Funny Movie Friday: Because I Said So

“I am taking comedy to the next level:  the extermination of all biological life on earth.” – South Park

How do you break up a fistfight between two blind guys?  Say:  “I’m rooting for the one with the knife.”

We’ve been doing serious stuff for a while, so I thought, on a beautiful spring day like today, it’s a perfect time to have class outside and relax.  Don’t worry – you won’t be graded on this one.  Probably.

I like comedy movies, which probably surprises zero readers.  Recently, comedies haven’t been all that funny, because to be funny, generally someone is made fun of.  That, in a serious world, is not allowed.  I believe it is a fact that it was easier to get sent to the Gulag in Soviet Russia over a your-momma joke than it was by actually spying for the capitalist pigs.

Authority can allow many things, but it cannot abide being ridiculed, even gently.  That’s why Saturday Night Live® mocked Trump mercilessly, but can’t poke fun at the most buffoonish Oval-Office-Occupant since Bill Clinton was mocked about cigars and a blue dress.

The last thing Bill said to Jeff Epstein?  “Hang in there!”

But movies endure.  They provide a picture in time of a reality and culture of the past.  Comedies are in short supply, too.  I even ran the numbers a while back that proved just that, but it’s late and I got home late so you’ll just have to trust me:  they really don’t make ‘em like they used to.

One thing about a great comedy:  when it really catches a moment, it is memorable.  We quote it again and again.  The best movies are like that.  So, in no particular order, here are some of the movies that I chose that represent the best of comedy.  Note that while I might have multiple movies from the same “creative source” that I love, I only picked one of their movies.

Except when I didn’t.

Here’s the top 15.  Why 15?  Because I said so.

One note:  as I said, the list is in no particular order – each of these is a classic in its own way, and why do I have to choose or rank between masterpieces?

A Night at the Opera – Some might like Duck Soup.  Some might like Animal Crackers.  For my fifth grade teachers, this was their particular nightmare:  a blonde hunched over five-foot tall fifth grader walking back and forth, pretending to smoke a cigar, and talking about why no one believes in a Sanity Clause.  No rooms?  Send up a hall.  This is my kind of Marxism.

Time flies like an arrow.  Fruit flies like a banana.

Better Off Dead – John Cusack blocked me on Twitter® after he said some inane Leftist thing and I responded.  I don’t take it personally.  But Cusack starred in (my opinion) the best teen comedy ever. Savage Steve Holland (the person really responsible for the film) should have done so much more.  Now, where are my two dollars?

Baseketball – South Park was still new (and good) when this movie came out.  I’m (sort of) cheating on my own rule because this has Zucker involvement (see below) but this movie was a Trey and Matt movie at its core.  It’s hilarious and never gets old.  “Pretzel?  Made it myself.  Goes great with mustard.”

Big Trouble in Little China – John Carpenter and Kurt Russell in a list of the best comedies of all time?  Yeah.  This movie has everything.  Magic.  Trucks.  Cheesy special effects.  Great heroes.  Evil villains.  How did they get the comedic timing down so perfectly?  “It’s all in the reflexes.”

Galaxy Quest – This is the best Star Trek® movie since Shatner . . . played . . . the . . . part.  Period.

Monty Python and The Holy Grail – I first saw this movie, uncut, on PBS® on an 11” black and white television.  I was hooked.  This was my first exposure to Monty Python and made me realize that there were jokes that I couldn’t explain to anyone because they just wouldn’t get it.  That did hurt me, deep inside, but ‘tis but a flesh wound.

What did the actors eat while filming Monty Python movies?  Grail mix.

Ghostbusters – If Bill Murray had a greatest moment, this was it.  Some would say that his best movie was Groundhog Day, but I disagree.  This was the man at his absolute mastery of timing, wit, and charm.  But if you don’t like this list?  You only have 75 more to go.

Airplane! – It was rare to get Pa Wilder to go to a movie.  First, Ma had to drag him away from the woodpile.  Second, we had to drive two hours (I’m not making this up) to a picture show that he would go to (there were closer movie theaters, but Pa Wilder never went to them).  We went to see Airplane! one hot summer day.  I never saw Pa laugh louder or longer.  He loved every second, surely.  But don’t call him Shirley.

