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More of the best military comedies to rent!
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7. Stripes (1981)
Ha ha ha ha! Once again, this movie couldn’t be more different than the one before it on this list. A quick-witted slacker (Bill Murray) joins the Army with his best friend (Harold Ramis) after having the worst day ever. Tonally, the film is smart-assed, reckless, and anti-authority rather than staunchly anti-war. Murray makes fun of pretty much everybody he comes in contact with, including superior officer Sgt. Hulka, played by a superchrged Warren Oates. (Shades of “Private Benjamin,” perhaps?) Murray’s calm yet anarchic demeanor carries the entire film, having perfected his lackadaisical loser character, and when he and Ramis steal the top secret Urban Assault Vehicle they are supposed to be guarding to go and visit two pretty female MPs, he somehow comes out on top and ends up saving the day. One commonality with “Catch-22″: an all-star supporting cast (John Candy, Judge Reinhold, John Larroquette, Sean Young, P.J. Soles, Joe Flaherty, Timothy Busfield, and young Bill Paxton in a small role).
6. M*A*S*H (1970)
[Originally appeared on the Top 10 Subversive Comedies list.) Although it is set in Korea, Robert Altman’s anti-establishment comedy was actually a not-so-thinly veiled and pointed attack on the then-raging Vietnam War. Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould are two military surgeons struggling to maintain their sanity through boozing, sex, and an utter contempt for authority in this cultural watershed movie. Altman’s almost complete disregard for Ring Larder Jr.’s script and his improvisatory style of shooting scared not only the studio, but also the film’s stars. “Donald and Elliott went in about a quarter of the way through the picture and tried to have me fired because they said I was going to ruin their careers,” Altman said. Struggles with the studio finally ceased after a wildly successful preview screening and the movie went on to gross $80 million and signal a new era of filmmaking in Hollywood. Not everyone agrees it’s a classic, though, as one of our user-contributed Top 10 lists had this film at #3 of the Most Overrated Movies.
5. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Some of you may be screaming “Too soon!” Go right ahead. Others may say “It’s not a comedy!” Well, then, I’d like you to explain to me why I was laughing so damned hard every time Brad Pitt opened his mouth. This movie does what Quentin Tarantino does best—blend comedy and drama into one outwardly insane but (upon further examination) very focused piece of entertainment. No one embraces lowbrow and highbrow mentalities at once with the skill that Tarantino does, and this year’s surprise WWII revenge fantasy hit is proof of that. Christoph Waltz will more than likely walk away with the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the frighteningly intense Col. Hans Landa, but don’t forget that he and Pitt were also riotously funny as well.
4. Three Kings (1999)
Speaking of a film that blends multiple feels and genres, here’s a freaking great underrated classic with unusual bragging rights. David O. Russell’s black comedy “Three Kings,” set in the bleached sand of post-Persian Gulf War Iraq circa 1991, is successful as a character drama, a comedy, a war picture, a western, a satire, a visceral action film, a heist movie, and a slice of angry political discourse. Like 1970’s “Kelly’s Heroes,” it follows a group of soldiers looking for a windfall. In “Three Kings,” it’s Kuwaiti gold bullion and George Clooney gets Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg, and Spike Jonze wrapped up in his scheme. Things go wrong in ways you could never imagine and each man is truly tested. Russell’s on-set battles with Clooney—and just about everybody, it seems—are famous (almost as famous as Ford and Fonda on “Mister Roberts”), so maybe the tension helped. Either way, this is one intense and absurd movie that wants to have it all ways and deserves kudos for succeeding.
Stay tuned tomorrow for more military comedies to rent!
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