# Favourite comedy film of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874 "2014-02-21T14:50:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/41 "2014-02-21T16:59:27Z")
Planes, Trains and Automobiles. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/42 "2014-02-21T17:03:00Z")
The most I’ve ever laughed at any movie would be **In the Loop** , it was just so unexpectedly, perfectly funny! ---
**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:** [February 21, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/43 "2014-02-21T17:06:35Z")
If I’m forced to choose only one, I’ll say Airplane! If I can name others, I’ll add: Life of Brian, South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut, Johnny Dangerously and All of Me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/44 "2014-02-21T17:08:26Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum > . Yep. Saw it on stage, too and even funnier. ---
**Author:** ![boyhowdy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@boyhowdy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boyhowdy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/45 "2014-02-21T17:38:18Z")
Raising Arizona. (drops mike) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/46 "2014-02-21T17:45:43Z")
_Young Frankenstein_, followed closely by _Fargo_. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/47 "2014-02-21T18:06:30Z")
So many to pick from, but, since it’s FAVORITE, and not Best or Funniest… _Arsenic and Old Lace_ with Cary Grant and Peter Lorre. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/48 "2014-02-21T18:11:58Z")
BRINGING UP BABY, with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn and a pet leopard. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/49 "2014-02-21T18:22:03Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > BRINGING UP BABY, with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn and a pet leopard. Spoiler that shit, man! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/50 "2014-02-21T18:27:51Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **Monty Python and the Holy Grail > Duck Soup > Love and Death > The General** Another vote for Buster Keaton–perhaps my favorite movie ever. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/51 "2014-02-21T18:35:59Z")
My favorite comedy film of all time is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) > **[Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095031/)** > > Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Directed by Frank Oz. With Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Anton Rodgers. Two con men try to settle their rivalry by betting on who can swindle a young American heiress out of fifty thousand dollars first. It stars Michael Caine, Steve Martin and Glenne Headly. It also features a number of female actors including Frances Conroy (remember her from Six Feet Under? She played the mother). Do you know Dana Ivey or Meagen Fay? It features both of them. I usually don’t like Steve Martin in movies or at least, I don’t like him very much. But in this film he is a great foil for Michael Caine. I can’t really describe exactly why I love this film so much and why I think it is so wonderful. I just hope that if you have never seen it before that you will give it a chance. It is a wonderful, wonderful movie and if you enjoy it just a tiny bit as much as I do, then I will be very happy to have posted this recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/52 "2014-02-21T18:41:11Z")
At this point, what difference does it make?\* \*No, that was not a movie title. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/53 "2014-02-21T18:41:49Z")
Airplane! There’s Something About Mary ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/54 "2014-02-21T18:43:32Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > My favorite comedy film of all time is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) > > [Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095031) > > It stars Michael Caine, Steve Martin and Glenne Headly. > > It also features a number of female actors including Frances Conroy (remember her from Six Feet Under? She played the mother). Do you know Dana Ivey or Meagen Fay? It features both of them. > > I usually don’t like Steve Martin in movies or at least, I don’t like him very much. But in this film he is a great foil for Michael Caine. > > I can’t really describe exactly why I love this film so much and why I think it is so wonderful. I just hope that if you have never seen it before that you will give it a chance. > > It is a wonderful, wonderful movie and if you enjoy it just a tiny bit as much as I do, then I will be very happy to have posted this recommendation. Did you know it’s virtually a frame-by-frame remake of **this movie**? :dubious: https://www.youtube.com/embed/jF9-NOTGCDo?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque This once led to a hilarious fuckup on Minneapolis’s KITN (Channel 29): They aired half the movie before somebody caught on and changed the stationbreak graphic from _ **Dirty Rotten Scoundrels** _ to _ **Bedtime Story** _. