The Quirky Comedies of Spring 2012

Spring is an interesting time for movies. Companies have just released all of their big Oscar films, are busy looking for new ones at the Sundance Film Festival, and are generally concerned about their big summer box office flicks that are sure to capture a huge bit of a payday. Between March and mid-May, this is when the quirky films start to hit the screen, and Spring 2012 is no exception. Here are some of the comedies you should be looking out for:

Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie (Release Date: March 1, 2012)

It’s worth noting that if you’re a die-hard Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim fan, the comedy-pairing behind “Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job” on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, you know that this movie premiered on demand first on iTunes and the theater release probably won’t be that widespread. Why? Well, if you’ve ever seen the show, you probably know that B$M is very absurd, and will appeal exclusively to the Adult Swim twenty-to-thirty something male crowd.

Highly inappropriate and very strange, B$M is an acquired taste; patrons of it at Sundance simply walked out in a scene where Tim and Eric chased homeless patrons around with a golf cart. If you’re a fan of the Jackass films or Borat, or of course their show, go see this film. If not, either go with an open mind or do a little research on what this film will look like.

Jeff Who Lives at Home (Release Date: March 16, 2012)

I’ll say it: I’m a sucker for mumblecore. The genre, created in large part by the directors of this film The Duplass brothers, often chronicles people and emotions and changing relationships over gags and ridiculousness. This film, about a stay-at-home son, Jeff (Jason Segel) and his brother in a failing marriage, Pat (Ed Helms), promises to not only be really funny but also paint a very real picture of dysfunctional family life (the brothers did this in “Cyrus” last year as well).

We Have a Pope (Release Date: April 6, 2012):

Though there are some strange films, this might truly be the most unique because, frankly, it’s not in English. This Italian film about a nervous pope and the therapist who has to try to calm him before his balcony appearance appealing to the faithful was very well received at the Sundance Film Festival, and shockingly enough looks very funny even through subtitles. Directed by Nanni Moretti and starring Michel Piccoli, it depicts the fragility of man and is more lighthearted and fun then Moretti’s previously dark, political films. The dark horse of the comedy film world.

The Five Year Engagement (Release Date: April 27, 2012)

I also might be a sucker for Jason Segel, but who can blame me? The star of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “The Muppets” is back with his writing/directing partner Nicholas Stoller for a movie about a couple who has to continually delay their marriage (co-starring Emily Blunt). It’s worth noting that nearly all of Stoller’s films have been well received hits, save for the strange marketing failure that was “Gulliver’s Travels,” but with an extremely impressive cast, it’s sure to round out the spring perfectly and deliver a really heart-warming fun film, which will make two for Segel in the same season.


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