# Besides Borat what "intelligent" comedies have done well at the box office? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631 "2006-12-18T15:10:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/21 "2006-12-19T05:00:26Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Some recent intelligent comedies that earned over $100,000,000: The Break-up The Devil Wears Prada Dodgeball Elf 50 First Dates The 40-Year Old Virgin Meet the Fockers My Big Fat Greek Wedding Sweet Home Alabama The Wedding Crashers [/QUOTE] Yeah… no. Just, no. I… respectfully disagree as to the intelligence of the comedies in that list. Prada and Greek Wedding, maybe - though they were both at least as much chick flick as comedy, and sold their tickets based on that - but you’re not winning me over on the rest of that mix of bland rom-coms and frat-boy comedy (and I LOVED Dodgeball and Wedding Crashers). Also, re: Borat, I would say… not _especially_ intelligent, but **relatively** more intelligent than most feature film comedies, so it probably deserves the designation. Of course, I’d also say “not especially funny”, so… _shrugs_ The first three things that came to mind when I saw the topic were Mel Brooks Movies, Wayne’s World, and Get Shorty. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/22 "2006-12-19T05:13:06Z")
According to IMDB, Shakespeare in Love grosssed just over $100 million domestically with a $25 million budget, so I think it qualifies as having done well at the box office. And it’s definitely not a stupid comedy. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/23 "2006-12-19T15:58:13Z")
I guess it depends on what you mean by “intelligent comedy”. If you mean, “derives its humor from conceptual or verbal hijinks that require knowledge or insight on the part of the viewer to appreciate”, then I fail to see how “50 First Dates” or “Dodgeball” qualify under that category (though I did enjoy those movies). Or even how _Borat_ qualifies, given that its major guffaws come from seeing live chickens in a suitcase, or naked hairy men wrestling and running amok through a hotel, unlike the aforementioned _Monty Python’s Life of Brian_ (not that I’m citing that as a box office success, but as an “intelligent” comedy). How well did _Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure_ do? That movie sort of caught me by surprise. I thought it was a stoner comedy… Then I found myself guffawing at them “philosophizing” with So-CRATES in Ancient Greece that “All we are is dust in the wind, dude… (Handful of sand) Dust. (Puff) Wind. (Jabs him) Dude.”, which causes him to exclaim, “Of course! …Like the sands of an hourglass, so are the days of our lives!” in Ancient Greek. And on the less-intelligent side, it also has the immortal line, “Hey, Genghis Khan… Want a Twinkie?” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/24 "2006-12-19T19:22:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah… no. Just, no. I… respectfully disagree as to the intelligence of the comedies in that list. Prada and Greek Wedding, maybe - though they were both at least as much chick flick as comedy, and sold their tickets based on that - but you’re not winning me over on the rest of that mix of bland rom-coms and frat-boy comedy (and I LOVED Dodgeball and Wedding Crashers). > > Also, re: Borat, I would say… not especially intelligent, but relatively more intelligent than most feature film comedies, so it probably deserves the designation. Of course, I’d also say “not especially funny”, so… _shrugs_ > > The first three things that came to mind when I saw the topic were Mel Brooks Movies, Wayne’s World, and Get Shorty. I agree that setting a standard for whether a movie is intelligent or a comedy, let alone both, is almost impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/25 "2006-12-19T19:34:55Z")
If “Dodgeball” is on someone’s list of intelligent comedies, what isn’t? Is “Little Man” on the list? May we view it as a post-modernism criticism of how Hollywood has infantilized the black man in film and, consequently, society at large. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/26 "2006-12-19T19:49:35Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] My Big Fat Greek Wedding [/QUOTE] There were jokes in that movie? ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/27 "2006-12-19T20:07:27Z")
When we’re talking about how much movies from different eras make at the box office, it is very important to factor in how much inflation there has been in the economy. Comparing movie revenues from today as against films from 1975 without factoring in inflation amounts to missing a rather big point. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/28 "2006-12-19T20:19:25Z")
