Film

Addicted to Fresno

A pitch-black comedy about two damaged sisters—one a recovering sex addict, one a lonely lesbian—working as hotel maids in Fresno who spiral into increasingly deranged schemes to cover up a mistake. It's deliberately ugly, deliberately funny, and deliberately strange. Made for people who find conventional comedies too polite.

TMDb rating2.6

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Bridesmaids2011

Vulgar, character-driven comedy about women behaving badly and falling apart. Funny because the characters are real and desperate, not because the premise is inherently funny.

But The tone is uneven—it swings between heartfelt and crude, which works for some people and alienates others. Also quite long at two hours.

Bridesmaids poster

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel2017

Fast-talking, ambitious female leads breaking social rules. Sharp writing, devoted ensemble cast, and a genuine sense of characters trapped by circumstance finding a way out.

But The pacing is exhausting if you're not in the mood. It's very much in love with its own wit, which reads as smug in the wrong moments.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel poster

Trainwreck2015

Amy Schumer plays a commitment-phobic disaster. It's genuinely interested in why people sabotage themselves, not just laughing at the sabotage.

But The romance subplot feels tacked on and undermines what the film does well. Pacing drags in the second half.

Trainwreck poster

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Long Goodbye1973

Both refuse to make their characters likeable or their stories efficient. Both find comedy in the space between dialogue, in people failing to connect.

Robert Altman's mumbled, shaggy detective film where plot dissolves and characters just exist. Elliott Gould mumbles through scenes; you piece together what matters. Completely uninterested in conventional storytelling.

But It's glacially slow, barely a plot exists, and the mumbling dialogue is genuinely hard to parse. Patience isn't optional; it's the entire film.

The Long Goodbye poster
More like this (8)

Nightcrawler2014

A character study of an amoral person doing increasingly terrible things. Nasty, funny in a sick way, and utterly gripping. Jake Gyllenhaal is a coiled spring.

But It's a portrait of someone you won't like, and the film doesn't make that easy. Deeply cynical about humanity.

Nightcrawler poster

Palm Springs2020

A time-loop film that uses the premise to explore depression and co-dependency instead of winking at the audience. Romantic without being saccharine.

But The twist on the formula won't surprise you if you've seen enough indie comedies. Some viewers find it self-satisfied.

Palm Springs poster

Mistress America2015

Two women of different ages form an unlikely, combustible bond. Sharp dialogue, real chemistry, and an honest look at how people use each other.

But It's deliberately scattered and uses a ramshackle structure. Feels unfinished to some people, which is kind of the point but still frustrating.

Mistress America poster

Catastrophe2015

Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney as two people who have terrible instincts and make terrible choices together. Tender underneath the cringe. Each episode is bite-sized.

But The humor is often secondhand embarrassment. If watching people fail at basic communication bothers you, this will be painful.

Catastrophe poster

The Lobster2015

Colin Farrell in a surreal dystopia where single people are hunted. Deadpan absurdist comedy that treats its ridiculous premise with absolute seriousness.

But It's slow, deliberately ugly, and the plot barely exists. You're paying attention to texture and mood, which requires energy.

The Lobster poster

Young Adult2011

Charlize Theron plays a deliberately unlikeable woman spiraling. Diablo Cody's script refuses to let her off the hook, which is braver than most comedies get.

But The protagonist is genuinely awful, and the film doesn't punish her the way audiences expect. Some find it nihilistic and empty.

Young Adult poster

Nurse Jackie2009

Both are about women whose damage is their whole personality. Both refuse sentimentality about flawed people doing flawed things.

Edie Falco as a hospital nurse stealing pills and lying constantly. Dark, funny, genuinely sad. Seven seasons that chart a real decline. Treats addiction as a daily grind, not a spectacle.

But It's relentlessly bleak. There's no redemption arc coming, just cycles of the same failures. Some viewers find that depressing rather than illuminating.

Nurse Jackie poster

Daisy Diamond2007

Both examine how women in service professions are invisible and disposable. Both find humanity in the aftermath of mistakes, not in mocking them.

A Kenyan film, gorgeously shot, about a young woman destroyed by circumstance and her own choices. Slow, meditative, visually stunning. American comedies should watch this to learn about moral weight.

But It's in Swahili with subtitles. It's a serious drama with moments of dark humor, not a comedy, so tonal whiplash is real. Very slow.

Daisy Diamond poster

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