Jim, I'm not expecting bellylaughs from this one myself. Here's the first paragraph from a Roger Ebert* essay on the movie that relates to this issue:
The first time I saw Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot's Holiday, I didn't laugh as much as I thought I was supposed to. But I didn't forget the film, and saw it again in a film class, and then bought the laser disc and saw it a third time and a fourth time, and by then it had become part of my treasure. But I still didn't laugh as much as I thought I was supposed to, and now I think I understand why. It is not a comedy of hilarity, but a comedy of memory, nostalgia, fondness, and good cheer. There are some real laughs in it, but Mr. Hulot's Holiday gives us something rarer: an amused affection for human nature-so odd, so valuable, so particular.
*My apologies to anyone who automatically rejects Eberts' opinion because he has a TV show; I'll try not to quote him too often!