The Best Dark Comedies Streaming Now
Plus: What's new to streaming in September 2020
The dark comedy comes in many forms. These movies can be morbid and ironic (like a Coen brothers movie), thrilling and twisted (Get Out), or a dark spin on a familiar genre (Game Night or In Bruges). They seem purposefully made for those of us that enjoy a little edge or cynicism in our comedy.
Certain filmmakers have imprinted their own idiosyncratic brand on the dark comedy over the years. Charlie Kaufman is one of them. Best known for writing wonderfully weird movies like Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kaufman is back this weekend with his new Netflix film i’m thinking of ending things. We wrote a little about Kaufman’s work below, as well as some of our other favorite dark comedies.
Billy recommends…
Heathers (streaming on Amazon Prime and Hulu)
Heathers has turned from cult classic in the boomer generation to a landmark sinister comedy of our current time. Heathers follows the equally popular and outcast Veronica who is a part of the most premier group at Westerburg High School, “The Heathers.” While wanting to fit in with them she realizes their toxic group is taking away her good-girl reputation and through the influence of J.D. (Christian Slater), she is willing to use violent methods to get back to her normal social status.
Winona Ryder stars as the eyes looking upon the murders that she and her boyfriend J.D. commits. J.D. is the subconscious that is voicing and acting what she feels. He is willing to act on these impulses that Veronica has. Each of these murders is staged as a suicide to hide the crime and somehow the response to these fake suicides is the most dark part of this movie. The violence is almost obsolete.
Ryder and Slater steal the show by using their young magnetism and relatability to show the screwed up ways our American culture responds to violence. Director Michael Lehmann focuses on the aftermath of violence rather than the act itself. Of course murder and suicides are violent, but once it is done it can be easy to move on from or can be used to benefit. People can use this shocking experience to shame people who are depressed or use it to fake compassion for the people around them. This film brilliantly shows both of those aspects in such a profound way.
Heathers throws this thriller into comedy, creating a gripping experience that is only palatable because of the comedic sub-genre. It balances themes in masterful ways that have transcended generations. When the credits roll you will either be smiling because the comedy went further than the commentary or the commentary will be shouting so loud that the comedy will have had little effect. Comedy can be used to bring tough concepts to the forefront and Heathers is one of the peak examples to show someone how that can be done well.
Drew recommends…
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (streaming on Netflix)
Calling Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind a “dark comedy” is like only referring to Beyonce as a former member of Destiny’s Child -- it’s true, just wildly insufficient. This inventive and thoughtful exploration of love and memory is a creative amalgamation of different genres, like sci-fi, rom-com, psychological drama, and more. It’s the rare film that manages to charm you with its offbeat humor while simultaneously twisting your head inside out.
At the core of Eternal Sunshine is an intriguing and thorny scenario: What if you could erase unpleasant memories from your mind? This is exactly what Joel (Jim Carrey) finds out his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has done with their experiences together. In turn, he decides to undergo the same procedure to erase her from his own brain. As this happens, we go inside Joel’s mind as he belatedly tries to save his memories of Clementine.
Only a storyteller as neurotic and imaginative as Charlie Kaufman could’ve written this film, and yet, this is arguably his most open-hearted and optimistic movie. The premise may be dark and we certainly see the low points of Joel and Clementine’s relationship, but the story doesn’t stray too far into blind cynicism and bitterness. Kaufman (and director Michel Gondry) made a film that ends up in a touching and hopeful place, while never abandoning the trademark eccentricity that runs through all of his work. It’s no wonder he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for this movie.
But Kaufman doesn’t deserve all the credit. Gondry shoots Eternal Sunshine like the unreal reality of a dream. As we traverse Joel’s memories, the concrete and the bizarre collide. There are several visual moments that stick in your mind long after you watch this film, and they are all in service of telling the surreal love story.
Finally, Carrey and Winslet are an unexpected but extraordinary pair on screen. The best part is they are both playing against type. Carrey tones down his wacky antics to embody the shy and reticent Joel, while Winslet breaks away from her natural British persona to play the impulsive Clementine, who switches her hair color just about every time we see her. It’s these atypical performances from Carrey and Winslet that keep us invested in the central relationship at the heart of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
The Lobster (streaming on Netflix)
“That would be absurd. Think about it.”
These lines are delivered not long into the 2014 black comedy The Lobster, a film so dark and so strange that I couldn’t help but find it absurdly funny. The storyline is as follows: Single people are given 45 days in a hotel to find true love or else they are turned into an animal of their choice and released into the woods.
This outlandish dystopian setting of a society that forces people to desperately search for a soulmate or lose their humanity sounds ridiculous on its face, but the funniest part is that none of the characters seem to find it all that odd. Each one of the actors adopts a deadpan style that only heightens the harsh absurdity of their circumstances. Colin Farrell plays David, the newly single main character that struggles to pair off and decides to break away from this oppressive situation before he finds Rachel Weisz’s single woman living in the woods with other self-described Loners. You’ve likely never seen Farrell or Weisz (both terrific actors) in a performance like this. The entire cast, including supporting turns from John C. Reilly, Ben Whishaw, and Olivia Colman, are on the same expressionless wavelength.
Before I go any further, let me stress something: This movie is definitively not for everyone. You may find it boring, horrifying, and/or stupid. But! If you find yourself falling for its pitch-black sense of humor, it may just strike a chord (or your funny bone), as it did for me.
The Lobster was written and directed by Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, who most recently made 2018’s The Favourite, starring Weisz, Colman, and Emma Stone. If you liked The Favourite, but thought it needed an even bleaker atmosphere, The Lobster is going to be your perfect match.
Especially once I got used to its tone, I found this movie hilarious. However, The Lobster isn’t just a silly exercise in style; it actually has something to say about how our society approaches romance, dating, and relationships. Between the dry dialogue and off the wall plot developments, there is incisive commentary on our soulmate-obsessed culture. The pressure to find a partner can often be cruel and ridiculous, but the film also shows that single life can be equally oppressive. Even if you don’t buy into its “human existence is inherently absurd” message, The Lobster can be a rewarding and thought-provoking experience.
New to streaming in September
Netflix
Back to the Future trilogy
Glory
Grease
Magic Mike
Casino Royale
Midnight Special (September 7)
Amazon Prime
Casino Royale
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
The Graduate
Hulu
50 First Dates
Any Given Sunday
The Terminator
Prisoners (September 10)
Gemini Man (September 18)
Judy (September 25)
HBO and HBO Max
Blood Diamond (HBO Max)
City of God
The Conversation (HBO Max)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Dog Day Afternoon (HBO Max)
Miss Congeniality (HBO Max)
Prometheus
The Wedding Singer (HBO Max)
The Invisible Man (September 19)
Just Mercy (September 26)
Links
RIP Chadwick Boseman. One of the most important actors of the last ten years has passed away at 43 due to colon cancer. There have been many great tributes to Boseman in the last week, but I’d recommend The New York Times’ Wesley Morris on the actor’s dignity on screen.
With theaters now reopening, it looks like we might actually see some big movies released in 2020 after all. Vulture has a long list of the movies slated to come out in the last four months of this godforsaken year.
Speaking of new movies, the long-delayed Bond movie, No Time to Die, got a new trailer this week. Look for it in theaters November 20.