I had such a good time making fun of the trailer for Charlie Sheen's 9/11 that I wanted to do it again. Sadly they just don't make movies that bad every day so you're going to have to settle for adoration and excitement instead because The Death of Stalin looks fucking great. It comes from the mind of Armando Iannucci, the creator of Veep, The Thick of It and In the Loop. He might be the best political satirist working in film today and he assembled a great cast to tackle the political turmoil that happens in the Soviet Union after the death of Stalin. Jeffrey Tambor, Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin, Paddy Considine, Andrea Riseborough and more so without further ado here's the 10 best things about The Death of Stalin.
1. Stalin's Guards
Our first speaking roles in the trailer go to these two guards standing outside Stalin's office. They hear troubling sounds coming from inside and their brief exchange let's us know what Iannucci's got in store for us with this movie. Speaking in Russian? Fuck No. How bout Russian accents? Fuck off. Iannucci ain't got no time for that shit. That shit would only get in the way of his glorious profanity. Historical accuracy be damned, this is a fucking comedy. Also the left guard's reply here is quite funny.
2. The major players examine Stalin's medical condition
Enter the major political figures. Stalin appears dead but is he. Well he's feeling unwell, clearly. I'm just going to get this out of the way now. Nearly everything in this trailer is funny so I'm not going to repeat myself at every bullet point. It's all funny stuff.
3. Vasily wants to speak at his father's funeral
I love me a good punctuation joke. The absolute best Lionel Hutz moment might be his advertisement altering of "no money down" to "no, money down!" and Jeffrey Tambor gets his own punctuation joke here. It's a good joke on paper but Tambor's timing on it is absolutely perfect. The long pause for the newly formed comma *kiss of the fingers* magnifique!
4. A unanimous vote
Very quick one here but it hints at so many possibilities in the completed film. The pressure for a public united front of the leadership after Stalin's death barely covering the infighting and political turmoil is sure to be a rich source of comedic material should Iannucci decide to run with it. I have no doubts that he will, well unless he finds something even better.
5. It's time for the obligatory trailer rapid fire character introductions
You've seen this is basically every trailer for an ensemble movie ever made. Card indicating who a character is followed by a brief glimpse of them in action. The Death of Stalin is no exception to the rule but it does it superbly. The characters we're already seen get some context for their actions followed by a good quick joke further indicating their rule. I'm not going to spoil them but Simon Russell Blake's spymaster gets the best one.
6. The General
OK, I lied up there. Simon Russell Blake doesn't get the best introduction. Iannucci (or more likely whatever random person edited this trailer) save the best for last with the general's introduction. Not shown at all before this he get's a great scene messing with Steve Buscemi in the classic Iannucci way senior political figures who feel very strong in their positions mess with those they perceive to be weak. James Gandolfini in In the Loop. Furlong and Doyle in Veep. It's one of my favourite things he does.
7. A routine joke taken to dark places
I love dark humour. I especially love dark humour just slipped in there in a blink and you'll miss it kind of way. That's done here as Steve Buscemi attempts to calm Andrea Riseborough with the standard "as long as I'm here nobody will hurt you" speech and she gives the standard "I'm fucked" reply with a great dark twist.
8. Witty insults, oh yes there will be witty insults
I'm pretty sure half of the lines in Veep said by anybody to Jonah Ryan are hilarious insults and I wouldn't have it any other way. Iannucci is a master at crafting insults, especially incredibly profane ones. The general commenting on Jeffrey Tambor's hair here fits that description. I'm starting to get antsy about this movie. Give it to me now.
9. Look at that guy falling down the stairs with a carpet roll
I can't wait to learn the context of this because it is surely better than anything I can come up with in my head.
10. Paddy Considine just told everybody they're not going to be murdered
No words.
You can watch the trailer here. The Death of Stalin currently doesn't have a North American release date. For any Brits reading this, you lucky bastards get it October 20.
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