# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/21 "2019-11-10T23:21:46Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Oh, Germany. Definitely Germany. Better than Sweden? :dubious: ---
**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, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/22 "2019-11-10T23:46:22Z")
“La Strada” is a funny (and tragic) movie. And I’m not Italian. I still crack up over Gelsomina learning how to introduce Zampano… From “Here he is… Zampano!” to the underwhelming “Zampano is here” (I just laughed out loud, which I don’t do very often) ---
**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 11, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/23 "2019-11-11T00:37:24Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Better than Sweden? :dubious: Just be a Herr. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/24 "2019-11-11T00:45:47Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I understand Australia’s Yahoo Serious is technically hilarious. Similarly, Tori Spelling is technically pretty. When I was a kid I thought Yahoo Serious was fucking brilliant. Probably the only person within 500 miles any direction with a Yahoo Serious _Reckless Kelly_ poster on my wall. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/25 "2019-11-11T00:57:39Z")
Only having read the title and nothing of the thread: the UK, no doubt about that. I can name many other nations that produced very funny movies (but can you even talk about a “US” humor for instance in a case like Billy Wilder’s films, cause everything in movies and in real life too in the US is an amalgam?). But the British are genuinely funny. _A Fish Called Wanda_ and _The Ladykillers_ are the funniest movies ever made. ---
**Author:** ![DerNils](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerNils](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerNils)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/26 "2019-11-11T09:27:21Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Humor is not universal and nations tend to make art that reflects their own taste. That sums it up. Even if I will say that even as a native German I never liked German comedies (yes, we do produce them, but they are beyond cringeworthy). There are good german comedians and there is some funny German TV, but our comedy movies are basically unwatchable. Except for some super niche movies that sometimes do not even work in all of Germany, so they work for me, but not for guys from the South or East. Aside from being overwhelmed with US media, so we are trained from an early age eto accept that kind of humour, over productions rarely work. There are exceptions like the Bud Spencer/Terrence Hill era, or lately some French comedies work surprisingly well, but that very often hinges on either physical comedy or extreme luck/effort on behalf of the Synchronisation Team. ---
**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 11, 2019, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/27 "2019-11-11T09:36:13Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > 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. IME, Bollywood comedies are really not that funny. Nollywood ones, even less so. ---
**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 11, 2019, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/28 "2019-11-11T09:39:26Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Take away the Goon-inspired Oxford/Cambridge/Fringe crowd and you’re pretty much left with the “Carry On” franchise What? No. There’s loads of funny new stuff. The Cornetto Trilogy, by itself, is worth the entire film output of any 50 New York nebbishes you care to name. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/29 "2019-11-11T10:11:00Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > When I was a kid I thought Yahoo Serious was fucking brilliant. Probably the only person within 500 miles any direction with a Yahoo Serious _Reckless Kelly_ poster on my wall. There probably aren’t many Australians who’d fight you for it. Regarding the thread I think the Irish and Scottish can do it as well as the English when they want to. Derry Girls (granted, not a film) is exquisite, but Irish movies particularly can stick deliberate humour into even the grimmest and most serious movie in such a way that it enhances the tone rather than detracts from it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/30 "2019-11-11T10:36:08Z")
> [@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. And also it’s not as if even the collective Dope has experts in the filmography of every country. Gambia could have a fabulous comedy industry without me having the slightest idea such a thing existed. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/31 "2019-11-11T13:26:07Z")
The problem in answering this question is not just that often people haven’t seen that many films from other countries and not just that often people don’t like comedy films from other countries. In addition, even when people have seen lots of films from other countries which they really liked, they don’t understand that those films were supposed to be comedies. I have just looked at the list of movies that people have given here. I have also just Googled for lists of international comedies. I’ve seen a lot of movies, and often they were ones that weren’t shown much in the U.S. I clearly remember seeing some of them, and even though I liked them, I didn’t think of them as comedies. ---
**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 11, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/32 "2019-11-11T13:34:54Z")
If we didn’t get that they were supposed to be comedies, then they obviously wouldn’t qualify for this thread, I’d think. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/33 "2019-11-11T14:27:34Z")
