[QUOTE=Eonwe]
Shrek, while a nice movie, is decidedly not deserving of a spot in the top 10, let alone #3.
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I would have said that about Shrek the first time I watched it. However, compliments of my daughter, I have seen it many times now and the humor in it is wide and deep in the same way that old Warner Brothers cartoons were except much more. They put some work into layering the jokes for various audiences and there are probably a ton that you missed the first time.
[QUOTE=BACI]
Comedy is clearly subject to cultural filters, but there are any number of English (and Australian) comedies that may not have enjoyed the same box office, but certainly made me laugh more than most of these top tens
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I thought that (the Australian) Muriel’s Wedding was hysterical but black comedies are my favorite. Some people don’t understand them at all so they don’t make these lists.
Each of the following films has gotten me laughing so hard I almost pissed my pants on at least one viewing. Most have done so on more than one occasion. Therefore I declare the following to be (in no particular order,** except Caveman is the funniest one of all!**) The Funniest Movies Ever Made .
Caveman
Cheech & Chong’s Nice Dreams
Shakes The Clown
Female Trouble
Polyester
A Private Function
Streetfight
Head
Pink Flamingos
Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life
Red
Desperate Living
Eating Raoul
Carwash
A Bucket Of Blood
Up In Smoke
The Magic Christian
A Fish Called Wanda
Friday
1. The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
3. Waiting for Guffman
4. The God’s Must Be Crazy
5. Bringing Up Baby
[QUOTE=BabaBooey]
Big Lebowski and Coming to America haven’t been mentioned in this thread (nor the list) and are two of my top comedies. Kingpin might be in my top 10 as well.
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Big Lebowski had a huge following among my college friends, although it might be a cult classic more than anything else. I would definitely agree with putting Coming to America on the list, but if someone wanted to put in Trading Places instead, I wouldn’t really have any objections. Coming to America shows a lot more of the comic range of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, with their multiple characters, so you’ve got that to consider, but both movies are certainly considered more “classic” than a few on the top 10 list.
I’m quite surprised that neither This Is Spinal Tap nor ANY of the Monty Python movies made the list. I think Spinal Tap is among Christopher Guest’s best work - and he’s been involved in a lot of great films, so that’s quite a push. Monty Python may be more popular overall in the UK, but The Holy Grail is widely revered and beloved in the U.S. No excuse for that. The Blues Brothers is another head-scratching absence. I’m also a bit surprised at the absence of Ghostbusters - it was quite a funny movie that was a huge phenomenon when it came out. I’m split on whether Young Frankenstein is funnier than Blazing Saddles (I like Blazing Saddles more, but that doesn’t necessarily relate to the amount of humor), but both are classics that deserve a spot. History of the World Part 1 is funny, but a bit too manic and disjointed for my taste. I thought the Inquisition scene and Jews in Space were the best parts.
So I suppose if I made a list of the top 10 comedies, it would be something like this:
I’ve found a pattern to these types of lists, and especially the VH1 lists: they tend to be narrow in scope. Just as an example, the Greatest One-Hit Wonders list was overwhelmingly composed of songs from the video age (~1981-present), and many of them were from 1990 onward. There were, of course, many many one-hit wonders in the years before, and yet, few of them made the list at all. The top ten comedy list is similar in scope: the oldest film is Blazing Saddles (1974), and nominees from the 1990s and beyond (Shrek, Something About Mary, Ace Ventura, South Park, The Wedding Singer) take up half of the list. What I think tends to happen is that the pool of writers for these shows tend to nominate mostly films that they have fond memories of from within their lifetime, and the older films are mostly either relegated to lower spots or not included at all. For sake of reference, check out the AFI Top 100 comedies list…the top 10 is VERY different from the VH1/Bravo list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI's_100_Years…_100_Laughs
No mention of the Naked Gun movies. I’m so disappointed.
[QUOTE=racer72]
No mention of the Naked Gun movies. I’m so disappointed.
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They are good too but they are a lesser imitation of Airplane which invented that sub genre and is slightly better (it was the came people that made both though). Top Secret is more original and a better watch even if it doesn’t make the list.
