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Kevin Pollak (Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, The Usual Suspects, A Few Good Men, Angel from Hell) loves comedies — which, of course, makes sense, considering he is a comic and all — but wouldn’t it be great to know which films he thinks are funny? What films helped to shape his “funny?” Well, when we asked him to shoot us his Five Favorite Films, four of them were indeed comedies, and that makes us happy. Now that he himself is directing films like The Late Bloomer — which recently opened in limited release — we wanted to share the list with you:
With Alan Arkin and Peter Falk, [it’s] my favorite comedy. The two of them basically put on a comedy film acting clinic. Their timing and interplay is simply perfection on film.
Modern Romance, written and directed by and starring Albert Brooks, is my 2nd favorite comedy. Brooks’ masterful performance as the obsessively — if not historically — jealous boyfriend is so naked and so honest that it has no equal as an original take on the romantic comedy.
Starring, and (mostly) written by Gene Wilder, [Young Frankenstein] is not only a tour de force of Wilder’s brilliance, but arguably the apex of the genius that is Mel Brooks. The supporting cast is also hilarious and unique. Great, and best take on the Frankenstein legend.
Ghostbusters is another legendary comedy classic. Like The In-Laws, re-making — or re-imagining — this classic was historically pointless, if not the very definition of ill-advised. You cannot beat the way this film makes you feel, as an audience member, from start to finish.
A flawless film, and one that I believe has been unfairly reduced to a holiday time standard. I deeply admire the screenplay and its execution of story and character nuances. Speaking of which, the performances are astoundingly inspiring, and George and Mary’s first kiss is honestly — and respectably — unbeatable in its emotional impact.
