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Movie formats definitely go through trend cycles.
WithMafia Mammain theaters now, are we due for another mini-wave of crime comedies?
And if so, will they be any good?
Filmmakers create crime comedies because the stakes are already at life and death.
And things can only get crazier from there.
Then theres the reality that everything most audiences know of the criminal underworld they learned from movies.
We ranked these mafia/yakuza/British gangster comedies on one sole criterion: Is it funny?
Mob comedies can offer many charms.
Audacious accent work, Tony Bennett needle drops, well-plotted capers.
Vulture cares not for these things.
We are here to recommend movies that will make you fuggedabout your troubles and laugh.
Leave the gun, take the jokes.
13.Mickey Blue Eyes(1999)
13.
That, and a plot a little too convoluted for even a mob comedy.
Hugh Grant is roped into money laundering by his would-be father-in-law (James Caan).
Fun to see most of the cast ofThe Sopranos, though.
12.My Blue Heaven(1990)
12.
Unfortunately, noted non-comedyGoodfellasis funnier.
This may be because Ray Liotta plays Hill as someone worth centering a movie on.
Steve Martins fish-out-of-water gangster living in the witness protection program is barely worth aSNLsketch.
11.Skidoo(1968)
11.
Youd miss the Harry Nilsson soundtrack, but youd possibly attain nirvana.
10.The Freshman(1990)
10.
Theres a lot to recommendThe Freshmanas a film.
Its sweet to watch endangered-animal smuggler Marlon Brando and his naive runner Matthew Broderick grow fond of each other.
Penelope Ann Miller 100 percent serves cunt as mafia princess Tina Sabatini.
And the ending set piece at a supper club for eating endangered species is something else.
Its notmonkey basketball episode ofSVUlevel crazy, but its sufficiently whimsical.
One of the running gags in the movie is peoples incredulity at how much Brandos mobster resembles Vito Corleone.
But if you want to see Broderick essentially playing Cameron instead of Ferris Bueller, this is for you.
9.Analyze This(1999)
9.
Analyze Thismakes a good argument that adhering too strongly to masculine ideals is a mental illness.
You cant have feelings, because you must display strength at all times.
And you dont have any true fellowship.
But anyway, comedy!
Most of the humor inAnalyze Thiscomes from the culture clash between stoic mobsters and touchy-feely therapyspeak.
8.Snatch(2000)
8.
Guy Ritchie moviesare always balancing balls-to-the-wall action with comedy.
How can you build tension again unless youre also constantly deflating it with jokes?
Here, underrated comedic performer Jason Statham (sequels forOperation Fortune,hey!)
is the center of a widening gyre of violence in the British underworld.
We also get acknowledgment of the Jewish mob, thanks to Dennis Farinas Cousin Avi.
7.Connie and Carla(2004)
7.
Toni Collette, what are you doing here?
BeforeMafia Mamma, Collette starred oppositeMy Big Fat Greek Weddings Nia Vardalos in this adorable drag-mafia comedy.
Is it a retread ofSome Like It Hot?Yeah, kinda.
Plus, Debbie Reynolds is here!
Gorgeous, heartwarming, life-affirming.
6.Zatoichi(2003)
6.
The violence is grim and bloody, but the jokes are slapstick and dumb as hell.
A criminally underrated showcase of physical comedy, the film isYojimbomeets the Marx brothers.
5.Desperately Seeking Susan(1985)
5.
Its funny, gorgeous to look at, and a ready-built Pinterest board for fashion and interior-design ideas.
4.In Bruges(2008)
4.
AVantablackcomedy,In Brugesis one of the few on this list where the mob isnt softened.
The sympathetic protagonist isnt trying to retire after a life of unspecified crime.
The crimes are specified, and theres no way out.
3.Some Like It Hot(1959)
3.
I almost didnt includeSome Like It Hot,because the mob only comes in and out of the film.
But its of a select number of older comedies that have kept their punch over the decades.
(Come to think of it, a lot of well-aged comedies are directed by Billy Wilder.)
2.Get Shorty(1995)
2.
A perfect combination of Florida weird with L.A. sleaze,Get Shortysomehow stays funny while also being incredibly cool.
Unflappable, despite both movie types and rival mobsters desperately trying to flap him.
1.Married to the Mob(1988)
1.
