Just because somebody found something funny doesn’t mean it’s a comedy though. Funny you picked 3 of the movies I’d list as reasons not to be a DePalma fan, why he’s rather touch and go, sometimes great (Scarface, Carlitos Way) sometimes atrocious (Carrie and Phantom heading up that list, Dressed is middling in my book). I’d say Phantom is absolutely hilarious, just not in a good way, it’s funny like Ed Wood movies are funny.
In the 1970s people were talking about him like his generation’s Hitchcock. I’ve never bought it obviously. The Fury is just embarrassing. In any case, Scarface is clearly not meant to be realism. Everything from the glaring color scheme to Pacino’s performance is highly stylized. The question is what effect the stylization has when combined with the subject matter. Anyway, I’m glad that the film went a long way to getting F. Murray Abraham that part in Amadeus (one of my favorite films of all time).
I’ve recently been on a mini DePalma film festival and find Scarface the least interesting of the films he made just before it (Dressed to Kill, Blow Out) and the one he made right after it (Body Double - very underrated!). Ever see Sisters? It’s also very good work and more interesting than Scarface.