This is NOT a slapstick film

Rating: 10/10 (19 September 2004)

It's sad to see so many people post negative comments about this great film.
They hear it's a 'great comedy', watch it, and fail to see clowns, bright colors and hijinks. One person even complained it was not like a Mel Brooks film! May I suggest Austin Powers films for that person?
Folks, it's a BLACK COMEDY. That does not equate to slapstick. It's a -bit- more intellectual than that. The best black comedies contain material that is at once both comedic and horrific. And -every- 'joke' in this film contains a huge dollop of horror. Riding a bomb down to the ultimate explosion, declaring 'Gentlemen, there's no fighting here, it's the War Room!', discussion of the ratio of sexually stimulating females to males in coal mines, etc. All of these references are made in the spirit of black comedy - funny, yet horrifying and tragic. Even the alternative title 'How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' is based on the terrible worry most people had about atomic war in the 60's. Kubrick knew this and played with it, and did it better than most.
As to the films impact, consider this: Every new US president since this film have asked to see the 'war room' soon after the inaugural festivities were over. There -is- no 'war room'. Kubrick/Terry Southern invented it. Sure, there is a 'situation room' at the Whitehouse, but no grand war room as seen in the film. No one can forget the 'war room' of Dr. Strangelove after seeing the film.
In typical Kubrick fashion, the details of this film are overwhelming. The B-52 that Kong flew was still very much classified in 1964. Kubrick hired the best avionics experts to design what they thought would be a nice replica of a strategic bomber, filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of control panels and real avionics devices. It was so real that Kubrick and Columbia had talks with the FBI about the release of the film. It was just a bit TOO accurate for the intel folks. Kubrick, Southern and Wally Veevers were determined to create a film that was as accurate as possible. 2001 continued this Kubrick tradition, with excessive attention to detail in every possible way.
So, if you are looking for slapstick comedy mayhem and hijinks, try another film. This film was intended for adults seriously worried about the possibility that the world would be incinerated in an accidental war, in a world run by kooks and ideologues. Black comedy allows us to look at a terrifying subject without leaving the theater in a total funk. If you want a film about this subject with no black comedy, try Fail Safe, a film that premiered at about the same time. It's a great film, but lacks the charm of Kubrick and Terry Southern.