# Name some good comedies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884 "2003-06-23T22:30:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Francis\_E\_Dec\_Esq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/48db29/32.png) [@Francis\_E\_Dec\_Esq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_E_Dec_Esq)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/1 "2003-06-23T22:30:04Z")
The ratio of good to bad comedies is pretty low. Help me out here folks and put together a list of good comedies. These don’t have to be hysterically funny, just good movies with a few laughs. Here’s mine, just off the top of my head. Blazing Saddles (and most of Mel Brooks’ early stuff) Airplane There’s Something About Mary Most of the Marx Brothers films Anything with W. C. Fields Austin Powers You Can’t Take It With You It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Ace Ventura and sequel The above are of the hysterical variety. Movies that are funny but not so over top are When Harry Met Sally Midnight Run (Charles Grodin, Robert De Niro) The first couple Lethal Weapons (how many are there? I lost count.) ---
**Author:** ![TeaRoses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@TeaRoses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaRoses)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/2 "2003-06-23T22:34:10Z")
I always liked Bringing Up Baby. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/3 "2003-06-23T23:19:34Z")
Raising Arizona The Jerk Dr. Strangelove Funny Bones This Is Spinal Tap ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/4 "2003-06-23T23:39:52Z")
**Wet Hot American Summer.** If you used to watch “The State” on MTV, then WATCH THIS MOVIE. Even if you didn’t, WATCH THIS MOVIE. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/5 "2003-06-23T23:40:51Z")
Meatballs National Lampoon’s Vacation (but NOT any of the sequels of the above two) Gregory’s Girl (more cute than funny) ---
**Author:** ![witchwendy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@witchwendy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/witchwendy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/6 "2003-06-23T23:49:58Z")
Caddyshack and Animal House are two of my favs. Juvenile hijinks ensue. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/7 "2003-06-23T23:51:53Z")
_A Fish Called Wanda_. Still my favorite movie comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/8 "2003-06-23T23:56:17Z")
And I’ll mention _The Princess Bride_ before another of its millions of fans does, although it is not just a comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/9 "2003-06-24T00:17:55Z")
\*\*His Girl Friday \*\* Simply shines in dialoge. For great characters: \*\*Best In Show \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/10 "2003-06-24T00:21:56Z")
Another comedy that never fails to make me laugh: \*\* Necessary Roughness \*\* and it has to be for the announcer stuff. **Black Knight** is a fairly well done B comedy. I’ve caught it about 6 times on cable, never the entire thing, and just crack up at it. I’ve just drawn a blank, but there are a dozen or so brit comedies that just tickle me silly whenever I catch them on TV or video. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/11 "2003-06-24T00:38:05Z")
**Monsoon Wedding** was a delightful india-art house comedy. ( the wedding planner just steals every scene he is in.) \*\*East is East \*\* funny brit comedy. \*\*Snatch \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/12 "2003-06-24T00:39:25Z")
In addition to those already mentioned, here are some more that make me laugh: The **Monty Python** movies The **Bill and Ted** movies **UHF** Some of the Zucker movies—both parodic dumb-jokes movies like **Airplane** and **Top Secret** , and the more character-and-situation-based movies like **Ruthless People** and **Rat Race** **Office Space** **Gremlins 2** **The Blues Brothers** and **Wayne’s World** (may be the only SNL spinoff movies actually worth seeing) (“Black Knight”? Surely you jest! Mildly amusing, maybe, but without a single original idea.) ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/13 "2003-06-24T00:41:01Z")
**La Cages aux Folles** Imagine Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt doing a gay comedy. This is what two of the studliest men in French cinema, Yves Montand and Gerard Depardieu, pull off in this movie. A simple scene where one instructs the other on how to butter toast in a more manly fashion is uproariously funny. Throughout all of this runs a thread of extremely tender love, both homosexual and parental. I refuse to give away any of the plot for those who have not seen it. It belongs in every private collection. Tossed into the list should be most of the Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton, the bulk of W. C. Fields, quite a lot of Chaplain plus Laurel and Hardy. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/14 "2003-06-24T00:56:32Z")
PS: **The Producers** , quite possibly one of the funniest movies ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/15 "2003-06-24T01:02:08Z")
**A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum** ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_E\_Dec\_Esq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/48db29/32.png) [@Francis\_E\_Dec\_Esq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_E_Dec_Esq)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/16 "2003-06-24T03:26:13Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions. I going to make a note of these. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*Meatballs > National Lampoon’s Vacation > (but NOT any of the sequels of the above two) > Gregory’s Girl (more cute than funny) \*\* You didn’t like **Christmas Vacation**? ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/17 "2003-06-24T03:30:59Z")
Bringing up Baby His Girl Friday Palm Beach Story Kind Hearts and Coronets Annie Hall ---
**Author:** ![MrSarcasticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@MrSarcasticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSarcasticus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/18 "2003-06-24T04:34:00Z")
Two of the most underrated comedies I’ve ever seen are: BRAIN DONORS, a modern day spoof on the Marx Bros. ( [http://us.imdb.com/Details?0103872](http://us.imdb.com/Details?0103872) ) WHEN NATURE CALLS, a spoof of those kiddy THE WILDERNESS FAMILY movies in the AIRPLANE vein. ( [http://us.imdb.com/Details?0090314](http://us.imdb.com/Details?0090314) ) ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/19 "2003-06-24T13:19:16Z")
Thanks for _The Palm Beach Story_, **CyberPundit**! Terrific movie. I will add: _Midnight_ (1939), great screwball comedy _Three Cornered Moon_ (1933), another screwballer, aboutm a Brooklyn family in the Depression _Million Dollar Legs_ (1932)—odd. Very very odd. _Bombshell_ (1933), with Jean Harlow. anything with Max Linder (my pick for greatest silent comic) nearly anything with Harold Lloyd ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884/20 "2003-06-24T14:08:16Z")
I’ve heard that **Battlefield Earth** was hilarious. I’m really fond of the **Mystery Science Theater 3000** videos. **Galaxy Quest** … great spoof of Star Trek. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-good-comedies/183884.md?page=2)