With 'Wolverine,' 'Star Trek' and 'Angels & Demons' opening in the first three weeks of May, so far the box office has been heavy on the action and light on the laughs. But that will all change on May 22, when Stiller's 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian' rolls into theaters, kicking off a slate of comedies that should have moviegoers in stitches from now until the end of July.
Check out our picks for the seven most promising laffers to hit multiplexes this beach season, then cast your vote for which will be summer's funniest. -- By Tom DiChiara
'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian' (May 22): In the sequel to the 2006 hit, Stiller's mild-mannered security guard heads to D.C.'s Smithsonian, where he once again grapples with museum exhibits come to life. And this time around he must contend with even more reanimated historical figures, a villainous pharaoh (Hank Azaria) and his weirdly romantic feelings for Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams). Hey, she is pretty hot for a living diorama.
'Up' (May 29): Arguably Pixar's funniest -- and saddest -- film to date, 'Up' tells the tale of a lonely widower who, at the ripe young age of 78, finally fulfills his lifelong dream of globetrotting adventure by tying thousands of helium balloons to his house and jetting off to South America. Run-ins with giant birds, multilingual dogs, an evil explorer and bittersweet hilarity ensue.
'The Hangover' (June 5): So what if Todd Phillips' ('Old School') last flick, 'School for Scoundrels,' didn't measure up to his previous endeavors? This tale of a bachelor party gone horribly, amazingly, gut-bustingly awry is riding so much buzz that a sequel is already in the works. It might just be the best bachelor party movie since, well, 'Bachelor Party.'35 Reasons Were Psyched for Summer
- Get full movie details
- Watch trailers & clips
- On the set of 'Harry Potter'
- See Daniel Radcliffe photos
Summer Preview: 35 Reasons We're Psyched for Summer
What do a mutant with muttonchops, a teenage wizard, a gay Austrian fashionista and giant freaking robots have in common? They're all part of this year's ginormous summer movie lineup, with stars and stories so big we can barely catch our breath.
Johnny Depp and Christian Bale as co-stars! A brand-new 'Star Trek' cast! Denzel Washington chasing down baddies, a heaven-bound Pixar creation, new movies from Judd Apatow and Quentin Tarantino ... We don't know about you, but we sure are psyched. Click through for 35 reasons why.
Summer Movies Genre Guides:
Fox / Disney / Universal / Warner Bros.
1. Harry Potter Apparates -- at Last
The world's very favorite wizard, Harry Potter, has been absent from screens for so long that Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who portrays him, has had time to act in an indie drama ('December Boys'), star in a British made-for-TV historical pic ('My Boy Jack') ... and go full-frontal on stage -- in London and Broadway. In other words, our little boy hero is growing up, and don't think Potter-philes haven't noticed. His fans are maturing too, but they're not too big to shriek like little girls at the sight of him in the hotly anticipated (and pushed from fall '08) 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.' (July 15)
More on 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince':
'Harry Potter' Movies:
Warner Bros.
2. Hugh Jackman Reminds Us He's a Badass
Sure, he was a great Oscars host, but while we can appreciate a dancing, singing Hugh Jackman in a tux, we really love him when he's got his claws out ... as Wolverine, the tortured mutant with the fantastic muttonchops. That's why we're excited for 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine,' which promises not only to breathe life back into the 'X-Men' franchise but also to make us forget the three hours we wasted on 'Australia.' (May 1)
More on 'Wolverine':
'X-Men' Movies:
20th Century Fox
3. Christian Bale to Terminators: "I'm Gonna F***ing Kick Your F***ing A**"
'T4' (is it a sequel? a prequel? both?), i.e. 'Terminator: Salvation,' is shaping up to be even more explosive than star Christian Bale's much-publicized on-set freak out. Even with the tamed PG-13 rating, thanks to a Pizza Hut tie-in, the 'Terminator' franchise appears to have a hit on its hands the size of those giant Terminators grabbing people up for human experimentation. After hearing Bale's rant, we just worry that up against his awesome vengeance, the cyborgs are gonna turn metal tail and run -- we know we would. (May 21)
More on 'Terminator Salvation':
'Terminator' Movies:
Warner Bros.
