Jami Recommends a Few You May Have Missed

There are the movies you know everyone has heard of, at least, if not seen. Maybe you didn't get around to Spiderman 3, but I'd bet you knew it existed. So, as the rains pour down at least here in Pittsburgh, let me suggest a few movies that you should check out, which you might not even have heard of. 1. So I Married an Axe Murderer. I'm always surprised that people haven't heard of this one, as it's probably Mike Myers funniest and definitely sweetest movie. Myers is a beat poet living in San Francisco who dumps girlfriends before they can get too serious by finding something wrong with each one (like "she smelled like soup"). When he meets the girl who may be "The One" he begins to suspect that she's a serial killer. A hilarious supporting cast, including Myers as his character's own belligerent Scottish father and the late Phil Hartman in a brief but memorable turn as "Vicki", make the outrageous turns in the plot fun and exciting. 2. SuperTroopers. You may not have heard of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, but if you can deal with some fairly bad language, sex jokes and amusing drug use, you'll adore this movie. When the Husband and I saw this in the theatres, I think there were about 6 other people present, but there were still parts that the laughter was so loud you missed the next line. The movie follows a small band of state troopers in a tiny, boring town in Vermont as they keep themselves amused and maintain a rivalry with the "townie" police. When both sets of cops come across a murder, the plot and hilarity takes off. WARNING - as I mentioned, this is NOT a movie for people with PG sensibilities. 3. Death at a Funeral and Eulogy. I'm going to group these ones together, because both are very dark comedies focused around the funeral of the family patriarch. Eulogy features a formidable cast including the always fantastic Hank Azaria, Zooey Deschanel, Famke Janseen, Ray Romano, Rip Torn and Debra Winger. Death at a Funeral has a lot of British actors I didn't know, plus America's own Alan Tudyk (sporting an English accent and at one point, nothing else) in a comedy of horrible mishaps that had me laughing out loud even though I saw it by myself. It also features character actor Peter Dinklage, in at least one movie-stealing scene that will leave you unsure whether to gasp or howl with laughter. 4. Sky High. This is a good one for the whole family. At the secret high school for teenage superheros, Will Stronghold is the son of the two most famous heroes, who hasn't discovered his powers yet. The varied cast includes Kurt Russell, Bruce Campbell and Dave Foley and there's enough plot and humor that you'll enjoy it regardless of age. 5. Enemy of the State. This might have been a bigger release, though I don't recall it at the time. Gene Hackman, Will Smith, Jon Voight and Regina King head up the cast, but look for Jack Black, Seth Green and Jason Lee as well. Humor, action and, IMO, a decent amount of justified paranoia keep this action movie really moving. And let me just say again . . Will Smith. 6. Shaun of the Dead. The funniest zombie movie I've seen to date; working drone Shaun and his slacker roommate Ed find themselves in the midst of a zombie-filled London, trying to save their loved ones from the undead menace. Like Romero's dead movies, there is a message as well as some riotously funny action. A few AHH! moments, but this movie isn't scary. Starring and partially written by Simon Pegg (Scottie from the new Star Trek), you'll never laugh so hard at dead people. 7. A Mighty Wind. All of the Christopher Guest partially-improv-driven comedies are golden, but this is my favorite. Featuring some of your favorite actors actually singing and playing their own instruments, the movie is a mockumentary about a folk music concert being staged in the memory of a deceased promoter. As usual for Guest's movies, look for Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Harry Shearer and Catherine O'Hara, some very catchy songs, and subtle but hysterical lines. 8. Drop Dead Gorgeous. See Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards compete in the American Teen Princess local pageant in Mt. Rose, Minnesota. I can't even begin to describe to you what happens without giving away plot points, but you won't see any of it coming. Cast members also include Ellen Barkin, a still-skinny Kirstie Alley, Amy Adams, Mindy Sterling and Brittany Murphy. I could go on and on, but I think that's a good list for you to start with. Some honorable mentions: Mars Attacks (spoof of the 50s alien invasion movies) Clue (if you somehow missed it in the 80s) UHF (Weird Al's classic) Also, if you STILL haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, go to do so NOW. It's about 45 minutes and I absolutely guarantee that it is the best musical blog about a supervillian that you'll ever see.