Funny or Die Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As much as I love James Franco (for reasons both personal and professional) I sometimes worry he's going to wear out his welcome with these shorts that keep popping up wherever you look. So far, we've had acting lessons, re-enactments of The Hills, commencement speeches, and even abstract art ... and now we've got Gucci. Over at Funny or Die, they have the latest comedy short which is presented as outtakes from the actor's turn as a spokesmodel for Gucci, and even though you know what to expect from the moment you hit play, that doesn't mean that it won't make you laugh (in my case there was even a little snorting involved).

But maybe the genius of Franco is that you can never quite guess what he's going to do next (I mean, I don't think anyone saw the General Hospital stint coming). He's still a movie star after all, though, and his upcoming roles in the Steve Carell and Tina Fey comedy Date Night, along with his portrayal of Beat poet Allan Ginsberg in Howl, guarantees that his comedic and dramatic skills won't be going to waste any time soon. But as this short proves, maybe his most memorable attribute will always be that he's never afraid to make a complete ass of himself -- a lovable quality if there ever was one.

After the jump: what Gucci didn't want you to see and another Franco classic....

If you happen to subscribe to the Hitchen's theory of comedy (you know, the one that says women can't be pretty and funny), then you're going to need to explain Charlize Theron to me. The Oscar-winning actress is probably one of the most beautiful women to walk the earth ... but that's not all, because she's also damn funny. Now, we've seen installments of Between Two Ferns here at Cinematical before, but the latest moment of strangeness from Zach Galifianakis just might be my favorite.

Most of us know Theron from her dramatic work, but if you're a fan of Arrested Development then you know how good she is at comedy. In fact, I think that's why this installment works so well, because Theron is a good enough actress that you honestly can't tell if she's in on the joke -- and considering Galifianakis relies on moments of awkwardness in his comedy, presto! You've got the perfect pairing.

Watching this clip reminded me that it's been too long since Theron has unleashed the funny, and with The Road and The Burning Plain already on their way to theaters, and an Atlas Shrugged mini-series on the horizon, this could be our last chance to see her crack a smile for a long, long, time.

After the jump: Charlize gets between the ferns...

Well, leave it to the comedy duo of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay to remind me of one of the better B-movie curios sitting on my shelf, a film that even combines their own site's merits of 'funny' and 'die' into one sharp satire that's already gone overlooked and underappreciated since its 2001 release (into a whopping ten theaters, it seems).

Series 7: The Contenders plays like a 90-minute marathon of a supposed TV show in which contestants are chosen at random and tasked with killing the competition. Everyday citizens have to take out other everyday citizens while the cameras are rolling, and the last man or woman standing wins, plain and simple.

It's funny in the ways it dead-on skewers the manipulations and absurdity of reality programming, and it's funny in more bleakly matter-of-fact ways as we grow slowly but surely engaged by the characters, just as the show itself would intend to. Besides, in what other movie would you see Paul Giamatti's mom from Sideways and the girl from the well in The Silence of the Lambs duke it out, with Will Arnett narrating throughout? Now that's something I would watch...

If there is anything more fantastic than seeing Betty White flip off Ryan Reynolds; I haven't found it. In a nifty new marketing piece for the romantic comedy The Proposal; Sandra Bullock, Reynolds, and Betty White sat down to make a video for Funny or Die, and even at the age of 87, Ms. White proves once again, that she is still one of the best comedians around. Posing as a 'behind-the-scenes' look, both Bullock and White get a chance to terrorize Reynolds to comic effect. But, that's not the only reason to click play, because frankly it isn't often that you get to see someone tell a comedy icon to "suck a hot ****".

Now I have to tell you, I've got nothing against either Bullock or Reynolds, but there wasn't a chance in hell I was going to be lining up to see The Proposal. Romantic comedies usually aren't my thing at the best of times, and this one seemed to be one of those films that was counting on the charm of its two leads to sell tickets; rather than things like, you know, a story -- plus I can't help but think that both of these actors really deserve better than this. But, I give credit where credit is due, and no matter what I may think of The Proposal, one thing is for sure: this is a funny little video. It may even be funnier than the film it's supposed to be promoting...what do you think?

Let the resurrection of Lindsay Lohan begin! We all know Hollywood loves a comeback, and nobody needs one more than one Miss Lindsay Lohan. Frankly, if this girl has a hope in hell of reviving her career, reminding us why we liked her in the first place is a very good start. The much maligned actress has done a faux eHarmony profile video for the good folks over at Funny or Die (which is slowly becoming the one-stop shop for teen actors to expand their horizons), and believe it or not, the results are pretty funny. Posing as a customer of the dating service, Lohan lands some good jokes over her run-ins with the law, party-girl reputation and supposed dwindling finances. Plus, I have to admit; for once it felt good to be laughing with the gossip mainstay and not at her.

As much fun as it's been to watch Lohan become a full-scale Hollywood train wreck, there's still a big part of me that would like to see her succeed. If you think back to just a few years ago, Lohan was ready for a big movie career and she had brought down the house on her first appearance on SNL. But, as her gossip quotient rose, the deals stopped rolling in like they used to, and suddenly Lohan was the living example of everything that was wrong with Young Hollywood. But here's the one thing that made Lohan stand out; unlike many of her celebutard compatriots: she had actual talent.

