**some spoilers**
My parents took me to see this movie when I was 6 and it seriously freaked me out for many years to come - especially the shower squishing scene. At that age, I certainly didn't recall anything funny about the film. After a 30 year hiatus, I watched it again last week and, though I did laugh out loud in a few spots, I would hardly call it a comedy. Granted, the whole wedding sequence was hilarious - especially the performance by Victor Buono (the minister). But the rest of the movie was just a game of which selfish, unlikable, poorly developed character would get killed off next and in what gruesome fashion they'd meet their end - basically just an exercise in sadism. This pattern reminded me a lot of "Final Destination 2", though at least that film had something resembling a likable character here and there. (even if only 2-dimensional) Maybe there's a generation gap at work here, or maybe I just don't like English humor as much as I thought I did. Either way, "Heathers" and "Dr. Strangelove" will always be the apex of dark comedies in my book to which all others are compared - and "Arnold" falls way short.
My parents took me to see this movie when I was 6 and it seriously freaked me out for many years to come - especially the shower squishing scene. At that age, I certainly didn't recall anything funny about the film. After a 30 year hiatus, I watched it again last week and, though I did laugh out loud in a few spots, I would hardly call it a comedy. Granted, the whole wedding sequence was hilarious - especially the performance by Victor Buono (the minister). But the rest of the movie was just a game of which selfish, unlikable, poorly developed character would get killed off next and in what gruesome fashion they'd meet their end - basically just an exercise in sadism. This pattern reminded me a lot of "Final Destination 2", though at least that film had something resembling a likable character here and there. (even if only 2-dimensional) Maybe there's a generation gap at work here, or maybe I just don't like English humor as much as I thought I did. Either way, "Heathers" and "Dr. Strangelove" will always be the apex of dark comedies in my book to which all others are compared - and "Arnold" falls way short.