The Top 25 Comedies of All Time
Or should I say…MY Top 25 Comedies of all time. Comedy is after all, the most subjective of arts. I often find myself laughing hysterically at things that others simply stare blankly at. To each their own. You may not enjoy the sorts of comedies I enjoy.
But for the record, I’m right and you aren’t. We are called the Correctness for a reason.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (I heart Ruprecht the Monkey Boy) Wayne’s World (Back when Myers was funny, and okay with sharing the spotlight with Dana Carvey) So I Married an Axe Murderer (HEAD PANTS NOW!!!) Stir Crazy (You can kish the Baby) The Producers (The original, not the musical) Austin Powers (Just the first one, thank you very much)Planes Trains and Automobiles (I want a FUCKING car…right FUCKING NOW) Modern Times (One of Chaplain’s best) Top Secret (How silly can you get? Apparently pretty damned silly) Big Business (One of my fave Laurel and Hardy films…the shorts are always better than the features when it comes to Laurel and Hardy) Love and Death (Suffer through enough Russian literature and you’ll see how brilliant this is) Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (Come on…it’s just FUN) Team America (Mostly for the songs) Clue (farce done right)Best In Show (Probably the Strongest of the post Tap Guest movies)
So are we ready? Prepare your indignation, we start at # 25…
25.Dumb and Dumber
Normally, I’m not a big fan of the broad stuff so why would I put this in my top 25? Well the answer lies in one small piece of dialogue.
“Big Gulps Huh? Well, see ya.”
That is the most perfectly inane thing I’ve ever heard, and so simple in it’s utter blank stupidity. It is the PERFECT thing for a dumb person to say, and it was said with absolute conviction and sincerity. It has been said that one could literally see the IQ drop on Jim Carrey’s face when the director yelled “action” and his complete and utter commitment to the character is what makes this movie one of the best.
24. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
One of the greatest of all time? Really? Why? Well, allow me to illuminate you.
Phoebe Cates. Your argument is invalid.
23. Withnail and I
Will there come a time when Tbinns will shut up about this movie? Perhaps. But today is NOT that day. One of the most quotable movies ever made, and every performance is pure, dingy desolate gold.
22. The Big Lebowski
I’m actually not one of those blanket Cohen brothers fans. I thought No Country fell apart completely on the back end. Barton Fink was weird and boring. O Brother was a much better soundtrack than a movie. But the exceptions are Fargo, True Grit and this classic. One of Jeff Bridges best performances…probably because he is essentially playing himself. The dude most definitely abides. Shut the fuck up Donnie.
21. The Jerk
I caught a few minutes of this one the other day. “All I need is this ashtray…” Yep, still funny. It is one of the best examples of the brilliant stupidity that Steve Martin came to personify in his early career. This is one of the reasons he can make a million Pink Panther movies and I will NEVER turn on him. He gets a lifetime pass.
20. The General
It’s like being a dog person, or a cat person. Are you a Chaplin fan or a Keaton fan? Chaplin is the sentimentalist, and like the dog loves the attention for his tricks. I like Chaplin about as much as I like dogs, which is to say quite a lot. But I am now and have always been a cat/Keaton person. Keaton is amazing, and does brain melting complicated shit while making it look easy. And like a cat, he doesn’t seem to care if you are emotionally invested or not. I saw The General with a live organist accompanying it at a screening with a Laurel and Hardy short opening…it was one of the best times I ever had at the movies. And that impassive face..the slow double take …the sheer TIMING. This one is a real masterpiece no matter how you slice it.
19. Young Frankenstein
“You take the blonde, I’ll take the one in the turban”
I have never found this movie to be a wall to wall laugh fest, but the cast is so uniformly great, it’s shot so well, and the jokes that DO land are SO good that it deserves it’s status as a comedy classic.
18. The Meaning of Life
Without question it’s the weakest of the three Python films, but weak python is still generally 10 times funnier than anyone else. Besides, with “Every sperm is sacred”, Death, and Mr. Creosote…there are definitely enough gems in here to have it rate a ranking. Even the Pythons don’t give this one a lot of love, but I think they are being way too hard on it.
17. Annie Hall
I wouldn’t want to be a member of any club that wouldn’t have Annie Hall on their top comedy list. It is the precursor of the modern romantic comedy, although we shouldn’t hold that against it. It is brilliantly constructed, punctuated by fantastic gags and vignettes (“Don’t you wish real life was like this?”) and in the end even a little poignant. I’m not even holding a grudge for it beating Star Wars for best picture of 1977. It’s that good.