4. 'Star Trek' Cast: The Next NEXT Generation
A major emphasis in J.J. Abrams' master plan to reboot the 'Star Trek' franchise was to up the cool quotient in casting (not that Leonard Nimoy, who cameos, isn't one cool cat). The new crew is an eclectic mix of emerging Hollywood talent, starting with It boys Chris Pine (as Kirk) and Anton Yelchin (Chekov), 'Heroes' villain Zachary Quinto (Spock), hilarious Brit Simon Pegg (Scotty), 'Harold' stoner John Cho (Sulu), 'LOTR' vet Karl Urban (Bones) and the super-sexy Zoe Saldana (Uhura), plus turns by Eric Bana, Tyler Perry and Winona Ryder. (May 8)
More on 'Star Trek':
Original 'Star Trek' Series:
Paramount
5. Is America Ready for 'Bruno'?
As proudly offensive and divisive as was 'Borat,' Sacha Baron Cohen's first foray into brilliant sociological satire disguised as shock humor, the movie's $128 million haul proved there was an audience. But will Americans in a split Prop 8-climate be as welcoming to his latest big-screen caricature, the flamboyantly gay Austrian fashionista Bruno, who drags an S&M slave through a mall and attacks a self-defense instructor with two dildos? The side-splitting first trailer tells us "Hell, yes." (July 10)
More on 'Bruno':
'Borat':
Universal
6. It's Not About the Robots
Sure, the sequel to 2007's 'Transformers' has a lot going for it: Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, a bunch of giant talking robots and, of course, 789 explosions courtesy of director Michael Bay. But if we're honest with ourselves, the real draw of 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' is Megan Fox. Had Megatron been around to see the sexy starlet leaning over the hood of a car in the first flick, he might have just scrapped his whole "I want to destroy mankind" plan. But, hey, then there wouldn't be a sequel. (June 24)
More on 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen':
More on Megan Fox:
'Transformers' (2007):
Paramount
7. Depp and Bale, the Action/Acting Dream Team
Director Michael Mann's career highlights often involve setting up powerhouse actors in adversarial roles, such as De Niro and Pacino ('Heat'), Cruise and Foxx ('Collateral') ... and now there's Johnny Depp, as Depression-era bad boy John Dillinger, and Christian Bale, as dogged FBI agent Melvin Purvis, in 'Public Enemies.' We can't wait to see these two sink their teeth into a good, old-fashioned action drama without any pirate garb or superhero capes. Good job, Mann. (July 1)
More on 'Public Enemies':
Universal
8. Welcome Back Tarantino, You Inglourious Basterd
Aside from the occasional (and highly strange) cameo on 'American Idol,' Quentin Tarantino hasn't been heard from much since his brilliant two-part revenge fantasy 'Kill Bill' ('Death Proof' was showy and fun, but hardly counts). He returns with a vengeance with 'Inglourious Basterds' (sic), a remake of a 'Dirty Dozen' remake that finds Brad Pitt and pals in the "killing Nazi business ... and business is booming." Expect enormous amounts of gloriously violent Nazi bloodshed. (August 21)
More on 'Inglourious Basterds'
Weinstein Company
9. We Like It When Denzel Beats Up Bad Guys
He can pull off any role: the inspirational teacher-coach, the caring husband-dad, even the cutthroat bad guy. But it's action movies that made Denzel Washington a star, and he'll be kicking plenty of bad-guy butt in the 'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' -- a remake of the 1974 original -- in which he plays an NYC subway dispatcher trying to thwart a John Travolta-led gang of hijackers. Ah, if only Denzel worked for the subway in real life. You can bet no one would jump the turnstile then. (June 12)
More on 'Taking of Pelham 1 2 3':
'Taking of Pelham One Two Three' (1974):
Sony
'Year One' (June 19): It's 'Superbad' meets 'Forrest Gump' when two of the most inept cavemen ever to roam the Earth (Jack Black and Michael Cera) are banished from their village and set off on an epic adventure that leaves their idiotic footprints all over history.
'Bruno' (July 10): 'Borat' genius Sacha Baron Cohen plays a gay Austrian fashion model/reporter: Need we say more? OK, you twisted our arm. He also dupes a bevy of people (including 'American Idol' judge Paula Abdul) into faux interviews, adopts an African baby whom he honors with the "traditional African name" of O.J., and generally wreaks havoc across America. 'Bruno': It's all the rage.
'Funny People' (July 31): Adam Sandler stars as a stand-up comic (yeah, not too big of a stretch) who reevaluates his life after a brush with death. If that sounds a little heavy for a comedy, don't worry: Judd Apatow has publicly assured fans that this flick -- which stars all the usual Apatow players (Rogen, Hill, Mann, etc.) as well as Eric Bana and Jason Schwartzman -- will be every bit as raunchy and raucous as his previous writer-director efforts. All we can say is, "Oh, Kelly Clarkson!"
Reader Comments (1)
Love Comedies at 1:36PM on May 15th 2009
All things being equal, I came across a new "Indie" HS Comedy starring Puddy ( Patrick Warburton ) from Seinfeld which looks realy funny. Saw a trailer on you tube. Its called SOPHOMORE. It could be that "sleeper" that could compete with the big boys ala Juno or Napolean this year. FYI