# What Countries Makes The Funniest Movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226 "2019-11-10T01:48:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/1 "2019-11-10T01:48:24Z")
From the beginning until the present. I’ll go with the US, and Italy. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/2 "2019-11-10T01:52:47Z")
Humor is not universal and nations tend to make art that reflects their own taste. There really is no answer to this question. Hong Kong used to make some really funny and reflective films pre 1997. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/3 "2019-11-10T02:27:30Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Humor is not universal and nations tend to make art that reflects their own taste. There really is no answer to this question. Hong Kong used to make some really funny and reflective films pre 1997. This…on both counts. One of the wonders of modern technology is we’re able to view movies from around the world. 20 years ago, I would have said the U.S. because that was, what was available. Now, since I watch mostly Asian (Chinese, Japanees, Korean) movies, my tastes have changed and as I pick up more of the subtleties of the language and culture, I enjoy them even more. I can’t/won’t name a country since my tastes in humor can vary even within the same day, but I will say, that the only time I literally almost chocked to death from laughter was during a Korean movie (that I can’t recall the name of or find amongst my collection of thousands). I couldn’t breathe, but also couldn’t stop the movie to catch my breath. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/4 "2019-11-10T02:33:14Z")
This is one of the funniest films I have ever seen. Its both sophomoric and sophisticated…in the best ways. > **[Boys Are Easy (1993) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108658/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1)** > > Boys Are Easy: Directed by Jing Wong. With Richard Ng, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Chingmy Yau. A man wants to see his three daughters get married. The eldest is a hard-nosed cop who needs a hard-nosed lover. The middle daughter is a wall flower who... ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/5 "2019-11-10T02:43:49Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > This is one of the funniest films I have ever seen. Its both sophomoric and sophisticated…in the best ways. > > [Boys Are Easy (1993) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108658/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1) Excellent taste! Cheung Man Yuk, Lin Ching Hsia and Yau Suk Ching! If Chung Cho Hong and Wang Tsu Hsien were also in it, the screen would have exploded! ---
**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:** [November 10, 2019, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/6 "2019-11-10T09:59:16Z")
The UK. Ealing comedies, Monty Python, Richard Curtis, Edgar Wright… and much more. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/7 "2019-11-10T10:22:53Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The UK. > > Ealing comedies, Monty Python, Richard Curtis, Edgar Wright… and much more. …Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Steve Coogan… ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/8 "2019-11-10T10:28:09Z")
Yeah, I’d go with the UK, too. Monty Python, Edgar Wright, Black Adder. Even objectively silly things like The Trip make me laugh. I remember discovering the former when I was about 10 and thinking I had never seen anything that was so hilarious. At the time, I was already familiar with French and American comedies (which I liked) but this was something completely different. French comedies are hit or miss but when they’re good, they’re really funny. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/9 "2019-11-10T11:04:05Z")
I understand Australia’s Yahoo Serious is technically hilarious. Similarly, Tori Spelling is technically pretty. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/10 "2019-11-10T13:18:25Z")
I’d also say that most of the funny movies were made before 1980, with a few exceptions, such as “Buffalo '66” ---
**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:** [November 10, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/11 "2019-11-10T14:19:33Z")
Hell, no. That’s just … not even wrong. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/12 "2019-11-10T14:57:53Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Humor is not universal and nations tend to make art that reflects their own taste. There really is no answer to this question. I’m inclined to agree. Plus, the language barrier. It’s a lot harder to laugh at a movie in a language you don’t know. (Subtitles aren’t as good, because so much of comedy depends on timing and delivery.) Still, if you could demonstrate that a relatively large number of Country X’s comedies are successful in many other countries, that would be pretty good evidence that Country X makes funny movies. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/13 "2019-11-10T15:50:18Z")
About all one could say is that is is likely that the country that produces the largest number of movies will probably make the largest number of funny movies. Anything beyond that is pure opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/14 "2019-11-10T16:25:30Z")
On balance I’d say the UK. “Life of Brian” is the funniest film ever made in my opinion. “Airplane” is not far behind but if I could only have access to the comedic back-catalogue of one country it’d have to be the UK. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/15 "2019-11-10T17:58:30Z")
“Harry and Tonto” and “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” are some funny movies from the 70s ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/16 "2019-11-10T18:03:15Z")
Oh, Germany. Definitely Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/17 "2019-11-10T18:16:40Z")
My first thought would be the UK until realizing that that choice is almost entirely due to a relatively small group of interconnected writers/performers who got their start in the mid-60s. Take away the Goon-inspired Oxford/Cambridge/Fringe crowd and you’re pretty much left with the “Carry On” franchise. The US has a much deeper bench (although, it’s fair to ask where it would rank without the contributions of New York Jews). ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/18 "2019-11-10T19:37:54Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > My first thought would be the UK until realizing that that choice is almost entirely due to a relatively small group of interconnected writers/performers who got their start in the mid-60s. Take away the Goon-inspired Oxford/Cambridge/Fringe crowd and you’re pretty much left with the “Carry On” franchise. Not at all. TV series include: Blackadder, Mr Bean (Rowan Atkinson was a generation later) Red Dwarf Yes, Minister In the Thick of It I’m Alan Partridge Fry and Laurie Mitchell and Webb Keeping Up Appearances Porridge The Office Fleabag … many more. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/19 "2019-11-10T19:47:56Z")
The UK and Canada have had a large influence on American comedy. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/20 "2019-11-10T20:10:59Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Not at all. TV series include: > … But the question is “What countries make the funniest **movies**?” [Here’s one prominent list of “the top 100 funniest movies in American cinema.”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Laughs) It’s limited to the 20th century; it includes major contributions from non-Americans (e.g. there are several Peter Sellers movies on the list); and it’s loaded with Good or Influential movies that are comedies but that aren’t, IMHO, actually as _funny_ as some other movies they left off. Still, it’s a pretty impressive list. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226.md?page=2)