Was I born too late?

Not a slam but most Millenials who grew up with computers, the internet and Social Media don't have the attention span or basic knowledge of 20th Century entertainers to appreciate the humor of that era. My daughter who is now grown knows very little about movies or television prior to the year 2000.

This past weekend I watched IAMMMMW with my dad (who was born in 1957). He practically grew up with the movie, but halfway through watching it he commented to me that it wasn't as funny as he remembered. He even apologized to me, but we still watched it to the end.

This is the same guy who can still laugh it up to old Laurel and Hardy and Little Rascals films from the 30s to more "recent" comedies like Airplane! and Holy Grail, but this one barely got a few chuckles out of him. So it's not just a generational thing.

As for me I thought IAMMMMW was alright. From a technical standpoint it's a good movie (some of the stunts are insane even by today's standards, like the plane crashing through the billboard) but from a comedic standpoint it's not so good.

You must be a very young white boy or a troll.

I don't know. I'm in my 20s, just watched it, and loved it. I thought it was kind of a zany comedy version of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.

Maybe it's the version you saw? I don't know which one AMC broadcast, but I saw the longest cut possible and thought it was great. Like a lot of films of the early '60s, it was definitely over the top. For me, though, I find over-the-top charming, since it seems like most things today try so hard to be "clever" and end up just being trite and mean-spirited.

There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly west

I think that maybe younger viewers like the newer forms of comedy films, which are usually gross, overly sexual, and almost always R-rated.
What is interesting about this film is that it has several different actors all with different comedy styles and it just works.
I won't assume that the OP would rather watch something like "The Hangover" films; this just didn't tickle his funny bone...

I don't think you were born too late. You just went into the movie with too high expectations.

It may not be the funniest movie I've ever seen, but I never miss a chance to watch it when it's on.

Every top and second banana in Hollywood at the time was in this. And each one plays to his or her strengths, which makes it a delight to watch.


Democracy is the pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. H.L. Mencken

It's very far from being a great movie, and isn't really a GOOD one. But it is, for anyone who grew up then, a lot of fun, just seeing all those great comics together.

What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.

Despite all the slapstick that takes place in this movie, it is a comedy of character, with great performances that give warmth and depth to the movie. When Milton Berle is explaining why his fish pills didn't sell or when Sid Caesar is going through the math of dividing up the money or when Buddy Hackett smiles when Jimmy Durante is talking about living the good life with all that money, these are beautiful, warm touches which are captured with the eye of a serious director, not just some gags to provide you with a chuckle. It is sometimes cruel, sometimes serious, and sometimes poignant.

A lot is made of the ability to laugh at yourself. But let's not forget about the importance of laughing at others. Yes, it is cruel, but also when you are flat on your back and writhing in agony in a hospital room, sometimes the only respite from the awfulness of pain is to have an obnoxious know-it-all take a slip on a banana peel, the oldest piece of slapstick there is.