I need a laugh.
When I was a teenager, I loved Monty Python, The Producers and The Pink Panther. None of them seem so funny now. My favourites remain Duck Soup and Groundhog Day but I’ve seen them many times.
Please inspire me!
In the meantime, enjoy the mirror scene from Duck Soup.
First few that come to mind,,,, Airplane, Blues Brothers, The Jerk
Love Airplane, not seen The Jerk, so that’s one for the list. Oddly, I enjoy Blues Brothers but don’t find it funny!
In case you haven’t seen it thousands of times already on ITV, how about Shaun Of The Dead or Hot Fuzz? Both tickle me every time.
Both have their moments, granted. Thank you, bogl. But I find they run out of steam.
Blazing Saddles. Brooks at his best.
Young Frankenstein. Spinal Tap. Annie Hall. Some Like It Hot.
Mel Brooks has lost his lustre for me. Sorry. Some Like It Hot remains fabulous. The only Woody Allen movies that tickle me are pre-Annie.
By happy coincidence I went and watched a cinema screening of Some Like It Hot on Saturday evening.
It’s definitely one of the funniest films ever made, and almost impossible to think of a movie with three comic leads who nail their roles to a greater extent.
Roberto Benigni, in his 1991 ‘doppleganger’ comedy Johnny Stecchino, does a very quick reference to the mirror scene from Duck Soup:
Never seen this one, Gary. Apart from the Marx tribute, is it any good?
Yes, very. Benigni did a great run of films up til Life Is Beautiful. After that he sort of jumped the shark somewhat. I remember young Patrick Crowther is a big fan of this one.
I agree with all the above, but I’d be surprised if you haven’t already seen them all. Have you seen Old School with Will Farrell? I thought it was very funny in parts. And Pineapple Express was good for the first 2/3s if you like stoner comedy.
Will Ferrell is worth a punt. ‘ Funny in parts’ is damming, though.
Well thing is, I kinda feel comedy (like horror) is so difficult to do well. Drama is so much easier. Very, very few comedy films have really had me laughing. Most of them are mentioned above. But Old School, while not being a classic, is certainly very good.
Monty Python
Holy Grail (funny, in a skewed historical type way – maybe more “thoughtful amusing” than funny)
Life Of Brian (brilliant script, great performances and properly amusing)
Meaning Of Life (generally panned, but properly chortlesome in many areas)
Airplane would be my nomination for funniest ever
(simple rule: if a film bears the name Abrahams, Zucker & Zucker (in any variant) then it is worth watching.
Airplane
Airplane II
The Kentucky Fried Movie
Top Secret
Hot Shots
Naked Gun
In a similar vein, the Scary Movie films are worth a look too
Agree with Airplane.
Second would be Top Secret which is just bonkers, in a good way. All together now: “I know a little German…he’s sitting over there…”
No loss of steam detected chez bogl, but comedy is in the eye of the beholder innit?
Thing is, the other films you mention are all faves of mine too which makes it hard to suggest others… The Rutles?
Best In Show
Best In Show is fabulous. Totally agree.
Not seen that. Looks ace.
and other films from the same stable of course – Tap has already been mentioned, but Waiting For Huffman and A Mighty Wind are not excellent as well.
GUFFMAN
Waiting for Guffman is probably our favourite of Christopher Guest’s films, followed by Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. The only one that isn’t quite up to the standard of the others is the more recent For Your Consideration.
You’re…bastard people!
Stop naming nuts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGmNqzbsuiY
Great call on Best In Show. All of Christopher Guest’s comedies are superb and can easily bare repeated viewing. I have them all in my comedy dvd collection.
Recently I really laughed out loud at Paddington and the Shaun the Sheep movie. Aardman are unbeatable for non-stop visual gags.
I found a box set of Th Nkaed Gun series in a chazza and we watched through them with relish.
They may not be masterpieces but they know how to keep the gags coming thick and fast.
They are rather uneven but the two Anchorman films have some wonderful laugh-out-loud moments.
