15. The Climb
Writer-producer-star Michael Angelo Covino took everyone by surprise with his first directorial feature, The Climb, a modest indie that made its way from Cannes 2019 to Sundance 2020 to the American public in November. The smoothly shot dramedy surveys fifteen years in the relationship between two men who love biking and have been best friends forever. Plenty in the film will break your heart but just as much, if not more, will leave you laughing.
The chemistry between Covino and co-star/-writer Kyle Marvin (who also happens to be Covino’s real-world best friend) seems like something that truly cannot be manufactured. The more Mike steals attention and fucks up Kyle’s life, the more complex their take on the bromance subgenre becomes. Most of the laughs come from a deep place of relatability to the subject matter: the inevitable ugliness and threat of collapse that hovers over any close relationship that spans decades. In that sense, it’s like therapy – Mikey and Nickey, but the romance is traded for dark realism.
14. Yes, God, Yes
There is a basicness to Yes, God, Yes that should keep it from being that noteworthy. Maybe it made me feel nostalgic for the simple indie comedies of the ’90s (which is also when it’s set). The sort that may have played in arthouse theaters in the big cities but that I would find on the video store shelf in the suburbs and rent without any sort of expectation — and would be just fine. There’s really nothing to the movie’s premise: a Catholic schoolgirl ignorant about sex and sexuality discovers the latter (thanks to AOL chatrooms) right before she attends a youth group retreat. Think Jamie Babbit’s But I’m a Cheerleader without the campy queerness and kitschy style.
I know, I’m making Yes, God, Yes sound really great. Well, it is pretty good, and its lighter effort keeps it from being any more or any less than just a middling yet easygoing story of relatable coming-of-age for those of us who were awkwardly oblivious in our teenage years. There is something that elevates the movie to such a high ranking on this list, however, and her name is Natalia Dyer. Best known as one of the breakouts of Stranger Things, Dyer reprises her role from the 2017 short of the same name that the feature is based on and plays naive and curious so perfectly with every close-up afforded her by writer/director Karen Maine. I can’t recall any of her lines (I don’t think she even has a lot), but I can recall many of her facial expressions and some of her thoughts, which you can sense just by the looks she gives.
If you read the synopsis of Yes, God, Yes expecting a religious satire, you won’t find anything remotely resembling sharpness in the storytelling there. And you’re not likely to experience any big belly laughs either. But if you want a vehicle for an undeniable talent like Dyer proving she’s still one to watch beyond the ’80s throwback phenomenon of Stranger Things, this — or at least she — will put a smile on your face and a slight giggle in your gut. – Christopher Campbell
13. She Dies Tomorrow
Amy Seimetz’s coolly comic apocalyptic mindfuck is difficult to categorize – drama, comedy, horror, sci-fi, thriller, cerebral fantasy are all there – but that’s partly what makes it one of the best comedies of the year. It starts off with the occasional laugh, then proceeds to flank you with humor when you’re least expecting it: when the world seems to be coming to an end.
She Dies Tomorrow is a kaleidoscopic look into many people’s lives as they encounter the strange, colorful liminal space that is the near-to-death experience, but when it comes to comedy, certain characters steal the show. Jane Adams, for one, is hilarious in her pajama fugue state mumblings. Jennifer Kim, Katie Aselton, and Adam Wingard (friend and co-collaborator of Seimetz) also add some small comedic turns that add an overall looseness to the film, which plays in tandem with the constant severity of the scenario.
12. On the Rocks
Another comedy that didn’t need a high-concept premise this year and benefited greatly, as a result, is Sofia Coppola‘s On the Rocks. Rashida Jones plays a wife and mother in New York City who becomes suspicious that her constantly traveling husband (Marlon Wayans) is cheating. So, she starts spying on him. Does slapstick ensue? Not so much. What about madcap mix-ups or cases of mistaken identity leading to a climactic case of misunderstanding? Nope. The common premise is merely an undercurrent for the sake of a story of a father and daughter bonding.
It helps that Bill Murray is the father, a flirtatious man who doesn’t believe in monogamy really anyway and is all for the adventure of drawing the daughter out to prove his assumptions. If there is one thing proven in the movie, though, it’s that Jones and Murray are a perfect duo and leave us wanting more of their escapades involving alcohol, caviar, and a little old sportscar on the fritz. – Christopher Campbell
11. Let Them All Talk
With a trio of supremely self-assured comedic performances from veterans Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, and Dianne Wiest, Let Them All Talk slips quietly into bed with Steven Soderbergh’s best comedies. Lucas Hedges and Gemma Chan round out a terrific ensemble that keeps the laughs coming in so many ways, be it with a wry, haughty dig from Streep (who plays a world-renowned writer) on crime novels for the masses, the endearing quirk in Hedges’ tastefully overeager delivery, Wiest unabashedly fangirling in her seventies, or Bergen’s deadpan tendency to reject her friends to their faces. The glowing cruise-liner vacation setting doesn’t hurt either, providing a glitzy atmosphere that makes it that much more enjoyable.
Related Topics: 2020 Rewind, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Comedy, Palm Springs, Promising Young Woman