Many things can be debated- whether a higher power exists, whether Bush is the devil, if unicorns are extinct- all valid debate topics. That 50 First Dates, Dodgeball, or Greek Wedding are intelligent comedies, no offense, is not one of those things. Greek Weeding is as by the book Screenwriting 101 (ethnic comedy chapter) as it gets. 50 First Dates may well be the nadir of Adam Sandler comedies, and that’s saying a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/29 "2006-12-19T20:59:52Z")
Haven’t seen it myself, but from talking with many folks who saw **Borat** , I wonder at describing it as either intelligent or comedic. From what I hear and read, I suspect **Borat’s** success has more in common with the success of the **Jackass** franchise (which I also have not seen). ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/30 "2006-12-19T21:32:45Z")
I like Jackass 1 & 2, but comparing it to Borat is like comparing Spinal Tap to Police Academy 4. Also…89 score on metacrtic, 92% tomatometer, 8.0 on imdb, 125+ million US box office…yeah, definitely not funny. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/31 "2006-12-19T22:13:47Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Also…89 score on metacrtic, 92% tomatometer, 8.0 on imdb, 125+ million US box office…yeah, definitely not funny. [/QUOTE] Ah, but you forget - the public is an ass! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/32 "2006-12-19T22:20:20Z")
**Dinsdale-** agree 100% the average American is an idiot, which is why I was shocked that Borat did so well- I really thought it would do 20 mil total at best. I guess that means that, like the Simpsons, people can enjoy it on different levels. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/33 "2006-12-20T00:38:05Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] So do the first two Mel Brooks movies–_The Producers_ (already mentioned in this thread) and _To Be Or Not To Be_. [/QUOTE] _To Be or Not To Be_ is really not a very intelligent comedy. Neither is _Men In Tights_ (hard to believe that was made by the same comic genius who did the 1970s TV series _When Things Were Rotten.)_ Mel is feeling his age. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/34 "2006-12-20T01:38:49Z")
Does the MST3K movie count? ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/35 "2006-12-20T02:04:26Z")
MST3K movie intelligent? I personally would lean towards yes, but it did zero box office (assuming it was ever in theatres). ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/36 "2006-12-20T02:06:16Z")
I wonder how many folk define “intelligent comedy” in terms of what they personally consider funny! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jlrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/22d042/32.png) [@jlrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlrepka)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/37 "2006-12-20T03:20:43Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Some recent intelligent comedies that earned over $100,000,000: The Break-up The Devil Wears Prada Dodgeball Elf 50 First Dates The 40-Year Old Virgin Meet the Fockers My Big Fat Greek Wedding Sweet Home Alabama The Wedding Crashers [/QUOTE] So, intelligent is anything above… Jackass? Reiterating what others have said here, I like a lot of these movies but jeez… someone explain to me how _any_ of these could be called intelligent comedies. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/38 "2006-12-20T10:26:06Z")
> [@](#): > > So, intelligent is anything above… Jackass? Hey, the OP set the bar at _Borat_. Now admittedly I haven’t seen the movie, but my understanding is that its comedic premise is “let’s encourage people to be stupid, videotape them, and then laugh at them in a superior fashion.” Is Borat really that much more intelligent than _Candid Camera_ or _Punk’d_? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631/39 "2006-12-20T14:12:28Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Hey, the OP set the bar at _Borat_. Now admittedly I haven’t seen the movie, but my understanding is that its comedic premise is “let’s encourage people to be stupid, videotape them, and then laugh at them in a superior fashion.” Is Borat really that much more intelligent than _Candid Camera_ or _Punk’d_? [/QUOTE] Yes. A lot of the humor comes from exposing people’s prejudices through the use of a seemingly innocent character. A lot of the movie is just shock/absurdity. But, some of it is more satirical in nature. . .and I think that most of us would agree that when we talk about “intelligent” comedy, we’re usually talking about something closer to satire than slapstick, no? I’m not making any claims as to the funniness of one or the other, but satire usually involves at least thinking about what the gag is doing on a societal level. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-borat-what-intelligent-comedies-have-done-well-at-the-box-office/384631.md?page=1)