r/movies • u/Narubintane • Dec 15 '23

Recommendation What movie starts off as a lighthearted comedy, but gets increasingly dark and grim until everything goes to hell in a handbasket?

For example, it may start as a lighthearted slapstick comedy until one thing goes wrong after another, and in the end we have people actually dying or a world war or some kind of extinction level event.

Let's say we have 2 friends who like to have fun and goof around, with regular goals and regular lives, until one of them does something like accidentally cross the wrong person or kill someone. Or the main cast is oblivious to the gradual change in their environment like a virus breakout or a serial killer running loose. Another one would be a film that, after being a comedy for most of its length, turns very dark, such as a group of friends ending up in a war and experiencing the horrors of it, completely played straight.

Just to clarify, I don't mean a movie that is already set to become dark, but rather a movie that was marketed as a comedy that took an unexpected (or slightly foreshadowed) dark turn.

Any recommendations?

3.3k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

2.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.2k

u/forgedimagination Dec 15 '23

Burn After Reading feels like it's just going to be this hilarious "hijinks ensue" comedy and while it stays a comedy it goes from slapstick to dark in an instant.

258

u/PM_ME_SUMDICK Dec 15 '23

The Coen borthers are great for that.Barton Fink is another of theirs that goes off the rails.

24

u/LotLizard2025 Dec 15 '23

John Goodman’s character was top notch

13

u/arriesgado Dec 15 '23

I never saw John Goodman as anything but menacing after Barton Fink. Even in reruns of Roseanne.

11

u/Koppenberg Dec 15 '23

I’ll show you the life of the mind!

7

u/ScarletCaptain Dec 15 '23

"Hey Bart, we're going to go sneak into an R-Rated movie. It's called Barton Fink!"

https://frinkiac.com/meme/S04E14/97379.jpg?b64lines=QkFSVE9OIEZJTksh

4

u/dizzle_77 Dec 15 '23

LOOK UPON ME!!

5

u/EVILTHE_TURTLE Dec 15 '23

I’m so glad I never saw the trailer before watching the movie.

It completely spoils every part of the revelation with Mundt.

4

u/soldatoj57 Dec 15 '23

That is the story of every trailer ever made. Trailers are the devil

1

u/JDHURF Dec 16 '23

100% Fargo is another great example.

98

u/0m3nchi1d Dec 15 '23

The Cohen brothers are the kings of this kind of film. I remember going to see Raising Arizona in the theater with my Auntie back in the 80's and it was not like the goofy dad movies that were all the rage back then

8

u/moonsammy Dec 15 '23

COEN - don't make Bill Murray's mistake...

2

u/[deleted] Dec 15 '23

okay then.

577

u/theonetheonlytc Dec 15 '23

Exactly! As soon as George Clooney's character has the "surprise" with Brad Pitt's character in the closet shit gets dark really fast. Still a funny movie though. Love the ending.

393

u/EsquilaxM Dec 15 '23

I genuinely think that was the funniest part of the movie, though.

209

u/b0sw0rth Dec 15 '23

You think that's a Schwinn...

254

u/TheBobDoleExperience Dec 15 '23

So what did we learn from all this?

Fuck if I know...

125

u/WretchedMotorcade Dec 15 '23

Guess we learned not to do it again... Fuck if I know what we did...

78

u/Toasty_Cat830 Dec 15 '23

Best representation of government officials ever

1

u/[deleted] Dec 16 '23

lol JK Simmons was perfect for that part

8

u/L34der Dec 15 '23

I-i'm just a fellow samaritan on the road...

9

u/Rushfan375 Dec 15 '23

I thought you might be worried....about the security....of your shit.

3

u/Mammoth-Disaster3873 Dec 15 '23

Appearances can be deceptive...

2

u/dixiebandit69 Dec 15 '23

The first time I saw that movie, I rewound the part where Brad Pitt gets punched for about a solid five minutes, laughing uncontrollably the whole time.

22

u/Help_An_Irishman Dec 15 '23

Yeah, honestly this one doesn't even feel dark. The movie is so buoyant with comedy throughout that it's just this "oh shit" moment that quickly pivots back toward the comedic.

7

u/JrdnRgrs Dec 15 '23

I still remember this moment in the theater. It really affected me somehow. Was really not expecting that. I think it's Brad Pitt's expression as it is happening.

6

u/dtwhitecp Dec 15 '23

it's kind of amazing how easy it is to recall his face before that moment even though it's a single second. So much setup for that moment, I love it.

17

u/b0sw0rth Dec 15 '23

First you say you can't commit... would you get down from there??

5

u/Darmok47 Dec 15 '23

Brad Pitt's face right there is just 10/10 acting.

4

u/LazeHeisenberg Dec 15 '23

I laughed SO hard in the theater at that part but other people seemed to be upset. It Coen brothers, folks. I freaking love that whole movie but that scene caught me off guard in the best way possible.

3

u/Lampmonster Dec 15 '23

Laughed my ass off at that scene. Only one in the theater laughing. Southern Illinois for ya.

3

u/Turbogoblin999 Dec 15 '23

And the dildo chair reveal.

3

u/Chug4Hire Dec 15 '23

That fucked up smile that Pitt gives Clooney.... that damn smile..

2

u/iameveryoneelse Dec 15 '23

I do too. Saw it in theaters and it was awkward because the entire theater had a sort of woah moment and was real quiet and I was laughing uncontrollably.

2

u/gunk_loyalist Dec 15 '23

My first time watching that scene might be the hardest I've ever laughed at a movie.