Comedy really is the most difficult genre: we laugh at such different things.
Some actors work for some people but are a total no no for others.
First a film has to get you on board. And then keep you on board. For 90 minutes.
Tough!
Shaun The Sheep could float my boat or tickle my fancy! Thanks for your efforts but I’m not so keen on the others.
Jack Black is a good example of those marmite actors. Eddie Murphy another.
Loved School or Rock and early Eddie is wonderful. But there have been some real turkeys since then.
School of Rock is a genius movie – pretty much the role that Black was born to play. So many great lines, and his eyebrows alone give a comic performance many of his contemporaries would die for.
Don’t you be talking ’bout my bow tie!
That is LITERALLY the line I had in mind when I typed the above.
That and “Chell-oooooo”.
True Lies is a great film from 1994.
Not seen it.
*Scribbles with pencil*
Tootsie!! That’s another one I like.
Jim Carrey also very marmite. So manic. I really enjoyed Dumb and Dumber though.
Don’t mind a bit of Carrey. What’s that one called where he is a lawyer unable to lie?
Liar Liar.
All the good bits are in the trailer.
The Fletch movies are very funny, Chevy Chase at his finest.
I also like Dumb and Dumber, very stupid humour.
Coming to America, national lampoons Christmas vacation also laugh out loud.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is always good.
John Candy is great!
Those ain’t pillows!
Shot In The Dark
The Party
Zoolander
The Party is Sellers at his best.
Now. That should work. Is Zoolander a comedy?
The Gold Rush
Towed In A Hole
Sons Of The Desert
Way Out West
Duck Soup
The Music Box
The Frozen North
Oh, Mr Porter!
Laughter In Paradise
The Happiest Days Of Your Life
Helzapoppin’
Young Frankenstein
Nickelodeon
What’s Up Doc?
Arsenic and Old Lace
Harvey
Carry On Up The Khyber
Bullshot
Trading Places
Animal House
Local Hero
Spectacular list, Face. My second favourite after Duck Soup is Harvey. Brilliant film!
Another vote here for ‘What’s Up Doc?’
It’s funny AND warm-hearted. Difficult to pull off, and it does it with aplomb. I’ve watched it countless times over the years, and laugh as much as ever.
What’s Up, Doc is the one. Streisand was in the best form of her life. Madeleine Kahn and Kenneth Mars steal it – just.
The Hotel Manager (after seeing the devastation wreaked in Howard Burns’ room) ‘Sir, I have a message from the hotel staff’.
‘What is it?’
‘Goodbye’
And the Judge in the courtroom scene. Pure gold.
I can’t believe it took this long for What’s Up Doc to be mentioned. I don’t think any other movie has ever made me laugh as hard or as often. I love everything about it.
The early Steve Martin movies make me laugh, particularly The Jerk, The Man With Two Brains, All Of me & my fave, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. He just knew how to be properly silly without being stupid. He kinda lost the plot after that though I can watch Roxanne & Trains Planes & Automobiles without feeling I’ve been robbed. Dogma makes me laugh a lot, dark, but funny, likewise, The Big Lebowski, which I love. Young Frankenstein & High Anxiety. Zoolander. The Silver Streak. All have their moments. Or watch a stand up comedy show? Can quite happily watch Tommy Tiernan on a loop. I love his mix of almost psychoticness & humanity. His Crooked Man dvd is on Netflick to watch or his first one is on youtube.
Oh yes, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is fabulous. I have The Big Lebowski some where & not seen for a while. I’ll fish it out.
I do like a bit of stand up but I’m not in the mood for that right now. Thanks, Contrary!
Another vote for The Man With Two Brains. Tip top character names: (Dr Hfuhruhurr, Anne Uumellmahaye, Dr Alfred Necessitor); Powerful poetry (Pointy birds a pointy pointy/Anoint my head, anointy pointy); pioneering surgical techniques (the cranial ‘screw-top’ method); and Kathleen Turner being fabulously bitchy and extremely hot. What more could you want?
