Name some good comedies

[Francis E Dec, Esq]

The ratio of good to bad comedies is pretty low. Help me out here folks and put together a list of good comedies. These don't have to be hysterically funny, just good movies with a few laughs.

Here's mine, just off the top of my head.

Blazing Saddles (and most of Mel Brooks' early stuff)
Airplane
There's Something About Mary
Most of the Marx Brothers films
Anything with W. C. Fields
Austin Powers
You Can't Take It With You
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Ace Ventura and sequel

The above are of the hysterical variety. Movies that are funny but not so over top are

When Harry Met Sally
Midnight Run (Charles Grodin, Robert De Niro)
The first couple Lethal Weapons (how many are there? I lost count.)

[TeaRoses]

I always liked Bringing Up Baby.

[Zeldar]

Raising Arizona
The Jerk
Dr. Strangelove
Funny Bones
This Is Spinal Tap

[saramamalana]

Wet Hot American Summer. If you used to watch "The State" on MTV, then WATCH THIS MOVIE. Even if you didn't, WATCH THIS MOVIE.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Meatballs
National Lampoon's Vacation
(but NOT any of the sequels of the above two)
Gregory's Girl (more cute than funny)

[witchwendy]

Caddyshack and Animal House are two of my favs. Juvenile hijinks ensue.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

A Fish Called Wanda. Still my favorite movie comedy.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

And I'll mention The Princess Bride before another of its millions of fans does, although it is not just a comedy.

[Shirley Ujest]

His Girl Friday Simply shines in dialoge.

For great characters: Best In Show

[Shirley Ujest]

Another comedy that never fails to make me laugh: Necessary Roughness and it has to be for the announcer stuff.

Black Knight is a fairly well done B comedy. I've caught it about 6 times on cable, never the entire thing, and just crack up at it.

I've just drawn a blank, but there are a dozen or so brit comedies that just tickle me silly whenever I catch them on TV or video.

[Shirley Ujest]

Monsoon Wedding was a delightful india-art house comedy. ( the wedding planner just steals every scene he is in.)

East is East funny brit comedy.

Snatch

[Thudlow Boink]

In addition to those already mentioned, here are some more that make me laugh:

The Monty Python movies
The Bill and Ted movies
UHF
Some of the Zucker movies—both parodic dumb-jokes movies like Airplane and Top Secret, and the more character-and-situation-based movies like Ruthless People and Rat Race
Office Space
Gremlins 2
The Blues Brothers and Wayne's World (may be the only SNL spinoff movies actually worth seeing)

("Black Knight"? Surely you jest! Mildly amusing, maybe, but without a single original idea.)

[Zenster]

La Cages aux Folles

Imagine Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt doing a gay comedy. This is what two of the studliest men in French cinema, Yves Montand and Gerard Depardieu, pull off in this movie. A simple scene where one instructs the other on how to butter toast in a more manly fashion is uproariously funny. Throughout all of this runs a thread of extremely tender love, both homosexual and parental. I refuse to give away any of the plot for those who have not seen it. It belongs in every private collection.

Tossed into the list should be most of the Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton, the bulk of W. C. Fields, quite a lot of Chaplain plus Laurel and Hardy.

[Zenster]

PS: The Producers, quite possibly one of the funniest movies ever made.

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

[Francis E Dec, Esq]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I going to make a note of these.Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky
Meatballs
National Lampoon's Vacation
(but NOT any of the sequels of the above two)
Gregory's Girl (more cute than funny) You didn't like Christmas Vacation?

[CyberPundit]

Bringing up Baby
His Girl Friday
Palm Beach Story
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Annie Hall

[MrSarcasticus]

Two of the most underrated comedies I've ever seen are:

BRAIN DONORS, a modern day spoof on the Marx Bros. ( http://us.imdb.com/Details?0103872 )

WHEN NATURE CALLS, a spoof of those kiddy THE WILDERNESS FAMILY movies in the AIRPLANE vein. ( http://us.imdb.com/Details?0090314 )

[Eve]

Thanks for The Palm Beach Story, CyberPundit! Terrific movie. I will add:

Midnight (1939), great screwball comedy
Three Cornered Moon (1933), another screwballer, aboutm a Brooklyn family in the Depression
Million Dollar Legs (1932)—odd. Very very odd.
Bombshell (1933), with Jean Harlow.
anything with Max Linder (my pick for greatest silent comic)
nearly anything with Harold Lloyd

[BMalion]

I've heard that Battlefield Earth was hilarious.

I'm really fond of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 videos.

Galaxy Quest... great spoof of Star Trek.

