Is Laughter the Best Medicine? ‘Sunlight’, 2025 Makes a Powerful Case

See a radio host on the edge; a woman sealed inside a monkey suit, an RV idling in the desert glare and a small giggle may well start somewhere in your tummy. In ‘Sunlight’, Nina Conti lets us watch how a laugh finds them before language does; first a demure, cautious titter, then something fuller, rougher, desperate. Laughter becomes a lifeline, a way to breathe when the room has no air. It slips between grief and fear and keeps both characters moving forward when hope feels ridiculous. What first looks like a surreal costume gag reveals itself as something raw and human. Proof that sometimes the only way to survive is to laugh through the pain until the light reaches you again. So is laughter truly a form of therapy, rising from a demure spark to a saving grace? Find out more in Is Laughter the Best Medicine? in ‘Sunlight’, a new film in the UK for 2025, which makes a powerful case.

Types of Laughs

There are all sorts of laughter in the world, from a demure giggle to a loud cackle. That full belly, hearty laugh, the kind that leaves you gasping for air and tears running down the face. Each laugh has a nuance, but what do they mean?

Common laughter is, simply put, just a sign of genuine joy or happiness. There’s no particular hidden meaning. A giggle or chuckle is more of a laugh to appear happy. Children tend to be cheeky and giggle, whereas a chuckle is the more ‘adult’ version. It’s usually an audible laugh, but perhaps not from the funniest joke you’ve ever heard.

Roy (Shenoah Allen) in RV, Movie Still from Sunlight (2024)

Nervous laughter often presents itself in important situations – like maybe a presentation, or perhaps a date? That nervous laughter allows you to feel a sense of relief and can sometimes save an awkward situation. The nervous laugh can be seen as a fake laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

Now, belly laughs are the best. It is considered the most honest kind of laughter but hardest to achieve. You have to find something truly hilarious for it to leave you clutching your stomach and gasping for air.

Why do People Laugh?

It’s easy to understand that there are countless different types of laughter, but seeing the reasons for why people laugh – that’s where it gets a bit more complicated.

First there’s the obvious; people laugh because they are happy. Laughing is a very natural and healthy way to express joy. In fact, researchers estimate that 100 laughs is equal to 15 minutes on an exercise bike! Smiling can release endorphins that lift the mood as well.

Sometimes people laugh when discussing quite difficult topics. Ever heard of dark humour? It’s a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo or too painful to discuss. Dark humour has the social effect of strengthening the morale of the ‘oppressed’ or ‘suffering’ and undermines that of the oppressor.

New Films in the UK Cinema for 2025

‘Sunlight’ is coming to UK cinemas on the 17th October. Originally released on the 17th August 2024 in the United States, the film is a road-trip love story between a man on the edge and a woman who doesn’t want to come out of a monkey suit.

Monkey (Nina Conti) and Roy (Shenoah Allen) in the RV, Movie Still from Sunlight (2025)

Comedy and depth work in perfect balance in this movie, and they find romance through an unlikely connection, escaping the darkness in search of sunlight together.

Nina Conti and Monkey

Nina Conti is a British Actress, Comedian and Ventriloquist – and now, thanks to ‘Sunlight’, she has added Director to her repertoire. The monkey doll is one of the more recognisable acts that Conti performs, and the director herself said the monkey was the very seed of inspiration for the movie.

“The idea occurred to me; what if I shed the vent act myself and disappeared into the monkey completely?”

Nina Conti, Director’s statement

Monkey (Nina Conti) on Hill, Movie Still from Sunlight (2024)

Laughter Heals the Soul

What is the best way to truly heal from trauma? From a modest, demure chuckle to an echoing bellow, it seems as though laughter can solve most situations. When you’re physically hurt, you go to a hospital, but when you’re hurting inside, there’s not a lot someone can do to help.

Some scars can’t be seen or shared explicitly, but through scared chuckles turned hearty laughs, trauma can be shared. Nina Conti managed to create a film that uses dark humour to the max, but also provides a satisfying answer to the issues discussed on screen.

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.Cent Magazine, London; Luxury Mindset