This guy made me laugh out loud yesterday & I watched it 5 times in a row.
My two default funnies, always make me laugh and have seen them both loads of times. They never fail me.
Two Way Stretch with Peter Sellars, Lionel Jefferies, Bernard Cribbins, Irene Handl.
I’m alright Jack.
Also, The Lavender Hill Mob, Shrek, School for Scoundrels and We’re no Angels with Bogart and Ustinov.
You are a fine man, Dodger. How about Kind Hearts And Coronets?
Brilliant film. A film that can be seen again and again and still offer so much pleasure very time. I never tire of it.
You can guess what I think about Two Way Stretch,Dodger. We also have a Jelly Knight on here too
It really depends how childish you are, but ‘South Park- The Movie’ and ‘Team America- World Police’ both make me cry laughing. But I suspect you may not be into such juvenile nonsense, which is to your credit. 🙂
‘Alpha Papa’, the Alan Partridge film, is very good.
I quickly glanced at the Guardian listings this morning and ‘Bruno’ is on sometime this week, which is worth a look, but you probably have to be a fan of Sacha Baron-Cohen and not everyone is. Watch through your fingers.
(‘Zoolander’, mentioned above, is also extremely funny.).
Ooh, yes. Definitely agree with Team America and Bruno (and Borat).
Ruby, I love you. But, you humour is a smidge too puerile for me. Partridge is great, though. His ‘autobiography’ made me laugh loads.
😀 You’re by no means the first person to say that. Good luck with finding something! Some great suggestions here.
Anybody mentioned Bowfinger?
it’s the only Eddie Murphy film I like.
Bowfinger contains my single favourite comedy line of the last 20 years: “Did you know Tom Cruise had no idea he was in that vampire movie until two years later?”
All my faves have been mentioned I think except Gregory’s Girl though I may have missed it.
I laughed a lot at one of the Jaques Tati films too – the one with the broken restaurant door scene, can’t recall which one it is though.
That would be Mr Hulot Goes on Holiday Mr Dog.
Many thanks, Monsieur Squeezer.
What about something a little more edgy like Sightseers?
This is the one of your three suggestions I’ll pick up on, Pencil. I like a bit of edge.
Sightseers? Saw it recently and was unimpressed with it as a drama: didn’t even realise it was meant to be a comdey. Which maybe speaks volumes (OOAA).
I thought it was quite funny. Very black humour. Sort of Nuts In May meets the Last Supper.
No one has mentioned “Still Crazy” or “Animal House”, so I will. I used to due with laughter at “Dead men don’t wear plaid” but haven’t seen it for years. Must get the DVD.
Or Happiness?
Hellzoppin’, Philadelpia Story, His Girl Friday, and Some Like It Hot all high on my list.
And I remember Mrs BB and I watching In Bruges in the cinema rolling on the floor with laughter whilst all around us were clearly deeply unimpressed. It was the Tottenham gag that got me…
Which Carey Grant movie is it with that brilliant “Happy Birthday To You” scene in the restaurant?
That one.
His Girl Friday. Hell yes. I believe Mr. Hepworth of this parish is also inclined to agree.
Dunno what that link isn’t appearing….
So far, I think this is the one, Blue. Cheers.
Not working for me either.
A few from me.
National lampoons animal house
Something about mary
Dumb & dumber (The sequel is a bit ropy mind)
Planes, trains & automobiles
Airplane (didnt go much on the sequel)
As ever, others will come to mind the moment I click on the submit button.
Airplane 2 is worth it for this single gag.
Yes indeed! Produced a guffaw here.
Whale Of A Cop
No, not really, it’s one of many film parodies from the Jerry Stiller mockumentary The Independent (2000).
TRAILER
http://www.reelz.com/trailer-clips/30854/the-independent-trailer/
Sorry didn’t check the language for the Whale Of A Cop clip and the uploader even cut the best gag. Check out the trailer though.
