COMEDY. “Bad Trip.” / “The Comeback Trail.” / “Killing Gunther.” / “Made.”

“Bad Trip” (2021, Netflix) hidden camera comedy. The film follows two best friends who take a road trip from Florida to New York City so one of them can declare his love for his high school crush, all the while being chased by the other's criminal sister, whose car they have stolen for the trip. 


       This is a wild old-school but masterful laughing frenzy. I haven't laughed in a while so I just did. Director Kitao Sakurai's smart use of the “hidden camera” trick worked splendidly as though we were watching “Candid Camera” for the first time.

       Eric André as lead comic Chris Carey and Tiffany Haddish as Trina Malone are hilarious! I definitely agree with most critics. This movie is a “surprisingly uplifting ride." 🎥💻📽


“The Comeback Trail” (2020, Paramount+) comedy. A desperate 1970s Hollywood producer in debt to the mob, plots to kill an aging a Western star during a dangerous movie stunt to claim a massive insurance payout.



       With Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, and Morgan Freeman on top of this joint, expect a fine show. And co-writer/director George isn't so bad either. He created the entertaining “Bad Boys” franchise and wrote 1988's “Midnight Run,” which I enjoyed.

       This “comeback” thingy though, not so much. Add two guys that always annoy me, Zach Braff and Emile Hirsch, in supporting roles? Not good.

       But, just for the sake of watching these three aging (or aged) dudes do a “a day on the job, get paid and run” is fine with me.  BTW, this project is supposedly based on a forgettable 1982 film, as though it matters. 🎥💻📽


“Killing Gunther” (2017, Fandango) mockumentary action comedy. A group of eccentric assassins are fed up with Gunther, the world's greatest hitman, and decide to kill him, but their plan turns into a series of bungled encounters as Gunther seems to always be one step ahead. 



       Written and directed by SNL grad Taran Killam, this movie is an elongated sitcom sketch that somehow manages to eerily tickle some frigid bones. The relatively never-heard cast: Bobby Moynihan, Hannah Simone, Peter Kelamis, Aaron Yoo, Paul Brittain, Amir Talai, Steve Bacic, Aubrey Sixto, and Ryan Gaul, and add the always-watchable Allison Tolma, this silliness is a riot. And yes, Mr Killam is also there as the mastermind of the entire wackadoodle mission (offscreen, onscreen). 

       And although he showed up only in the later part of this shenanigan, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the film’s object Gunther, is a hilarious elk with an accent, of course. 🎥💻📽


“Made” (2001, Tubi) crime comedy. written and directed by, and starring Jon Favreau alongside Vince Vaughn. Two aspiring boxers and best friends get involved in a money-laundering scheme for a low-level organized crime group, resulting in criminal comedy. 



       This movie's wry wit and gangsta cliche managed to elicit a few laughs but nothing so new. The real laughter is borne out of Vince Vaughn's mouth. Whatever movie he's in, it's Vince motor-mouth that sets the pace. Never gets old.

       By the way, Peter “Columbo” Falk and Sean “P. Diddy” are here, too. 🎥💻📽

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