So far, 2009 has been about as funny as your last intestinal x-ray. The economy is in the toilet, and people talk about "great new jobs" in the same manner they talk about Bigfoot—we're all heard the stories, but has anyone actually seen one? Luckily, Hollywood has at least recognized our desperate need for some laughs, and has responded accordingly. This year is shaping up to be a great one for comedies, so let's run down some of the ones that have already hit and the ones we can't wait to waste two hours of job hunting time enjoying.


Fanboys

Release Date: February 6
For a run like this, you need a warm-up. Fanboys wasn't a great movie by any means. Hell, it's barely an OK movie, but its few funny scenes were 2009's appetizer portion. You can't just start gorging right away.
Best Bit: Dan Fogler does what we've all been trying to do: Find a way to disrobe Kristen Bell.




Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Release Date: February 27
What's that you say? Street Fighter wasn't a comedy? We defy anyone to watch Chris Klein's performance and not double over in guffawing bliss. Dismissing this as an "action film" does a great disservice to this man's work. We haven't laughed this hard at an action movie parody since, um, when was the last time Nicolas Cage did anything?
Best Bit: Anything featuring The Klein




Miss March

Release Date: March 13
Actually funnier than it had any right to be, Miss March set a good tone for '09: Don't dismiss something based on its lackluster trailer. Some movies may surprise you. We went in expecting House Bunny 2 but ended up with smiles on our faces. Craig Robinson had a lot to do with that.
Best Bit: Horsedick.MPEG for the win.




I Love You, Man

Release Date: March 20
That's right, it took until March for Paul Rudd to appear in a movie—if that doesn't illustrate how jam-packed '09 is, nothing will. Usually Rudd's clocked about 4 movies by this point. I Love You, Man was just the kind of all-around feel-good comedy we needed as banks and corporations tumbled around us like the closing scene of Fight Club.
Best Bit: Rudd's inability to master "guy small talk" mixed with Jon Favreau's movie-stealing turn as a grumpy asshole? Gold.




Adventureland

Release Date: April 3
Despite being advertised as the second coming of Superbad (due to the presence of director Greg Mottola), Adventureland was another pleasant surprise. Kinda goofy, but also a little sad and, ultimately, touching. That's right, we said it. What? You think we're all about Tommy Frigo dick-punching? Again, 2009 is proving to be a diverse feast, and not just the same old thing reheated for 12 months.
Best Bit: There's a lot to choose from (Martin Starr, take a bow), but we are powerless before Kristen Wiig. Can she just star in everything forever?




Observe and Report

Release Date: April 10
Once again, we are led to believe we are getting one thing (yawn, another lovable Seth Rogen doofus) when in fact we are getting something quite different (holy hell, a dangerously unstable Seth Rogen asshole?). Observe and Report is a really black comedy, with laughs coming from the epicenter of wrong. But, hey, gallows humor has been getting people through dark times since Homer. (The blind poet, not Simpson. Read something, please?)
Best Bit: Ronnie Barnhardt. Not helping matters.




Up

Release Date: May 29
Like a Pavlovian response, we hear the word "Pixar" and our anticipation meter lights up. These guys have yet to release a dud, and their summer 2009 offering looks poised to keep the winning streak alive. A fat kid and a cantankerous old man go on an adventure? In 3-D? Oh, Pixar, you spoil us.
Most Anticipated Bit: Sorry, but the part with the talking dog takes (1:23) it.




Land of the Lost

Release date: June 5
The 70s TV series that was pulled together on a shoestring budget of bake sale profits and LSD is now a big budget sci-fi comedy starrring Will Ferrell and Danny McBride. If you aren't the least bit into the idea of this, then you and Matt Lauer can suck it. The summer movie season can always be relied on the deliver the big CGI booms, but how many can also bring laughs with it?
Most Anticipated Bit: Well, the trailer seems to keep McBride under wraps, but you know he'll bring it. So we're waiting to see what "it" actually is.




