Four Action-Comedies To Stream This Weekend
Featuring a space adventure, a game night gone awry, and more
The action-comedy will never die. Who doesn’t want to laugh and see exciting action on screen at the same time? From the Eddie Murphy comedies of the 80s to the Bad Boys and Rush Hour franchises of the 90s and 00s to the superhero comedies of today (Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy), the action-comedy takes different forms but has remained extremely bankable at the box office over the years.
Below we’ve chosen four action-comedies currently streaming, some heavier on the action and some heavier on the comedy. They all come at the genre in very different ways. Fire one of these up this weekend for a good time.
If you check out one of our recommendations, we’d love to know what you thought! Reply to this email (or, you know, just text us) with your review.
Billy recommends…
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (streaming on Netflix)
I feel like I have recommended a lot of films that require some heavy thinking. Flicks like Roma that, I admit, will be loved by film connoisseurs mainly. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a film for the masses.
Despite only making 47 million on a 60 million dollar budget, if this movie came out five years later I think that it would have made twice its budget. Definitely a film before its time, director Edgar Wright creates a unique action style with every film he makes, Scott Pilgrim being the most unique of them all. Wright recreates the 80s arcade fighting styles and brings them to the big screen, but doesn’t rely on nostalgia to keep the audience interested. He keeps the audience interested with some of the best action and funniest movie moments I have ever seen. I get nervous recommending movies like this for one main reason.
This style of humor was developed or perfected early on in the millennial era. By recommending this movie I feel really typecast as a “typical millennial.” It is fast, it is abrupt, but it never stops to the benefit of the audience. We see Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) face off against what the movie calls the seven evil ex-boyfriends (exes) in typical 80s arcade fighting style fashion. We see Pilgrim face off against seven bosses, similar to how 80s era video games were constructed. The audience constantly has something to look forward to after each boss battle. Each one being more exciting and funnier than the last. Throw on Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and join us millennials by watching one of the most fun, creative, and effective comedies of the 2000s.
Star Trek (2009) (streaming on Amazon Prime)
I am a Star Wars guy all the way through. So much so that Momma Rock needed to ground me from Star Wars because of piss poor grades in the 5th grade. Director JJ Abrams directed both the reboot of Star Trek and Star Wars, the former being called Star Trek and the latter being called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. To my dismay, I must admit that the reboot Star Trek is a better movie than Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Please know that I did not want to say this, but I am an honest man. Star Trek has better action, a better lead character, and a more entertaining story. Most of the entertainment comes from the humor and character development early on in the movie before we see the crew board the Starship Enterprise. That attention to the characters and the humor allows for the more serious parts in the end to be more effective. Please let me go full film nerd on you, but there is a brilliant scene that shows a perfect way to give the audience the exposition they need.
Exposition is information that must be conveyed to the audience so that the story makes more sense. These scenes are normally painstakingly boring, but Abrams brilliantly makes this scene entertaining (to be fair, Star Wars: The Force Awakens also has a great exposition scene). Captain Kirk, played by the beautiful and constantly underrated actor, Chris Pine, realizes that trouble is coming to the Starship Enterprise and through hilarity because of an allergic reaction the audience gets the exposition we need. Now, I am not suggesting that Star Trek is so good because of how they handle exposition, but I think it shows how expertly made the movie is. We get vibrant characters, an emotional story line, and amazing sci-fi action that creates an incredibly entertaining story. This film may have been seen by many, but I think audiences have forgotten how great this blockbuster is. Please revisit this one or see it for the first time. It needs to be remembered.
Drew recommends…
Game Night (streaming on HBO Now)
It can be hard for an action-comedy to strike the right balance between its jokes and its action set pieces. You tip too far one way and your movie comes off so jokey that the action scenes don’t carry any weight, or you tip the other way and your action scenes are so implausible and incoherent that the jokes don’t land. Game Night has no such troubles. It’s exactly the kind of mainstream R-rated action-comedy we need more of.
Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams play Max and Annie, an over-competitive couple whose cutthroat intensity at their weekly game night would make even Kobe Bryant uncomfortable. When Max’s rich and arrogant brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) arranges a murder mystery party, their game night goes in hilarious and unpredictable places.
The cast here is having an absolute ball. Bateman and McAdams are an excellent match, their dramatic and comedic acting chops leading to impeccable chemistry and timing. It’s also a thrill to see Kyle Chandler cut loose against type as an unhinged hotshot, after years of playing stern authority figures like government agents and Coach Taylor. Billy Magnussen and Lamorne Morris (Winston from New Girl!) are delightfully amusing in the background, while Jesse Plemons plays just about the creepiest cop (with a fluffy white dog) that you’ve ever seen (“How can that be profitable for Frito-Lay?”).
Drawing from a similar playbook that brought us semi-raunchy action-comedies like 21 Jump Street and Horrible Bosses, Game Night has both suspense and laughs. The action sequences are shot with verve and spontaneity. There’s a wild long take where the camera follows a frantic game of keep-away with a Faberge egg. Most of the jokes land resoundingly and everything feels loose enough that it seems like just about anything could happen toward the end. This kind of twisty and enjoyable entertainment is harder to pull off than you think.
In Bruges (streaming on Netflix)
I’m defining “action-comedy” a bit looser here, because In Bruges is really a film about crime and punishment interspersed with dark comedy and a little action. However, this hitman dramedy is witty, smart, and one of the more unique action-comedies you will find.
After a job goes wrong, two hitmen are sent to Bruges, Belgium until things cool off. Ray (Colin Farrell) is profane, politically incorrect, and guilt-ridden, while Ken (Brendan Gleeson) tries to relax and enjoy their “vacation” in Bruges. Ray would rather be dead than spend another second in the drab medieval city, quipping that, “Maybe that’s what hell is, the entire rest of eternity spent in Bruges.”
It’s a cheeky setup for a movie and writer-director Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) deserves the credit for making a film that’s both clever and weighty. His script explores themes like morality and guilt, while still finding time to lighten the mood by generating humor from a mismatched pair of hitmen sightseeing around Bruges. For my money, this is Colin Farrell’s best performance. His Ray is simultaneously unlikable and endearing, as Farrell perfectly modulates the comic moments with the darker ones. Plus, Gleeson is a wonderful sparring partner.
In Bruges will not make for a fun, lighthearted movie night like the other three we are recommending, but it just might be the one that leaves the deepest impression.
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