Also Dr Strangelove... the subject matter doesn't get much darker but it is also quite hilarious.

Strangelove is funny because it was true. Serious people really were doing studies on how to survive a nuclear war.

But just as in the movie it was politicians who weren't down with it. On both sides. Khrushchev was removed when his colleagues figured out just how close he got them to WW3.

Many argue the basis for true comedy is dealing with fear, rejection, and embarrassment...

With Thermonuclear War: no one is around to experience anything after a comedian bombs on the world stage.

Stanley Kubrick was famous for making actors miserable, but reminded us film is ultimately a collaborative art form. =3