# Comedies Nominated for Best Picture **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936 "2003-01-06T14:20:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/1 "2003-01-06T14:20:52Z")
Before I start going through the list at the IMDB, I thought I’d see if any Dopers know the answer to this one already: How many comedies have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture? ---
**Author:** ![Realhoops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Realhoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Realhoops)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/2 "2003-01-06T14:30:16Z")
Not sure how many have been nominated, but according to [This Site](http://www.filmsite.org/bestpics.html) : > [@](#): > > - Comedy Films: It is rare that light comedy films win the Best Picture Oscar. The following are the only comedies that have won Best Picture: It Happened One Night (1934), You Can’t Take It With You (1938), Going My Way (1944), All About Eve (1950), The Apartment (1960), Tom Jones (1963), The Sting (1973), and Annie Hall (1977) > - Comedy Films: It is rare that light comedy films win the Best Picture Oscar. The following are the only comedies that have won Best Picture: It Happened One Night (1934), You Can’t Take It With You (1938), Going My Way (1944), All About Eve (1950), The Apartment (1960), Tom Jones (1963), The Sting (1973), and Annie Hall (1977). ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/3 "2003-01-06T14:32:07Z")
I’ll knock out an easy one – 1997’s _The Full Monty_. I think there’s been more than you think, but the trend in recent years has been sharply away from comedies earning Best Picture nominations. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/4 "2003-01-06T14:58:48Z")
OK, I went through IMDB going back to the 1979 Academy Awards, and here’s the movies nominate for Best Picture that are classified by IMDB as Comedy. Note that movies can be classified as both Comedy AND Drama on IMDB: _Heaven Can Wait_ (1978) _Tootsie_ (1982) \*The Big Chill \*(1983) _Hannah and Her Sisters_ (1986) _Moonstruck_ (1987) _Working Girl_ (1988) _Ghost_ (1990) _Forrest Gump_ (1994 - won Best Picture) _Babe_ (1995) _Jerry Maguire_ (1996) _As Good As It Gets_ (1997) _Life is Beautiful_ (1997) _Gosford Park_ (2002) … Now, movies like _Ghost_, _Forrest Gump_, and _Gosford Park_ definitely seem to fall in a gray area. All have plenty of funny moments, but you don’t leave the theater feeling like you’ve seen a comedy. I think I could even add in _Moulin Rouge_, which gave me a heavily comedic feel. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/5 "2003-01-06T15:33:27Z")
_Annie Hall_ won Best Picture. I consider it more a comedy that a drama. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/6 "2003-01-06T15:35:45Z")
What would be the definition of “light” comedy? Also, As Good as it Gets is as much drama as comedy, wouldn’t you say? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/7 "2003-01-06T15:57:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by watsonwil \* > \*\*Also, As Good as it Gets is as much drama as comedy, wouldn’t you say? \*\* Yep, I think it’s both … pretty much a 50-50 blend. Now, if anyone’s waiting for flicks like _American Pie_, _Joe Dirt_ or _Road Trip_ to gain Best Picture nominations, well … it’ll be a long wait. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/8 "2003-01-06T16:06:00Z")
Well, this gets tricky, as the definition of “comedy” isn’t always clear. I often see “The Graduate” (which was nominated as Best Picture) called a comedy (the AFI rated it as one of the greatest comedies of all-time), but I never thought of it as a comedy at all. Moreover, a lot of the musicals that have been nominated as Best Picture qualify as comedies (“Funny Girl,” for instance), but I don’t know if the OP wants to count musicals. Among the movies nominated for Best Picture that MIGHT fit the OP’s definition: M_A_S\*H The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming The Great Dictator The Philadelphia Story Ninotchka She Done Him Wrong Auntie Mame Born Yesterday Father of the Bride A Midsummer Night’s Dream ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/9 "2003-01-06T16:19:28Z")
Am I the only one who forgets that Shakespeare in Love WON in 1999? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/10 "2003-01-06T16:22:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mahaloth \* > \*\*Am I the only one who forgets that Shakespeare in Love WON in 1999? \*\* :smack: Good catch. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/11 "2003-01-06T16:44:20Z")
All About Eve was a comedy??? Did I miss something when I watched it? It certainly had its share of irony, but darned if I recall laughing at all. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-nominated-for-best-picture/146936/12 "2003-01-06T17:58:26Z")
Other comedies (or comedy-drama/comedy-romance hybrids) with Best Picture nods not yet mentioned: _American Graffiti The Awful Truth The Bishop’s Wife Broadcast News Dr. Strangelove The Front Page The Goodbye Girl Heaven Can Wait_ (2 versions)\* Here Comes Mr. Jordan Here Comes the Navy Hope and Glory Lady for a Day Libeled Lady Miracle on 34th Street Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Mister Roberts The Quiet Man Roman Holiday A Room with a View Ruggles of Red Gap Skippy The Smiling Lieutenant State Fair The Talk of the Town The Thin Man A Thousand Clowns A Touch of Class\* Of course, there are also what are known as _musical_ comedies. These got Best Picture nods: _Anchors Aweigh Doctor Dolittle 42nd Street The Gay Divorcee Hello, Dolly! The Love Parade Mary Poppins The Music Man One Hour With You One Hundred Men and a Girl Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Top Hat_