Office Space – Mike Judge convinced someone from a corporation to give him money to make a movie that utterly skewered the slow, meaningless death that is corporate life.  This movie made me want to stop going to work.  The Mrs.:  “Are you quitting?”  Me:  “No, I just don’t think I’m going anymore.”

Get out of that car.  Right meow.

Super Troopers – Broken Lizard® is the comedy group that produced this and their other movies, including that wonderful film, Beerfest.  But Super Troopers?  I have no idea what I expected, but I wasn’t expecting a chugging contest with bottles of maple syrup.  Pardon me, I have to go find a liter of cola.

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure – I rented this movie from the VHS bin at the supermarket because I had no idea what it was, but it was only a buck.  Is it stupid?  Yes.  Is it funny?  Also yes.  It’s a teen comedy without anything but two idiots with a time machine.  Most triumphant!

Raising Arizona – Again, a rental.  Why did I pick it?  It was late on a Friday.  It was in stock.  Who was this Nic Cage guy?  The writing was crisp, the action scenes funny, and I had no idea how or where it would end.  Maybe it was Utah?

UHF – Of course I knew who Weird Al was.  Of course I knew this would be a movie as stupid as making a hot dog with a Twinkie® as a bun.  And I was right.  But this movie?  It’s drinking from the firehose.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High – There was never a movie that was more 1980’s about 1980’s teens.  The worst part of this movie was that it got Sean Penn’s movie career started.  The best part of this movie is that it convinced the world that Sean Penn was an idiot.  Have any problems with the plot?  Don’t worry.  My old man he’s got this ultimate set of tools.  I can fix it.

I tried to sew together small dogs and cattle.  It was a terrier bull idea.

Young Frankenstein – This was Mel’s best movie.  The Mrs. prefers Spaceballs, but, of course, she’s wrong.  Never has a movie so lovingly captured an entire era of film, and then had so much fun with it.    You could say he had a roll, roll, roll in ze hay . . .

As I look at this list, I noticed that the most recent movie on this list is Super Troopers, in 2001.  That’s two decades ago.  Sure, there have been some comedies that I’ve enjoyed since then, but none of them have been as, well, funny.  Anchorman was nearly a pick, but didn’t quite make my cut.  I’d rather re-watch any of the movies above than Anchorman again.

So, what did I miss?  What are your favorites?

Author: John

Nobel-Prize Winning, MacArthur Genius Grant Near Recipient writing to you regularly about Fitness, Wealth, and Wisdom - How to be happy and how to be healthy. Oh, and rich.

121 thoughts on “Funny Movie Friday: Because I Said So”

  1. Hot Fuzz (2007) – Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It spends the first half skewering every Buddy Cop movie trope. Then it spends the second half outdoing them all at their own game. “The greater good.”

    Doctor Strangelove, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb (1964) – Slim Pickens, George C. Scott, Peter Sellers, Peter Sellers, and Peter Sellers. “Gentlemen! There’s no fighting in here! This is the war room!”

    The Mouse that Roared (1959) – Peter Sellers, Peter Sellers, and Peter Sellers. “My idea was sound. Only an idiot could have won this war, and he did.”

    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) – Peter Weller, John Lithgow. “Take her to the pit. Go, Big-booty. Use more honey. Find out what she knows.”

    2. I really enjoyed Hot Fuzz, and it nearly made the list, as did Pegg’s other Cornetto movies.

      Strangelove I only watched once when I was a kid. But how did I skip the Pink Panther movies???? Amazing humor. Sellers was a giant – and I acually read The Mouse That Roared and The Mouse On The Moon. Great books, too.

      Ahhh, Buckaroo Banzai. Good times. But still not as good (my opinion) as Big Trouble In Little China.

      1. In the same vein is “Mystery Men” (1999), Ben Stiller, Bill Macy, Hank Azaria, Paul Reubens, Geoffrey Rush. Loser, wanna-be super heroes who have to save the day from truly weird villains after they accidentally kill the real hero, who was a complete jerk. “Why am I standing with my feet in watermelons?” “I don’t remember telling you to do that.”

