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BBC asked 253 critics to determine the best comedies ever made. The results are...

R

Rupetta

Member
There is a glaring irony in the "this is a whiteass list" comments... I think it is fairly obvious that the reason the ranking is like it is, is that it is not an angloamerican list but an average of an impressively global list. Some genres of humor do not translate well. If you read the text connected to the ranking this is evident "Annie Hall received no votes from French critics" "Dr Strangelove was voted on by Easter European critics" "The General came in second among the critics in both East Asia and South Asia, wheresilent movies were appreciated" "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella came in 11th among East Asian critics, but didn’t come close to cracking the top 100 as it only received those votes from those East Asian critics." http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170821-why-comedy-is-not-universal
 
G

GabeTheGrouch76

Member
They had a bunch of garbage comedies there but they couldn't be bothered to acknowledge Norbit as one of the greats. Sewer trash-tier list.

Happy to see Holy Grail and Hot Fuzz on there. Surprised nobody has noted that The Blues Brothers is on the list, great pick. Sad there's no Stephen Chow films though. Kung Fu Hustle is incredible.
 
T

the210

Member
Dreams-Visions said:
Coming To America is Eddie's at his best, quite easily. TP was fine tho. But it was certainly no Coming To America.
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I agree. Honestly I think the predominantly Black cast killed it's chances. If it was a short list it wouldn't bother me but to see Movies like Mean Girls and the Hangover on the list really is infuriating.
 
N

neurosisxeno

Member
Mathew Anderson from NYT UK:

"3. American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)"

Ooooookay...

Micheal Arbeiter from Nerdist list is pretty solid;

1. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
2. Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
3. Caddyshack (Harold Ramis, 1980)
4. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)
6. Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, 1980)
7. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Trey Parker, 1999)
8. The Producers (Mel Brooks, 1967)
9. The Cable Guy (Ben Stiller, 1996)
10. Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001)
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S

Switch Back 9

a lot of my threads involve me fucking up somehow. Perhaps I'm a moron?
the210 said:
I agree. Honestly I think the predominantly Black cast killed it's chances. If it was a short list it wouldn't bother me but to see Movies like Mean Girls and the Hangover on the list really is infuriating.
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Mean Girls was like a cultural stone for a whole generation. I've never seen it myself but the impact its had on people I know is huge. There's something to it.

The Hangover sucked though I can't believe its on there instead of a few of the movies mentioned in this thread.

EDIT: A Shot in the Dark should be on there! My god that's a crime.
 
C

C4Lukins

Junior Member
If you are going to include stuff like Dr. Strangelove and various Wes Anderson films, then I think films like Heathers, Election, Truman Show, Punchdrunk Love, Freeway, American Psycho, and Eternal Sunshine should be included.

I mean Broadcast News is on there which I love, but it is less of a comedy then several of the films I mentioned.

Edit: Just noticed lack of John Hughes films.
 
N

not psycho

Member
Interesting list. A lot of people say the opposite, but I think comedy holds up better than most genres; Buster Keaton's short films for example are still awe-inspiring (and often funnier per minute than The General, which itself is amazing). I used to dismiss the Marx brothers before seeing them, so it was truly shocking how funny Duck Soup is. Oh damn, just noticed they have The Lady Eve in the top 20, excellent.

My list would be very similar in the top 5 (with the exception of Some Like it Hot, which is ok but wouldn't be top 100 for me).

1. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
2. Groundhog Day (1993)
3. Hot Fuzz (2007)
4. The Lady Eve (1941)
5. Duck Soup (1933)

6. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
7. Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
8. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
9. Coming to America (1988)
10. The Twelve Chairs (1970)

11. A New Leaf (1971)
12. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
13. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
14. The Importance of Being Earnest (1952)
15. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953)

16. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
17. Love Exposure (2008)
18. The Life Aquatic (2004)
19. The General (1926)
20. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)

21. The Lobster (2016)
22. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
23. The Great Race (1965)
24. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
25. The Stunt Man (1980)
 
N

neurosisxeno

Member
bomma_man said:
Fair enough. I thought you were disputing its status as a comedy at all. Pulp Fiction's way more suspect on that point.
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I don't think Pulp Fiction qualifies. It has witty banter, but it's hardly comedic outside of that. I'd say Inglorious Basterds is more comedic than Pulp Fiction.
 
