# What is the single funniest movie you've ever seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877 "2013-06-13T04:08:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/81 "2013-06-13T18:12:42Z")
Caveat: I’m not a huge fan of comedy films, so I haven’t seen a lot of the classics. I just saw _Young Frankenstein_ about a year ago and I fell asleep. I thought it was boring (and I love Gene Wilder). That said: Probably _The Birdcage_. That one still makes me laugh after all this time. “You’re going to kill yourself…and you’re taking your toothbrush. How Egyptian.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/82 "2013-06-13T18:34:40Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > BRINGING UP BABY is my first That’s funny. If I had been asked what your favorite Cary Grant comedy was, I would have guessed _Arsenic and Old Lace_. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/83 "2013-06-13T18:37:56Z")
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles Christmas Vacation Dumb & Dumber There’s Something About Mary Best in Show Monty Python & the Holy Grail Pineapple Express Superbad ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/84 "2013-06-13T20:13:17Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Coincidence, because my nominee was a sort of re-working of \*Hellzapoppin’ \*- the original _Bedazzled_, 1967, with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and Raquel Welch as “Lillian Lust, the babe with the bust.” I mean, talk about inspired casting. “Would you like your breakfast … in bed? Hot toast? or buttered buns?” delivered in a luscious faux-southern accent. > > It also featured horse-faced Eleanor Bron as Dudley Moore’s idealized love interest. I’m sure that casting choice was purposely ironic. > > Anyway, this is one of those films with tons of not-so-obvious gags that you may not catch the first or even second or third time, making re-watching well worthwhile. > Roddy Another of my faves, and infinitely better than the overdone remake. The low-budget production values only added to its wonderfulness. The Devil (Peter Cook): It’s a terrible bunch of sins I have working for me. Must be the wages. Not to mention the offhand way he goes about wreaking havoc (ripping out the last few pages of Agatha Christie novels, making parking meters expire, cutting holes in the sides of ships) while simultaneously talking theology with Dudley Moore. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/85 "2013-06-13T20:22:34Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > I love a lot of the movies listed so far. It’s too hard to pick a favorite, but one of my favorite funny movies is _Fear and Trembling,_ based on a novel by Amelie Nothomb. I also laughed a lot watching _Human Behavior._ Some old favorites that still make me laugh are _Rushmore_, _The Jerk,_, and _The Party._ I’d vote for _The Party_. Funniest. Movie. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/86 "2013-06-13T20:25:38Z")
I’m always surprised when I hear someone say they didn’t enjoy [My Cousin Vinny](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104952/combined) and am likewise surprised that it’s not been mentioned yet in this thread. I thought it was hilarious and many of the scenes had me roaring. Yeah, sure, it’s a bit uneven, but I don’t think there’s a funnier flick out there. I’ll also point out that, when it was released (circa 1971) and I was young and very stoned, [The Ruling Class](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069198/combined) was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Alas, it may have have lost a bit of its lunatic lustre these past forty years. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/87 "2013-06-13T20:26:04Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Whoa wait a second. Grizzly Man. The documentary in which the guy and his girlfriend are hideously killed and eaten by bears? > > I hope you made a mistake and meant Project Grizzly about the Canadian Guy who built a bear proof suit. Never saw it but the clips on YouTube crack me up every time. I laughed at a lot of Grizzly Man. Yes, the story had a tragic ending but most of the movie is footage that Timothy Treadwell shot of himself in Alaska, and he is hilariously fey, odd, dramatic and deluded, with a passion for deadly grizzlies similar to that certain old women have for teacup Chihuahuas. Which is why he got himself killed, poor fool. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/88 "2013-06-13T20:34:46Z")
For my money I laugh the hardest at rapid fire farces so I’ll put yet another vote for Noises off. As a second choice, Room Service by the Marx brothers. For a subtler comedy I’ll go with Tampopo. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/89 "2013-06-13T20:58:17Z")
The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch The Black Knight French Taunters The Knights Who Say “Ni” Brave, Brave Sir Robin _One day son, all this will be yours_ What, the curtains? C’mon, you know what I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/90 "2013-06-13T21:15:36Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Single funniest ever? Probably Young Frankenstein. I’m a old-time horror film fan & that film hit on all cylinders. For a movie with sound this is also the film I find to be funniest. But I’m a silent film fan, and if you’ve never seen Buster Keaton in _Seven Chances_ then you have missed something special. This movie was remade as _The Bachelor_, starring Chris O’Donnell, and it proves that sound, color, and special effects don’t necessarily make a movie better. My favorite scene in _Seven Chances_ is when Jimmie bribes his way at the stage door, to propose to what he thinks is a dance hall girl. He doesn’t realize it’s really a female impersonator he’s going for. Modern day audiences may not have heard of Julian Eltinge, but he was the best known cross-dresser of his day, and if you were sitting in the audience back then you would have been howling when poor Jimmie staggered out with a window frame smashed over his head. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/91 "2013-06-13T21:33:35Z")
Team America World Police. It’s not my favorite comedy and I’ve only seen it twice but I’ve never laughed as much or hard at a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/92 "2013-06-13T21:51:14Z")
A Fish called Wanda, Borat, Death at a Funeral (UK version) and The Full Monty are all up there for me , but the answer to the OP has to be **Airplane!** ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/93 "2013-06-13T22:28:22Z")
Probably a tie between Airplane! and Young Frankenstein. I remember being in hysterics over one of the Pink Panther sequels in the 70’s, but can’t remember any specifics. But I think the most I’ve ever laughed, literally falling out of a chair and wondering if I’m about to have a heart attack, has been at an episode of MST3K (probably Space Mutiny) – but that’s not a funny movie, it’s a bad movie made funny. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/94 "2013-06-13T23:58:27Z")
The hardest I can remember laughing at a movie was _There’s Something about Mary_. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/95 "2013-06-14T01:02:47Z")
Office Space is my favorite, although The Big Lebowski is pretty awesome too. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/96 "2013-06-14T01:06:09Z")
For sheer number of jokes I would 20th Airplane! and 2nd (I think) Superbad. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/97 "2013-06-14T01:13:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It would have to be _Blazing Saddles_, which wins because I saw it when it was first out, and not after all the lines had been repeated by all and sundry. It was so outrageously, in-your-face funny and zany that you couldn’t help laughing. In fact, when I looked around me at one point, people had tears streaming down their faces from laughing so hard. I have to agree with **Chefguy** on this. It doesn’t hold up as well as some of the others mentioned (particularly compared to Young Frankenstein) but when it comes down to seeing it in the theater for the first time with a bunch of strangers, BS was the most hilarious 93 minutes I’ve ever had in my life. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/98 "2013-06-14T01:15:14Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > C’mon, you know what I’m talking about. Surely you can’t be serious. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/99 "2013-06-14T01:42:31Z")
“Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” I have the sense of humor of a twelve year old boy. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877/100 "2013-06-14T01:51:25Z")
_Airplane!_, followed by _Animal House_, and finally the original _The In-Laws_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-single-funniest-movie-youve-ever-seen/660877.md?page=6)