# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/41 "2022-03-03T00:09:31Z")
This is a tougher question than I expected but if I’m just picking three that never fail to make me laugh no matter how often I see them, I’ll go with several that have been cited ad nauseum above: 1. Airplane! 2. Life of Brian 3. Duck Soup Having said that, here are the most honourable of mentions: The rest of the original ZAZ canon, if you can call it that (Kentucky Fried Movie, Top Secret! The Naked Gun), Anchorman, Animal House, Mallrats, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (the last hour of that film, I was literally crying I was laughing so incessantly when I saw it in the theatre), Scrooged (that’s more a seasonal one, I’ll admit), In The Loop. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/42 "2022-03-03T00:12:34Z")
Interesting - in most lists I’ve seen, “Life of Brian” always seems ot be the Python favourite, yet, in this thread, it hasn’t appeared yet. Meanwhile “…Grail” has appeared a couple times here - an outcome I totally agree with. 1. Nuts in May (maybe technically not a comedy - actually no clue what it is) 2. Being There 3. King of Comedy ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/43 "2022-03-03T00:17:26Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Interesting - in most lists I’ve seen, “Life of Brian” always seems ot be the Python favourite, yet, in this thread, it hasn’t appeared yet. I see it listed in the “top 3” by four posters (though, admittedly, one of them was the post immediately before yours, and may have been posted while you were writing). ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/44 "2022-03-03T00:21:07Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I see it listed in the “top 3” by four posters Well, if I evidently cant read, at least maybe next time I’ll try the “search” function. 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/45 "2022-03-03T00:48:01Z")
1. Ruthless People 2. A Fish Called Wanda 3. The Royal Tenenbaums ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/46 "2022-03-03T00:51:07Z")
1. Animal House-May be a bit dated now, but in my younger years I would laugh like a maniac. 2. Blazing Saddles/Airplane–Please, please don’t ask me to pick between them. 3. The Blues Brothers–because seeing it 8-10 times got me through the worst summer of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/47 "2022-03-03T07:04:47Z")
I’m going to cut it down to two- Airplane! is the movie I laughed the most at. Borat is the movie I laughed the hardest at. That nude fight scene! The single time a movie has made me laugh so hard I genuinely had trouble breathing. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/48 "2022-03-03T07:29:12Z")
I laughed until I was almost sick at these three. And saw all of them on original release in the cinema. Chemically enhanced, I am sure. I took friends to see each again days later. None of them ran long in those days. _Animal House._ _Blazing Saddles._ _This Is Spinal Tap_. A couple of years after Spinal Tap’s soon forgotten run in cinemas it was out on VHS but, in those pre-WWW days, no-one had heard of it. I was in a Blockbuster looking for something to rent and there it was on the weekly rack as a music video. A group of teenage dope smokers was going though the videos looking for stuff and I asked if they had seen it. “Never heard of them.” I don’t imagine that they were looking for viewing tips from someone my age but I explained that it was a piss take - a fake documentary. I told them that, right off the bat, they would hear about all the drummers - all named Stumpy Joe - and one choked on vomit…but not his own vomit. They were convinced. The next Saturday night I was there again. So were they and they rushed over to tell me how successful their watching was. They hadn’t given anyone else at their gathering a hint what the movie was about. Slowly people caught on and when everyone knew that it as a joke they rewound it and started afresh. That would have been fun. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/49 "2022-03-03T17:54:03Z")
Looking through my library I picked my top 3 as: **Happy Gilmore** - arguably Adam Sandler’s best movie **Half Baked** - a “right time, right place” kind of movie for me **My Blue Heaven** - Nora Ephron-written comedy counterpart to **Goodfellas** (which came out a month later the same year; Ephron was married to Nick Pileggi when he was writing the book **Goodfellas** was based on) Why those three in particular stuck out to me, I’m not sure, but that’s my list and I’m sticking with it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/50 "2022-03-03T18:04:03Z")
> [@Tilt-A-Whirl](#): > > Borat is the movie I laughed the hardest at. That nude fight scene! The single time a movie has made me laugh so hard I genuinely had trouble breathing. Borat is genuinely funny. I will never forget him singing the national anthem in front of that crowd. I shouldn’t laugh, maybe? I’m not sure, but I did. I really did. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ePQ9_re7f1A/maxresdefault.jpg "Borat's Rant And National Anthem At Rodeo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePQ9_re7f1A&t=80) I’m sure the reactions from the crowd are edited in, but man. I laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/51 "2022-03-03T18:35:20Z")
In the category of lesser known movies, does anyone else remember the John Astin TV movie [Evil Roy Slide](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067072/)? I remember that being sidesplittingly hysterical when I saw it. But admittedly, I was all of 12! 😉 I still remember a line from it: “Keep your eyes peeled or I’ll peel them for you!” Cracked me up as a kid! ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/52 "2022-03-04T17:43:38Z")
1. Airplane! 2. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut 3. Rat Race Honorable mentions: Young Frankenstein Johnny Dangerously All of Me The Simpsons Movie Life of Brian Top Secret! Team America World Police Real Genius Zoolander ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/53 "2022-03-04T23:02:08Z")
1. Kentucky Fried Movie 2. Animal House 3. This is Spinal Tap ---
**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:** [March 4, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/54 "2022-03-04T23:08:10Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > - Airplane! > - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut > - Rat Race I’m so glad I’m not the only one in the world who likes _Rat Race_. It was the first movie I saw after 9/11 at it was the perfect distraction. To this day, my wife and I still greet misfortune on the highway with “We shoulda bought a squirrel.” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/55 "2022-03-05T16:22:01Z")
Ninotchka South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut Airplane! ---
**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 5, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/56 "2022-03-05T16:31:44Z")
Oh yeah Fish Called Wanda Little Miss Sunshine Being There (Reagan documentary) ---
**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 6, 2022, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/57 "2022-03-06T12:36:37Z")
I was curious and came up with the movies most mentioned in this thread. Movies with four or more are: Airplane! - 14 Monty Python and the Holy Grail - 7 This is Spinal Tap - 6 Young Frankenstein - 5 Animal House - 4 Blazing Saddles - 4 Duck Soup - 4 I took only the top 3 mentioned in a post. And it’s possible I made mistakes. ---
**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 6, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/58 "2022-03-06T12:57:34Z")
Somehow Alec Guinness slipped my mind earlier. The Horse’s Mouth Kind Hearts and Coronets Last Holiday The Lavender Hill Mob … and many more. ---
**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 6, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/59 "2022-03-06T23:39:05Z")
I made a spreadsheet of the movies nominated and number of votes. Listed are all movies that received more than one vote. Column B is total number of votes. Column C is number of first place votes. Column E is number of second place votes. Column G is number of third place votes. Column I is total points using a weighted scoring system (first place vote = 3 points, second place vote = 2 points, third place vote = 1 point) mmm [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/QbHmxp3.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/QbHmxp3) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-3-comedies-you-may-cite-more-than-3-but-please-first-list-1-2-3/960348/60 "2022-03-07T01:49:28Z")
1. The Big Lebowski 2. Young Frankenstein 3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Honorable mention: Harold and Maude [Previous 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) [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=4)