MovieChat Forums > Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) Discussion > Didn't find it that funny

Didn't find it that funny

posted 9 years ago by kaunte
13 replies | jump to latest

Just watched this film for the first time, probably the only Kubrick film I had yet to see, but I just didn't find the film very funny. I chuckled at the survival kit, mineshaft gap and
and this is the war room bits. I also enjoyed the parts with Mandrake and Ripper/Bat Guano. Sellers playing multiple parts was distracting at best. I just don't get how this is supposed to be one of the best comedies of all time?

If I never meet you in this life, let me feel the lack

[–] thomas-begen-194-976045 9 years ago

I didn't like it much after my first viewing. I would suggest rewatching it when you are in a better mood. This is one of the most hilarious movies I have ever watched; this is easily one of my Top 5 movies (the only true comedy); and I consider this Kubrick's best film one of the best films ever made. On Kubrick: with the exception of "The Shining," everything after "Strangelove" feels like a bad LSD trip. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest directors of all time but I don't feel his "later" works have the cohesion of his earlier efforts, which also include "The Killing" and "Lolita."

I don't know how anyone can not like this movie. Granted, I love satire and dark comedy. It's a shame that there are not more high-quality films in this genre, but that would require great intelligence, something which is rarely possessed, and even more rarely desired in modern society.

[–] thom_bengtsson93 9 years ago

I hope so.
Like OP, I found some bits and pieces kind of funny, but there was nothing I laughed out loud for.

[–] klondike99 9 years ago

I laughed out loud at some of Dr. strangelove's antics.

[–] Mhjm6 9 years ago

Meh, I'm not interested enough in politics to "get it."

[–] Owlwise (1536) 4 years ago

But it's not just about politics, though. It's about the essential human condition, especially the dangerously & darkly absurd side of the human condition. It show how our best impulses are all too easily & much too frequently pushed aside by human pettiness, ambition, one-dimensional thinking, and just plain sheer stupidity,

[–] Screen_O_Genic 8 years ago

OP: It's overrated.

After all... tomorrow is another day.

[–] Huge_Ack_Man 8 years ago

"Dark humor" tends to be more subtle and not be as funny as the "zany" humor you probably prefer.

No it's just not as funny as "Naked Gun" or "Dumb and Dumber" darn it.

If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed. If you do...you are misinformed---Mark Twain

[–] kaunte 8 years ago

Yeah, because this film wasn't "zany" at all. There's certainly nothing over the top with a man riding an atomic bomb like a rodeo bull, or anything the titular Dr Strangelove said or did. Or Sellers playing multiple parts. That MUST be the reason /sarcasm.

If I never meet you in this life, let me feel the lack

[–] ancylostomiasis 8 years ago

Never feel the urge to laugh at it, I just find the idea chilling and scary. Imagine so much would be at stake for such a small room filled by idiotic psychopaths, is that funny at all?

[–] prplayer 8 years ago

i guess to find it funny you must somehow care about American Russian relationship during the Cold War seen from the American viewpoint

so it really only becomes interesting if you are an American with some knowledge about that period

so many movies, so little time

[–] joekiddlouischama 8 years ago

Keep watching it. I first viewed the film when I was twenty-one and failed to fully appreciate it, aside from the ending. I have since viewed Dr. Strangelove five more times (four times on the big screen), and I have been blown away every single time. On my sixth and most recent viewing, I was still picking up on new aspects of it, both plot-wise and in terms of tonal or thematic resonance.

[–] mister_salty 8 years ago

No, you really only need to have an appreciation for the absurdity of government.

[–] MoviemanCin 8 years ago

I found it hilarious and somewhat scary. It is a very dark comedy.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.