> [@DerNils](#): > > That sums it up. Even if I will say that even as a native German I never liked German comedies (yes, we do produce them, but they are beyond cringeworthy). > > There are good german comedians and there is some funny German TV, but our comedy movies are basically unwatchable. Except for some super niche movies that sometimes do not even work in all of Germany, so they work for me, but not for guys from the South or East. > > Aside from being overwhelmed with US media, so we are trained from an early age eto accept that kind of humour, over productions rarely work. There are exceptions like the Bud Spencer/Terrence Hill era, or lately some French comedies work surprisingly well, but that very often hinges on either physical comedy or extreme luck/effort on behalf of the Synchronisation Team. I think that’s a bit harsh on German comedy films and comedy in general, though I’m always willing to fight the cliche German=no humor. There ARE some very funny German films, [Schtonk](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105328/)and [Der bewegte Mann](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109255/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) are two of the funniest films I’ve ever seen, and they function universally (though Schtonk, about the Hitler diaries hoax, is a very German story). For more recently produced comedies like [Fack ju Göhte](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2987732/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) or the dreck that maybe producer Til Schweiger finds funny, you’re right, those are cringeworthy and unwatchable. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/34 "2019-11-11T15:42:57Z")
Comedy is one of the most culturally specific forms of entertainment there is. There is no way I, a Canadian, can fully understand Vietnamese humor, or what Bangladeshi people find hilarious. I mean, just in North America, the beats and tropes of humor can be wildly different between white and black people. The odds are pretty good that the world’s most prolific producers of funny movies are the world’s most prolific producers of movies; the USA and India likely lead the way. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/35 "2019-11-11T18:07:13Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > 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. While understanding the language is one factor of good comedy, I’d argue that visuals play a larger part of what is funny than speech and is more universal. Arguably one of the greatest comedic actors was Charlie Chaplin whose speechless acting is still considered funny by many non-English speaking viewers today. Not a movie, but last night I watched my weekly episode of the Korean variety show \*Running Man \* with subtitles. While years of watching Asian movies and TV has sharpened my understanding (though far from full) of the Korean language, the facial expressions and actions of the cast members adds tremendously to the funny factor of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/36 "2019-11-11T18:25:02Z")
I think that it’s very important that sometimes we don’t recognize that a foreign film, even one that we like a lot, is intended as a comedy. For instance, I just saw the new movie _Parasite_. A lot of reviews refer to it as a comedy. I think it’s a very good movie, but I would never refer to it as a comedy. This is relevant to the subject of this thread. Suppose a citizen of country X is asked by a citizen of country Y is they like the comedies of country Y. The citizen of country X says, “No, I like the movies of country Y, but the ones I like aren’t comedies.” The citizen of country Y then says, “But what about movies A, B, C, D, and E?”. The citizen of country X replies, “Oh, I’ve seen all those films, but they aren’t comedies.” The citizen of country Y says, “Of course they are.” It’s possible to disagree about which movies are even comedies. ---
**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 11, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/37 "2019-11-11T18:49:58Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I think that it’s very important that sometimes we don’t recognize that a foreign film, even one that we like a lot, is intended as a comedy. And yet (as **MrDibble** said) why does it matter (in the context of this thread) whether it was intended as a comedy if it isn’t funny? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/38 "2019-11-11T19:07:31Z")
It’s relevant because we should recognize that our sole judgment isn’t enough to determine what’s supposed to be funny, let alone how funny it is. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/39 "2019-11-11T19:22:19Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > “Harry and Tonto” and “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” are some funny movies from the 70s _ **Harry and Tonto** _? The movie one person described as “sad beyond tears?” I suppose you think that _Schindler’s List_ was hilarious, too. ETA: [Is this you?](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0c/bb/d9/0cbbd9f846007bcf5f1122e868355fe7.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226/40 "2019-11-11T20:14:48Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And yet (as **MrDibble** said) why does it matter (in the context of this thread) whether it was intended as a comedy if it isn’t funny? TV series Vaya Semanita was created and intended as regional humor. 99% of it is Basque people poking fun at Basque people. It became a national success, with most “outsiders” enjoying it but missing several levels of a lot of the jokes. The further away from Mount Aralar someone or his ancestors were born, the more surprised I’d be if they understood even one level of one joke. Maybe something along the lines of “how do we know God isn’t Basque”, but even with that one, it would be only part of the joke. A: do you know how long it took Him to come up with a decent meal? Holy fuck, if he’d been Basque he would’a invented the cow on day one! And if he’d been Navarrese, cows would’a been easy open! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-makes-the-funniest-movies/843226.md?page=3)