I don’t know who marketed the movie The Death of Stalin when it came out four years ago, but either they were an idiot or a genius.
I didn’t see a trailer, but I saw a clip of the council of Ministers rushing to fawn on Stalin’s daughter, and it struck me as a drama. I think I might have seen the clip on CNN because it was banned in Russia. Plus, it was showing all the Serious Theaters in town, and even though it had Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor in it, I thought, well, it’s all those actors who do comedy and drama both (probably why I thought Steve Carrell was in it) … and … and … no.
It is a comedy, but it’s so dark that I kept taking it seriously. That’s when they got me.