Checking Wiki, I found no film that won that seemed to me to be a Comedy- some certainly had comedic elements (Around the World in 80 days), but no comedy. Are any of the winners- or even Nominees- classed as a Comedy?
Or is the award really “best Drama”?
Annie Hall.
Tom Jones.
It Happened One Night
Shakespeare in Love?
Those were the first ones that came to my mind. It’s not the usual choice, but it isn’t impossible.
I’ve already forgotten…wasn’t Little Miss Sunshine nominated? That was a comedy.
Yes, but it didn’t win. The question is about Best Picture winners, not nominees.
As Good As It Gets swept the Oscars.
No, it didn’t. “Titanic” won Best Picture, while “As Good As It Gets” won the two top acting awards.
From the OP:
Do the musicals count as comedies? If so, several musicals have won Best Picture and a few, like “My Fair Lady.” were comedies.
Right – and not only did it get Best Picture, it was the first film to win all five top awards, a feat only accomplished by two other movies since: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and The Silence of the Lambs (which was also unusual in that very few horror/thrillers win top awards).
Shakespeare in Love is another one.
Oops, didn’t see that. Sorry.
Marty is another.
The Apartment.
The Sting isn’t a straight comedy but it has more laughs than your typical drama.
Ditto Terms of Endearment.
And of course, Braveheart is a feckin’ laff riot.
How could I not know Marty!
Cold Mountain made me laugh, is that alright?
Only if you’ve never seen it.
If you had to break it down, here are the Best Picture comedy winners:
Romantic Comedies
It Happened One Night, The Apartment, Annie Hall
Period Comedies
Tom Jones, Shakespeare in Love
Musical Comedies
Going My Way, Gigi, My Fair Lady
Buddy/Family Comedies
You Can’t Take It With You, Around the World in 80 Days, The Sting
Pathos Comedies
Terms of Endearment, Driving Miss Daisy, Forrest Gump
I know there are a few others people might argue fit here as well, but I was concentrating on what the bulk of the tone and nature of the performances were in each particular film.
Is this really the first time that you noticed this? This has been mentioned in most discussions of the quality of the Oscar’s choices for Best Pictures (in news stories and such) for many years now. Furthermore, it’s also relatively rare for acting performances in a comedy to win an award. The Oscar’s choices have always been quirky. They have always been slanted toward middlebrow dramas, particularly those with heroes or heroines who make brave choices in liberal (but not too radical) causes. They don’t like genres (science fiction, Westerns, mysteries) or comedies (particularly broad comedies) or anything else that might be thought of as too lowbrow. They also don’t like anything that might be thought of as too highbrow, so they don’t like truly avant-garde films.