100 funniest movies of all time? May 29, 2006
Posted by Evil Bender in arts and culture, Humor.trackback
I'm done with my serious posts for the day, promise. Ed Brayton has a post on Bravo's 50 funniest movies of all time. The list is criminal. Examples:
#76 Ghostbusters
#69 The Blues Brothers
#65 Office Space (seriously? there are 64 better comedies)
#56 Young Frankenstein
#53 Dr. Strangelove (one of the funniest movies of all time, and the only one that made fun of atomic warfare during the cold war)
#50 The Princess Bride (49 better? Really?)
#43 What About Bob? (fairly funny, really, but not better than any of the above, and not an all-time great, is it? At best, its good performances proping up a lousy script).
#39 Mrs. Doutfire (gag)
#30 The Big Lebowski
#29 Legally Blonde (yeah, its MUCH better than Lebowski–sigh)
#14 Napoleon Dynamite (I know I wasn't its biggest fan, but doesn't this strike EVERYONE as too high?)
#11 Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
#9 Ace Ventura (WHAT?)
#4 There's Something About Mary (no, there really isn't).
Of course there will always be disagreement about these things, but this isn't close. For the sake of debate, I give you my top ten (in no particular order) with a quote from each (because it's my blog and I can, dammit):
The Big Lebowski– "This aggression will not stand, man."
Dr Strangelove– "You can't fight here. This is the war room!"
A Fish Called Wanda–"Oh know, K-k-ken is coming to kill me!"
Office Space–"I don't really like my job, and I'm not going to go any more."
Monty Python's Life of Brian–"Always look on the bright side of life."
The Princess Bride–"As you wish!"
Blazing Saddles–"Sorry about the 'up yours, n—–.'"
Ghostbusters–"It's true: this man has no nuts."
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Because the Cohen Brothers earned it)–"I appear to be the only one who remains unaffiliated."
The Royal Tenenbaums (not as laugh-out-loud funny as the rest of the list, but whitty and with a great cast, this deserves a mention)– "I never thought you were an asshole, Royal. I always figured you were more of a sonuvabitch."
That's my list. What say you?
This list isn't perfect. For one thing, where's Vince Vaughan? But it's far better than Bravo's, I'd argue.
Okay, I’m currently reading the list and wanted to make a quick exclamation–HOW DID AMERICAN PIE RANK HIGHER THAN THE PRINCESS BRIDE?!?!?!
Okay, I’m done now. My picks from the Bravo list (in no particular order):
-The Princess Bride (“You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!”)
-Four Weddings and a Funeral (I. Love. John Hannah (Matthew). In point of fact, I would probably not name this as one of my favorite movies. I just love me some John Hannah. Also, any movie whose first, like, 20 words are “fuck” gets my attention. ;) )
-Team America (“Fuck yeah.” I didn’t expect to enjoy this movie as much as I did.)
-Three Amigos
-Ghostbusters (“This reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head.” “That would’ve worked if you hadn’t stopped me.”)
-Young Frankenstein
-This Is Spinal Tap (“This one goes to 11.”)
-Office Space (it loses me once the plot really takes hold, but that first hour or so is priceless)
-The Pink Panther (ahh, Peter Sellers)
-Monty Python and the Holy Grail (I don’t think I’ll ever tire of that movie)
-Best in Show (I think it ought to have swapped places with Spinal Tap, though, at the very least)
-A Fish Called Wanda (“Aristotle was not Belgian, the principle of Buddhism is not “every man for himself”, and the London Underground is not a political movement.”)
My picks that weren’t on the list:
-Clue (“Communism was just a red herring.”)
-L.A. Story (I mean, come on, it has Shakespeare, a tuba, and abject silliness; “I keep thinking I’m a grown up, but I’m not.”)
-Duck Soup (how could they leave out the Marx brothers?)
-The Royal Tenenbaums (I agree wholeheartedly with your take.)
Damn, now I want to watch some of these, but all our movies–including even videos!–are now out at the house. *sigh*…
Oh, oh, and Life of Brian, too! Of course.
Okay, I’m done now, I promise. ;)
Thanks for mentioning Duck Soup, lizard queen! Any movie that can span that generation gap and still make me laugh out loud, even when I’m the only one in the room, has to be a top ten funny movie. I agree about Office Space, too. It’s only REALLY funny until things start to matter. If the Big Lebowski only ranks #30, why should I even get out of bed in the morning?! Preach it, evil bender!
Excuse me, but anyone that could mark Tootsie as low as 82nd should clearly be ignored. They can now be considered legally insane. How the heck did that happen? And Mrs. Doubtfire, no matter how stupid, is still a VERY funny movie.
mrs doutfire was the most lamesed movie i’ve ever seen in my 19 years alive fucken hell
A Fish Called Wanda is my all time favorite film, so it has to be #1.
Can Woody Allen get some love? All the way to 28 before we see him?
I call shannanagins!
Top 5. Because I am lazy
Young Frankenstein -”No tongues”
Monty Python and the Holy Grail-”I don’t want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.”
The Princess Bride-”Now more rhyming now, I mean it” “anybody want a peanut?”
Office Space-”I’ll be honest with you, I love his music, I do, I’m a Michael Bolton fan. For my money, I don’t know if it gets any better than when he sings “When a Man Loves a Woman”
O Brother, Where Art Thou?-”Well, it didn’t look like a two-horse town, but try finding a decent hair jelly. “
i think the funniest movie ever is CLICK!!!
I pray for Raquel Valadez ….
Office Space is the best.
Napoleon Dynamite is good too.
And don’t forget Beverly Hills Ninja!!!
One other… Marky Mark’s line in I Love Huckabees….
“We have a petroleum emergency”
That line cracked me up so hard.
The 40 Year old Virgin – “Hey, hey, hey , hey, hey motha fucka”-
Grandma’s Boy – “Who wants to hear about my STD from the silent film era?”
Strange Wilderness – “Looks like a quilt….Looks like a BALL quilt”