        1. That was a good movie – Stiller generally produces a servicable flick. I especially enjoyed him in Arrested Development.

  2. I am a westerns fan so Blazing Saddles. I have to add “10” as well.

    1. Mine too Bear… “Bart..they said you waz hung!” …”They waz right!”

    2. I could only pick one Mel movie, so I stuck with Young Frankenstein. 10? That was good (especially the dental scene) but I’d go for Arthur instead . . . .

  3. “But movies endure.”

    You HOPE movies endure. After what we’ve seen lately, this is hardly a given. My personal cultural deprivation shows in that I’ve only seen 3-1/2 of those 15 movies you mention, and some of the others I never even heard of. But I absorbed enough pc poison in my youth from the cartoons I used to watch by sneaking over to the neighbors’ houses on Saturday mornings, since my parents doled out the TV time with an eyedropper.

    I recall watching a Looney Tunes episode in which Daffy Duck swallows gasoline and blows himself clear of this mortal coil, lamenting that it’s a stunt he can only do once. That one vanished decades ago, perhaps for good reason, as the modern youth of the land can’t be trusted with Tide Pods, let alone volatile liquids.

    I also recall watching an old black ‘n white Popeye cartoon, wherein the salty gob went bashing buck-toothed, goggle-eyed Japs from one end of the ship to the other, muttering “So solly!” or something to that effect. Such scenes are now a leftist’s wet dream, for it gives them solid butthurt ammunition (I can still say ‘ammunition’, can’t I?)

    Not wishing to give culture cancelers any ideas, but it won’t be long before Snoopy and the Red Baron will be reduced to exchanging love taps instead of machine gun fire. And as for Speed Racer, can you possibly get any more toxically masculine than that? Oh, my feels!

    1. You bring up a really, really good point. I had heard that they were going back and editing out “culturally insensitive” scenes from movies. Poof.

      Winston Smith would be proud.

  4. As far as Mel Brooks is concerned, ‘Blazing Saddles’ can’t be beat, and couldn’t be made today at any price in dollars, pride or lives.

    I love all the Marx Brothers movies and you named 3 of the best. I’ll only add that ‘outside of a dog, a book is Man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”

    1. I loved Blazing Saddles, but I thought (from start to finish) that Young Frankenstein was his best.

  6. No list of comedy movies is complete without Oscar. 1991 starring Sylvester Stallone. The most underrated comedy of all time.

    Down Periscope, 1996 starring Kelsey Grammar. Especially funny with a daughter in the Navy some years ago.

    You are so right about the current dearth of good funny movies . . . Really it’s a famine of quality out of Hollywood. Can’t watch anything new without having liberalism subtly or overtly stuffed into it.

    1. Oscar was great, and Down Periscope was a favorite of The Mrs. even before we met – she had a VHS copy!

      Good choices.

  7. Blazing Saddles.. ha ha ha

    “How about some more beans Mr. Taggert?”

    Mr. Taggert waves his 10 gallon hat repeatedly. “I’d say you’ve had enough!”

  8. Hmmm, Newer comedy? I doubt anyone could claim that “The 5th Element” was anything other than comedy. One of Bruce’s better comedies in fact.

    1. Caddy Shack
      Bill Murry is the perfect goof and Chevy Chase is the guru of golf. It’s Cinderella boy, the crowd is on their feet

      1. That was a great one – but I had to choose between that and Ghostbusters. And there’s only 75 more to go . . . .

    1. History of the World, Part I was especially hilarious for me. As Younger Brother, I went with my brother on his date to that one (I was under 17, but he got me in). His girlfriend was amazingly religious, so he couldn’t laugh at the really naughty jokes.

      I enjoyed it all the more because of that.

  10. Caddyshack is an all timer for me. Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight. All brought their fast ball.
    “You Wanna Make 14 Dollars the Hard Way?”

    Blues Brothers…another great. Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi. “Illinois Nazis? I hate Illinois Nazis.” John Candy had a small roll in this as well. The chase scenes in this classic are unmatched in any film I’ve ever watched. Absurd to the point of hilarity.

