The absurdist comedy “Greener Than Grass” was probably one of the most underrated films of last year. The film, which received a standing ovation at the Sundance Independent Film Festival, is quite topical and at the same time insanely funny. At the center of the plot are two ordinary middle-class families who enter into an unspoken competition with each other. With the help of satirical sketches, the creators of “Greener Than Grass” very accurately walk through the typical “American dream”, whose obligatory program includes the perfect house, a clean lawn and wunderkind children.
Tully Tully (2018).
The planet’s most sentimental director Jason Reitman teams up again with screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”) and actress Charlize Theron (“Poor Rich Girl”) to make one of the best films of his career. The tragicomedy is set around a rapidly aging housewife who is literally torn between home and her young child, almost forgetting about herself. Against this backdrop, she gradually begins to have an existential crisis. Fortunately, the arrival of an eccentric nanny named Tully changes the heroine’s life for the better. She also gets the long-awaited opportunity to live exclusively for herself.
The Beach Bum (2019)
Extremely ambiguous in every sense, Harmony Corinne has unexpectedly made a completely audience-friendly comedy about a street poet named Moon Dog (perhaps Matthew McConaughey’s best role), everyone’s favorite and a joker who’s relaxing his life somewhere on the Miami coast. “Beach bum” can be seen both as a lyrical ode to hedonism and as a philosophical parable about the hopelessness of existence. The film, despite its relatively modest running time, slowly waltzes to the beat of the coming fall, drawing the viewer deeper and deeper into its small and sunny world.
Deerskin (2019)
Another absurdist comedy, this time from the king of French electronics, Quentin Dupier, who in his spare time from DJing makes thrash comedies about inanimate objects. The film’s protagonist, played by Jean Dujardin, escapes his midlife crisis with a leather jacket. Over time, a tender attachment to something dear to his heart turns into a veritable obsession, and the hero himself is slowly but surely losing his last vestiges of reason. Over the course of the plot, Dupier changes his shoes more than once, turning an eccentric comedy into a tense thriller and an infernal horror.
The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019).
Another festival hit that has been unfairly overlooked by audiences. A seemingly unsophisticated road buddy movie about the pursuit of dreams and finding your place in the world. The action revolves around 22-year-old Zach with Down syndrome, who wants to become a professional wrestler. To do so, he must escape the intrusive care of the orphanage staff and make his way to a wrestling school on the other side of the country. The plan, which seemed doomed from the start, is saved by an unsociable poacher named Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) who takes Zack under his wing.
Zombieland: Check Shot (2019)
The sequel we’ve been waiting ten years for and finally waited for. However, after the release of the questionable “Venom,” fans of the original film had fair doubts about director Ruben Fleischer, who was in the creative grip of the Sony film company. Fortunately, they have not been justified. The script, written by the writers of “Deadpool,” is full of topical jokes about Trump-era America, and the new characters in Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson and Evan Jogia fit in perfectly with the already beloved characters from the first installment. In many ways, the second Zombieland follows the “golden rule” of all sequels – it tries to be an improved version of its original. But who’s to say that’s a bad thing?
Game Night (2018)
After the triumph of the new “Spider-Man,” directors John Francis Daly and Jonathan M. Goldstein decided to take some time off from superhero movies and return to their favorite genre: comedy. Besides, Warner’s credibility promised the new project an unprecedented scope and a great cast. However, it is difficult to call “Night Games” a pure comedy – there is a bloodcurdling suspense and explicit romantic fluff. And in general, all this resembles a parody of Fincher’s “The Game” in some places. The plot centers on three couples on a detective quest. As the story progresses, the characters begin to realize that they are in real danger.