Don’t worry. I don’t care.
As yet unmentioned
Kingpin
Office Space
Tropic Thunder
McGruber
I haven’t seen any of those, Sewer. You live in a different world, don’t you?
Yeah, forgot about Tropic Thunder. That’s a great movie.
& just reminded me of another RD Jr film which is really funny. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
If you like bad movies, Plan 9 from Outer Space is a hoot.
Ghostbusters always makes me laugh, and I must have seen it least a dozen times.
‘Aim for the flat top!’
I actually saw it at the picture house! It was fun.
@tiggerlion, these days with my hellish feet and bad balance, I wonder who swept all the mirror bits away and how they stayed upright with the crazy dancing. First time I saw tat movie, I thought I was going to loose conscienceness for larding solo much!
The mystery of the missing mirror bits! For a film made in 1933, it has impressive special effects.
*larfing!
I count myself as a Woody Allen fan, but when I watched Annie Hall recently for the first time in years I was strangely unimpressed. To the point where his character now appears actually quite manipulative and deeply unattractive. And I’ve long had the theory that you can’t really find someone that funny if you don’t like their character.
Whereas, Broadway Danny Rose is a never-disappointing joy.
Exactly! Try Love And Death as recommended by Anton below.
I adore Broadway Danny Rose.
“Never took a lesson…”
I’ll have to watch this one. I’d given up on him long before it came out.
Other genuinely funny Allen comedies that you’ve probably missed then also:
Radio Days, Bullets Over Broadway, Manhattan Murder Mystery.
Let’s just take one step at a time!
Let me add
Purple Rose of Cairo
Has one great idea at it’s centre, if you don’t know what it is just watch it and see.
It has an unexpected ending for a comedy but I really like it.
“If that’s your wife she’s a tub of lard”
I think Peter Ustinov’s Vice Versa from 1948 is a very funny film. Lots of very silly moments and quite “fourth wall” for its time. As the audience, we are beckoned into an old gent’s home to hear him tell the story. You feel that Milligan/Cook watched this. The vicar talking about his boyhood from the pulpit and the court scene are worth the entrance money alone.
My favourite Steve Martin film Roxanne I think is one of the best comedies. I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned.
I think it’s very easy to trot out some titles of films I will have laughed at in the past. What’s maybe harder is honestly identifying a film as something you’d still laugh at if you saw it again now (say for the umpteenth time). I’ve had a few experiences of being disappointed at films I thought of as comedy gold.
Maybe comedy, the laugh-out-loud stuff, fades over time?
The stuff which stands the test of time is more likely to be:
– the characterisation (eg Will Hay’s best – Oh Mr Porter, Where’s That Fire etc – the classics with the inimitable trio of Moore Marriott and Graham Moffat),
– the depth (eg Mr Hulot’s Holiday has real emotional moments),
– the multi-faceted (eg Duck Soup can be read as a satire as well as a simple comedy),
– intelligence (eg The Rebel is quite incisive in its takes on the arts),
etc
Mr Hulot’s Holiday is on the list!
“Le dîner de cons” or”The Dinner Game” is wonderfully funny but get the original French version – the remake is apparently pants.
Good idea. I bet there’s farce involved if it’s French!
Agreed.
Hard to disagree with Airplane, Some Like it Hot, Kingpin, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid and others mentioned above…
Not mentioned yet unless I’ve missed them were…
There’s Something About Mary
So I Married an Axe Murderer
His Girl Friday (Grant/Hepburn)
Monkey Business (Grant/Rogers)
…of more recent stuff, I’d recommend 21 Jump Street, unlikely as it seemed and I’ll throw in a personal favourite, the Rap Spinal Tap – Fear of a Black Hat – featuring as it does many classic moments including the “difference between a bitch and a ho”, explanation.