16. Anchorman
“LOUD NOISES!!!”
Some of the shtick lands, some of it doesn’t but when it does land, it’s hysterical. A glorious exercise in excess and a star making performance by Steve Carell. I laugh EVERY TIME he is on screen. It’s goofy, ridiculous over the top fun.
15. Office Space
One of the most relate-able comedies ever made. Mis-marketed to the Beavis and Butthead crowd, this little comedy that could blossomed on home video and rightly so. Solid performances through the whole ensemble here, with Stephan Root and Gary Cole being particularly outstanding. This one passed a lot of phrases into the public vernacular, for better or for worse and deserves to be on any top comedy list
14. Groundhog Day
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
One of Bill Murray’s best performances, in a career full of them. And what a cool and original premise.
13. The Blues Brothers
Is it a Musical? A Comedy? A Car Chase movie? I’ll tell you what it is…iconic. Fantastic musical performances by Ray Charles, Aretha, John Lee Hooker and more. Plus you have Belushi and Akroyd at their peak. In fact I would go on record saying I actually enjoy Dan Akroyd’s performance in this movie MORE than Belushi’s. Elwood cracks me the fuck up. They don’t make em like this anymore. Mostly because they can’t afford the 900 or so cars you’d need to crash. (P.S. I saw the Bluesmobile with the giant speaker on it at Universal Studios…I squealed like a little girl spotting Justin Beiber)
12. Dr. Strangelove
If you ever doubt that Peter Sellers was a genius, a) Please sign up for the “Get Slapped in the Face by Tbinns Club” as soon as possible and b) Watch this movie. One of the greatest performances in a comedy EVER and quite possibly one of the greatest performances period. But let’s not forget how great George C. Scott was in this movie as well. Not sure why George C. Didn’t do more comedy…he certainly had the chops.
11. South Park : Bigger Longer Uncut
One of the best comedy musicals ever made. When South Park is on target, you just can’t beat it, and this is very much on target. Matt and Trey do have a tendency to get bogged down in shock value, especially lately but this is a representation of those two at their very best. The songs are great, the new characters are fantastic, the script is bang on. A scathing indictment of censorship…and great fun to boot.
10. National Lampoons Vacation
I could give a shit about the rest of the Vacation films, and yes that includes “Christmas Vacation” which everybody on this planet except for me seems to enjoy…but this one was an instant classic and deservedly so. If you aren’t an old fart like me and find yourself scratching your head why everyone makes a big deal out of Chevy Chase…THIS is why. He is fucking BRILLIANT in this move. It’s dark and relentless and hysterical. Possibly the LAST great film with the words “National Lampoon” on it.
9. A Fish Called Wanda
If you are watching a movie with John Cleese and Michael Palin and they aren’t even the funniest guys in the movie? That is a hell of a movie. Kevin Kline steals “A Fish Called Wanda” right out from under Cleese and Palin. Wait…who did he marry again?
Oh That’s right. One of a hundred reasons why Kevin Kline is, as the kids say, the fucking MAN. Although Palin runs a close second…the idea of an ardent animal lover who keeps accidentally snuffing out pets is as cruel as it is funny.
8. Blazing Saddles
You know who has my favourite performance here? Gene Wilder is a close second…but my fave is Madeline Kahn. Her quasi Marlena Dietrich bad girl is hysterical, like Steve Carell in Anchorman, I laugh at just about everything she says. Lots of film fans will put Blazing Saddles way below Young Frankenstein, but Blazing Saddles just flat out makes me laugh more. A lot of people shit all over the ending, but it was basically a Warner Brothers cartoon for adults all the way through, why not finish it like one.
7. National Lampoon’s Animal House
Take note pretenders…THIS is how you do a raunchy comedy. It’s not just Belushi either, it’s a good ensemble all around, with Tim Matheson’s “Otter” being one of my personal faves. To this day, whenever I here the song “Shout” I scream “WAIT’LL OTIS SEES US!!!HE LOVES US!!!” I heard that Akroyd was up for D-Day and Lorne Michaels wouldn’t let him go for some reason. There’s a fun little “What if” huh?
6. 40 Year Old Virgin
My buddy and I laughed so hard at this we were making other people in the theatre very uncomfortable. There’s so much good stuff here it’s hard to know where to start. “You know how I know You’re gay?” Jane Lynch. “Fuck a Goat” “Lets get some ffffuckin french toast.” I LOVE this movie…and not just because I collect action figures. Well…that’s part of it, I guess.
