Happy April Fools! I’m honestly not a big fan of practical jokes but I do enjoy a good laugh. I thought given the day I would share with all of you 10 of my favorite comedies.
For these 10 I tried to pick all out comedies, not romantic comedies, dark comedies or movies like the Apartment that have comedic elements. These are roll on the ground, laugh out loud, make me laugh every time films. Humor is completely subjective (all films are but especially comedies) so these are just what I find most funny. You may not and that’s cool. Instead of just critiquing my list (easy to do) share with me your favorites and what makes you laugh.
1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail- Almost everyone I know thinks this is funny. There are so many jokes and the script is so well written. Some highlights are the Sir Bevedere and King Arthur debating about the witch, the knights that say ni, the black knight with no arms and legs screaming ‘Come on ya pansy!’, The Castle of Aaaauuuggghhhh (he must have died while carving it), “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!”… So funny.
2. Napoleon Dynamite- A somewhat polarizing movie that some either think is hilarious or it drives them nuts. I’m in the hilarious camp. Maybe partly because everyone involved is from my alma mater (for the most part) and I really relate to the rural Idaho setting? Who knows? It’s so likable and has one of the most endearing lead characters in modern movies so I love it.
If you haven’t read my character profile on Napoleon please do. When you really think about it he has a sad life. They are obviously poor, his parents are nowhere to be seen, his brother and uncle are a mess, his grandma has just been injured and he get’s rejected by the girl he asks out. But you’d never know about it from watching Napoleon. He’s walking around, looking at things and happy with his life.
There are so many great lines like “I told you! I spent it with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines!”, “A liger…It’s pretty much my favorite animal. It’s like a lion and a tiger mixed”, “How was school? The worst day of my life, what do you think?”, “You know, there’s like a boat-load of gangs at this school. This one gang kept wanting me to join because I’m pretty good with a bo staff”, “No, but who would? I don’t even have any good skills…You know, like numchuk skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills… Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.”
When he dances and shows the ultimate confidence it is hilarious and such a great victory.
3.It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – The dream cast that will never be beat and the ultimate cat and mouse chase story that has every kind of humor. It’s a mad cap race to find the treasure and hilarious all the way through it. Jonathan Winters , Ethel Merman and Buddy Hackett are particular favorites.
It’s the kind of movie that could never be made today because the studios would be so lazy. Movies like New Years Eve, Movie 43, and Grown Ups figure all we have to do is have a bunch of famous people and it will get folks in the theater. They don’t have a good script or funny setups. It’s just disgusting crass and vulgar and not funny! It’s a Mad Mad World did it right.
4. What About Bob- What makes What About Bob one of the funniest movies ever made is it is a classic example of someone driving another human being nuts and being completely oblivious. Bob is having a great time. He’s happy as a clam, and he isn’t intentionally annoying, but just trying to be loving and his shrink’s biggest fan. But the shrink played by Richard Dryfuss lets one thing get to him and then another and another until it is this huge volcano. So often in life do we allow someone to get under our skin and they are completely unaware. That is funny and totally rings true. Bill Murray is so likable in the role and has an innocence that makes you root for him all the while he is making Dryfuss crazy.
It is so well written with great scenes like the dinner ‘um, this corn is delicious. Is this hand shucked?’ or “There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don’t. My ex-wife loves him”. “It reminds me of my favorite poem, which is, “Roses are red, violets are blue, I’m a schizophrenic… and so am I!”
5. Clueless- My favorite comedy for many years. Based on Jane Austen’s Emma it tells the story of rich socialite Cher and her best friend Dion as they try to do a little matchmaking with their friends in high school. I love scenes like the Haitians and the dinner party or Cher’s description of her diet- “I feel like such a heifer. I had two bowls of Special K, 3 pieces of turkey bacon, a handful of popcorn, 5 peanut butter M&M’s and like 3 pieces of licorice”. Ha.
Almost every line of this movie makes me laugh and yes I think it is funnier than Mean Girls although that is also great. Amy Heckerling does such a brilliant job making Cher and Dion, who would be the mean girls, into likable endearing characters.
My favorite scene by far is when Dion ends up on the highway for the first time. I love his scene because I remember when a similar event actually happened to me in high school and I freaked out.
6. Better Off Dead- this is an admittedly stupid movie but it makes me laugh every time. It’s about this kid named Lane Meyers played by John Cusack who obsesses over his girlfriend. When she dumps him he doesn’t think it is worth living until he challenges her boyfriend to ski the K12.
The plot is really just an excuse for a lot of hilarious gags like the newspaper boy who menaces Lane for his $2, the taxi drivers who learned English from Howard Cossell, Lane’s stoner best friend who says ‘this is pure snow. Do you realize the street value of this stuff?’, his brother who collects coupons before the cereal is done, his neighbor who is teaching a foreign exchange student ‘the international language’, his mother who is such a bad cook it walks off the plate. It’s hilarious and I love it.
