Greatest comedies ever?

[MacGuffin]

What are some of your favorites?

[balmakboor]

Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom

along with stuff like The Gods Must Be Crazy and The Naked Gun

[Ezee E]

Someone do the Top 100 of these!

As for me, the Farrelly comedies consistently keep me laughing. Bill Murray when he was a goofball (Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day).

[MacGuffin]

Someone do the Top 100 of these!

Good idea, when will you begin? ;)

[Ezee E]

Good idea, when will you begin? ;)
Gonna pass on that one.

[Spinal]

Top ten comedies:

1. Life of Brian
2. This is Spinal Tap
3. Dr. Strangelove
4. Raising Arizona
5. Muriel's Wedding
6. Seven Chances
7. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
8. The General
9. The Fireman's Ball
10. The Lady Eve

[MacGuffin]

Gonna pass on that one.

I don't blame you, but it is a good idea.

[MacGuffin]

3. Dr. Strangelove


I still need to see this one.

[MacGuffin]

I'm thinking however, how we would do a comedy list. Certainly, some people think Showgirls would qualify as comedy, but IMDb only lists it as a drama. Would we go by these IMDb guidelines?

[Yxklyx]

Being John Malkovich comes to mind.

Others...

Seven Chances
Dr. Strangelove
Annie Hall

The President's Analyst
Little Murders
What's Up Doc?

Most comedies don't age well.

[Mysterious Dude]

Looking on my top 100, there are almost no straight comedies. I seem to prefer comedy films that take themselves at least a little seriously, or have an air of authenticity. Some of these just barely qualify as comedies.

1. The Graduate (1967)
2. The Kid (1921)
3. Fight Club (1999)
4. The General (1927)
6. Fargo (1996)
7. The Kid Brother (1927)
8. Funny Games (1997)
9. The Man in the White Suit (1951)
10. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

11. City Lights (1931)
12. The Circus (1928)
13. In the Company of Men (1997)
14. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
15. Zelig (1983)
16. Our Hospitality (1923)
17. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
18. The Music Box (1932)
19. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
20. Carnival in Flanders (1935)

[balmakboor]

I'm thinking however, how we would do a comedy list. Certainly, some people think Showgirls would qualify as comedy, but IMDb only lists it as a drama. Would we go by these IMDb guidelines?

I don't think unintentional comedy counts as comedy. It is a tricky line to draw though. For example, I wasn't kidding when I said Salo.

[MacGuffin]

I don't think unintentional comedy counts as comedy. It is a tricky line to draw though. For example, I wasn't kidding when I said Salo.

That's interesting; care to explain?

[Ezee E]

I guess it would be each posters' subjective view of a comedy.

When voted on as a whole, I'm sure many true comedies would end up on top.

[balmakboor]

That's interesting; care to explain?

Which part? That unintentional comedies don't count? That comedy is tricky to define? Or that Salo is funny?

[MacGuffin]

Which part? That unintentional comedies don't count? That comedy is tricky to define? Or that Salo is funny?

That Salo is at all the least bit funny.

[balmakboor]

That Salo is at all the least bit funny.

For example: The way shit is characterized as a delicacy complete with recipes for how to make it the most tasty followed by the four powerful men retreating to their private room to follow the recipes. I was laughing. And then it kept on going by serving it on fine china.

[balmakboor]

That Salo is at all the least bit funny.

I'll add though that I was kidding about it being one of my favorite comedies. The other two I listed probably are though.

[Mysterious Dude]

For example, I wasn't kidding when I said Salo.

I'll add though that I was kidding about it being one of my favorite comedies.
So... you were kidding? And you were kidding when you said you were kidding?

Your posting style is... vexing.

[Melville]

In no particular order:

The Circus
City Lights
Naked Gun
Dr. Strangelove
The Big Lebowski
A Christmas Story
Duck Soup
His Girl Friday
Love and Death
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

If movies like Punch-Drunk Love and Manhattan count as comedies, they'd go on there as well. But they don't really seem like comedies to me, despite what imdb says.

[balmakboor]

So... you were kidding? And you were kidding when you said you were kidding?

Your posting style is... vexing.

Well, you know, I was kidding about it being a favorite. I wasn't kidding about it being a comedy.

Wasn't that clear??

[number8]

Everytime I say Dr. Strangelove, someone always has to tell me "It's a great movie but it's not laugh out loud funny blah blah blah you just say that because it's Kubrick blah blah pretentious wank wank wank." Not this time, fucker.

Zoolander. THERE.

[Ivan Drago]

I want to be honest about something here - what the hell makes Being John Malkovich a comedy? Better yet, I'm still trying to figure out why Manhattan is a comedy too. It's not laugh-out-loud funny to me. I can see it as a romantic comedy, if anything, but when I revisit it I see more drama in it than I see comedic elements.

[Raiders]

Death to Smoochy. Double THERE.

[Russ]

Some of my favorites

Airplane!
Bedazzled (1967)
Beyond Therapy
The Big Lebowski
City Lights
Dr. Strangelove
Duck Soup
Eating Raoul
The General
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
It's A Gift
The Kid Brother
Lemonade Joe
The Loved One
Paper Moon
Playtime
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Raising Arizona
Seven Chances
Trouble in Paradise
What's Up Doc?

