The Office is the comedy that actually lands its jokes while watching the effort of being liked become unbearable for everyone nearby.
Ricky Gervais plays David Brent with a self-satisfaction that the mockumentary format refuses to protect, and the ensemble registers the cost through glances that make the viewer complicit. We laughed at Brent and then felt mean about it. 1
The Naked Gun works because it trusts Leslie Nielsen to keep believing in a job he cannot do, even as the nonsense around him grows broad. The film supplies enough opportunities for that conviction to pay off without demanding the jokes improve anyone’s manners. 2
Clerks finds its humour in conversations that carry more energy than the working day can absorb, and Kevin Smith lets the clerks treat pop-culture arguments with the urgency of real problems. The sketches sometimes run long, yet the irritation of serving customers keeps the talk grounded. 3
There’s Something About Mary depends on performers who know how to make an offensive idea funny rather than on the subject alone, so the cast earns the evening when good manners are off the table. 4
After these, avoid broad family comedies whose small supply of jokes becomes familiar too quickly.
Ask Discover the follow-up →Your country, your mood, your evening; it answers in a sentence or two, with our reviews cited.