    Speaking of John Candy…Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Candy and Steve Martin star in a masterpiece.
    “You can start by wiping that *expletive* dumb-ass smile off your rosy *expletive* cheeks! And you can give me a *expletive* automobile: a *expletive* Datsun, a *expletive* Toyota, a *expletive* Mustang, a *expletive* Buick! Four *expletive* wheels and a seat!”

    National Lampoons Vacation AND Christmas Vacation. Chevy Chase just nails it with Clark Griswold. Also Beverly Di Angelo shower scene, Randy Quaid, and more John Candy.
    Y’know what I think??? I think you’re all f***ed in the head! We’re ten hours from the f***in’ fun park and you want to bail out. Well I’ll tell you something, this is no longer a vacation…it’s a quest. It’s a quest for fun! I’m gonna have fun and you’re gonna have fun! We’re all gonna have so much f***in’ fun we’ll need plastic surgery to remove our goddamn smiles! You’ll be whistling Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah out of your assholes!!! HAHAHA!!! I gotta be crazy; I’m on a pilgrimage to see a moose! Praise Marty Moose! Holy shit!!!

    Tommy Boy. I cant leave Chris Farley off this list. David Spade plays a masterful straight man.
    “Did you eat a lot of paint chips when you were a kid?”

    I could go on and on but work beckons.

    1. Blazing Saddles and Buckaroo Banzai were the first ones that popped into my head, I was disappointed to see Idiocracy didn’t make the list. Its a fantastic movie, and given when it was made sadly its seeming more and more prophetic every day.

      1. I had to choose between Idiocracy and Office Space. But I watched them back to back . . . and they’re the same movie. Try it.

        1. Is it ‘back to back’… or back to front?

          Somebody help me, I am ‘pulling a biden’ here!

      2. “Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Goodburger. Can I take your order?”

    2. I could only include (for the bogus rules I made) one of Dan’s movies, so I chose Ghostbusters.

      Vacation? A classic. And Tommy Boy? Made me laugh six ways from Sunday. Both of them were very, very close.

  11. As you can see, clearly Blazing Saddles should have been on the list. I would add any of the Hope-Crosby Road pictures. If you are going to have the Mouse that Roared ( Great Movie, even better book) then please consider Almost any Sellers movie. I would esp look at the Pink Panther series. I also think the ” Vacation” movies belong….I prefer National Lampoon Christmas Vacation. Captain Ron….a favorite I watch over and over and finally Deadpool…the Quirky pick.

    1. At the last minute the following Documentary came to mind. Many wouldn’t consider it funny and I even admit I have watched very little of it. Still….it strikes me that a documentary about the 2016 Presidential election ( https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=documentary+of+us+2016+presidential+election&docid=608037983304699489&mid=F5ECEA7DC0FAB13A78C4F5ECEA7DC0FAB13A78C4&view=detail&FORM=VIRE) HAS to be funny !! I mean….about 20 professional politicians ran for President. Someone somewhere ( My Guess is some New York Party) said ” Hey Bill….you should throw your hat in the ring!!!” After the laughter died down a bit Trump says ” Well, I can easily win this….Hold my beer ! ” ( Or possibly glass of champagne but either way). Then Evil Cheeto man Destroys all Professional politicians from both parties !!! Oh man !!! To me…THAT Is hilarious ! The Irony ! Wow !

    2. Ray, I may be the holdout for Young Frankenstein. But, what about High Anxiety? A brilliant roast of Hitchcock.

      Agreed on Mouse that Roared (and Mouse on the Moon). And, yes, the Pink Panther movies.

      Deadpool is easily the funniest movie made in the last decade.

  12. Kurt Russell’s best comedy role by far IMO is in the tragically underrated Used Cars (1980). If you’ve never seen it by all means check it out, absolutely hilarious from start to finish. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, who never allowed himself to be that raunchy again.

    1. Used Cars (1980) – every time my wife and I go car shopping lines pop out of my mouth from that movie. She likes red cars.

