The darkest comedy of them all... and one of the funniest too!

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2007)

When "Full Metal Jacket" was released in theaters in 1987, it was said that the timing couldn't have been worse because of the huge success of the movie "Platoon" the year before, without adding the quantity of Academy Awards picked up by the Oliver Stone film. However, in January 1964, it was the exact opposite that was said about "Dr. Strangelove".
Today, the Cold War issues remain present, but they're far less important than the scenario that was being drawn at the end of the year 1963, that is the moment where this classic Stanley Kubrick comedy was shot. It was the time of the "Freezing War", the scary Cuban Missile Crisis was still fresh in the collective mind and the young President Kennedy was just being assassinated.
That's when arrived this movie, which dared to show a nuclear apocalypse with a comic eye. But what could have been funny in there? It's possible to laugh of the mishaps of somebody other than ourselves, but when everybody is concerned, it's far less funny. Just remember the 9/11 aftermath, when rumors of WWIII surfaced...
But Stanley Kubrick, being a master of virtually every genre, conceived an astoundingly funny comedy, skilfully mixing the suspense from a man-made end-of-the-world with the absurdity of the characters who act in, sometimes without knowing it.
Kubrick worked with a talented screenwriter in the person of Terry Southern, but especially with prodigious actors. I'm evidently referring to Peter Sellers, whose three roles entered into the legend, and George C. Scott, whose role quality rivals with his Oscar-winning performance of General Patton in the movie "Patton", released six years later.
Based on the theme of the failure to communicate, the movie is set in three different places. Primo: the Burpleson Air Force Base, headed by General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), a psychotic obsessed by fluoridation which "saps and impurifies all of our precious bodily fluids". His aide de camp is Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake (Sellers), a timid but highly competent English officer who doesn't buy Ripper's theories.
Secundo: a B-52 piloted by Major "King" Kong (western star Slim Pickens). We see Kong and his crew (which includes young James Earl Jones) preparing themselves to the nuclear strike and composing with unexpected difficulties which will provide even more thrills.
Tertio: the Pentagon or more precisely, the War Room. It's there that the three most interesting characters of the story are located: President Merkin Muffley (Sellers), General Buck Turgidson (Scott) and hilarious mad scientist Dr. Strangelove (Sellers). They try to communicate with drunken Soviet president Kissoff, but in vain.
"Dr. Strangelove" is among the greatest comedies ever made, but this statement isn't based upon the quantity of laughs that the movie unfolds. In fact, the first time I watched it, I only laugh wildly twice: when Turgidson stumbles in the War Room and when Dr. Strangelove is struggling with his uncontrollable alien right hand.
Instead, "Dr. Strangelove" plays on tongue-in-cheek humor and the absurdity of the characters, as well as some subtleties. The best example is the impossible names of the characters, which have almost all a sexual connotation. There's a list: Merkin Muffley, Turgidson, Kissoff, de Sadesky, Bat Guano and Jack D. Ripper. We also laugh of improbable messages or writings, like the post in the base on which it is written: "Peace is our profession", at the moment where soldiers are fighting each other. There's also the useless " NUCLEAR WARHEAD – HANDLE WITH CARE".
It is obvious that the movie wouldn't have been so successful without the exceptional performance of its three main actors. Peter Sellers is remarkably all-round and he's an unequaled master with different accents. His Dr. Strangelove role is probably the greatest of his career, even if the character himself appears on-screen for about ten minutes only.
George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden and Slim Pickens are the other mentionable actors. Scott is very funny with his character who spends most of his time at chewing gum, making ridiculous facial expressions and insulting the "Russkies". Hayden is disturbing with his perpetual cigar and his monologues about fluoridation and "Commies". The orders he gives to his troops before the base attack are particularly absurd, especially when he says: "Don't trust any man, except if you know him personally". As for Pickens, he will always be remembered for his idiot but enjoyable-to-hear speeches and for his cowboy hat which he wears until the end, during the most memorable scene, where he rides the bomb like a matador riding a bull in a rodeo.
Not only is this movie very funny, it's also very pessimistic. How many times do we speak of prejudices and no-confidence between people? Even at the end, when doomsday is unavoidable...
And I've almost forgotten to mention the precious aid from production designer Ken Adam. Without him, there wouldn't be no War Room, this fictitious but pop culture-iconic room. The interior of the B-52 is also well-made.
However, the plane exterior is the main problem of the film. To suspend a plane model in front of the camera with a Russian land background is a big disappointment, especially when we know how fussy director Kubrick is.
But from the opening title sequence, where a plane refueling looks like a jumbo-size sexual act, to the final scene, where a sequence of nuclear explosions is accompanied by the famous Vera Lynn song "We'll Meet Again", it's guaranteed that "Dr. Strangelove" never bores. Even if universal peace happens someday, we'll watch this movie with a large smile and a satisfied mood. That's what we call a timeless classic...