Word: humoredly
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Direct and active character description, where it is present, is one of the strongest aspects of The Midden. The thoughts of the characters, both human and animal, during their interactions with one another bring out Sharpe's humor at its best...
...coming-out comedy about homosexuality. It's therefore an appropriately bland comedy that ends up reinforcing, not puncturing, gay stereotypes, and doesn't get enough out of a cast which includes Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Debbie Reynolds and Bob Newhart. Kline still manages to rise above the plodding humor, esp. in his showstopping dance scenes; and Selleck is terrifically funny as the sleazy, sardonic, faintly Mephistophelean tabloid reporter who dogs his footsteps...
Jiang Zemin kept his cool, displayed his sense of humor and spoke louder--literally and metaphorically--than the noises from the rally. He did a good job educating his audience on China's pre-1989 history, which dates back, ahem, 5,000 years, and he proved himself a charismatic leader who respects Harvard and certainly deserves Harvard's respect...
Critical Care is one of those movies that should come with a big disclaimer before the opening credits: WARNING: This film may contain scenes of grossly oversimplified moral dilemmas and awkward black humor. That would pretty much sum up the new release from veteran director Sidney Lumet and rookie screenwriter Steven S. Schwartz. Marred by crudely conceived, insultingly phony characters and a moral base that is prominent but insincere, the movie dies a slow, drawn out death...
Rather than trying to generate sympathy for his characters, he introduces an ugly mode of black humor that mocks the dead and dying to such a degree that the audience feels too much disgust to get riled up about HMO policies. The black humor itself isn't a bad idea; it is often a key and telling element of good satire. But Lumet has shot himself in the foot by making the humor too universal--if you show disdain for doctors, patients, bereaved family members, athiests, the strongly religious, HMOs and insurance companies, there isn't really anyone left...