Dark Comedy
Mom and Dad
Mom and Dad is a touchy sell, even if the film is up front with its maniacal plot about parents killing their children and how it shoots for the moon in terms of dark comedy.
Wylie Writes’ Two-On-One with Erin Carter and Grace Glowicki
Suck It Up was an encouraging sleeper flick that helped close out last year.
Suck It Up
Audiences were recently subjected to a tasteless dark comedy about understanding death called Considering Love & Other Magic. Thankfully, movie goers can rebound with Suck It Up, another Canadian indie about comprehending grief that actually sticks its landing thanks to fantastic performances and Jordan Canning’s thoughtful direction.
Bad Grandmas
Should I mention that Bad Grandmas was Florence Henderson’s last acting gig? Do I have to?
Ingrid Goes West
Set on the sunny California coast, director Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West is a dark critique of social media that manages to hit its mark, despite some minor flaws.
Austin Found
Austin Found is yet another case where the trailer sells the audience on a different kind of movie. In two-and-a-half minutes, the film is presented as a foolish dark romp featuring incompetent criminals. At 100 minutes, it’s warped southern goodness that’s tonally confused and ends in irony.
Shimmer Lake
Shimmer Lake is Coen Brothers-lite, yet it aspires to be a film worthy enough to stand beside those famous quirky noirs from the Academy-Award winners. That would require Oren Uziel’s movie to be outrageous, which it isn’t. An unfortunate discovery considering the leads are terrific comedic actors.
It’s Not My Fault and I Don’t Care Anyway
Alan Thicke, in one of his final roles, is exceptional as self-help guru Patrick Spencer in It’s Not My Fault and I Don’t Care Anyway. As Spencer, Thicke is expected to peddle encouraging apathy with a smile – using nothing more than charisma to make his pitch. To think countless hosting gigs and ironic cameos didn’t prepare the entertainer for this movie would be foolish.
Moments of Clarity
Out of all the dramedies I can remember, Moments of Clarity has the murkiest line separating what’s supposed to be funny and what’s supposed to be taken seriously. It’s the most uncomfortable moviegoing experience of 2016.