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/55 "2014-02-21T18:45:33Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > These 3 and _Arsenic and Old Lace_ and I guess at 5th would be _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_. > > Oddly _There’s Something About Mary_ is not even funny to me. I know many love it but it left me flat. I don’t typically like either lead in the movie so that is probably part of it. **Hampshire** , are you still in your 30s? I often feel there is a generational thing with \*There’s Something About Mary \*and Ben Stiller. > > By the way, \*Some Like it Hot \*often comes up as the top comedy, I cannot comprehend this at all. It has some funny moments but there were funnier movies before it and many after it. Why do older critics love it so much? I think it may have something to do with when you saw this movie and what other films you had seen before watching this one. I’m trying to avoid saying that it has something to do with one’s age because I really don’t think that is the key reason. But I do believe it has something to do with where this film fits into your movie going experiences and with which films you have seen before or since seeing this one. I know that probably doesn’t make a whole Hell of a lot of sense. But it’s the best I can do. FWIW, I really didn’t think it was all that great either. I think that much of the humor depends on your experiences. It also probably depends on how one feels about Marilyn Monroe. I have always been fascinated with her and so that probably makes the movie seem a lot better to me than it might seem to people who don’t particularly love her. Oh well, what 'cha gonna do? This boy just can’t help himself when it comes to MM. Sigh. She is a unique individual and I am hopelessly captivated by her appeal. IMHO, there has never been anyone like her before she first appeared and I can’t recall ever seeing another lady like her ever since she died. Heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/56 "2014-02-21T18:49:41Z")
Depends what you mean by “film” - the short _[Dinner For One](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1v4BYV-YvA)_ is the greatest comedy film. If it has to be a proper full movie, _Withnail and I_… will do: "Balls! We want the finest wines available to humanity. And we want them here, and we want them now! " ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/57 "2014-02-21T18:50:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did you know it’s virtually a frame-by-frame remake of **this movie**? :dubious: > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF9-NOTGCDo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF9-NOTGCDo) > > This once led to a hilarious fuckup on Minneapolis’s KITN (Channel 29): They aired half the movie before somebody caught on and changed the stationbreak graphic from _ **Dirty Rotten Scoundrels** _ to _ **Bedtime Story** _. Oh my, Terentii! I had no idea. I had never heard of Bedtime Story before and I cannot thank you enough for that lead. I will def try to watch it ASAP. Thank you so much for that info. Very happy to have learned that. 🙂🙂🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/58 "2014-02-21T19:04:32Z")
This is so impossible to answer. I guess with a gun to my head I’d say _ **This is Spinal Tap** _, but I’d feel bad about not also including _ **Strictly Ballroom** _ _ **Ruthless People** _ and _ **City Lights** _. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/59 "2014-02-21T19:11:18Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I think it may have something to do with when you saw this movie and what other films you had seen before watching this one. > > I’m trying to avoid saying that it has something to do with one’s age because I really don’t think that is the key reason. But I do believe it has something to do with where this film fits into your movie going experiences and with which films you have seen before or since seeing this one. > > I know that probably doesn’t make a whole Hell of a lot of sense. But it’s the best I can do. > > FWIW, I really didn’t think it was all that great either. I think that much of the humor depends on your experiences. It also probably depends on how one feels about Marilyn Monroe. I have always been fascinated with her and so that probably makes the movie seem a lot better to me than it might seem to people who don’t particularly love her. > > Oh well, what 'cha gonna do? This boy just can’t help himself when it comes to MM. Sigh. She is a unique individual and I am hopelessly captivated by her appeal. IMHO, there has never been anyone like her before she first appeared and I can’t recall ever seeing another lady like her ever since she died. Heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. That actually makes sense, so many younger people don’t get what makes the Godfather so great and to those of us that think it is the best it is confusing how they don’t even enjoy it/get it. Also the MM factor has to be big, I am not a big fan of hers, I think she was a talented comedic actress but I don’t think she is the standard of feminine beauty/sex goddess. So that part of the _Some Like it Hot_ allure is not going to work for me whereas _Roman Holiday_ and \*Sabrina \*are awesome for me as I love Audrey Hepburn. Though for comedy, the beauty/sex appeal of the lead actress should not be that important. None of my picks have a real great beauty in it. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-comedy-film-of-all-time/681874/60 "2014-02-21T19:43:36Z")
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