# Your favorite dark comedies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223 "2008-03-30T00:38:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/41 "2008-03-30T22:30:03Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] Maybe [Withnail & I](http://imdb.com/title/tt0094336/)? [/QUOTE] Yes!!! Thanks. I loved that movie. I lent the video to someone and never got it back, otherwise I’d put it on right now. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/42 "2008-03-30T23:38:27Z")
[QUOTE=Brown Eyed Girl] Thank you. 33 posts and nobody mentions this. The mind boggles. [/QUOTE] Meh. I thought of Harold and Maude, then decided it was too maudlin to be a dark comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/43 "2008-03-30T23:52:02Z")
_Catch 22_ _The Hospital_ with George C Scott _MASH_, the original film _Bad Santa_ _Shakes the Clown_ _Network_ _The Player_ And I want to reiterate _Man Bites Dog_ --outstanding film Ooh, and I forgot a really bizarre one-- _Liquid Sky_ ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/44 "2008-03-31T02:42:07Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] _The Hospital_ with George C Scott [/QUOTE] Which reminds me of another George C Scott film [They Might be Giants](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Might_Be_Giants_%28film%29), after which the eponymous group named themselves. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/45 "2008-03-31T02:46:00Z")
I thought **Sleuth** was pretty hilarious–the original, I haven’t seen the 2007 remake yet. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/46 "2008-03-31T03:05:26Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] _The Wrong Box_ > **[The Wrong Box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrong_Box)** > > The Wrong Box is a 1966 British comedy film produced and directed by Bryan Forbes and starring John Mills, Ralph Richardson and a large ensemble cast. The screenplay was by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, based on the 1889 novel The Wrong Box by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne. It was made by Salamander Film Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures. > In the early 19th century, a lawyer tells a group of boys that a tontine has been organised; £1,000 has been invested for eac... [/QUOTE] Ooh, yes! Another vote for _The Wrong Box_. It’s a gem. One of the funniest British movies ever made. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/47 "2008-03-31T03:42:04Z")
[QUOTE=pepperlandgirl] I thought **Sleuth** was pretty hilarious–the original, I haven’t seen the 2007 remake yet. [/QUOTE] Don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/48 "2008-03-31T10:01:31Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] After Hours [/QUOTE] I like this a lot, too. And I nominate [The Young Poisoner’s Hanbook](http://imdb.com/title/tt0115033/) which I really like, but never hear mentioned. Maybe it’s crap. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/49 "2008-03-31T11:41:53Z")
Kubrick’s LOLITA and, yes, I consider A CLOCKWORK ORANGE as deliberately designed for as much comic effect as possible. Also, a sentimental old favorite- THE LOVED ONE. Aimee Thanatogenous and Mr. Joyboy were wonderful characters! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/50 "2008-03-31T14:12:28Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Ooh, and I forgot a really bizarre one-- _Liquid Sky_ [/QUOTE] That’s dark but I dunno if it qualifies as a comedy. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/51 "2008-03-31T14:50:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Which reminds me of another George C Scott film They Might be Giants, after which the eponymous group named themselves. I hope that sentence was deliberately intended to be that bad, because it almost made my head explode. ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/52 "2008-03-31T14:50:57Z")
[QUOTE=silly ringtones] Shallow Grave - a British film that’s so over the top you can’t take it seriously. Unexplained bodies, unexplained money, paranoid roommates, and a good dose of “wacky roommate” humor. [/QUOTE] Wow, you think that was a comedy? You have a very weird sense of humour as this is really a nail-biting thriller, as far as I know. My 2 votes go to : _Very Bad Things_ and _The Last Supper_. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/53 "2008-03-31T17:14:48Z")
I laughed my ass off through _Sweeney Todd_, but I don’t think anyone else did, so that probably doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/54 "2008-03-31T17:43:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by silly ringtones > Shallow Grave - a British film that’s so over the top you can’t take it seriously. Unexplained bodies, unexplained money, paranoid roommates, and a good dose of “wacky roommate” humor. > > Wow, you think that was a comedy? > You have a very weird sense of humour as this is really a nail-biting thriller, as far as I know. It’s more “dark” than “comedy”, but it definitely has its moments. ---
**Author:** ![muzzynyc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@muzzynyc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muzzynyc)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/55 "2008-03-31T17:44:24Z")
[A Shock to the System](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100602/) I love this movie, and try to turn people onto it whenever I can. Very dark, very funny. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/56 "2008-03-31T17:59:59Z")
“There have always been Starkadders Cold Comfort Farm.” ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/57 "2008-03-31T18:48:59Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Would **The Producers** (both versions) be considered a dark comedy or is it too broad? [/QUOTE] A very important part of dark comedy is that it have elitist appeal. It has to be the sort of thing a lot of people wouldn’t find it at all funny, or at the extreme, even palatable. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/58 "2008-03-31T19:00:38Z")
[QUOTE=Hamadryad] I laughed my ass off through _Sweeney Todd_, but I don’t think anyone else did, so that probably doesn’t count. [/QUOTE] There are definitely many moments of intentional dark comedy in **Sweeney Todd**. “The Worst Pies in London,” “A Little Priest,” “God That’s Good” & the Act II “Johanna” reprise come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/59 "2008-03-31T19:03:23Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] **The War of the Roses** , mostly because it doesn’t go soft in the end, even when it looks like it might. [/QUOTE] Well, actually… Having the dog appear, alive, after Turner’s character discussed her paté pretty much qualifies to me as “soft” and it looks like the appearance (really barely more than a momentary reaction shot) was forced in, since the dog does literally _nothing_ else, even when Devito and the maid try to break into the house. I believe the commentary at the time was that the dog being actually dead made Turner’s character too unsympathetic, but being unsympathetic is exactly how dark comedy audiences are supposed to be, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223/60 "2008-03-31T19:04:02Z")
_The last supper_ is definitely on my list as one of the best dark comedies - also marvel at Cameron Diaz acting before she got famous enough to not need to any more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-dark-comedies/443223.md?page=4)