[BMalion]

Originally posted by Eve
anything with Max Linder (my pick for greatest silent comic)



Wow, I thought I was the only one who knew who Max Linder was... I'm impressed.

I still think that the most belly laughs possible-per-hour are in W. C. Fields's movie It's A Gift.

[Tomcat]

For non-cranial activity comedy, Happy Gilmore, Southpark, bigger, longer, uncut and Zoolander are worth the rental fees. You know they're stoopid, I know they're stoopid, we all know they're stoopid. But they're funny. I guess you could also toss in American Pie, I & II and most of the stand-up comedians (Dennis Leary, Eddie Murphy, Dennis Miller, etc.).

For thinkin' comedy's I loved Kevin Smith's work: Clerks, Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma and Mallrats. Creative and funny stuff.

-Tcat

[mallocks]

Pixar films, particularly Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo.

[AmericanMaid]

Ditto on the Wet, Hot American Summer recommendation
Ghosbusters
Pootie Tang
Postcards from the Edge
Hudsucker Proxy
Brain Candy
What About Bob

[Kalhoun]

Young Frankenstein. This movie is hilarious. It should only be viewed on DVD or Tape. The reason being that you will laugh so hard that you have to wind it back to catch the dialogue you've missed while laughing. A comedy masterpiece!

[plnnr]

The Great Race. Best pie fight of all time (and you get to see Natalie Wood in a corset and stockings...grrrrrrr).

Casanova's Big Night. Bob Hope gets mistaken for Casanova. May be difficult to find. I taped it off TCM.

[Tygr]

I'm 31 years old and I just saw Arthur for the first time two days ago. THAT is a dam' funny movie. The scenes with Moore, Minelli, & Gielgud together finally, fully defined for me what "chemistry" means in the context of movies. They have a hilarious, witty, rapid-fire repartee that Aaron Sorkin can only dream about. And yes, Sir John-freaking-Gielgud is funny.

And if you're thinking "Oh, I can't watch a movie that makes being drunk look funny", which was my parents' (and, by extension, my) reason for never seeing it, keep in mind - it's just a movie. Dudley Moore is brilliant in making a drunken millionaire a funny, sympathetic character.

[plnnr]

No one's mentioned "Some Like It Hot" yet?

[Zenster]

I suppose we need to toss in "Bedazzled" and an old favorite of mine, the short, "Elephant Parts".

Good call, plnnr. "Some Like if Hot" is an immortal classic.

For extremely weird comedy, I refer you to "Skidoo" (1968) with Groucho, the Great One, and so many other famous actors, you'll be amazed you've never hear of it.

I guess "Kentucky Fried Movie" and "The Groove Tube" need to be in here somewhere as well.

[Zeldar]

I forgot to include "Amazon Women On The Moon"

[Happy Lendervedder]

I just watched "Old School" a couple of days ago, and laughed so much, I decided to watch it again 5 minutes later.


Happy

[austen]

Boomerang is pretty funny.
The Original Kings of Comedy is good - the recent one with Bernie Mac.
Dazed and Confused
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Waiting for Guffman
Up in Smoke or any of the Cheech and Chong movies

[Lisa-go-Blind]

My favorite comedies (some have already been mentioned, but I'm seconding those):

National Lampoon's Vacation
This is Spinal Tap
Waiting for Guffman
Best in Show
Office Space
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Young Frankenstein
Bottle Rocket
Rushmore
The Royal Tenenbaums

[X~Slayer(ALE)]

The Great Dictator - A Charlie Chaplin talkie!

Kung Pow - this movie will rot your brain

[AV8R]

For a goofball comedy, check out What's Up, Doc? starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal (from about 30 years ago).

For a more recent flick, I got a few laughs from Meet the Parents with Robert DiNero and Ben Stiller.

Although it's already been mentioned, my favorite comedy is It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

[don't mind me]

Originally posted by Zenster
La Cages aux Folles

Imagine Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt doing a gay comedy. This is what two of the studliest men in French cinema, Yves Montand and Gerard Depardieu, pull off in this movie. Great sentiment, wrong actors. The leads in La Cage were Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault.

I also second your Buster Keaton nomination, especially The General.

[Krokodil]

The Dream Team
Hairspray
Cry-Baby
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Dr. Strangelove
Eddie Murphy Raw
Most Billy Wilder films
Howard Stern's Private Parts (and I hate Howard Stern generally)

[skaterboarder87]

Wayne's World
Zoolander
Ace Ventura 1 and 2
Shrek
Austin Powers 1 and 3

[McDeath_the_Mad]

Hello.... Ghostbusters!

