As much as studios and critics like to think audiences feel comforted by the
same thing over and over again (hence the popularity of sequels), it's not
always true when it comes to comedies. Though many baffling comedies
... moreregister as
hilarious for many viewers, there are those that, for various reasons, simply
don't register with anyone -- audiences or critics. The hunter-gatherer
comedy "Year One," starring Jack Black and Michael Cera and directed by Harold Ramis (whose best movie is the now-classic "Groundhog Day"), laid a big dodo egg, almost weirdly
unfunny for such a talented group of players. "Land of the Lost," reworked from
the low-budget but beloved Sid and Marty Krofft series from the 1970s,
underperformed, in spite of Will Ferrell and the great Danny McBride. And Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno," though receiving mixed
reviews, received none of the praise and surprise of "Borat" and was, in fact, deemed predictable and staged. Not a
good thing for an outrageous, flaming Austrian fashionista. When Richard Simmons
proves to be more uncomfortably hilarious, then you've got to get a new shtick.
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