Huh–I actually didn’t like Bringing up Baby much at all. The female protagonist just irritated me. There were a few funny scenes, but nothing to compare with, say, The Thin Man, or Dr. Strangelove.
Strangelove is probably my favorite comedy. I’d also add for my list Living in Oblivion (especially the angry dwarf’s rant about dwarf stereotypes) and Highway 61, a little-known Canadian comedy with some dull bits but the best screen satan ever.
Daniel
[QUOTE=BabaBooey]
Big Lebowski and Coming to America haven’t been mentioned in this thread (nor the list) and are two of my top comedies. Kingpin might be in my top 10 as well.
[/QUOTE]
Agreed. Haven’t seen Coming to America, though, but now I will.
I’ll only agree that My Blue Heaven isn’t on your lists because you are including it in it’s rightful place as one of the greatest mob movies ever.
“I like my women a little dirty, the kind of dirty you can’t wash off.”
Here’s my top 10: (of course the movies I haven’t seen aren’t on the list)
The Life of Brian
This is Spinal Tap
The Big Lebowski
Airplane
Raising Arizona
A Fish Called Wanda
The Meaning of Life
Best in Show
Dr. Strangelove
Trading Places
Animal House (runner up)
The trouble is, some of these movies I have seen so many times that they aren’t funny anymore. Inevitably, when the jokes are so predictable there is no suprise, I don’t laugh. It’s very difficult to rate funny movies. I would say that the fact that they put Shrek in the list at all implies that the VH1 list is heavily weighted family.
Having not read the thread, the answer is “Fletch”. End of story.
I would nominate:
in no order
Airplane
Naked Gun
Caddyshack
Fletch
Young Frankenstein
Meet the Parents
Dumb and Dumber
Happy Gilmore
Top Secret
Borat
Office Space
Noises Off
Mrs. Doubtfire
The Jerk
Beverly Hills Cop
Johnny Dangerously
Ruthless People
DLuxN8R-13, come on 'round and pull up some ground! Any friend of the Magic Christian is a friend of mine! That’s an old favorite. So is Carwash. (Zzzzzt! Superfly!)
Peter Seller’s The Party, and Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs.
Clueless.
Great performances, particularly Silverstone.
Great jokes.
Effortlessly satirical.
Until Lebowski came out in 1998, Clueless had a lock on funniest movie of the 90’s. I go back and forth.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
This is Spinal Tap
Parenthood
The Four Seasons
Stripes
Office Space
Raising Arizona
Being There
Breaking Away
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
This thread makes me realize how individual a thing taste in humor is. I swear that I would never have thought Caddyshack worth a second thought or viewing, but a lot of people simply love the film. “Fletch” was OK, but … funniest movie? Not even close. I have a hard time watching It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, despite the sheer mass of comedic talent involved – it just ain’t funny. A lot of other flicks on this list I’ve actually avoided because they looked so un-funny to me.
So i don’t expect a lot of agreement on my list.
In no particular order, and probably missing a lot of good ones:
**The General
The Coconuts
A Night at the Opera
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
And Now for Something Completely Different
What’s Up, Tiger Lily?
Young Frankenstein
Kentucky Fried Movie
Airplane!
Airplane 2** (Yes, I realize it’s not by the same people. They don’t get enough credit, I think, for copying the entire style of humor of that original)
**Spaceballs
The Naked Gun
The Mad Adventures of “Rabbi” Jacob** (This ought to appease those folks who criticize us Merkins for not naming foreign films. Unfortuynately, we don’t get to see enough of their comedies. This one blew me away. I understand the star, Louis de Funes, is/was immensely popular in France. He’s funnt across language barriers. The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973) - IMDb
Oooh – gotta revise mine.
Yank Raising Arizona (although the opening credits are absolutely hysterical)
Put in Bullets Over Broadway.
I’m kind of on the fence about Monty Python, too, because I’ve never managed to stay awake for the whole thing. But it’s too important not to list.