Dan Akroyd in a good role. Trying to organize all of the hitmen/contract killers into a union is just such a great premise.

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jhericurl21

another vote for Snatch and Lock/Stock, too bad Ritchie cant release sumthing new

MexicanOnABike

fightclub is fucking hilirious!!! its a comedy

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SAM821

CABLE GUY!!!

InTeGrA77

YES!!! I was hoping that no one had posted it yet...but oh well. Great movie!

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mystmarimatt

I have to jump on the Dr. Strangelove train, SUCH a funny movie.

[General Turgenson's phone rings in the war room]
General "Buck" Turgidson: Hello... (whispering)look, I told you never to call me here, don't you know where I am?... Well look, baby, I c-, I can't talk to you now... my president needs me!... Of course Bucky'd rather be there with you!... Of course it isn't only physical!... I deeply respect you as a human being... Some day I'm gonna make you Mrs Buck Turgidson!... Ah, listen uh, you just go back to sleep hon, and Bucky'll be back there just as soon as he can... Alright... listen, sug, don't forget to say your prayers!"

and the whole conversation the president has on the p[hone with the soviet presideny...so damn funny.

Also, i have to add "The Royal Tenenbaums", that's really very funny, and fantastically acted.

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BCD

How 'bout The Last Supper? Five liberal graduate students who claim to be open-minded, but kill (and bury in their backyard under tomato plants) everyone who comes to dinner and articulates a view on life contrary to their own. Classic.

gilada

Can't believe no one's said 'Penn and Teller Get Killed'. Half the fun is them spelling out how they do their stage act through out the movie.

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VitaminH

I would like to sit in the Guy Ritchie section here. Lock Stock and Snatch are two of my very favorite flicks.

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mattevil

what about apocalypse now?
Duvall's scenes make it a black comedy in my book.

bobo

The Cohen Bros. I love their stuff. Especially The Big Lebowski

Also

Election

high_way

im not sure if it has been said if it is even classed as a black comedy (if its not my bad, not sure what to class it) but Orange County. i love this movie, it is in my top five (my friends dont agree with me but ohwell)...

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taylorspl

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Idle Hands. But Death to Smoochie and American Psycho are awesome too.

nukeu666

dr.strangelove even tho i didnt understand the movie

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Tophat665

OK, Dr. Strangelove has got to be the best of all time. I mean, General Jack D. Ripper, and President Merkin Muffley? "Gentlemen! You Can't Fight in here! This is the War Room!" It just doesn't get any better than that.

Heathers was, perhaps the best dark comedy in color. It must suck for Christian Slater to know that he could live to be 1000 and never top that role.

Monty Python's Life of Brian. There is a relentlessly dour streak running through all of Python (British Culture in general) but Brian completely captures the absurdity of it all. "Anyone who doesn't want to be crucified here, raise your hand!" I think it's their best movie, mostly because, excepting the bit with the spaceships, it could have been a documentary. Holy Grail and Meaning of Life (in that order) are next. Either of them are more thoroughly death soaked even than Brian, and each is every bit as funny. The only thing that puts Brian ahead of them is that the story itself is better.

M*A*S*H. How much darker than the middle of a war can you get? Well, Kelly's Heroes didn't come across as dark because the violence was antiseptic and cartoon, but trading witticisms soaked to the elbows in blood has got to qualify as dark. The whole scene with Donald Sutherland baiting Robert Duvall over this "thing" with Sally Kellerman is comedic gold, particularly with Gary Burghoff reporting the play by play.

I personally think the Cohen Brothers are overrated, which I'm sure makes me no friends here, but credit where it's due; they come up with some great one liners. I think the lady cop and that goofy accent everyone in the movie has makes Fargo, but for sheer silliness Big Lebowski is funnier, and for pure novelty, Raising Arizona has got to be their best.

Anyone else remember "After Hours"? Griffin Dunn trapped in a New York where absolutely everything that can go wrong for him does in the silliest way possible. Last time I saw it must've been '86, so I don't remember it that clearly, but I remember thinking it was hysterical.

And a quick shout out to the Addams Family movies. They are too self-conciously dark to be truely great, but their fault is trying too hard, and that's worth something.

Edit:
I can't believe I couldn't come up with this before: Harold & Maude. Death Obsessed Teenager has torrid love affair with life obseessed 80 year old while his partents are desparately trying to match him up with a "nice girl". Cat Stevens did the soundtrack, so they don't get much darker /sarcasm. All in all, the movie is like a They Might Be Giants song: cheerfully grim.

And, as long as I'm back, let's not forget Arsenic and Old Lace.

OK, enough of that.

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KWSN

that and dr. strangelove are easily the best if you ask me...

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Tophat665

KWSN. Clerks?

neddy65

Fargo was hilarious and not remotely true. It was more of an urban legend than anything else. I'm pretty sure the Coens clear this matter up in an interview concerning Fargo.

My vote for best ever black comedy goes to Fargo

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FoolThemAll

It's Coen, not Cohen.

I really really hated Election. Scenes meant to be funny often ended up being painful to watch. It's like Meet The Parents in that regard.

I guess I'd choose American Beauty or Death To Smoochy. Although there was some annoying pretension in the former.

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KWSN

I didn't find Clerks to be dark myself... maybe a little but not much...

I would like to add Death to Smoochy to my own list though.

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Rodney

Maybe you had to be there :-). Like most satires, it dates a little bit as time passes. Slim Pickens riding the bomb down to Armageddon, though, in a fit of yee-haw cowboy patriotism -- that will _never_ date.

Somebody mentioned Harold and Maude; don't know how I forgot that one; it was one of my favorite films back in the '70s, plus I'd actually been to a lot of the places around the SF Bay where they'd shot it. Life of Brian, too -- I guess because it's Python I put it in a special category, but they don't come any darker. How 'bout the guys nailed up on crosses singing "Let's Look on the Bright Side of Life" at the end as the camera pulls back for the last time? Wow.

notaneel

Am I just sick?

Kids

It was written to be a dark comedy...but nobody seems to find the humor in it....I think it's hilarious....tragic....but hilarious.

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KWSN

totally agree. i watched it with some friends once prefacing it by saying "this movie is fucking hysterical, you have to see it."

afterwards they thought i was some perverse psycho

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genstylez

Trainspotting, I love that movie. Same with snatch and lock stock. My all time favorites and all can be considered dark comedies.

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MexicanOnABike

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