Re-watch, laughing makes you feel better

I've enjoyed many films over the years (and watched many stinkers too), but I find that few movies merit multiple viewings, and I usually choose comedies or sci fi if I want to re-watch something on a Sunday afternoon while I cook. I have a tiny stack of movies reserved for this purpose, comedies that I return to because I know they will make me feel happy.

Why do I laugh again and again at these comedic moments when I've already seen them several times, know they're coming, and how they will play out? Now that I examine this reaction, I only laugh out loud when I'm watching the film with someone else, but when I re-watch by myself, such as in the kitchen while cooking, I still smile often and feel a general happiness glow build during the film. That's a good enough reason to re-watch, getting a jolt of joy.

I think I return to these particular movies after being disappointed in so many comedies over the past decade. I know that the jokes, gags, prat falls, exaggerations, satires, parodies in this stable of flicks consistently appeal to my particular sense of humour. Although some people claim that attempts at humour often fail without the element of surprise, for my viewing pleasure the knowledge that the comedy fits me overrides any need for surprise. And I choose this certainty of pleasure every time over the doubt that a new film will entertain, the [very high] chance of disappointment in a new film is not worth the risk.

Here are some of my favourites to watch multiple times; the humour in these films never fails to lighten my day:

Evolution (2001), dir. Ivan Reitman, starring David Duchovny and Julianne Moore [today's choice while cooking for a couple hours]. This film fits squarely in my favourite sub-genre of sci fi-comedy [Another favourite is Galaxy Quest, 1999, and you know I went to see Men in Black 3 last year.]. So few movies are made in this vein, but I watch every one of them.

Sci fi comedy

Dick (1999, link goes to the TRAILER, yay!), dir. Andrew Fleming, starring Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams. In this spoofy romp about the Watergate robbery and the Nixon administration, the supporting cast supplies the majority of the guffaws. Kirsten and Michelle portray giggly naive teenage girls with great aplomb.

spoof

Nacho Libre (2006), dir. Jared Hess, starring Jack Black. I love to cheer for the underdog, and whoever gives this movie less than 8 stars on imdb.com must have a cynical outlook on life. [Another favourite is Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, 2004.] My partner and I quote lines from this film all the time, and I understand that Jack Black fails to win over every movie watcher, but the warm and generous heart at the centre of this wrestling movie makes me come back to it whenever I need to be uplifted.

underdog story

Others that I turn to for smiles include Office Space and The Princess Bride. Lest anyone think I am caught in a time warp and don't give new movies a chance, I enjoyed, rather irrationally and completely against my type, Get Him to the Greek (2010) with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, and Goon (2012) with Sean William Scott and Liev Schreiber. The most recent comedies to tickle me were also nominated for multiple awards: Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012). I don't think I'll buy those last 4 films on DVD in order to watch again, but I highly recommend them and would definitely watch them again if the opportunity arose.