S

Suzzopher

Member
What a fantastic list, I wasn't expecting such a diverse list, I'd have thought it would have been mostly wanky arthouse comedies.

I am sad that the world continues to ignore The Wrong Guy.
 
R

Rupetta

Member
GabeTheGrouch76 said:
They had a bunch of garbage comedies there but they couldn't be bothered to acknowledge Norbit as one of the greats. Sewer trash-tier list.
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The critic from the New Yorker had Norbit at #10 No joke.

Edit: also shoutout to the critic frim IGN: "5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Leonard Nimoy, 1986)"

And one of the Mexican critics: "8. Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog, 2007)"
 
N

neurosisxeno

Member
Found the millennial film critic!

Julia Cooper of The Globe and Mail;

1. Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995)
2. Uncle Buck (John Hughes, 1989)
3. Mean Girls (Mark Waters, 2004)
4. Obvious Child (Gillian Robespierre, 2014)
5. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
6. Home Alone (Chris Columbus, 1990)
7. Fargo (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1996)
8. Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011)
9. ¡Three Amigos! (John Landis, 1986)
10. Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (David Mirkin, 1997)
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Runner-up is Kate Erbland from Indiewire.
 
Z

zoukka

Member
Peltz said:
Yea, but humor does age poorly sometimes. It's not like other genres.
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Unlike the timeless gems from Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller lmao.

People trying to narrate this as old people liking old movies to justify their shit taste in movies.
 
Alx

Alx

Member
C4Lukins said:
If you are going to include stuff like Dr. Strangelove and various Wes Anderson films, then I think films like Heathers, Election, Truman Show, Punchdrunk Love, Freeway, American Psycho, and Eternal Sunshine should be included.
Click to expand...

The Truman Show is a great movie, but it's not a big comedy, there are very few funny moments. It's more tragic, actually.
I don't have clear memories of Eternal Sunshine (lol), but I think it's in the same situation, it's not really a movie you watch to laugh or even chuckle.
 
R

Rupetta

Member
This is the US only top 30 list:

Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, 1980)
Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, 1975)
Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924)
Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)

Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974)
This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984)
The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974)
Raising Arizona (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1987)
Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982)
Animal House (John Landis, 1978)
To Be or Not To Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
My Man Godfrey (Gregory La Cava, 1936)

Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995)
Caddyshack (Harold Ramis, 1980)
City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934)
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Adam McKay, 2004)
Step Brothers (Adam McKay, 2008)
Sullivan’s Travels (Preston Sturges, 1941)
Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979)
 
S

Sidewinder

Member
Airplane! at No. 7...hmm I guess I should watch this again some day, because when I saw it more than 20 years ago I didn't think it was that good.

The Big Lebowski should be No.1, therefore that list isn't valid anyway.

Groundhog Day and Dr. Strangelove are very good choices though!
 
T

travisbickle

Member
Some Like it Hot will forever be the number one comedy, people need to except it's a classic compared to the shit comedy you saw at an impressionable age.
 
A

autumnleaf

Member
Messofanego said:
Yes. Along with people listing Dodgeball, White Chicks, Kung Pow, Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura, Happy Gilmore, and Jack And Jill.
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GTFO
giphy.gif
 
N

NoblesseOblige

Banned
Just gonna go ahead and say Dr. Strangelove is funnier than anything released in the last 30 years (ie trash).

It's my number 2 favorite movie, and number 1 favorite comedy. I have seen Some Like It Hot, but personally didn't think it better.
 
L

Lonely1

Unconfirmed Member
No, Ahí está el detalle. Meh.

To be Fair, Cantinflas humor relies extensively on his usage of the Spanish language.
 
N

Neith

Banned
It's a classic list for the top ten. It's not too bad though. This kind of list is actually impossible so whatever.

Happy Gilmore and Dodgeball deserve to be on there. Fucking Zoolander lol? WHAT THE.... no.

Love seeing all the Tati. I just got the Criterion bluray set on sale. I have only seen Playtime. Was very cool.

I feel like another Coen brothers or Anderson film should have slipped on there somehow.

Does Fantastic Fox not qualify? Boo hoo as that is a masterpiece. Hard to just not put another Anderson flick on there if you ask me.
 
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