Can be films, books, TV shows, even videogames.
My favourite is In Bruges. It's about two Irish hitmen who are sent by their boss to hide in the Belgian town of Bruges after a job gone wrong. The film is mostly about them trying to get along and enjoy themselves while they're there, which is far harder for one than the other. The performances are amazing - I never knew how much depth Colin Farrell had before watching the film, and Ralph Fiennes as an unpredictable, violent, yet intensely-principled East End mob boss is hilariously sinister. Brendan Gleeson is also amazing, and he made one particular scene in the film possibly my favourite in any movie.
The film is insanely quotable, if hugely offensive. My favourite have to be:
"An Uzi? I'm not from South Central Los fucking Angeles. I didn't come here to shoot twenty black ten year olds in a drive-by. I want a normal gun for a normal person."
"We shall strike a balance between culture and fun."
"Somehow I believe, Ken, that the balance shall tip in the favour of culture, like a big fat fucking retarded fucking black girl on a see-saw opposite... a dwarf."
"They're filming something... They're filming midgets!"
So yeah, it strikes a balance between humour and pathos; there is genuine emotion and drama driving the plot - I absolutely cannot find anything at fault with the film.
Seven Psychopaths, also by Martin McDonagh, is brilliant too - if a very different kind of film. It's still a black comedy, but it is more reminiscent of a Tarantino film instead of the generally grounded-in-reality feel of In Bruges.
So what are your favourite black comedies?
