5 Comedies Besides ’50/50′ That Find The Funny Side Of Cancer

Medicine Man

Not intended to be a comedy per se, Medicine Man is accidentally hilarious. The humor comes from Sean Connery‘s exasperated performance as a scientist in the Amazon struggling to discover a cure to cancer. He’s dealing with some heavy stuff when he blurts out, “I found the cure for the f*cking plague of the twentieth century and now I’ve lost it. Haven’t you ever lost anything Dr. Bronx? Your purse? Your car keys? Well, it’s rather like that: Now you have it and now you don’t!” There’s no not-smirk reaction to that line.

Stepmom

On paper, Stepmom seems like a laugh riot. Not only does it deal with the turmoil of a painful divorce (LOL) and dysfunctional children (yuck yuck), but then it drops the cancer bomb on us out of nowhere. Quit it, you guys. I can’t take much more of these comedy stylings. Audiences laughed so hard that it was they who almost needed a kidney transplant.

Terms of Endearment

Though ultimately a very sad movie, Terms of Endearment also functions as a very effective comedy. One of the best comedies, actually. This film from writer/director James L. Brooks, and is said to be part of Judd Apatow‘s inspiration for Funny People. Be sure to see this. But avoid the sequel. The name of which I will not mention. I will not. I’ve already said too much.