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!