      “uh-uh, I ain’t drivin’ it. That mfuker red…”

      Dude got a blue torino that was painted with water based paint. Along the way it rains and shows the red paint, causing the dude to have an existential crisis. Funny stuff.

      1. True story: never bought a red car because of that movie. Except once. Then The Mrs. wrecked it.

    2. Used Cars? We are absolutely blowing the living s**t out of the competition!

      I loved that movie when I saw it on late night cable. 10/10.

  13. Sorry but Mel’s best comedy was “History of the world part I”. You look like the piss boy, and you look like a bucket of s&%t…..

      1. Yeah – I went to see that at the local college on a “cult movie” night (ticket was $0.50) and was blown away.

    2. Yeah, that was great. You should have seen The Boy and Pugsley exchange a glance when “Jews In Space” came on. Priceless.

  14. Wow! You had some great ones on your list and a few of them are also on my faves list. Some others are “3 O’Clock High”, “My Blue Heaven” , the latter of which I blurt out lines very frequently. I think that it’s Steve Martin’s best…….

  15. Alternate article title:

    “First 15 movies that will be banned by the end of Kamala Harris’ term”

  16. Lots of good ones on your list, and ones added by others (but now we are starting to have a Top 100 instead of a Top 15). I’d go with Blazing Saddles as a must have, My Blue Heaven is great but don’t forget LA Story, although it seems like only people who have lived in Los Angeles seem to get this one. If we are going to go old, how about Operation Petticoat with Cary Grant. Maybe we need two lists, separating out old classics from newer classics? Dogma should probably be on there, and nobody has mentioned Hitch. My wife and friend and I laughed so hard the first time we watched it that we had to keep stopping and rewinding because we kept missing scenes. Kevin James was brilliant.

    1. The Mrs. loved LA story. I liked it, but it was too close to having a point for me :).

      Operation Petticoat! Yes! Loved those old ones. Hitch . . . haven’t seen it . . . good?

    2. The Jerk: ” i was born a poor black child.”
      “I found out what my special purpose is for.”

  18. Raising Arizona is one of my all-time favorites. Quirky and weird and filled with oddball characters… “You hear that? We’re using code names!”. I wouldn’t marry my wife until I knew she liked this movie too.

    Another Coen Brothers movie that shines for its comedic sensibilities is “Oh Brother! Where Art Thou!”. So many funny moments… I could quote lines all day long. “What a geographical oddity! Two weeks from everywhere!” It also has a great soundtrack.

    You know who does good comedy? Mark Wahlberg. He’s hilarious in “The Other Guys”. Plus, there’s Eva Mendes.

    Also, “Step Brothers” is a favorite.

    “Tropic Thunder” is a hilarious spoof of Hollywood war movies.

    I think I’ve mentioned this before, but while “Airplane” is certainly funny, the movie it was based on, “Zero Hour” is even funnier because in your mind you’re making all the jokes in every scene. I couldn’t stop laughing when I first saw it.

    1. Mr W

      I vote for “The Producers” Another Brooks gem.

      My name is Lucien San DuBois … but my friends all call me LSD

      De Fuhrer did not do dis baby baby baby

      Whistle ‘Springtime for Hitler and Germany,’ then try to get it out of your head ! …. Ha !

      1. I saw that in high school and tried to explain it to my friends. My favorite line? “Heil me, baby.”

    2. Apparently, ‘Oh Brother! Where Art Thou?’ is based on The Odyssey. That information made for a fun second viewing.

    3. I loved Oh Brother!

      The Other Guys was okay, but I wouldn’t pop it to this level. Step Brothers? Have to check it out.

      I rewatched Tropic Thunder tonight while writing. Better than I remembered.

      Yup, the Zuckers loved Zero Hour.

      But as for me? I’ll never get over Macho Grande.

  19. I’d add Johnny Dangerously “You know your last name is an adverb?” to your list.

  20. I can’t add to your list. Never seen A Night at the Opera. It is on the menu tonight.

    Raising Arizona has been the Ushanka family’s movie. The Mrs and I were watching it when we dated, and 7 years later we had our son. Then we watched it more. At least twice a year for over 35 years.

