Review of The Death of Stalin (2017) by Imdoingmypart — 06 Jun 2018

I love a dumb comedy from time to time. Sometimes it's nice to completely leave behind any sort of critical analysis of a film and just laugh at some crude jokes for an hour and a half. The magic wears off, however, when seemingly every new comedy is of this ilk. In times of "dumb comedy overload," I have to sit back and reminisce about the first time I experienced the magic of films like Dr. Strangelove and The Naked Gun. Of course, Strangelove and nearly all of Leslie Nielsen's comedy films have plenty of dumb jokes that clearly required little thought. What separates these classic comedy films from the countless forgotten lazy, dumb, crude efforts that have fallen into the abyss of forgettable comedies is the fact that Strangelove and Naked Gun make the effort to exercise all of its writers' comedic chops. Some dumb jokes make it into the final cut, sure, but such humor is thrown into a comedic gumbo with all sorts of visual gags, clever dialogue, memorable one-liners, and a slew of characters ranging from the zaniest ex-Nazi scientists to dead-pan detectives. The mix of elements is what makes such films timeless; The Death of Stalin is one of those films.

The subject matter is simple: Stalin has died, and his underlings now must compete in a political king of the hill in order to claim power. Anyone with an elementary background in European history will know who ultimately succeeds, but it sure is a trip watching these historic figures bumble their way through necessary proceedings to get what they want. There is no one stand out performance as each cast member brings his or her own brand of humor to the table. Everyone gets a turn, and everyone delivers. Not every joke is a gut-wrencher; in fact, I chuckled more than I roared laughing. I doubt I even caught all of the jokes, as I was often too busy chuckling at a previous gag. For once, I enjoyed a barrage of comedy that did not build up to one big payoff but rather made the effort to keep me smiling and thoroughly entertained.

I do not want to spoil any jokes, as I myself was able to appreciate a spoiler-free experience and am grateful for such an experience, so I will make this review brief. Surprisingly accurate historical accounts and a mixed bag of gags, one-liners, and situational comedy make The Death of Stalin a refreshingly intelligent and hard-working 2018 comedy that gives its audience glimpses of influence from some of the greatest comedies in film.