Weekly Comedy: A Rollercoaster of Quality

One of the best movies of 2009 is released this week alongside one of the worst and they’re both in this column! Fancy that!

DVD

A Serious Man – Even though this black-as-pitch comedy was nominated for Best Picture, it still feels underappreciated. The Coens have constructed something special with this movie; it's structured almost like a traditional joke with a really hilarious punchline at the end. It’s probably one of the darkest comedies ever made, and it’s certainly not for everyone, but since you’re reading this on a site aimed at nerdy comedy snobs, odds are you’ll dig the hell out of it.

The Life and Times of Tim: Season One – The barely-animated HBO series featuring the likes of Nick Kroll and Eddie Pepitone is out on DVD now, so if you missed the initial airing, here’s your chance to catch up. It’s definitely hit and miss, but there are some really funny episodes in here. Worth a rent, at least.

The Sarah Silverman Program: Season 2 Part 2 – Sarah Silverman’s sitcom had a pretty strong season 3 premiere last week, and the rest of season 2 is (finally) out this week, so there’s enough Silverman material for you to figuratively roll around in. If that’s your sort of thing.

Gary Unmarried Season One – wait a second how did this escape the toxic waste pit

COMEDY TOXIC WASTE OF THE WEEK

Valentine’s Day – Gary Marshall rises from his cursed crypt to once again inflict his particular brand of focus-group-tested “romantic comedy” treacle on the unsuspecting public, this time with every shiny-faced actor and actress accepted as “pretty” by empty-headed housewives who snap up new episodes of People Magazine as though its foul pages provide them with the very putrid nutrients they need to keep their black blood flowing.

Anyway it looks pretty bad.

Couples Retreat – But it’s hard to tell if it’s as bad as this fucking nightmare, the latest from the now-untrustworthy Vince Vaughn –Peter Billingsley duo who are now responsible not only for this unfunny pile of laugh-free white bread bullshit but also Four Christmases and Fred Claus. Fuuuucccckkkk