There are so many great one-liners in that movie. ("Listen... Do you smell that?" "Yes, this man has no dick")

I'll tossa vote in for Spinal Tap as well. ("You can't really dust for vomit")

MtM

[UrbanChic]

Quick Change

[Francis E Dec, Esq]

Thanks to the latest posters. I'm adding your suggestions to my list.
Originally posted by BMalion
I still think that the most belly laughs possible-per-hour are in W. C. Fields's movie It's A Gift. I second that. But then, if Fields just walks onto the screen, I start cracking up.

[Vanyel]

Some are over-the-top funny, some just chucklers, but almost all good: Mystery Science Theater 3000

[Archergal]

Harvey. What's not to love about a six-foot invisible giant rabbit?

I always liked Arsenic and Old Lace. The nutty brother who thought he was Teddy Roosevelt always cracked me up.

My all-time favorite dumb/funny movie: Strange Brew. That movie was what let me and my S.O. know that we had something in common.

[KarlGauss]

Two that haven't mentioned:

The Ruling Class (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0069198) - Peter O'Toole thinks he's Jesus (banned in Chile!)

My Cousin Vinny (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0104952) - Joe Pesci may be better in comedies than mob movies. Marisa Tomei won an Oscar.

(And let me enthusiastically second Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and Meet the Parents. All superb.)

[antechinus]

Life of Brian funniest movie ever made
Everything Monty Python.
This is Spinal Tap
[b]Southpark{/b]

Was the Royal Tenanbaums a comedy?

[antechinus]

Oh And
The Castle
Muriels Wedding
are both hysterical.

[MrVisible]

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Brilliant, thoughtful, haunting, and side-splittingly hilarious, all at the same time.

And it's not out on DVD yet! What the hell is wrong with the world?

[MrVisible]

Oh, and I wanted to plug a couple of recent Disney films that really surprised me by being genuinely funny:

The Emperor's New Groove

and

Lilo and Stitch

[Odinoneeye]

Orgazmo, the only movie with a mormon-martial artist-porn star-super hero as its main character.

[Marley23]

A third (or whatever) to the Marx Brothers films, especially Duck Soup, A Night at the Opera, Animal Crackers, and parts of A Day at the Races.

[Marley23]

Also, I've yet to see a mention of Army of Darkness. Is it a great movie? No, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. Bruce Campbell is great as Ash. "Hail to the king, baby." :D

Oh, and shame on everybody for not mentioning The Big Lebowski. Strange, but very funny and charming in its idiosyncrasy.

[Julius Henry]

I'd like to add Woody Allen's Sleeper which may be his funniest, and two of Alec Guiness' rarely seen wonders, Kind Hearts and Coronets where Guiness plays about a dozen family members being killed off so a lowly, distant cousin can inherit the family fortune, and The Man in the White Suit where Guiness invents a fabric that won't wear out or get dirty, much to the distress of management and labor (sorry, labour) who see the end of their industry.

And I want to second Duck Soup since it's the funniest movie anybody ever made.

[Lisa-go-Blind]

Originally posted by antechinus
Was the Royal Tenanbaums a comedy?

Actually, I put it as a comedy because I'm not sure what category it belongs in. It has hilarious moments, and it has harrowing, desolate moments.

Uh, you made me explain myself. Strike The Royal Tenenbaums. :)

[antechinus]

Marley - Of course - The Big Lebowski :smiley hitting head

[moonchilde]

More kudos for "Duck Soup", 'Young Frankenstein", and especially (cuz it's the one I had forgotten) "Amazon Women On The Moon".

And a first mention (I believe) of Mel Brooks "Silent Movie". It has two of the great comedy bits in it (Henny Youngman, and Sid Ceasar in the hospital), and how can you not like a silent movie with the only word spoken in it comes from the voicebox of Marcel Marceau?

[Tangent]

Many of Steve Martin's comedies:

The Jerk
Tranes, Planes, & Automobiles
The Man With Two Brains
The Lonely Guy
Roxanne
All of Me
L.A. Story
Father of the Bride
Parenthood
Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels

and more!

[RandMcnally]

Dirty Work
Rat Race (The scene were John Lovitz, dressed like Hitler, crashes a WWII veterans get-together.)

[SlickRoenick]

No one has mentioned Super Troopers or Joe Dirt yet? My heart is broken.

What about The Goonies?

[RandMcnally]

I'm an idiot, how dare I forget Joe Dirt "I got's the poo on me." One of the funniest lines ever.

My favorite part in Super Troopers is where the trooper is acting like he's going at it with a bear. Classic.

[The Chao Goes Mu]

Mr Blue Sky,

I can't believe I actually found another person on this planet that has seen Gregory's Girl. Very, very sweet movie.