5. This is Spinal Tap
When my friend Tom watched this for the first time, he thought it was an ACTUAL documentary, until he recognized Howard Hessman. Everyone is SO good in this, and with Rob Reiner behind the camera keeping an eye on the proceedings it just clips along. The songs are hilarious and catchy, the satire is sharp and painfully accurate and the story, despite the somewhat disjointed format it’s told in is actually pretty compelling. If we didn’t like these guys, if we didn’t feel for them when they went from stadiums to free form jazz improvisation while opening for a puppet show none of it would work. For extra giggles, listen to the in character commentary track on the dvd…it’s like watching a whole new movie.
4. The Life of Brian
Many would argue that this is the BEST Python movie, because it has a point of view and punctures something that very badly needed puncturing. I can’t argue with the genius of it. I think even the Python’s think this is their masterpiece. The target here is not the religion, but rather the overly religious, which is part of why it works so well. Taking the biblical epic down a peg or two while telling people that thinking for yourself is not such a bad thing, means this is not only a funny movie but an important one.
3. Ghostbusters
Even with dated effects and silly psuedo paranomal babble this is still a classic any way you slice it, thanks in large part to Bill Murray. But let’s not forget the genius of Rick Moranis. If you don’t like Ghostbusters I only have one question for you. “Are you, Alice, menstruating right now?”
2. Airplane
The lost art of doing ridiculous shit completely seriously. No one seems to know how to do this anymore. It’s RELENTLESS. Hit after hit after hit, there’s jokes in the background, meta jokes, running jokes it is a comedy onslaught of the very best kind. Jason Friedberg WISHES those piece of shit _____ movies were even half as good as this. This is without a doubt the funniest film to EVER come out of Hollywood. Which must mean my #1 choice DIDN’T…
1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Python boys look up, horrified at the rest of the list
Come on. How can it not be this? I’ve MEMORIZED this. Okay, yes, Life of Brian is more socially relevant, the satire is sharper, I get it. I understand all that. But as far as absolute full onfunny there just isn’t. It is pure fucking genius. Yes even the purposefully shitty ending. That intermission music at the end? It goes on for at least ten minutes. No end credits. Just get the fuck out or listen to this on a constant loop. Those are a big old set of Python BALLS right there. The CREDITS are funnier than most movies…
This movie is so awesome it could only by financed by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. THIS is the reason I grew up wanting to be funny. It is THE funniest movie of all time, without question or doubt. and if you disagree I have but one word for you.
NI!!
Now go away or I will taunt you a second time.
I would now like to take a moment to deal with your outrage over certain Omissions…
“Hey, What About The Hangover?“
There are few things I loathe in this world more than anecdotes that start with “Man I was SOOOOO hammered last weekend.” This felt like two hours of that. Instead of “Unrated” the DVD should say “Overrated”
“Hey, What About Zoolander?”
Ben Stiller’s ceaseless mugging has never, ever worked for me. Some people dig that about him. I do not.
Hey, What About The Royal Tenanbaums?
The only thing I hate more than a Wes Anderson film is a Wes Anderson film with Owen Wilson…oh wait…that’s ALL of them. Wes Anderson is much like Anton Chekhov, what he’s doing is referred to as comedy, but what it really is a bunch of whiny, self absorbed characters all struggling with various shades of ennui. “But…” you say “That’s what’s funny about it! It’s a subtle character based satire that pokes fun at the Nouveu riche with quirky characters that defy descr….zzzzzzzzzzzzzz”
I get it. I just don’t like it. I prefer my comedies to be funny.
“DUDE, No CADDYSHACK? What is WRONG with you?”
I submit to you that Bill Murray and Chevy Chase are funny IN Caddyshack…the actual movie is…well…not that great. Or at least not as great as you remember it.
“What? No Marx Brothers?”
I love the Marx Brothers…I hate everyone ELSE in a Marx brothers movie. It’s hard enough to keep up with Groucho if you are a GOOD actor…these idiots they cast with him get so outclassed I find it hard to watch. Ms. Dumont excepted of course.
“No Love for Ferris Bueller?“
I agree with his sister, Ferris is a smug little shit and the fact that he gets away with everything pisses me off.
“Some Like It Hot?”
Some don’t. Some really really don’t.
“What about Jackass?”
Fuck you. Seriously.