Funnily enough, an old flatmate of mine trying to impress a new girlfriend – they’re still together – wanted access to my video player to show her the classic Marx Brothers mirror scene, declaring it the funniest scene in cinema history. Being competitive I trumped it with the classic scene from the Aussie football film The Club in which the team’s star signing explains his loss of form to the malevolent chairman while getting him stoned. It doesn’t appear to be on Youtube or I’d link it. Brilliantly done.
This is the entire film
The scene you are referring to is about 50 minutes in.
Out of context the scene may not be that funny but unlike most sports films it’s extremely well written.
It was a strange experience for me flicking through to find that scene, they’re reading papers that have folded. the club they play in the inevitable big game have moved to Brisbane, their home ground is no longer in use and they also play at the MCG where not a brick remains from that era as it’s been completely rebuilt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdTWr5X4ixs
So I Married An Axe Murderer. Good God Yes!!! Completely forgotten about this film. Killer line after killer line.
Myers as the Scottish Dad and Brenda Fricker as the Mum were spectacular.
“Look at the size of that baws heid! It’s like an orange on a toothpick”
“Heid! Doon. Nooo. It’s so big, it’s got its’ own weather system”.
And Amanda Plummer too…
Also – give a very puerile and juvenile thumbs up for Wayne’s World. The Cream of Sum Yun Gi gag still produces a belly laugh. “Ribbed for her pleasure. Eeeewwwww…..”
No love for FOUR LIONS?
“We got the bear!”
“I think that’s a Wookie?”
“Control, is a Wookie a bear?”
My first thought was Airplane too. Then Duck Soup. Then Life of Brian and Young Frankenstein. But Four Lions is wonderful. One of the best films of the past decade. Laugh out loud funny, political and insightful. Genius is a word too easy to apply but I think it deserves it.
Ok. You’ve convinced me. I think it is going to be Four Lions I’ll be watching this evening.
Tissues at the ready!
BTW, my first thought was AIRPLANE! too
My favourite will probably always be Life of Brian. Has anyone mentioned Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Michael Caine and Steve Martin?
‘May I take your trident, Sir?’
“Can I go to the bathroom please?”
And the other one of the Double Take Brothers is in it.
Blazing Saddles
“Where the white women at?” gets my vote as best line in movie history
“Little bastard shot me in the ass!”
“You provincial PUTZ!”
Danny Kaye did some quite awful films, but he also made a couple that was (and still is) very funny.
The funniest is called Wonder Man, where he plays twin brothers – one is a shy bookworm and one is a nightclub artist, but he gets killed in one of the first scenes, and for the rest of the film he’s a ghost trying to put his killer in prison with the help of his reluctant twin.
The scenes in Mr Schmidt’s delikatessen (“He’s talking to the salami!” etc) are some of the funniest ever, no small thanks to S Z Sakall as Mr Schmidt.
It has a few musical numbers that are not for all I suppose, but that’s no reason to avoid it (certainly not the opera finale/testimony)!
The Court Jester is the other funny film he made – if not quite as funny as Wonder Man, but definitely worth your time.
That Sinking Feeling by Bill Forsyth is ace, in a subtle and slow kind of way, very funny.
Cluny Brown is another underrated comedy that has me in stitches every time I watch it. Charles Boyer is “hiding from Hitler” among the English upperclass in the countryside, and falling for the maid with a passion for plumbing (no, proper pipes and drains, get your mind out of the gutter!) Made by Ernst Lubitsch, the master of comedy. Gets funnier each time you watch it.
Hobson’s Choice by David Lean is another old favourite, along with The Shop Around the Corner – the Lubitsch original of course! – and Bringing Up Baby by Howard Hawks, oh, and His Girl Friday…why are all the old b/w comedies so much funnier than any made today?
Harvey has already been mentioned, but can I just say that Josephine Hull is absolute genius in it and should have won ten Oscar for it; her subtle physical comedy is what makes that film truly great!
