What qualifies as a comedy these days?
It is a question that resurfaces every award season, when genre-splitting ceremonies slot films like “Anora,” “A Real Pain,” and “The Substance” as “comedies.” These movies do have laughs, but they are also designed to put you through an emotional wringer, leaving you more gutted than floating on air. So many comedies now lean into grounded pathos that when a rare capital-C comedy like this summer’s “Naked Gun” reboot comes along, it feels like an anomaly.
But the endless pearl-clutching over what is or is not a comedy shows how flimsy these categories really are. Genre is a spectrum—a shorthand for discussing art, not a rigid description of its content. Like life itself, movies can bundle laughter, grief, horror, and joy into the same moment.
That kind of genre-blending is on full display in “Sorry, Baby,” playing this week as part of our Limited Engagement series. The debut feature from writer, director, and actor Eva Victor follows Agnes (played by Victor) as she navigates life after a sexual assault. It is the sort of premise that could easily tilt into melodrama, but Victor instead leans on the wry humor we often use to cope with the hardest traumas—when things get so bad we can’t help but laugh.
We usually think of comedy as escape, a chance to laugh and forget. And while there is always room for big, broad comedies, films like “Sorry, Baby” build a different kind of resilience. They acknowledge the darkness in the world—and show us that to live with it, sometimes the only option is to laugh at it.
Now Playing
“The Roses”
A pitch-black update on the classic romantic comedy.
Life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch): successful careers, a loving marriage, great kids. But beneath the façade of their supposed ideal life, a storm is brewing—as Theo’s career nosedives while Ivy’s own ambitions take off, a tinderbox of fierce competition and hidden resentment ignites. A reimagining of the 1989 classic film “The War of the Roses,” don’t miss this delightful dark comedy featuring a stacked cast including Alison Janney, Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, and more!
“Caught Stealing”
A stylish crime caper from Darren Aronofsky.
Austin Butler is a former baseball player fighting for his life when all of early-’90s New York’s underworld comes after him in “Caught Stealing”! The latest from acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky, don’t miss this fast-paced thriller that zips through a grungy Lower East Side as Hank (Butler) finds himself the target of a variety of mobsters after performing a simple favor for his punk rocker neighbor (Matt Smith).
“Jaws”
Held over by popular demand!
We are gonna need more showtimes—by popular demand, “Jaws” is held over for one more week! Check out Steven Spielberg’s landmark—or is it a watermark?—action blockbuster that follows a sheriff trying to save his small New England island town from a danger lurking deep within the waters before it leaves this Thursday!
“Sorcerer”
William Friedkin’s pulse-pounding masterpiece.
Four men with nothing to lose sign up for the ultimate suicide mission—delivering truckloads of dynamite to a mountain top oil well burning out of control—in William Friedkin’s “Sorcerer”! Don’t miss your chance to see this pulse-pounding cult classic from the director of “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist” when it plays as part of our “Sweaty Cinema” series this Thursday night!
September 11, at 8 p.m.
Coming Soon
“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale”
The Crawleys enter the 1930s in “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale,” the final installment of the beloved PBS franchise. As Lord Grantham and family face down the prospect of financial ruin and social disgrace, their household staff prepare to take the Abbey into the future with a new generation at its helm.
Starts September 12.
“It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley”
Despite only releasing one album before his tragic death in 1997, Jeff Buckley’s musical legacy has continued to grow in the decades since his passing. Using previously unreleased voicemails and concert footage, “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley” provides new insights into Buckley’s life and career, giving you an intimate perspective on a massive talent who we lost too soon.
Get a limited edition “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley” print from artist Jess Rotter when you purchase a ticket to the film!
Limited Engagement starts September 12.
“Psycho Beach Party”
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the cult surf comedy/horror movie mashup “Psycho Beach Party” with star Lauren Ambrose and writer and actor Charles Busch!
Chicklet’s (Ambrose) dreams of learning to surf are endangered when she starts exhibiting multiple personalities, making her a person of interest in Captain Monica Stark’s (Busch) investigation into a string of murders. A campy sendup of movies as diverse as “Gidget,” “The Three Faces of Eve,” and “Scream,” don’t miss this special screening of the cult classic on September 13!
September 13, at 7 p.m.
Banned Books on Film: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Join us and our friends at the Great Barrington Public Libraries for the next installment of our “Banned Books on Screen” series when we play “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” for free on September 14, sponsored by Friends of Great Barrington Libraries!
Charlie (Logan Lerman), a clinically depressed teenager just released from a psychiatric hospital, meets siblings Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller) at the start of his freshman year of high school. Quickly becoming friends, the trio set off on a journey of discovery that will change their lives forever.
After the movie, join Great Barrington Public Libraries’ Jamie Nicholson for a panel discussion about the book, its movie adaptation, and why it regularly appears on banned-book lists across the country.
September 14, at 4 p.m.
No Comply Foods presents: “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”
Party on, dudes! We are traveling back in time for the greatest school project ever when No Comply Foods presents “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” on September 16! The fate of the future is at stake when lovable goofballs Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are at risk of failing their history final. With help from their time-traveling guide Rufus (George Carlin), the duo must travel back in time to collect a who’s-who of history’s greatest minds to get the grades they need to keep their band Wyld Stallyns together.
September 16, at 8 p.m.
“Stop Making Sense”
One of the greatest concert films of all time, join us for Jonathan Demme’s “Stop Making Sense” when it plays as the final film in our “Sweaty Cinema” series! Beautifully capturing the brilliance of The Talking Heads at the height of their career, “Stop Making Sense” is a joyful celebration that will have you dancing in the aisles.
September 18, at 8 p.m.
Triplex International Youth Film Festival
Join us for three days of screenings celebrating the next generation of cinematic visionaries and discussions with industry experts including actors Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater; Criterion Collection President Peter Becker; DreamWorks animation President Marjorie Cohn; and filmmakers Haley Elizabeth Anderson (“Tendaberry”), Zia Anger (“My First Film”), Tony Gerber (“War Game”), Carson Lund (“Eephus”), Diane Pearlman (Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative), Matthew Penn (“Law & Order”), and David Tochterman (“That ’70s Show”).
September 19 through 21.