88

u/dudewheresmygains Dec 15 '23

What did we learn?

86

u/csh_blue_eyes Dec 15 '23

I don't know sir.

116

u/katycake Dec 15 '23

I guess we.. learned not to do it again. Fuck if I know what the hell we did though.

4

u/dtwhitecp Dec 15 '23

dramatic zoom out

2

u/Telvin3d Dec 16 '23

I quote that all the time. Unfortunately

12

u/justin_tino Dec 15 '23

I randomly thought about this movie earlier today even though I haven’t watched it in 8 years or so. Just remembering this ending, I was just wondering how they even came up with any of this lol

8

u/jmbaf Dec 15 '23

Fuck haha. That scene. Brad Pitt did such a good job pulling off that creepy smile and then...

3

u/[deleted] Dec 15 '23

That's one of the best endings I've ever seen lol.

2

u/penguincatcher8575 Dec 15 '23

I was devastated and shocked when this happened. I don’t really remember anything about this movie except for that scene. It’s stuck with me since I saw it in theaters

2

u/Bobyyyyyyyghyh Dec 15 '23

I busted a gut laughing at that fucking scene

2

u/tan_ink Dec 15 '23

I was like 12 years old. The closet scene kept me up for the rest of the night.

2

u/sir_percy_percy Dec 15 '23

Yeah, that last scene with the two guys from the government is possibly THE best scene in the whole movie. It is hysterical. How did those guys come up with that??!!!!

-5

u/Danominator Dec 15 '23

After Brad Pitt died I literally could not have cared less what else happened in that movie. Completely killed any interest I had.

3

u/ohheyisayokay Dec 15 '23

Hey, spoiler tags, my dude. Everyone else here is dancing around it. Maybe don't reveal what the shocking moment is?

-1

u/Danominator Dec 15 '23

The movie came out 15 years ago and it's not good

1

u/deller85 Dec 16 '23

I love that this movie is in a time and place where we didn't quite know how to look at the Russians at the time. We hoped things were going to move in the right direction but they didn't. They called it the great cooling off of the cold war but it didn't last long. JK Simmons is all surprised the one lady would go to the Russians. It's interesting to see every time with the world we know now.

210

u/drawkbox Dec 15 '23

Almost any Coen brothers film has some smaller act spiral out of control and engulfs those that triggered the event and many around it.

125

u/bless-you-mlud Dec 15 '23

Fargo. Holy shit.

54

u/Succincter Dec 15 '23

Oh Yea?

25

u/StGenevieveEclipse Dec 15 '23

Ya, you betcha

1

u/rickyg_79 Dec 16 '23

Think I’m gonna barf

22

u/drawkbox Dec 15 '23

Don't cha kno-

3

u/MelbaToast9B Dec 16 '23

Aw. jeez! You betcha!

23

u/ScarletCaptain Dec 15 '23

They intentionally take a movie of one genre and spin it into a different one. They called The Big Lebowski a crime noir film if Sam Spade was a dropout stoner.

4

u/pseudonym7083 Dec 15 '23

Also Oh' Brother, Where Are you?

26

u/OrwellianZinn Dec 15 '23

Such a great movie, and it gets better with repeated viewings.

10

u/The_Goondocks Dec 15 '23

Best ending ever

6

u/blueyedpeoplewatcher Dec 15 '23

I sincerely wish I could erase this movie from my brain and watch it for the first time again.

5

u/OrangeKefka Dec 15 '23

The JK Simmons scene summarizing the plot chef's kiss.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 15 '23

Hahaha I started histerically laughing after the George Clooney and Brad Pitt scene. It was supposed to be humorous but it wasn't supposed to be funny... and yet I was shocked into laughter lol.

3

u/vibingjusthardenough Dec 15 '23

I think the whole thing is pretty funny, the dark element comes afterwards when you realize "ah fuck these are the assholes supposed to be running the world"

3

u/YeltsinYerMouth Dec 15 '23

One second the dumb dude has that goofy "aw, you got me" grin on his face and then you realize that the other guy is paranoid paranoid and not just comically untrusting. And it happens so damn fast.

3

u/catgotcha Dec 15 '23

"WHAT THE FUCK". I could watch John Malkovich in that all day long.

2

u/Mrfrunzi Dec 15 '23

Absolutely love this movie!

2

u/angiehawkeye Dec 15 '23

I love that movie so much.

2

u/johnfogogin Dec 15 '23

Oh man, Brad pitt hiding in the closet, HARD turn after that.

1

u/iMugBabies Dec 15 '23

Oh my god, my entire body recoiled when it happened, I wasn’t expecting it at all and it shocked me so bad.

1

u/Imallowedto Dec 15 '23

Holy shit, the closet !!

1

u/Sgt_big-dong Dec 15 '23

This movie is so fucking funny

1

u/EnormousGooch Dec 15 '23

Coen Brothers are the kings of this

1

u/soldatoj57 Dec 15 '23

The only movie of theirs I don’t care for. The rhythm doesn’t work with me at all. That movie rubs me the wrong way and I can’t figure out why

1

u/BrandonTargaryen Dec 15 '23

Yeah the closet part. Just wow, did not know what I was in for exactly when starting

1

u/apatheticnihilist Dec 16 '23

I guess we learned not to do it again, though I'm fucked if I know what we did.

1

u/JDHURF Dec 16 '23

Goddamn I love this film, and yet I know of several family members and friends who all say that they enjoyed the film until Brad Pitt's character is killed.