7. Bringing Up Baby- This movie starring Kathrine Hepburn and Cary Grant taking care of a Leopard named Baby is hilarious from start to finish. Grant is the uptight paleontoglist professor and Hepburn is a rich doner’s daughter who is a massive klutz. They have to transport this leopard and all hell breaks loose and it has great dialogue, slapstick, hijinks, and mistaken identities. It’s one you could watch with the entire family and all have a hearty laugh.
8. The General- A movie that has to be seen to be believed. What Buster Keaton does with physical stunts is unbelievable. Most of this movie is shot on a moving train and all to get the gags. It’s an adventure and incredibly funny at the same time. Very few title cards are needed because Buster Keaton is so expressive in his eyes and face. It’s brilliant and hard to believe they could make a movie that holds up so well with action comedies of today, if not even slicker and more polished because it is actual people risking their lives instead of CGI.
Keaton can make picking up a log and putting it on the train hilarious It’s without a doubt one of the best movies ever made and that’s not just nostalgia. I’m telling you it still holds up today in every way. Trust me on this one. If you think you will never like a silent movie give The General a shot.
9. Office Space- I love movies about work and that includes laughing about work. I so related to this movie when I was stuck in the stupefying nothingness of cubicle life. (Cubicle Hell as I like to call it). The useless company protocol like TPS reports, the cheap attempt to replicate family celebrations like birthdays, having 5 different bosses who have no idea what your actual job is, the worst boss in movie history, the ridiculous employee reviews, and wanting to smash the tar out of the office copier. All of that rings true. I watch it and thank the Lord for a job I love. Thank you, thank you. At least this movie made me laugh when it was rough.
I love the ridiculousness of the plan they come up with ‘Isn’t that in Superman 4…” and when they get the magazine guy to tell them about money laundering or the flare at the chain restaurant ‘I want you to want to wear more flare’. It’s hilarious but it is the only R rated movie on this list and it earns the R so be forewarned.
10. Best in Show- My favorite of the Christopher Guest troop films although they are all hilarious. Using the mockumentary style to cover a dog show and their owners it is funny from start to finish. The entire team is at the top of their game including Jennifer Coolidge, Eugene Levy (literally has 2 left feet), Catherine O’Hara from Home Alone (which I could have put on this list but I already profiled it), Jane Lynch and more. I especially love Fred Williard as the commentator who has me in near tears laughing at his frequently improvised lines.
I have yet to show this movie to someone who didn’t laugh. (I’m sure there will be a barrage of comments saying they didn’t laugh but in my real life everyone loves it).
Damn I haven’t seen any of these films, haven’t really seen much comedy as well but I’ll keep this in mind. Nice review!
Ha look at all the laughter you are missing out on. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think when you do. Cant believe you havent seen any of them 🙂
Yeah no prob! Oh and I really liked American Beauty 😛
Ha. American Beauty….sigh. To each their own I guess.
Yes! Monty Python and the Holy Grail is my FAVORITE movie!!
It seriously is so funny! Favorite line?
“Your arm’s off” “No it isn’t” ” Well what’s that then?” “I’ve had worse”
That whole scene with the black knight is so hilarious.
I’ve at least seen parts of Clueless and all of What About Bob and Monty Python. Great comedies, I will say.
What are some of your favorites?
I’d definitely say What About Bob. Also, I guess maybe Beethoven if you consider that one a comedy (you know, the film with the saint Bernard). Also, I would also say, for me, I would probably include films like Snow Dogs, Happy Gilmore, Mouse Hunt, Monty Python, & films like that. I’ll let you know if others come to mind soon.
Great choices! I havent seen Mouse Hunt but my sister said its underrated and funny.
I hate Mouse Hunt. As far as I’m concerned it’s vulgar and mean-spirited. Putting aside the scene where a man actually reaches into a woman’s breasts and another scene where a man talks about “making love like wild animals”, the humor is too dark for me to recommend to children, and the slapstick is too silly to recommend it to adults. For me, it was an absolute failure and one of my least favorite movies of all time.
The Animation Commendation recently reviewed Snow Dogs, and I agree with him that it is not a very good Disney movie.
As for the comedies on this list, the only one I have seen is It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. That was my favorite movie when I was 12-13 but I watched it again recently and I think I may have outgrown it. I still like it, but it’s so extremely silly you really need to be in the right mood for it. Comedies in general are hard for me, because I resist manipulation, and I just don’t go into uproarious laughter on cue. My biggest laugh-out-loud sitcom moments are the end of the I Dream of Jeannie episode Jeannie and the Top Secret Service and the Three’s Company episode Professor Jack (I know it’s vulgar, immature humor, I just couldn’t stop laughing at how far they take the most innocent thing in the world being interpreted as depraved, perverse, shocking actions).