The Hangover

Release date: June 5
The "guys go to Vegas, bad things happen" movie is usually a concept as tired and played out as, well, guys going to Vegas and bad things happening. But we hold out hope for The Hangover, due in part to director Todd Philips' track record (Old School?) and to the cast. Can't we all use a little more Ed Helms in our lives?
Most Anticipated Bit: Mike Tyson air-drumming to Phil Collins like a spastic Kodiak bear? Oh, yeah, we're sold.




Year One

Release date: June 19
Following in the footsteps of Monty Python and Dudley Moore, the Judd Apatow clan take on pre-history and the Bible. History tells us that watching Jack Black and Michael Cera bumble under the direction of former (or is that current?) Ghostbuster Harold Ramis will be worthwhile. So it is written, so shall it be.
Most Anticipated Bit: Paul Rudd/David Cross. Cain/Abel. Enough said.




Bruno

Release Date: July 10
Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat was one of the funniest things we've ever seen, so it's safe to say that the anticipation for this follow-up is off the charts. Gay German TV host Bruno may just be a slight rework of the Borat formula (funny foreigner makes rednecks uncomfortable), but if you are even close to sick of that then go an enjoy your painfully jaded existence. Besides, everyone knows that things are at least 30% funnier in a German accent.
Most Anticipated Bit: "Ve are so like ze Sex und the City girls." Oh, yeah, need to see how this one plays out.




Funny People

Release date: July 31
In between producing Year One and breastfeeding Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, Judd Apatow has finally gotten around to directing his follow-up to Knocked Up. The movie is called Funny People. It stars funny people. But is seems strangely…serious? Only time will tell, but we're trusting in the good comedy karma of 2009 to make this one an unexpected gem that maybe, just maybe, digs a little deeper than your usual yukfest.
Most Anticipated Bit: A lot of people don't know that Eric Bana (Troy, Black Hawk Down, Munich) started out as a comedian in Australia. Good to see him finally get his chance over here.




When in Rome

Release date: August 7
On the surface, this looks like an unbearable romantic comedy (lovelorn girl goes to Rome, gets pursued by bachelors) but take a gander at the cast. Will Arnett? Jon Heder? Dax Shepard? DANNY DEVITO? Not to mention that the girl in question is the adorable and hilarious Kristen Bell (full circle. Nice, 2009). We may just have to see this one. With our girlfriend, of course.
Most Anticipated Bit: Nothing to see yet. But, we anticipate anything this lady does:





The Boat That Rocked

Release Date: August 28
Based on stories about a real-life British pirate radio station that operated on a boat in the North Sea in the 1960s, The Boat That Rocked is like Animal House meets Boogie Nights meets Pirates of the Caribbean. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Gemma Atherton, January Jones, and Rhys Ifans, this may very well be the party comedy of the summer. All aboard.
Most Anticipated Bit: When he's not being "serious actor," Hoffman is fucking hilarious. Happy to see him back in a comedy.




Extract

Release date: September 4
The unfathomably underrated Mike Judge (Idiocracy) returns! That alone should kick off fireworks and applause. Even better, he's back with a workplace-set comedy and he's cast Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Kristen Wiig (!!!!), and the jaw-slackening Mila Kunis. We're starting a Star Wars-style ticket camp-out for this one.
Most Anticipated Bit: Bateman v. Wiig in an epic battle of sexual frustration.




Fantastic Mr. Fox

Release date: November 6
Quirk master Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) goes stop-motion-animated and hits up the always reliably twisted Roald Dahl (James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) for source material. At best, this is a match made in heaven. At worst, it'll be a fascinating misstep. Either way, we're there. And check out the top-of-the-line voice cast (no Ray Romanos here): George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, and Anjelica Huston. 
Most Anticipated Bit: Like Rome, it's too early to see what exactly Anderson is up to. But maybe you can pick this up and get yourself some hints: