Upcoming comedy films with heart
In today’s modern movie world, it’s not enough for a comedy to just throw mindless jokes at the audience. There needs to be heart and compassion behind the laughs, so the audience leaves ready to bring a little more joy into their own lives. One such upcoming film is Andy Fickman’s Us & Them. Fickman is the director of films such as Race to Witch Mountain and She’s the Man. Us & Them is based off an original idea by Billy Crystal, who is also the film’s star and producer. He plays a grandfather who is tasked to take care of his grandchildren when their mother leaves for a work vacation. Difficulties arise when he is unable to reconcile with the modern, “politically correct” way of parenting.
A comedy with a little more bite, but sure to still have some warm moments, is Dinner for Schmucks, scheduled to come out July 30. The film stars Paul Rudd as a corporate employee invited to his boss’s annual dinner where the person with the most eccentric guest gets preferential treatment. Enter Steve Carell as an IRS drone who spends his time dressing up mice and posing them in replicas of classic works of art. The movie is based off a French film and play called The Dinner Game. Of course, we know that Rudd and Carell will inevitably find friendship after a series of hijinks, and isn’t that what’s important?
For teens (and those who wish they still were), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World provides an ironic take on romance, when guitarist Scott Pilgrim meets his soul mate and discovers that he must defeat her “seven evil exes” before they can live happily ever after. This blend of music, magic, and video games is sure to thrill audiences when it releases on August 13.