Film

She's Funny That Way

Name: She's Funny That Way
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Released: 2015
Cast: Owen Wilson, Imogen Poots, Kathryn Hahn, Will Forte, Rhys Ifans

Peter Bogdanovich's screwball comedy about a Broadway director, his wife, and a former call girl tangled in a love triangle during a new play's rehearsals. It's affectionate and zippy, leaning on physical comedy and overlapping dialogue. For people who miss the rhythms of classic Hollywood farce and don't mind a film that knows exactly what it is.

TMDb rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy talky romantic comedies where the jokes grow out of people who should know better and the tangles are the whole point.

Skip it if you need a brisk plot or a clear moral centre, since the characters are mostly self-absorbed and the comedy runs on chatter more than on incident.

What it asks of you: A short 93 minutes of dialogue-driven scenes, where you must track shifting romantic alliances and stay patient through long stretches of banter.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Midnight in Paris2011

A romantic comedy about writers, artists, and the intoxication of creative collaboration, with the same nostalgic affection for golden-age Hollywood craft and wit. Woody Allen at his most generous and genuinely charming.

But Some find it precious and self-indulgent; the magical-realism premise requires a leap of faith that doesn't pay off for everyone.

The Philadelphia Story1940

The template for everything Bogdanovich loves: a love triangle among the urbane, crackling dialogue, and performances that make farce feel effortless. Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart are operating at peak intelligence.

But It's black-and-white and from 1940—if you can't find your way to films of that era, the pacing and style will feel distant.

What's Up, Doc?1972

Bogdanovich's earlier homage to screwball comedy, with Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand creating chaos from mistaken identity and overlapping farce. Fast, funny, and made with visible love for the form.

But The plot is deliberately silly and circular; if you want coherent storytelling or emotional stakes, this actively works against you.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from She's Funny That Way

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum1966

Both films are love letters to theatrical form and the mechanics of farce. Where Bogdanovich honors screwball comedy, Forum honors broader physical comedy and the machinery of plot. Both are filmmakers showing their working.

Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove's musical farce adapted for film, with Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, and Jack Gilford creating controlled chaos from mistaken identities and theatrical scheming. It's farce architecture made visible.

But It's a musical adaptation of a stage play, so the staginess is deliberate and thick; the pacing is ancient-Roman-vaudeville, not modern film rhythm.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum poster

Breakfast at Tiffany's1961

Audrey Hepburn as a woman playing roles and reinventing herself; George Peppard as an artist trying to pin her down. Comedy, romance, and the messy collision of two people's self-mythologizing.

But The treatment of the supporting Asian character hasn't aged well, and the sentimentality can feel syrupy if you're not in the mood.

Barefoot in the Park1967

Robert Redford and Jane Fonda navigating a romantic comedy about marriage, class, and how well two people actually know each other. Charming, light-footed, and genuinely funny about the friction in intimacy.

But The gender politics are dated, and the screwball energy can feel thin if the chemistry doesn't land for you personally.

Singin' in the Rain1952

Hollywood actors and backstage romance, with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor creating a love triangle around a starlet. The film itself is about performance and deception—the themes buried in the entertainment.

But It's a musical, and if you're not willing to sit with song-and-dance numbers, you'll find it stops the story cold.

His Girl Friday1940

The gold standard for rapid-fire overlapping dialogue and a romantic relationship built on professional sparring. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell talk over each other with such energy you forget to breathe.

But The overlapping dialogue is intentional and period-specific; some modern ears find it exhausting rather than exhilarating.

The Marrying Kind1952

Judy Holliday and Aldo Ray in a comedy about marriage that actually examines how couples hurt each other. Funny, but with real tenderness underneath—what farce looks like when you care about the people in it.

But It's less energetic than pure screwball comedy; the emotional weight might feel at odds with the comedic tone.

Sabrina1954

Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden in a romantic triangle about class, transformation, and whether you can love someone who loves a version of you that doesn't exist. Elegant and bittersweet.

But It's slower and more romantic than comedic; if you want consistent laughs, this prioritizes charm and melancholy instead.

The Producers1968

Both are Broadway farces: plays-about-plays where the theatrical machinery and the romantic triangles are inseparable. But Brooks makes it anarchic and crude where Bogdanovich makes it elegant—the same love of theater from opposite angles.

Mel Brooks' film about two men creating chaos on Broadway: con artists, actresses, and the collision between high theater and low scheming. Riotously funny, with Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, and about the madness of theater itself.

But It's deliberately crude and offensive in places; the humor is broad and unsubtle in a way that reads as dated or mean-spirited to some.