    Office Space was not meant to be a comedy. It was actually a documentary about my career at the time. So many people missed this intended lesson… and look at where we are now…

  21. I would add ‘The Other Guys’ with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrel as best Comedy movie of the last 20 years. Captain Ron is also a great Kurt Russell and Martin Short comedy.

  23. Step brothers
    American pie
    Napoleon dynamite
    40 year old virgin
    Super bad
    Multiplicity

    1. I almost added American Pie, but it never made the “vocabulary” test. I liked Napoleon Dynamite and I might relate a comment on that in a future post.

      Steve Carrell? Very good in that. Superbad? Also funny.

      Multiplicity is tragically under rated.

  24. Step brothers
    American pie
    Napoleon dynamite
    40 year old virgin
    Super bad

  25. The General (Buster Keaton’s masterpiece)
    Harold Lloyd’s stuff was uniformly good, too.
    Don’t really care for Chaplin.

  26. Agree with the original list, but one of my personal favorites is “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”. A great Steve Martin movie but a superb Michael Caine comedic role. He outshines Steve by miles.

    2. Yup – the only reason I didn’t rate that one higher is I was expecting them to let Steve off the leash. Still a good movie.

      “Thank you.”

  27. No good movies in 20 years, the comrades of Hollywood got some ‘splainin to do.
    Mel Brooks also does the best rap song ever known as To Be Or Not to Be or the Hitler rap.
    Blazing Saddles, Porky’s, The Kentucky Fried Movie, Robocop, no way in the soy snowflake era and even Monty Python (teevee) would probably get cancelled by the woke Red Guards.
    Stripes would be my favorite Bill Murray besides Caddyshack with the assault camper and Sargent Hulka!
    The comrades will build a golden utopia where everyone is full of mirth and good cheer. (not really)

  28. The Princess Bride and the Muppet Movie, and of course.. A Christmas Story.

    1. I’d like to second the nomination of “Hot Fuzz.” From the same folks, more or less, “Shaun of the Dead” is a good one, too.

      “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” … it was hilarious, but I don’t find that it ages very well. That’s undoubtedly just a “me” thing.

      And I’ll 98% agree with Mr. The Hairy Ape, above, that there haven’t been any good movies in the last 20 years. The 2% disagreement would involve a little-known (and profoundly dark) comedy called “In Bruges.” Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson. “Bruges is a fookin’ fairytale place!” If anyone watches it, please tell me whether you think Colin Farrell lives or dies in the end.

        1. But I am not left handed, either.

          I actually read the book before I saw the movie. The movie is great, and so is the book. Just an outstanding story.

          1. Goldman pretty much wrote anything good in Hollywood for 20 years.

            But his best and most famous quote wasn’t a screenplay, it was this:
            “Nobody in this town [Hollywood] knows nothing.”

            Hollywood has spent over a century proving him right.

  29. My best guess is that most/all of the previous respondents are male. From the distaff side (Hi! to the Mrs.), two of my favorites are When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers.

    1. “City Slickers” definitely had some laffs. I’ll have to admit that I’ve never seen “Harry/Sally.” I expect you’re right — it’s my Y chromosome that’s kept me from getting that done.

      1. James,

        City Slickers wasn’t ha-ha hysterical (though Curly was a terrific character) but the whole concept was ridiculous. NYers on a working ranch (I’m a rancher myself living in a small town where Left Wing Idiots are moving into new subdivisions) had me ROTF. We actually had newcomers – interviewed by the local rag – move back to The City because the peepers were too loud and the moon shown too brightly. Go figure.

        1. ” … the peepers were too loud and the moon shone too brightly …”

          Sometimes, there’s just nothing to be said. All you can do is shake your head.

          In my part of the world, their favorite trick is to buy some land and toss up an addition, adjacent to where somebody’s had a hog-feeding operation since way back when. Then start trying to get him shut down because they don’t like the smell. Another head-shaker.

          1. James,

            They are the children and grandchildren of the dimwits who moved into airport flight paths 50 years ago and then complained about the noise. Staggering stupidity – and now they are running (ruining?) our country. God save us.

