Clerks II (2006)

Comedy Rated R

When Kevin Smith made his microbudget splash with 1994’s Clerks, his was a singular voice that spoke for an entire generation of twentysomething slackers. In Clerks II, Smith returns to the slackers of the first film (Jeff Anderson and Brian O’Halloran), and though there is some hilarious dialogue – particularly for movie geeks – the

Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

Comedy Rated R

No-name actors even for an indie picture, John Lurie, Eszter Balint and Richard Edson convened to play an oddball trio – two male friends and the female cousin of one of them – who drift along from New York to Cleveland to Florida before finally drifting apart. The entire picture drifts, establishing early on Jim

Bruce Almighty (2003)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Bruce Almighty takes good care of a great concept – a clod (Jim Carrey) becomes God – though it never quite offers inspired comedy. The religious humor is limited, while Jennifer Aniston, a comedian in her own right, is wasted as the love interest. Yet for Carrey fans who tire of his serious side –

Bad Santa (2003)

Comedy Rated R

A crude and hilarious riff on the drunken Santa routine – by now as much of a Christmas cliche as Rudolph’s red nose – Bad Santa also has a surprisingly empathetic heart. Billy Bob Thornton, in the title role, and director Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World) share the fatalistic worldview of an outcast loser, and it

Click (2006)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Adam Sandler will never be confused with Jimmy Stewart, but he wouldn’t mind at all if you confused Click with It’s a Wonderful Life. That’s the model for this high-concept comedy, in which an overworked father of two receives an all-powerful remote control that allows him to pause and rewind his life. When he hits

Nacho Libre (2006)

Comedy Rated PG

With this comedy about a friar at a Mexican orphanage who dreams of success in that country’s wild world of lucha Libre wrestling, writer-director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and star Jack Black (School of Rock) create another enviable loser – you know, the kind of social reject so comfortable in his eccentricities that he’s not

You, Me and Dupree (2006)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Far more nimble than its setup suggests, You, Me and Dupree skips around from subtle character comedy to silly slapstick to all-out farce. Owen Wilson continues to coast on his dippy charm as a perpetual screw-up who ‘temporarily’ moves in with his best friend (Matt Dillon) and his new wife (Kate Hudson). The sibling directing

American Wedding (2003)

Comedy Rated R

Like someone smacking the bottom of an empty ketchup bottle, American Wedding tries its best to force one last picture out of the American Pie series. For the marriage of Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), most of their friends and family – as well as the prevalent gross-out humor and occasional sweetness of

America’s Sweethearts (2001)

Comedy Rated PG-13

An uneasy mixture of self-love and self-loathing, this would-be Hollywood satire – about an estranged movie-star couple (John Cusack and Catherine Zeta-Jones) who try to remain civil while promoting their last joint project – wants to make fun of the celebrity characters even as it fawns over them. Nearly everyone in the top-heavy cast, which

Analyze That (2002)

Comedy Rated R

Like its underachieving predecessor, Analyze That is just funny enough to make you realize how much funnier it should be. Billy Crystal’s shrink and Robert De Niro’s conflicted mob boss are reunited, but this time for contrived shenanigans rather than counseling sessions. If you like your laughs to feel prescribed rather than inspired, the doctor