There’s an adage in playwrighting and screenwriting that “Comedy is tragedy plus time.” (Comedy stars Carol Burnett and Steve Allen, before her, are credited with the quote.)

It’s been about a decade since the Great Recession, the 2007-08 financial crisis, so it’s about time somebody made a motion picture comedy about it.

What’s unexpected is that the movie would be directed by Adam McKay, who cowrote screenplays and directed Will Ferrell to box-office and comedic success in lighter fare such as “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004), “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” (2013), “Step Brothers” (2008) and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006).

“The Big Short,” with a screenplay by McKay and Charles Randolph (“Love & Other Drugs,” 2010), is based on “The Big Short: The Doomsday Machine” (2010) by Michael Lewis, a nonfiction book about the financial crisis.

“The Big Short” is not light comedy fare. It’s as heavy as the statistics quoted in the movie’s epilogue concerning the financial crisis fallout: $5 trillion in investment and other value lost, 8 million jobs lost and 6 million losing their homes, resulting in an ecomomic slowdown that sent the United States’ economy reeling.

Clearly, a tragedy. And yet “The Big Short” is a comedy. There’s that “tragedy plus time” again.

“The Big Short” is chockablock with financial terms. There are so many, it may make your head spin. With that in mind, McKay has many of the actors, as well as celebrities who appear randomly in cameos as themselves (Margo Robbie, Selena Gomez, Anthony Bourdain), talk directly to camera (addressing the audience) with explanations of arcane, but important, financial terms (subprime mortgages, Credit Default Swaps, Collateralized Debt Obligation, tranche, and NINJA loans, as in No Income No Job Or Assets loan).

You almost need to see “The Big Short” twice to take it all in. There’s a barrage of information, images and concepts coming at you in the film.

“The Big Short” is the other side of “The Wolf Of Wall Street” (2013), director Martin Scorsese’s take on the financial crisis that had more of an emphasis on the high-life aspects of casino capitalism.

While “The Big Short” isn’t exactly a “who dunnit” and is more of a “why they dunnit,” it has the excitement of a good crime thriller.

“The Big Short” is the “Fast And Furious” of Wall Street. It’s ruefully funny. But it also leaves you with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach over the way the investors operate.

In “The Big Short,” several investment advisers (real names are changed or only first names are used), believe there’s a housing bubble, so they bet against mortgage-backed products, predicting, correctly it turned out, that these products will fail.

At the center of the unraveling is Michael Burry (Christian Bale), who sits at his computer listening to hard rock as he analyzes the products being marketing by financial institutions. He’s convinced that he’s uncovered a house of cards in what became the U.S. mortgage housing crisis of 2005. While he was at first roundly ridiculed, his taking a short position yielded he and his investors something like a $269 million profit.

Mark Baum (Steve Carell) and his financial-investor team investigates Burry’s claim, traveling to Florida to see firsthand the effects on homeowners who recently took out loans and to meet mortgage company agents who make the loans. They also travel to Las Vegas to attend an American Securities Investors convention.

Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt) is a retired investor who’s coaxed back in by two young investors convinced that betting in favor of a financial collapse will yield profits.

Presiding over the proceedings is Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), a banker whose cynicism persuades the other protagonists to take their negative positions.

The dialogue in the screenplay by McKay and Randolph is highly colorful in its preciseness. McKay’s direction keeps the story popping.

Pitt is fine as the bearded, sage investor. Gosling is again a revelation in yet another nuanced performance as a tough-as-nails investment honcho.

Bale proves yet again the chameleon in an intense, turned-inward performance as the genius financial analyst.

Carell shows why he’s one of the most intriguing actors as he again segues with ease into another dramatic role (following his Oscar actor nomination for his chilling turn in “Foxcatcher” (2014).

The brash, sometimes out-of-focus, jittery, seemingly slapdash cinematography by Barry Ackroyd (“Captain Phillips,” 2013; “Green Zone,” 2010; “The Hurt Locker,” 2008; “United 93,” 2006) reflects, symbolizes and enhances the brashness of the movie’s protagonists.

The frenetic editing by Hank Corwin (“The Tree Of Life,” 2011; “Natural Born Killers,” 1994) also is in keeping with the hot-house, edgy and tension-filled atmosphere of the financial traders and their world.

The music, too, by Nicholas Britell (“Whiplash,” 2014; “12 Years A Slave,” 2013) advances the out-of-balance, off-putting and intense pace of the film with a great selection of hip-hop, hard rock, classic rock and contemporary recordings (for example: “Money Maker,” Lucacris; ”Master Of Puppets,” Metallica; “When The Levee Breaks,” Led Zeppelin).

“The Big Short” is a must-see. You might want to consult your financial adviser afterward or, better yet, have him or her accompany you to the screening.

“The Big Short,” MPAA Rated R (Restricted. Children Under 17 Require Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian.) for pervasive language and some sexuality-nudity; Genre: Biography, Drama; Run time: 2 hrs., 10 mins. Distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Box Office, Jan. 8: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” continued at No. 1 for a fourth week in a row with a solid $41.6 million and $812 million after four weeks, keeping “The Revenant” at No. 2, close behind with a strong $38 million after going into wide release, with $39.5 million after three weeks. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is the first film to gross more than $800 million domestically.

3. “Daddy’s Home,” $15 million, $116.3 million, four weeks; 4. “The Forest,” $13 million, opening; 5. “Sisters,” $7.1 million, $74.8 million, four weeks; 6. “The Hateful Eight,” $6.3 million, $41.4 million, three weeks; 7. “The Big Short,” $6.3 million, $42.8 million, five weeks; 8. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip,” $5.5 million, $75.6 million, four weeks; 9. “Joy,” $4.5 million, $46.5 million, three weeks; 10. “Concussion,” $3 million, $30.9 million, three weeks

Unreel, Jan. 15:

“Ride Along 2,” PG-13: Tim Story directs Olivia Munn, Kevin Hart, Glen Powell and Ice Cube in the action-comedy sequel. This time, as his wedding day approaches, Ben heads to Miami with future brother-in-law James to arrest a drug dealer.

“13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” R: Michael Bay directs Toby Stephens, John Krasinski, Freddie Stroma and Pablo Schreiber in the action-thriller based on a true story about the American ambassador killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya.

“Norm of the North,” PG: Trevor Wall directs the voice talents of Heather Graham, Bill Nighy, Rob Schneider and James Corden in the animation comedy family film about a polar bear named Norm and his three lemming friends in New York City.

“Band of Robbers,” No MPAA rating: Aaron Nee and Adam Nee direct Kyle Gallner, Adam Nee, Matthew Gray Gubler and Hannibal Buress in the adventure-comedy about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn as grown men still searching for that hidden treasure.

“The Benefactor,” No MPAA rating: Andrew Renzi directs Theo James, Dakota Fanning, Richard Gere and Clarke Peters in the drama about a philanthropist who interferes with the lives of newly-married couples.

Four out of five popcorn boxes