Comedy movies and war films aren’t the easiest genres to combine in a single project.
There are a handful of war comedies, but not as many as you may think. Satirical war films are difficult to make, and sometimes, given the subject matter, they’re also difficult to laugh at.
The Watch With Us team’s picks for the three must-watch comedy movies to stream on Memorial Day weekend include two rare films that successfully combined armed conflict and hilarious situations.
However, the final selection only has a slight connection to war. But if you love broad comedy, you’ll be laughing too much to care about that.
It’s hard to go wrong with two out of the four original Ghostbusters appearing alongside fellow comedy legends John Candy and John Larroquette. Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman helmed Stripes and cast Bill Murray as John Winger, a down-on-his-luck slacker who impulsively joins the army. He also talks his best friend, Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis), into enlisting with him.
However, Winger has a severe personality clash with his drill sergeant, Sergeant Hulka (Warren Oates), and figures out too late that army life isn’t a good fit for him. He and Ziskey also find time to romance Louise Cooper (Sean Young) and Stella Hansen (P. J. Soles), a pair of military police women. Winger’s antics may be hilarious for audiences, but they get him and Ziskey in a lot of trouble. And they can only stay in training for so long before being sent on an actual military assignment.
Stripes is streaming on Philo.
‘War Machine’ (2017)War Machine is a satire that’s loosely based on events that actually happened during the war in Afghanistan during the term of President Barack Obama (Reggie Brown). Brad Pitt stars as General Glen McMahon, a man who has been given broad leeway to come up with a plan to end the war, as long as it doesn’t include a request for more troops.
Journalist Sean Cullen (Scoot McNairy) gets a first-hand look at McMahon’s contempt for civilian authority and his conclusion that there is no way to win without a troop surge. McMahon’s efforts to change the armed forces’ strategy are thwarted more than once, and it’s darkly comical that he can’t seem to fully comprehend that the people of Afghanistan have long since tired of having the U.S. troops around.
War Machine is streaming on Netflix.
‘Top Secret!’ (1984)
Top Secret! isn’t really a war movie, but it is a very funny spy comedy that parodies everything from Elvis Presley movies to World War II flicks. The Naked Gun directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker gave Val Kilmer his first leading role as Nick Rivers, a rock star who doubles as a spy for the U.S. government.
Nick’s cover as a musician gets him undercover inside East Germany as a performer. But his actual mission is to foil a reunification plot by General Streck (Jeremy Kemp) that will bring West Germany under the control of the communist-led East German government. Things get very silly as Nick attempts to carry out his orders, and this is a true comedy classic.
Top Secret! is streaming on Pluto TV.