Judging by her performance here, maybe if the infamous red-head can snag a role in a quality comedy, we might forget that she used to be the punch-line. What do you think?

Wouldn't every movie be better if it featured naked people? That was my thinking as an overheated youth in the late 70s and early 80s, and, fortunately for me, theaters were flooded in those days with naked people -- almost all lovely young women. Of course, some movies resisted that notion, insisting on keeping characters fully clothed for reasons of "artistic integrity," "narrative logic," or "refusal of actresses to cheapen themselves by appearing in gratuitous nude scenes."

One such movie was John Milius' Red Dawn, the gloriously jingoistic paen to teenagers arming themselves with machine guns and mowing down invading Russians, in which Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey kept their clothes on as soldiers of misfortune. An official remake is in development, but if you don't want to wait for that, the very talented Jake Szymanski (The Dirty Garage) at Funny or Die has forged ahead with his own version ... set in a nudist colony.

Frankly, this is not quite my dream remake. For one thing, the faux trailer features frontally nude men almost exclusively, without a modern, naked equivalent of Lea Thompson or Jennifer Grey in sight. Still, a fully-clothed Mena Suvari appears, wielding a whip, and Vinnie Jones chews up the scenery as the Russian leader. A very naked Rob Schneider leads the rebellion. Which is more frightening: an invading foreign army, or Rob Schneider naked? Watch it and decide for yourself. WARNING: NSFW due to nudity.

Is anyone else sick of those quirky wandering romantic dramedies that tell of a relationship in trouble and feature an ensemble cast full of five o'clock shadows and skinny bra-less hipster chicks? I guess it all started with the so-called "Mumblecore" movement, and a group of filmmakers who created works of art on the cheap and collaborated with one another in an effort to churn out films like a factory -- only to watch them premiere at SXSW and then either fade into oblivion or enjoy a small day-and-date release through someone like IFC (who, to their credit, take a lot of chances on these tiny low-budget DIY films).

Granted, in the past year I've watched these Mumblecore-ish pieces evolve into films with tighter scripts and a lot more substance -- but there's been so many of them lately that it was only a matter of time before someone came along with a spoof. That said, Funny or Die -- and the talented Jake Szymanski -- have just arrived on the scene with The Dirty Garage, which is essentially a spoof of all those dry, dialogue-heavy indie flicks and the quirky soundtracks that populate most of the running time. And while I absolutely adore all my filmmaker friends who've been part of this movement -- and encourage them to continue following their vision -- you have to admit this is pretty hilarious. Check it out below.

What if actress Malin Akerman (who played hottie Silk Spectre in Watchmen) had a roommate who was wayyy behind on rent money? Why, she'd charge a bunch of "nerds" ridiculous amounts of money to take a fake Watchmen tour through Akerman's pad and watch the gal sleep. This latest video from Funny or Die shows exactly that situation ... and as the seconds tick away, the absurdity kicks into high hear ("Okay, then what about lunch with a bunch of thirty-somethings dressed as the Swamp Thing?").

I wasn't a big fan of Akerman heading into Watchmen, but walked away kinda looking forward to what she does next (which will be a co-starring role in the ensemble comedy Couple's Retreat). That said, she was dressed in that Silk Spectre outfit for half the movie and there was a little skin-on-skin action (and I am a dude), so maybe we'll see what she churns out in a film when she's not wearing next to nothing for three hours. Check out the video below, then let us know how much you'd pay for the unofficial Silk Spectre tour.

Just in time for the Oscars -- our friend Weston over at Funny or Die sent along this new video from the comedy site that spoofs The Wrestler trailer with a preview for a film called The Uncler -- about how Uncle Sam (Seth Morris) is desperately trying to climb his way back into our good graces, all while charming the top off a local stripper/lady liberty (played by my childhood crush Alyssa Milano). Jake Szymanski directs this high-quality video that's pretty damn funny; I especially like the little recession facts that take the place of awards won and fancy critic quotes.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think. Also, head after the jump to watch the real trailer for The Wrestler to compare the two. Yeah ... who's your boss?!

The Uncler w/ Uncle Sam and Alyssa Milano from Alyssa Milano

There's yet another film festival for cinema junkies to delight in, and this time it's all about much-needed laughs. Next month (March 5-8) will mark the inaugural L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival, and The Hollywood Reporter posts that it will include shorts from our favorite Internet Funny House, Funny or Die. See? The Internet is taking over!

The website will show some world premieres at the fest, plus "exclusive vintage shorts" that include Don Dolmes, The Smallest C*ck in Porn and Craigslist Penis Photographer. There are lots of shorts they could choose from. We've even shown you a bunch of them here at Cinematical. But I can't say that I'd be delighted to sit in a dark theater and watch these particular shorts (check them out after the jump). They're actually my least favorite of all the shorts I've seen on the site... Luckily I can throw on the Jerry O'Connell/Tom Cruise spoof and have a fest of my own!

Now, beyond the realm of Funny or Die, the fest is set to include I Own You starring Cedric Yarbrough, Head, Heart, and Balls ... or Why I Gave Up Smoking Pot starring Adam Carolla (who will host the closing reception), Nowassitall starring Aisha Tyler (who will host the pre-reception), and Boutonniere starring Wendi McLendon-Covey. Heck, the fest will even include industry panels like "How to Pitch and Sell Your Comedy Idea," so you might just get to bask in festival praise next year.