Having just watched Planes Trains & Automobiles for probably the 20th time, it occurred to me that the 1980s were the years when the best comedys were made.
By “best comedys” I mean movies that consistently make you laugh out loud, no matter how many times you watch them. To me, this is what makes a great comedy; it lets you forget about whatever problems you might have, and lifts your spirits, at least temporarily.
Most of the great comedys I can think of come from this era. Its probably just nostalgia, but to me it seems the art of making a comedy “classic” isn’t what it used to be.
My top five great comedys, for me, would be:
Stir Crazy (1980) - The best of the Wilder / Pryor movies.
Trading Places (1983) - Eddie Murphy at his sharpest and funniest, with a great cast.
Airplane! (1980) - Stuffed full of gags - fortunately most are hits rather than misses.
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) - Steve Martin’s funniest film (The Jerk is the second).
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) - Same reason as number 2. The sequels of BHC got progressively worse IMO.
So, were the 1980s really that great for comedys? I have a feeling I may be in the minority in thinking this! What would your top 5 comedys be, and your reasons for picking them?
Trading Places (1983)
Stripes (1981)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Spaceballs (1987)
Caddy Shack (1980)
Animal House (1987)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
The Toy (1982)
Basically, if you have a cast member from the orginal SNL, Richard Pryor, or Mel Brooks you’re all good in my book.
For Y’ur Height Only is the funniest thing ever filmed. The line “That little Wang’s gonna put us out of business” is a classic.
Young Frankenstein for having some of the funniest running gags in history.
A Shot in the Dark because Peter sellers is hilarious, and the nudist camp sequence is the funniest thing he ever did.
Blazing Saddles for Mongo alone needs to be on the list.
The Gruesome Twosome features big haired southern gals doing the frug while eating fried chicken, a crazy old lady who talks to a stuffed bobcat, a parody of Tom Jones, and some really fake gore.
Spaceballs - I’ve seen it over 100 times and still laugh The Ref - How can a movie with Dennis Leary and Kevin Spacey NOT be good? Office Space - I don’t expect I need to comment on this one. Mallrats - although I the entire movie was only moderately funny (which isn’t bad), the game show scene, in my opinion, is one of the funniest scenes in any movie - all thanks to Jason Lee. Dogma - hillarious top to bottom Ghostbusters - again, I don’t expect much needs to be said about this one. Yellowbeard - Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Tommy Chong AND Cheech Marin? Come on!!!
And I know I’m gonna get torched for this one…
Bio-Dome - I can’t help that I find Pauly Shore funny
By the way…if anyone knows how I can get a copy of Yellowbeard, I will be owe you big.
What’s Up, Doc? (1972). Director Peter Bogdonavich knew and loved the screwball comedy genre, and made a movie that is good as any in it. Young Frankenstein (1975), ditto Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder and the 1930s horror genre. The production design, photograhy, and music are the real thing, while the comedy is pure Brooks-Wilder. Animal House (1978), the first major bawdy, gross-out comedy aimed at the 18-25 market. Then came Porky’s and the Farrelly Bros. I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978). The funniest thing about this comedy about a group of teenagers trying to see the Beatles on their first visit to the U.S. is that it’s not much of an exaggeration of how insane it really was at the time. Airplane
