With a trio of quirky comedies — lead by the latest from Quirkmaster General Wes Anderson, “Moonrise Kingdom” — in theaters this weekend, I’m revisiting 10 of my favorite flicks that are both weird and whimsical.
10. I Heart Huckabees
David O. Russell’s existentialist ensemble comedy was probably a little too weird for mass consumption, but I love it.
9. Lars and the Real Girl
A lonely young man (played by the unlikely-to-be-lonely Ryan Gosling) strikes a bizarrely sweet relationship with a life-size sex doll. That old story!
8. Punch Drunk Love
The silliest movie by Paul Thomas Anderson — whom I consider one of the greatest directors alive — was also pretty much the only Adam Sandler movie I can stand.
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman takes the raw pain of a bad breakup and runs it through a brain-twisty grinder. Director Michel Gondry provides plenty of playful visuals.
6. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
It takes those 8-bit video game quirks and runs with them. I’m declaring this a new classic.
5. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
Tim Burton is in the same tier as Anderson as far as his career’s overall quirk output. I still love this tale of a boy and his search for his bicycle.
4. Raising Arizona
“I’ll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash you got.”
3. Amelie
It’s a warm, bubbling little romantic comedy that wears its quirk — and its heart — on its sleeve. I’m still in love with Audrey Tautou.
2. Bottle Rocket
Wes Anderson has made quirkier movies for sure, but my heart is still with his first — a tale of love, brotherhood and bumbling would-be crime.
1. Dr. Strangelove
The funniest movie ever made about nuclear war! Stanley Kubrick’s black comedy has an air of absurdity to the whole thing. Peter Sellers in three roles doesn’t hurt!