One underrated comedy I would name is an independent film called Klay World: Off the Table. My sister and I used to crack up watching that on Saturdays.
I haven’t seen Klay World. Thanks for the suggestion and reading my list. As I said in the post I am more interested in hearing what you find funny more than critiquing mine or Matthew or anyone else’s list. This should be a fun light enjoyable post.
Humor is an interesting thing because it is so subjective. I think there is a broader consensus of what makes people cry, or what scares most people. Humor is a total wild card. A lot of people love Blazing Saddles but I did not care for it so it just depends. If they are laughing that’s great.
I wasn’t trying to critique his choices, just give my own perspective. Sorry if it did not come off that way.
I didn’t like Blazing Saddles much, either.
Comedies often tried to imitate the wild climax of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World where everything comes to a head, but that movie’s ending was funny because the whole film built up to it, and it was an excellenet pay-off. This cannot be said for Blazing Saddles, it’s too farcical and chaotic. As Roger Ebert wrote “It’s a crazed grabbag of a movie that does everything to keep us laughing except hit us over the head with a rubber chicken.”
The only part I laughed at was “Shh, shh, nothing to be afraid of, it’s just a man and a horse gettin’ hung out there.” Not much, but I laughed.
You’re fine. I guess it’s no big deal. I just wanted one post that was fun and everyone sharing things they liked and that made them laugh. Previous lists ive done people have sometimes just said why my choices were way off and I just thought it would be fun for everyone to share what they liked instead. I guess it doesnt matter. I do always appreciate opinions.
I agree on Blazing Saddles. It’s one of my brothers favorites but it’s a little too immature for my taste but that’s the thing with comedy just so subjective 🙂
Totally agree on Mad Mad World ending and it oddly doesnt feel cluttered to me. They each get their moment.
Reblogged this on Smilingldsgirl's Weblog and commented:
I thought you guys might enjoy the list I did on my other blog of my favorite comedies in honor of April Fools
I haven’t seen any of these either. I really wanna see It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World though. If you’re a fan of old-time actors and comedians, it must be such a thrill to see them all in that movie.
I’m not sure what my favorite comedies would be. I do enjoy some of the original Pink Panther films.
Those are great! Peter Sellars is a comedic genius.
I disliked the first one though; then again, it wasn’t intended to be about Peter Sellers.
I dont think any of them are about Peter Sellars. He’s just a great actor playing Inspector Clouseau
I mean, the original one he was meant to just be a supporting character to the character that David Niven was playing. The series was supposed to be about David Niven’s character. But when the public loved Clouseau in the first one, the filmmaker decided to make Clouseau the star of the rest of the Pink Panther series.
Oh yeah I forgot that. I havent seen any of them in a long time. I do remember liking the second better. That must be why
I also did enjoy the reboot with Steve Martin although I hated its sequel.
Cool. Haven’t seen those.
Well there are only 2 movies and I only like the first one.
A funny story I have about the first Pink Panther film is that my father as a child was a big fan of the Pink Panther cartoon series. So when he had to fly on a plane with his parents to move to Illinois, he was very excited when he found out The Pink Panther (1963) would be shown as in-flight entertainment. Then he found himself perplexed as to why it was full of adult humans sitting around talking and doing boring things. He kept waiting for the Pink Panther to show up again after the credits, but eventually he got so bored he just left, stunned as to why anyone would do this.
I think the first movie is okay, though. I actually like the more subtle, slow-paced humor based off of the observation of comedic situations and information that is being withheld by the characters and shown to the audience. There are times when it becomes a bit too lost in the romance with David Niven, though.
That is funny. I didnt realize the cartoon series was first.
It wasn’t. The animated credits with The Pink Panther inspired the cartoon series, but this happened after the cartoon series was popular.
Ah ok
I haven’t seen it in a long time.
I feel like I need to host a comedy festival so many of you havent seen these great movies! 🙂
Well Kirksroom, I enjoyed Mouse Hunt, but I’m sorry you didn’t as well. Rachel, just give the film a shot sometime and let me know if you would agree more with your sister or me or this Kirk guy. Anyway, great list again!
Thanks. And thank goodness we are all different and like different things. Makes life interesting. I will definitely give it a shot.
Awesome!
By the way, I also liked Kindergarten Cop and Brice Almighty. Wow, can’t believe I didn’t think of those ones right away. Oh well!
Good ones!
For sure!
I watched Bruce Almighty years ago but I actually remember liking it too. In fact I actually remember crying at one point, which is amazing for a Jim Carrey comedy.
Liar Liar would still be my favorite Jim Carrey movie, though.
Those are both his best outright comedies. I love Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but those arent really comedies.
Pitch perfect is my favorite comedy
I love napolen dinomytie and clueless so much