# Your top 3 comedies? (you may cite more than 3, but please first list #1, #2, & #3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 2, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348 "2022-03-02T12:05:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/1 "2022-03-02T12:05:27Z")
**1. This Is Spinal Tap** – The first time I saw it I thought it was the most brilliant work of comedy I have ever seen. My opinion has not changed. **2. The Big Lebowski** – Just re-watched it the other day. Donny: _“They posted the next round for the tournament.”_ Walter: _“Donny, shut the f- when do we play?”_ **3. Young Frankenstein** – I find much of Mel Brooks’ work strained and unfunny. YF is Brooks at his best. **Runners up:** - Airplane - Annie Hall - The Apartment - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Lost in America - The Odd Couple - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/2 "2022-03-02T12:11:33Z")
1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail 2. Clerks 3. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/3 "2022-03-02T12:20:49Z")
Anger Management Harold and Kumar go to White Castle Bad Santa ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/4 "2022-03-02T12:22:49Z")
Dr. Strangelove Planes, Trains and Automobiles His Girl Friday ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/5 "2022-03-02T12:28:07Z")
1. Arthur 2. Airplane! 3. Harvey ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/6 "2022-03-02T12:32:42Z")
1. Airplane! 2. Galaxy Quest 3. Clerks 4. Dr Strangelove 5. Commando ---
**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:** [March 2, 2022, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/7 "2022-03-02T12:41:42Z")
1. Amélie 2. Withnail and I 3. Hot Fuzz ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/8 "2022-03-02T12:55:27Z")
1. Blazing Saddles. Maybe not _quite_ as funny as YF, but much more pointed and a better overall film for it. 2. Airplane! Absolutely non-stop laughs. It’s frankly astonishing that they pulled it off. I’m not sure if I have a #3. Those are the two I immediately think of when somebody asks my favorite comedies. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/9 "2022-03-02T13:30:38Z")
1. The Dinner Game 2. Some Like It Hot 3. Cat Ballou ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/10 "2022-03-02T13:36:26Z")
1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail 2. Duck Soup 3. Airplane! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/11 "2022-03-02T13:42:25Z")
1. There’s Something About Marry 2. Bad Santa 3. Super Bad ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/12 "2022-03-02T13:44:14Z")
1. Some Like It Hot 2. Animal House 3. Young Frankenstein ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/13 "2022-03-02T13:54:32Z")
I wouldn’t call The Apartment a comedy, though it’s one of my favorite films. Beat The Devil Down By Law Barbershop The Brother from Another Planet, if that qualifies. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/14 "2022-03-02T14:20:46Z")
1. **What’s up, Doc** --,Peter Bogdanovich’s homage to screwball comedies is screwier than any of the originals. Wonderful script by Buck Henry. several of the players (Kenneth Mars, Madeline Kahn – who was “introduced” in this movie, Liam Dunn) showed up a couple of years later in _Young Frankenstein_ 2. **A Night at the Opera** – purists might lament the nods to a more standard and “believable” plot than in their earlier more cartoonish comedies, but this remains my favorite Marx brothers movie, even if it hasn’t got Zeppo. It has some of their best bits (the “contract” scene, the “cabin” scene, the fiasco at the end). 3. **Airplane** – I love the Zucker-Zucker-Abrahams series of films, from _Kentucky Fried Movie_ through _Top Secret_ through the _Naked Gun_ series (afterwards they and their sort-of-continuations lost steam. But this is the funniest. I also have to give a shout-out to _Airplane II_, which they did NOT do, but which, amazingly, managed to carry on in much the same fashion, and managed to be funnier than the _Hot Shots!_ movies Others that deserve mention **The General** – Buster Keaton’;s silent Civil War movie isn’t just one of the best silent movies ever made, it’s one of the best movies ever made. It doesn’t make my top three only because it isn’t purely a laugh-fest. **A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum** – Having seen the play (with its pre-M_A_S\*H Larry Gelbart script) and the movie (written by Doctor Who’s brother, who gave himself a cameo), I have to admit that I like the film better. I don’t mourn the loss of several songs. It stars both Zero Kostel (who played the role of Pseudolus on Broadway) and Phil Silvers (who turned it down, but who later took over the role on stage) and a young pre-Phantom Michael Crawford. And it’s got Buster Keaton! **The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob** ( _ **Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob** _) – a French Italian comedy from 1973 that I haven’t seen anywhere – movies, YV, cable, VHS, or DVD – since it first came out. Hilarious stuff with French physical comedian Louis de Funès, who was immensely popular in France and Europe in general, but only made this one film that was widely released in the US. Worth hunting down. **Who’s Minding the Mint** (1967) – ensemble comedy with a cast of comedians that is one hell of a lot better than _It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World_. And has some of the same people. **Young Frankenstein** – of course. Beautiful homage to the Universal monster films of the 30s and 40s with a surprisingly literate script by Gene Wilder (with additions by Mel Brroks). Funnier than _Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein._ By the way, it’s probably just me, but I recently finally saw _This is Spinal Tap_ and it did absolutely nothing for me. I don’t much care for on-camera improv, which this seems to have a lot of. Even the arguably funniest bits (“It goes to eleven!”) are mercilessly beaten over and over again into submission and have all the funny sucked out of them. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/15 "2022-03-02T14:22:43Z")
I don’t know if I can rank them really and I had to list 10 and then cull 1. Best in Show 2. Office Space 3. Bridesmaids Also a 2nd list because I really couldn’t not mention these and really all of these are interchangeable with #1 on the right day: 1. Real Genius 2. Clerks 3. Clue Honorable mention to All of Me (Steve Martin/Lily Tomlin underrated classic) ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/16 "2022-03-02T14:26:04Z")
Spinal Tap Office Space Top Secret! Airplane Young Frankenstein Bill and teds excellent adventure MP and the Holy Grail ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/17 "2022-03-02T14:34:25Z")
Duck Soup (probably no surprise) The Man in the White Suit (an Ealing comedy starring Alec Guiness) Monty Python and the Holy Grail ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/18 "2022-03-02T14:43:22Z")
1. **After Hours**. A downwardly spiraling black comedy in which everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and then it keeps going. It might be minor Scorsese, but it’s exquisite. 2. **Dr. Strangelove**. I guess comedy doesn’t get any blacker than an end-of-the-world scenario. All the pieces of the story fit together so elegantly that everything that happens, no matter how outlandish or cartoonish, seems not just perfectly logical, but inevitable. 3. **This Is Spinal Tap**. I’m not sure it was the first mockumentary, but it was certainly the breakthrough film for the genre. Stonehenge; “You can’t really dust for vomit”; “These go to eleven.” ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/19 "2022-03-02T14:55:02Z")
If we’re quoting Spinal tap can I add? [Mick Shrimpton](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0663198/?ref_=tt_ch): As long as there’s, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock and roll. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/20 "2022-03-02T15:15:34Z")
The Big Lebowski Harold and Maude Clerks [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348.md?page=2)