I’ve said it many times before (and nobody listened then either…) but one of my favourite funny films is the French comedy “Le Petit Baigneur” (no, I don’t know the English title) with Louis de Funés wreaking havoc on a quiet Sunday in the countryside. But whatever you do – do NOT watch the English dubbed version, it surgically removes all of the humour out of the film!
If you can watch the tractor massacre, or the church service, without laughing…then I suspect you had that surgery as well!
Hm, can’t think of any more at the moment, especially not any modern ones.
As always, Locust, you provide plenty of food for thought.
Not the funniest movie ever, but very sweet & funny & Felicity Huffman is amazing in it playing an uptight transexual who finds out she has a son the week before she’s due to have her surgery & has to go & bail him out of juvey as he’s been arrested for hustling. She doesn’t want to tell him who she is, so leaves him guessing she’s from some christian organisation trying to redeem homeless youngsters. She says she’s from the church of the potential father. They end up driving crosscountry to get back to LA. A road movie with a difference that I found really touching with characters you really end up caring about. Good for the soul.
Sorry. All the versions I can find have got annoying subtitles
https://youtu.be/ttt2wk_1tYc
Thank you, Contrary. As ever.
I can’t believe that no one’s mentioned the masters – Laurel & Hardy !
Blockheads / Sons Of The Desert in particular, but all of there work is comedy genius and I literally cry with laughter.
Still waiting to tell someone getting over exited that they’ve got bees in their cockpit.
Took my 25 year old son to a Laurel and Hardy evening last night. Three shorts and Sons of the Desert. He’d never seen any before (I know bad parenting) but genuinely laugh out loud moments. Stan’s facial expressions eating a hard boiled egg etc.
Mind you he did say at the end of his career he thought that Hardy was coasting on his partner’s talents ‘I thought he was resting on his laurels,… I’ve waited all evening to say that’ I nearly killed him.
LOL. Nice one Hubes.
What about Old Baskerville’s list way up the thread? He included Sons Of The Desert.
Your avatars are increasingly disconcerting, Rob. Is that actually you in that one?
I agree. They were wonderful. I haven’t seen them in decades but I remember a scene with a piano and a long flight of steps that I thought was the funniest thing I’d ever seen.
Oops. Missed that.
Yes – that’s a padded selfie.
Bedazzled – Cook & Moore obviously great, but surprisingly the remake is not completely dreadful. The opening and closing quarter hours are completely ignorable, but the main “sketches” have some genuinely good comedy. Liz Hurley is appalling as you’d expect, but Brendan Fraser shows a real comedic talent.
The first “wish” is the best one, but most of them have laugh-out loud “reveal” moments where Brendan realises how the devil has found yet another loophole.
In the days of VHS you could of course just tape the funny bits and leave out the rest; one of the disadvantages of the DVD revolution – I daresay there’s software which does the same thing, but you know what I mean.
I think I’ll stick with the original, Douglas.
I don’t understand the Liz Hurley phenomenon. She is a terrible actor. I suppose Americans are impressed with her posh accent. It’s not as though she makes up for it by being ‘eye candy’.
Don’t get me wrong TL, I’m not suggesting for a moment that the original has been equalled, let alone surpassed. It’s just that, if you come across the remake one idle evening and you’ve missed the first 15 mins or so, then there are less funny ways to pass the next hour or so.
Ok. Next time I’m idle, eh? Might never happen.
A lot of com these days seems to come in a romcom package. Although one also has other sub-genres such as zomcom (as in Shaun of the Dead.) any others you can think of?
Perhaps many of the best laughs can be had in a film with comedy elements rather than a pure comedy?
Recently enjoyed Coogan’s The Probation Officer.no milestone perhaps but a very enjoyable 90 minutes.
A brilliant film with strong comedic elements you say?
Another genre of comedy you say?
Well then you’ll be wanting the Geriatric-Elvis-And-JFK-Team-Up/ Egyptian-Soul-Sucker-Com par excellence:
(Bubba Ho Tep trailer)
Hellzapoppin’ !
