Frankly, so far, 2009 doesn't look good for comedy lovers. There are dozens on deck, but the names that pop up in all the rom-coms and fat-guy-in-a-wacky-situation pictures are depressingly familiar: Julia Roberts, Kevin James, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, Matthew McConaughey, and not one but two Sandra Bullock vehicles. (In one she stars as a plucky, lovable crossword puzzle creator; in the other, she's a lovable, plucky book editor. Good to see she's finally taking some risks.)

But after trolling through the slush pile of cutesy concepts and "Will they ever get together?" taglines (yeah, actually they will), I came away with five that at least give me hope.

Fanboys, February 6
In 1998, a handful of obsessed Star Wars fans decide to break into Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of The Phantom Menace, because one of them has cancer and might die before the movie's released. Fine, cancer's not usually the best go-to for a comedy, but cross hardcore geekdom with a road movie, and I'm in. (Think fights with Trekkies and a William Shatner cameo.)

This was originally supposed to come out in 2007, and that's never a good sign. But people who've seen the film really like it -- like George Lucas, who let them use the original sound effects, and Kevin Smith, who asked for a cameo.

This Side of the Truth, March 20
I loved Ricky Gervais in the original British The Office and Extras. But in Ghost Town, in his first lead role as a dentist who sees dead people, the high concept got in the way of Gervais's masterful comedy of the everyday. Unfortunately, his latest may suffer from the same problem. This one is set in a world where no one has ever lied, until Gervais, playing an actor, tells the first fib and becomes a star. (Doesn't Jim Carrey usually star in these movies?) But Gervais works best with his own material, and he co-wrote and co-directed. And the huge cast has some very funny people in it, like Tina Fey, Christopher Guest, Jason Bateman, John Hodgman, and Nate Corddry.

Bruno, May 15
Sacha Baron Cohen is following up Borat with another regular from Da Ali G Show, the Austrian supermodel Bruno. It may be a less popular character, but I was amazed last time at how Cohen turned a few scenes of pranking into a cohesive narrative, and I won't be surprised if he does it again. He's already been getting arrested in character, and it looks like his willingness to be humiliated is intact (expect male nudity).

Year One, June 19
When two hunter-gatherers are kicked out of their village for laziness, they go on a journey through the ancient world. Fine, this sounds like a complete disaster on paper, but stick with me here. Harold Ramis, who wrote or directed classics like Animal House, Stripes, and Vacation, directed and co-wrote, and Jack Black and Michael Cera star as the lazy duo. And with a surrounding cast including Hank Azaria and David Cross (who's got to be one of the funniest men alive), this one could surprise. Fine, it's a gamble, but with the state of comedy as it is, we have to hope it's one that pays off.

Black Dynamite, N/A
Action star Michael Jai White co-wrote and stars in this send-up of classic blaxploitation flicks, and the trailers are dead-on and hilarious. The movie doesn't have a distributor yet, but it's set to debut at Sundance, and if the full feature is able to maintain the level of the clips, it should be sailing into theaters before the end of the year.

I wish I had better news, but it looks like we're entering a comedy recession, too. Let's hope a dark horse comes out of nowhere, or one of these meet-cute romances actually ends up being funny. Or we'll all have to buy second copies of Tropic Thunder in case the first one wears out.

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