  30. “The Thin Man” along with his 5 sequels. Not a super-hilarious comedy but guaranteed to put a smile on your face for hours. Has copious drinking, flirtatious banter, a dash of smart detective work and a dog.

  31. Tropic Thunder

    Major Payne (ewe wan me to tell ya da storee of da lil engine that could?)

    Stripes

  32. I’ll just add two – Kelly’s Hero’s with their all star cast and Snatch with some awesome plot twists (gotta love Boris the Russian).

  33. Tried to recall something less classic (or old) but it was hard. Anyway, not exactly comedy, but funny (some are very dark and M-rated):

    The Evil Dead (1981)
    Forrest Gump (1994)
    Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
    There’s Something About Mary (1998)
    Snatch (2000)
    Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
    Fargo (2003)
    Tropic Thunder (2008)
    Deadpool (2016)

    The first one is personal. I invited a pretty girl to watch it and my reasoning was: she will be so scared the will hold my hand and hug me. It almost backfired, the movie is so trash the we laugh all the time. Well, she is my wife now.

    1. Nice choices! I like the Evil Dead flicks. Forrest Gump? Haven’t seen it since the first time, but it was funny.

      Lock, Stock and Snatch? Watched ’em in the last month while writing. Fargo is wonderful, but I already had one from them.

      And, yea, Deadpool is the funniest movie of the last decade.

  34. Here’s one that seems all but forgotten: A funny thing happened on the way to the forum starring Zero Mostel.
    Holy Grail is probably the funniest movie I’ve ever seen with my ‘offbeat’ sense of humor.

  35. Here’s one that seems all but forgotten: A funny thing happened on the way to the forum starring Zero Mostel.
    Holy Frail is probably the funniest movie I’ve ever seen with my ‘offbeat’ sense of humor

  36. Funniest – Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension. See! So many people who went on to star in other films and never, ever admitted to this one. Check! Their Wiki entry and notice the huge gap where this film should be. Do try it if at all possible but the last copy of this one came from a dodgy DVD firm in Malaysia.

    1. I watched that earlier this year on Amazon. Good stuff. Liked it better now than the first time I saw it.

  37. For those of you who liked Kelly’s Heroes, Stripes, etc., how could you have overlooked M*A*S*H? Personally, I liked the TV show (and the actors) better, but IMHO, M*A*S*H is the foundation of the genre. A hundred years from now people will still recognize that theme song.

    1. Now I liked the movie a lot more. I actually had it on the list and deleted it, because I didn’t want to look up to see if it was M*A*S*H or M*A*S*H*.

      Great story, great football game.

      1. Airplane?

        Leslie Nielson was a comic genius, but I still loved him as The Swamp Fox best.

      2. “Oh my god, they shot him!”
        “Hot Lips, you incredible idiot, that’s the end of the first half.“

        2. I laughed so hard at that one. And, my local television didn’t censor the late-late movies, so when they checked to see if Hot Lips was a natural blonde . . . I was staring into the 17″ trinitron.

  38. Some like it Hot is the only one of my list I haven’t seen mentioned.

  39. So I’m late to this game but:
    Slap Shot- “I’m listening to the f*****g song!” “These guys are a disgrace!”
    Stripes was consistently quoted my entire military career
    Grosse Point Blank
    The Big Lebowski- “He treats objects like women,man”
    Happy Gilmore
    Old School
    The Royal Tenenbaums
    Beverly Hills Cop
    This is Spinal Tap
    It’s a great running list…I wish Mel Brooks made 6 more parts of History of the World

    1. Agreed on Mel.

      Stripes was funny, but I had to pick just one Bill movie.

      Grosse Point Blank? I already had my Cusack.

      The Big Lebowski – already had my Coens.

      How Happy Gilmore and Old School . . . they were funny.

      I need to rewatch The Royal Tenenbaums.

      Spinal Tap? Should be on my list. Great cast. Great movie. Best of Show almost made it, too.

  40. “The End” with Burt and Dom and “Yellowbeard” of Python fame. Two of my favorites.

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