Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler calls out the Oscars for blanking comedy movies: "It's some hot bulls**t"

Amy Poehler
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Amy Poehler thinks it's "some hot bulls**t" that more comedy movies aren't recognized by the Oscars.

In the latest episode of her podcast, Good Hang with Amy, the former Saturday Night Live star was joined by Olivia Colman, as she promoted her new flick The Roses. During the chat, Colman briefly called her co-star Benedict Cumberbatch, who claimed that "if you can do comedy, you can do anything." The Marvel star added: "I really do believe that."

"Of course. You don't have to tell me, babe," Poehler replied. "Every single year at the Oscars, everybody [in comedy] gets blanked and all the serious people get up and accept and accept. It's some hot bull***t! Because comedy is not easy. And I got to tell you, both you and Olivia can do both."

While the likes of The Favourite, Jojo Rabbit, Barbie, Don't Look Up, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, which actually went on to win Best Picture, were all nominated for Academy Awards in recent years, it's fair to say that the vast majority of the humor-featuring films voters highlight tend to skew pretty dark. You'd be hard-pressed to find one that doesn't boast descriptors such as "black comedy" or "satirical"... and even then, it's mostly straight drama that dominates every category each year – with sci-fi, fantasy, and horror being largely ignored, too.

Speaking of such movies, The Roses take inspiration from Warren Adler's 1981 novel The War of the Roses. It follows chef Ivy (Colman) and architect Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch), as they try to patch up their tension-filled marriage. Things hit an unexpectedly catastrophic snag, though, when Theo loses his job right as Ivy's career takes off. It's in cinemas now.

Over the years, Poehler has appeared in a bunch of critically acclaimed comedies, including Parks and Recreation, Inside Out, and Mean Girls.

For more, check out our picks of the best comedy movies of all time or our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.

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