Oh, this. A million times this
Arsenic And Old Lace
https://youtu.be/CxElp96fqFk
Oh, Mr Porter!
You see. The B/W ones are the best!
Young Frankenstein!
All this way down and not a mention of Thee Greatest Goofball Comedy EVAH!
I’ve never seen it. Looking at those clips, I can understand why!
Really!
Rodney Dangerfield is a very acquired taste.
He grates a little bit.
I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned Laurel & Airplane yet!
Japanese comedy Funky Forest made me howl.
NSFW
Hmm…..
No recommendations yet for Annie Soup or Aero-plane? Shame on you, Afterworders!
Actually I have to confess I find Wayne’s World and the follow up very funny.
Any Afterworders familiar with/fond of Aussie comedy “The Castle”? It’s one of my favourites anyway.
Lines from it are quoted all the time over here in NZ. Never seen it all – but the bits I have seen are funny.
I watched it the other night on the strength of this thread. It was ok, and there were some quotable lines and lovely characters, but few laugh out loud jokes. To be honest, I prefer Muriel’s Wedding (with which it shares a principal actor).
Watched it on the recommendation of a Auzzie mate.
Loved it. Must dig it out again.
Brilliant thread, but some glaring omissions….
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Modern Times
Swingers
Super Troopers
Big
Clerks
Horse Feathers
Dr Strangelove
Rushmore
The Ladykillers
Clueless
I could happily post dozens of great scenes from the above, but here’s the immortal opening from Super Troopers (probably the least well known of the group). Stoner comedy at its absolute best:
Fun fact: the gremlin in the back seat (Geoffrey Arend) is married to Christina Hendricks
I can’t believe I forgot Dr Strangelove!!!
You may be pleased to know there’s going to be a Super Troopers 2.
Feel the Funny….. these would be my suggestions anyway!
Eagle vs Shark
Wristcutters: A Love Story
Ace Ventura
The Mask
Daddy Day Care
and there’s some properly amusing parts in “Journey 2 The Mysterious Island” as well – Luis Guzman is properly on form in that film – I laughed anyway
Hooray!
Someone else who enjoyed “Journey 2….”. It’s a great little movie, Guzman is always top value and an hour or two spent in the company of the Rock is never truly wasted.
I confess to a liking for The Mask. In fact, I have a bit of a soft, tickly spot for Jim Carey.
The Mask is brilliant.
No one needs to apologize for liking that.
And hats off to Badger for Eagle vs Shark. Low-key but very amusing .
It’s all about Mason Hutchinson!
Oh my god, Ace Ventura. Yes. Whole family spent a summer quoting that movie. And watching and laughing over and over. Jim Carrey has never been better.
Found Ace Ventura in the local charity shop for my 12 year old son recently. He loved it.
I seem to be in agreement with many on here
Love & Death
Kentucky Fried Movie
Airplane!
But for me the funniest movie is Bananas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF-AcR14Km8
Anybody mentioned “The Castle”. Its an Aussie classic but the humour translates very well. Its very funny and rather lovely. “How much? Tell him he’s dreaming”.
Yes, yes I have. good isn’t it?
Can’t see any mention of Withnail on here. Has to be top 5 surely?
I’ve seen pieces of Withnail but never watched all the way through. I might just remedy that.
Aha! I always wondered how you found time to listen to all that music – it would seem twas by neglecting the classics of modern cinema. I’d say the reason Withnail is only making an appearance all the way down here is when you ask for “funniest movie” rather than “best comedy” people automatically reach for the films with the highest gag count like Airplane, films where they remember their sides actually hurting from laughter. During W&I you will feel disgust, nostalgia, pity, disgust again, horror, a powerful sense that life is a ridiculous… and cold (I always make sure I’m nice and cosy when I watch it – brrrr!) but it’s also tremendously funny, especially for the connoisseur of creative swearing executed to perfection.
True. I neglect cinema. And books. I’ll definitely make the effort with Withnail.
Every time I watch Withnail and I – and I’ve seen it quite a few times – it remains just as funny.