[balmakboor]

Everytime I say Dr. Strangelove, someone always has to tell me "It's a great movie but it's not laugh out loud funny blah blah blah you just say that because it's Kubrick blah blah pretentious wank wank wank." Not this time, fucker.

Zoolander. THERE.

There's something about how a few of the jokes/pratfalls in Strangelove fall flat for me that I've never figured out. It's like the timing is off, way off, so far off that it must be intentional, so very far off that it almost loops around and becomes funny again. I'm talking about the "There's no fighting in here. This is the war room!" line and when George C. Scott trips and falls in particular.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I love comedies, my ten favourites more or less would be:

Cluny Brown (1946)
The Awful Truth (1937)
To be or Not to Be (1942)
Some Like it Hot (1959)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Duck Soup (1933)
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
Unfaithfully Yours (1948)

[Melville]

I want to be honest about something here - what the hell makes Being John Malkovich a comedy? Better yet, I'm still trying to figure out why Manhattan is a comedy too. It's not laugh-out-loud funny to me. I can see it as a romantic comedy, if anything, but when I revisit it I see more drama in it than I see comedic elements.
Being John Malkovich is pretty consistently funny, so I think it's reasonable to call it a comedy. That scene where every character is Malkovich is freaking hilarious. In fact, Malkovich is just generally funny. Charlie Sheen, too.

[Melville]

I'm talking about the "There's no fighting in here. This is the war room!" line and when George C. Scott trips and falls in particular.
I thought those moments were just straight-up funny. Especially the latter one. George C. Scott was gold in that movie.

[Ezee E]

But Strangelove is LOL funny.

[balmakboor]

George C. Scott was gold in that movie.

For the most part, I agree. But that pause after the fall is so pregnant, it must be bearing septuplets. I dunno. It's hard to explain why that moment bounces off the rim for me. Kinda like how it's hard to explain many things comedy.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Guess what, number8? I thought Dr. Strangelove was way too close to reality for it to function as laugh-out-loud comedy. I only laughed once - at Scott's petulant, "But sir...he'll see the big board!"

THERE.

...as for me, Ghostbusters, This is Spinal Tap, The General, Fargo, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (especially the Lancelot chapter), Duck Soup, and Anchorman.

[The Mike]

Arsenic and Old Lace
Young Frankenstein
Grosse Pointe Blank
My Man Godfrey
To Be or Not To Be
The Burbs
Ed Wood
His Girl Friday
Harvey
Wayne's World 2
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Caddyshack

[origami_mustache]

Dr. Strangelove
Playtime
Monsieur Verdoux
City Lights
A Clockwork Orange
Manhattan
Duck Soup
MASH
Blazing Saddles
Caddyshack

[Boner M]

Comedies in my top 50:

Our Hospitality
Being John Malkovich
The Lady Eve
Stranger Than Paradise
Playtime
The Exterminating Angel

[Boner M]

...there are days when I think Gremlins 2 is the greatest comedy ever, though.

[Dead & Messed Up]

...there are days when I think Gremlins 2 is the greatest comedy ever, though.

REP.

[transmogrifier]

Okay, my funniest comedies in no particular order:

Life of Brian
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Fight Club
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Annie Hall
Gremlins 2
Private Parts
Dazed and Confused
Chasing Amy
His Girl Friday
There's Something About Mary
The Wedding Singer
MASH
A Fish Called Wanda
Groundhog Day
When Harry Met Sally
School of Rock
Grease
Hot Shots

[ledfloyd]

City Lights
Duck Soup
To Be or Not to Be
Annie Hall
The Big Lebowski
Dazed and Confused
Dr. Strangelove
Some Like it Hot
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
His Girl Friday
It Happened One Night
Kind Hearts & Coronets
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Miracle at Morgan's Creek
O Brother Where Art Thou?
Unfaithfully Yours
Life of Brian
Monty Python & The Holy Grail
Shaun of the Dead

[D_Davis]

Mine:

Kentucky Fried Movie
Airplane!
Big Lebowski
Young Frankenstein
Brain Donors
Eagle Shooting Heroes
Attack the Gas Station
Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Braindead
Slither
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Austin Powers

There are others, too....

[Morris Schæffer]

My two faves:

- A Fish Called Wanda
- The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Some other faves:

- Airplane
- The Naked Gun
- La Grande Vadrouille (1966)

Some recent faves:

- Sideways
- Office Space
- American Pie
- Road Trip
- Hot Fuzz

[The Mike]

I forgot to mention The Blues Brothers. Shame on me. :sad:

[Ezee E]

Spoof wise, I've always laughed at Mafia!. It's ridiculously stupid, but it properly rips off the mafia movies, without filling it in with modern culture jokes like the Superhero Movie, Disaster Movie types.

The Wayans versions aren't all that bad though.

[bac0n]

Some of my faves:

Pink Panther Strikes Again
The Party
Blazing Saddles
The Producers (1968)
Young Frankenstein
The Big Lebowski
Old School
(the first act of...) The Great Race
It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Better Off Dead
Airplane!

[monolith94]

Although it's not my favorite comedy, I have rarely laughed so hard as when I went to go see Some Like It Hot.