Dirth of good, smart comedies in theaters

When was the last time you almost bust a gut laughing? When I was a kid, the reruns of A Night of the Opera always forced me to run to the bathroom I laughed so hard. The only film in recent memory that made an impression was A Fish Called Wanda, and repeat viewings are still funny, but nowhere near as hilarious as that golden first time. The last time I can think of laughing uncontrollably was the "training" scene in Ratatouille, back in 2007. Now it seems most laughs have been relegated to 1/ stupid, obnoxious, immature teen fare, 2/ high-concept, FX-driven Hollywood drivel, 3/ romantic comedies or CGI-animated fare where pop references have replaced actually wit. To be fair, there's still humour to be had out there in many of the Pixar films (the high bar at the moment in terms of genuine guiltless laughs and general family enjoyment) but there isn't enough of it. And no, despite providing the occasional chuckle, Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler just don't cut it.