It’s my belief that Americans are the best in the world at comedy with the British coming in at a far second, and that’s why this exercise is so difficult. That said, I found the series Niea_7 surprisingly funny, as well as Haunted Junction. Both are Japanese animated series. The Ramens guys are hilarious too, so whatever they’re in (the Japanese are third place apparently).
Seconded, along with some of Tati’s other films. Mon Oncle is also very funny.
The OP specifically excluded British and Australian films.
I found the Japanese samurai movie Yojimbo to be hilarious. Toshiro Mifune is a ronin who decides to help some villagers who are being bothered by renegade swordsmen. One young punk swordsman gets in Mifune’s face and snarls, “Try to kill me!” Mifune looks him up and down and says calmly, “It’ll hurt.”
And another vote for Amelie. Funny and charming.
I came in to mention this one. People forget that Roberto Benigni used to be a pretty good screen clown, before he got an inflated sense of himself as the Second Coming of Chaplin and started vomiting glurge onto the screen. Johnny Stecchino is almost nonstop hilarious.
The currently-in-arthouse-circulation The Boss of It All, from cinematic bad boy Lars Von Trier, is pretty much a riot, also.
Torremolinos 73 is an Argentinian movie about a schmendrick who, almost by accident, starts making porno movies with his wife. The air goes out of the movie about twenty minutes before the end but it’s pretty funny until then.
The Lizard is an extremely funny movie from Iran about a petty criminal and escape artist who, after busting out of jail yet again, masquerades as a neighborhood imam while waiting for some forged paperwork. Made the Iranian government very unhappy and was banned. Will be hard to find but is very much worth a look, if for no other reason than to see just how innocuous a movie can be and still piss off Iran’s censors.
*Le Diner de cons * is close to being the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. An American script has been under development, it seems, for ages (I think Steve Martin was originally involved). Maybe it’s just me, but remakes in another language rarely seem very successful.
*Les Convoyeurs attendent * (Belgium) had some hysterical moments, though the film was rather dark.
And Playtime is even funnier, though you need to see it on a movie screen; even a widescreen TV is too small.
Ingmar Bergman had two funny comedies: Smiles of a Summer Night and Let’s Not Talk About All These Women. The latter is pure slapstick.
Luis Bunuel’s The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie is pretty funny.
Francis Veber’s Les Comperes is another good one (it was made into Father’s Day in the US). I love the pun in the name: it translates at “The Friends” or “The Accomplices” but in French the word is close to the idea of the film: “The Co-fathers”
King of Hearts is primarily an antiwar film, but is quite funny in parts.
Belle epoque is a romantic comedy that’s pretty good.
Am I really the first one to suggest Triplets of Belleville?
Rene Clair’s brilliant The Italian Straw Hat and the very funny Divorce - Italian Style (w/Marcello Mastroianni) come first to mind. I think Tati’s Playtime is more charming than hilarious, but it’s still irresistable.
Renoir, Rohmer, Bunuel, Almodovar, and Wertmuller all did films that qualify as “comedies”, but they’re more wry, humanistic, surreal, sexual, or political than your typical laugh riot. I’ve long been fond of The Baker’s Wife, but will readily concede that Pagnol/Raimu may be an acquired taste.
the Happiness of the Katakuris, an absolutely gut-busting Japanese zombie musical. I’m talking full-on wiping tears of laughter away funny.
All of Jacques Tati’s Hulot movies - I think that Mon Oncle is the flat-out funniest.
The Great Yokai War manages to be amazingly epic and crazy while also being hilarious.
I recall a few years ago I saw Crime Spree with Gérard Depardieu, Harvey Keitel, Johnny Hallyday and Renaud. It just broke me up at the time but I haven’t seen it again to confirm that opinion. I remember crime boss Keitel chastising his underlings after they have beaten up a rival, “I told you - no broken bones.” And the muscle replies, “Gee boss it isn’t a science.”
You’re right. Rarely.
If it were made, I could see more going wrong than going right.
I wouldn’t want a straight-up translation or anything. But, something with the right casting, and a script starting from almost zero. I could see like Michael Douglas playing the main rich guy. You need someone who does pompous well.
The main buffoon? That might be a good role for Adam Sandler (was that the sound of a thousand people cringing at once?), or Will Ferrell or John Goodman.
Good coment about Benigni. The best I’ve ever seen him was in Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law (1986), well before he was a big name in America.
I think Tati’s Hulot films are an acquired taste.
I have seen Mr. Hulot’s Holiday and Mon Oncle, and found them both to be plodding and tedious.
I saw this at the PSFF - it was pretty funny, but I suspect loses a lot in the translation…
The French film “In The Closet” was actually pretty funny, also.
I’m curious about this comment - did Benigni make a bunch of glurgey movies? The only film of his I can think of off the top of my head that could possibly qualify as glurge is, of course La Vita e Bella, which I thought was a wonderful movie. I see on IMDB he’s done some stuff since then, but the only thing I’ve seen is Coffee and Cigarettes.
I also agree that Johnny Stecchino is a very funny film, I seem to remember getting a chuckle out of Il Mostro as well, but it’s been a very long time and I only saw it once.
Il Postino and Cinema Paradiso are both tragicomic, but have some good laughs. Very similar in tone and setting, too.
One of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen was a Japanese farce–just putting those 2 words together seems hilarious–called Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald. It’s about the performance of a radio play written by a listener who won a contest. It’s funny from the start and then spirals completely out of control. From Rottentomatoes.com:
Shall We Dance? – the Japanese version, not the one with Richard Gere. It’s ultimately a very moving story, but it makes its point through jokes and funny characters doing funny things for unfunny reasons. A really great movie.
this one? The Closet (2001) - IMDb
Le Placard (the Closet). That is next on my Netflix list.