And every time I watch Withnail and I, it gets that little bit sadder. Especially the final scenes, where Withnail, abandoned by Marwood, stands in the rain and recites Hamlet’s lines from memory to the wolves in Regent’s Park zoo.
You’re spot on, duc.
I’ve seen it numerous times over the years & it remains as quotable as ever – almost every line , in fact, but the underlying melancholia of Bruce Robinson’s script comes more to the fore each time.
It’s a decent piece of art that can remain the same yet be regarded in different lights by its’ audience as the audience itself changes.
All the more so when the piece in question is a raucous comedy.
It’s The Blues Brothers isn’t it?
Followed by Spinal Tap, Zoolander, Anchorman, Animal House, Tap, Blazin’ Saddles and A Mighty Wind
You like your comedy goofy!
Can’t believe we’ve got a thread this long with no mention of Way Out West, my favourite Stan and Ollie.
Also a shout for an often forgotten Billy Wilder I have a soft spot for – Avanti!
Les Vacances de M. Hulot has been mentioned, but I’ll watch any Jacques Tati, films that reward multiple viewings. I think I’ve seen Playtime a couple of dozen times now, and I’ll always get something new from it – there’s so much going on in every scene that you need to see it about 50 times, I reckon.
Most of my favourites have been mentioned: W Allen, Mel Brooks, Ealing comedies, Carry Ons, L and H etc. I’d add Sideways because I like wry comedies with pathos, and Good Morning Vietnam because of Robin Williams’ one liners.
I must confess I did have a stroke laughing at Borat when I saw it in the cinema. Here’s why.
Watching naked men wrestle isn’t my thing. However, I liked the redacted penis to make it appear super large!
No-one, NO-ONE has mentioned Police Academy yet?? Ignore the cash in sequels – the original was very very very funny.
‘Mean Girls’. It’s sooooo fetch.
That’s another one I haven’t seen. *starts scribbling on a piece of paper*. I see Tina Fey wrote it. Should be good!
I have no idea what “fetch” means here. Am gonna start using it though.
Arf! I said I needed a laugh and you just gave me one. Thanks.
A fetch is a supernatural double or apparition of a living person in Irish folklore.
but possibly not in this context.
Stop trying to make “fetch” happen! It’s never going to happen!
I know, right? I don’t even go here.
I watched Mean Girls today. I enjoyed the first hour or so and actually laughed a few times. It just got silly after that.
Anything written and directed by Preston Sturges is aces. This is probably the one I love most…
Great call. Preston Sturges was a wonderful director.
Always loved The Palm Beach Story myself.
I suspect the Sturges movie you love the most is the one you saw first.
I’m very fond of ‘The Man Who Knew Too Little’ with Bill Murray and Joanne Whalley. It may not be the funniest film ever made but it’s well worth an hour and a half of your time.
The film that still leaves me gasping for air because I laugh so much is ‘Blazing Saddles’. I laugh in anticipation of the punchlines because I have seen it so many times. Mel Brookes was never better and Gene Wilder never funnier in my opinion. Comedy genius.
Thank you for dropping by, @marmiteboy. It is a very, veeerrrry long time since I saw Blazing Saddles. I can’t say I was that gripped. I can remember the bean sequence but that’s about all. At the time, I knew Young Frankenstein and The Producers so well, I could recite the scripts verbatim. Blazing Saddles felt a bit of a let down in comparison. However, my two favourites haven’t fared well over time. Perhaps, Blazing Saddles has. I may well give it another try.
The Plank. Tommy Cooper version.
Oh yes! Brilliant! Although, I always think of it as Eric Sykes greatest moment. It lasts just over 45 minutes. Here it is. The whole thing.
http://youtu.be/JyU6SonN6mc
I’m amazed there is only one mention of Bringing Up Baby on this thread.
One that hasn’t been mentioned is Slap Shot. A movie that is almost unknown in this country despite starring Paul Newman.