Oscar Laughs!
A year long film series featuring comedy films which either won or were nominated for an Academy Award. The series kicks off in October 2022 with a discussion of why comedy films are often overlooked at Oscar time and a preview of the upcoming films. The series continues on the 4th Tuesday of every month with an award winning comedy film from each decade beginning with the 1930’s and continuing through 2020. The series wraps up in September of 2023 with an “Oscar Laughs” awards ceremony where attendees vote on the best films from the series in several categories.
These events are free and open to the public, but attendees are asked to register in advance using the Eventbrite link.
Made possible through a grant from:
November 22, 2022 6:30 PM EST – Ninotchka
A stern Soviet woman sent to Paris to supervise the sale of jewels seized from Russian nobles finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.
December 27, 2022 6:30 PM EST- The Egg and I
On their wedding night, Bob reveals to Betty that he has purchased an abandoned chicken farm. Betty struggles to adapt to their new rural lifestyle, especially when a glamorous neighbor seems to set her eyes on Bob.
January 24, 2023 6:30 PM EST – Roman Holiday
A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome.
There is a Red Skelton connection.
Winner
Best Actress
Audrey Hepburn
Best Story
Dalton Trumbo
Best Costume Design – Black-and-White
Edith Head
Nominees
Best Motion Picture and Best Director
William Wyler
Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Albert
Best Screenplay
Ian McLellan Hunter and John Dighton
Best Art Direction – Black-and-White
Hal Pereira and Walter H. Tyler
Best Cinematography – Black-and-White
Franz Planer and Henri Alekan
Best Film Editing
Robert Swink
February 28, 2023 6:30 PM EST – The Apartment
A Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.
Winners
Best Motion Picture and Best Director
Billy Wilder
Best Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen
Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond
Best Art Direction – Black-and-White
Alexandre Trauner and Edward G. Boyle
Best Film Editing
Daniel Mandell
Nominees
Best Actor
Jack Lemmon
Best Actress
Shirley MacLaine
Best Supporting Actor
Jack Kruschen
Best Cinematography – Black-and-White
Joseph LaShelle
Best Sound
Gordon E. Sawyer
March 28, 2023 6:30 PM EDT – The Sunshine Boys
A vaudeville duo agree to reunite for a television special, but it turns out that they can’t stand each other.
Winner
Oscar Best Actor in a Supporting Role
George Burns
Nominees
Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role
Walter Matthau
Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material
Neil Simon
This film has a Red Skelton connection
April 25, 2023 7:30 PM EDT – Victor/Victoria
A woman pretending to be a man impersonating a woman.
Winner
Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score
Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse
Nominees
Oscar Best Actress
Julie Andrews
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Preston
Best Supporting Actress
Lesley Ann Warren
Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium
Blake Edwards
Best Art Direction
Rodger Maus, Tim Hutchinson, William Craig Smith and Harry Cordwell
Best Costume Design
Patricia Norris
May 23, 2023 7:30 PM EDT – As Good As It Gets
A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
Winner
Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role
Jack Nicholson
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Helen Hunt
Nominee
Oscar Best Picture
James L. Brooks
Bridget Johnson
Kristi Zea
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Greg Kinnear
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Mark Andrus (screenplay/story)
James L. Brooks (screenplay)
Best Film Editing
Richard Marks
Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score
Hans Zimmer
June 20, 2023 7:30 PM EDT – Sideways
Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California’s wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.
Winner
Oscar Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne
Jim Taylor
Nominees
Oscar Best Motion Picture of the Year
Michael London
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Thomas Haden Church
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Virginia Madsen
Best Achievement in Directing
Alexander Payne
July 25, 2023 7:30 PM EDT – Midnight in Paris
While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée’s family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.
Winner
Oscar Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Woody Allen
Nominee
Oscar Best Motion Picture of the Year
Best Achievement in Directing
Woody Allen
August 22, 2023 7:30 PM EDT – Jojo Rabbit
A young German boy in the Hitler Youth whose hero and imaginary friend is the country’s dictator is shocked to discover that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.
Winner
Oscar Best Adapted Screenplay
Taika Waititi
Nominees
Oscar Best Motion Picture of the Year
Carthew Neal
Taika Waititi
Chelsea Winstanley
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Scarlett Johansson
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Mayes C. Rubeo
Best Achievement in Production Design
Ra Vincent
Nora Sopková
Best Achievement in Film Editing
Tom Eagles
September 26 – Wrap Up
A discussion and awards.
