Top 10 Comedies That Might Suck in 2020
#10: “Free Guy” Release Date: July 3rd, 2020
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“Free Guy” will see Ryan Reynolds playing a goofy character named...Guy. After Guy realizes he’s living in the fictional world of a video game, he bounces between action set pieces while cracking plenty of jokes. If this setup sounds familiar, then you’ve probably seen “Deadpool”. The “Free Guy” trailer doubles down on the “Deadpool” comparisons by emphasizing its over-the-top violence and black comedy. Although we love Reynolds’ R-rated anti-hero, we don’t want to see him do the same type of movie again and again. Hopefully, this film’s premise ends up being really solid and the marketing department is just playing up Reynold’s marvelous past success to sell tickets. But if it’s only trying to imitate Deadpool, this comedy may find itself six feet underground with audiences.
#9: “Hooking Up” Release Date: March 20th, 2020
Have you been waiting for a comedy that tackles both sex addiction and testicular cancer? Well, your weirdly specific wait is finally over! In “Hooking Up”, Darla’s sex addiction gets her fired from her reporting job. After meeting a testicular cancer patient named Bailey, she formulates a plan to win her job back. Darla will relive her past hook-up experiences with Bailey and write an article about it. We might’ve been willing to look past the trailer’s bizarre premise if it wasn’t for one minor detail: Darla tells Bailey the risqué road trip is therapy for her addiction. A movie where someone with psychological issues uses and lies to a cancer patient sounds more like a sadistic drama than a comedy.
#8: “The Witches” Release Date: October 9th, 2020
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Author Roald Dahl’s “The Witches” is a dark children’s novel about the titular group of witches who cause trouble for those people who aren’t like them, such as turning children into mice. Although the 1990 movie adaptation received solid reviews, it was a box office bomb that Dahl himself disapproved of. Thirty years later, director Robert Zemeckis is set to remake “The Witches” with Anne Hathaway in the lead role. But those big names are another cause for concern. Hathaway’s last attempt at comedy gave us the critically panned “The Hustle”. Meanwhile, Robert Zemeckis’ last film, “Welcome to Marwen”, managed to squander a good premise and fantastic lead actor. Between “The Witches”’ troubled history with audiences and the recent failures of its main creatives, this remake may already be cursed.
#7: “The King of Staten Island” Release Date: June 19th, 2020
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Pete Davidson is set to star in a comedy with a surprisingly dramatic premise. In “The King of Staten Island”, Davidson will play a young man who has trouble moving forward in life due to the trauma of losing his father at a young age. The film will also take inspiration from the comedian’s real-life struggles with losing his father in 9/11. While the sobering and personal storyline promises compelling drama, we're unsure if it should be marketed as a comedy. Its serious premise could turn off audience members looking for a lighthearted flick. But the more important question is: can they really make a reportedly semi-autobiographical movie about Davidson processing grief into a comedy?
#6: “Irresistible” Release Date: May 29th, 2020
In “Irresistible”, an out of touch Democratic consultant tries to get a veteran elected as the mayor of a small right-wing town. Although the movie has the writing and directing talents of Jon Stewart and the mostly reliable comedic chops of Steve Carrell, the trailer looks less than promising. The political message is pushed so hard that even the most liberal moviegoers might find it preachy. There’s also a gag about harassment that feels extremely outdated in 2020. And despite featuring no actors of color with speaking lines, the trailer also goes for a lame joke about appealing to minorities. If this disappointing preview is indicative of the full movie, then we’ll resist the urge to buy a ticket.
#5: “Minions: The Rise of Gru” Release Date: July 3rd, 2020
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Although “Minions” only received a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, its billion dollar box office earnings ensured we hadn’t seen the last of the babbling yellow menaces. In July, they’ll return to help a young Gru impress a supervillain group. Our feeble hopes that this movie could make the franchise feel fresh were immediately dashed after being given a preview of just a few minutes of it: the trailer is packed with an obnoxious amount of slo-mo action scenes, selfish characters, and dim-witted minion hijinks. The previous movies in the franchise at least tried to present a heartwarming message underneath the comedy. “Minions: The Rise of Gru” looks devoid of originality, heart or any laughs.
#4: “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” Release Date: April 3rd, 2020
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Despite James Corden’s best efforts in the voiceover booth, his “Peter Rabbit” character was criticized for being mean spirited in the first movie. In one scene, he pelts his frenemy Thomas with blackberries until he had an allergic reaction. Unfortunately, the sequel’s trailer suggests the rabbit hasn’t improved much. After Peter becomes worried that Thomas will outgrow their friendship, he leads his fellow animals to steal from a farmer’s market. When some of the creatures are captured by animal control, the rabbit has to save them all. Even if we put aside the fact that the trailer gives away the entire plot, seeing Peter cause the movie’s main conflict is hard to ignore. Can we get a movie where Peter has a less rotten personality?
#3: “The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard” Release Date: August 28th, 2020
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The plot of “The Hitman's Bodyguard” was pretty simple. Sam Jackson plays a hitman who needs the help of a bodyguard played by Ryan Reynolds and hijinks ensue. Although Reynolds and Jackson had some decent scenes together, underwhelming dialogue and awkward tone shifts between silly comedy and hard-hitting drama held the movie back. Despite only receiving a 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the film’s getting an awkwardly titled sequel. In “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard”. Reynolds’ bodyguard needs to protect the hitman’s...oh, you get the idea. The premise behind “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” sounds lazy. And the first film hasn’t inspired a lot of confidence in the franchise. While we’d love to see Reynolds and Jackson work together, we wish they’d pick a stronger concept.
#2: “Bad Trip” Release Date: April 24th, 2020
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Eric Andre has become famous for his weird and unpredictable brand of comedy on his self-titled show. When we heard he’d be getting a movie, we were ready for something one-of-a kind. But the trailers for “Bad Trip” presented a strangely tired concept. The movie appears to be a series of hidden camera pranks tied together with a loose road trip narrative. While some of the stunts look ambitious, they still pale in comparison to the average episode of “Jackass”. And the fact that the movie was pushed back from last fall is another bad sign. As much as we love seeing Eric Andre on the big screen, we’re not sure if a hidden camera comedy was the best way for him to get there.
#1: “My Spy” Release Date: March 13th, 2020
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If it feels like “My Spy” was supposed to come out ages ago, you’d be 100 percent right. Although it was originally slated for an August 2019 release, STXfilms pushed the release date back…twice. Over a year after its trailers started playing in theaters, the long delayed “My Spy” is arriving in March. The movie will see Dave Bautista playing a no-nonsense CIA agent that has to learn how to loosen up while protecting a precocious child. We’ve already seen a plot like this done in everything from “Kindergarten Cop” to “The Pacifier”. And audiences are bound to find the jokes they’ve been forced to see in trailers for over a year outdated and stale in the final product. Is it too late to dump “My Spy” onto Netflix?
