The Funniest Comedies Ever

Beerfest
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 2.5 (Just Awful) | imdb: 6.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After laughing hard on Super Troopers, I looked for other movies by the Broken Lizard comedy group and settled on Beerfest, which had the highest IMDB rating (6.1) of director Jay Chandrasekhar's other films, most of them poorly rated. The plot has to do with the American branch of a German family training for a beer-drinking competition. If you enjoy movies with grotesque characters, Beerfest might make you laugh, but it just didn't work for me. (Last viewed: April 2011)

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Pineapple Express
      2008 | USA | Laughs: N/A (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Two stars. Two potheads try to escape a murderous dealer. One of the thousand movies since Pulp Fiction that derive much of their "humor" from showing people shooting people as though that were as casual an activity as brushing one's teeth. (Last viewed: April 2011)

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Sister Act
      1992 | USA | Laughs: 6.4 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.3
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To protect her from her mobster ex-boyfriend, the police places a loud-spoken casino singer (Whoopi Goldberg) in a convent. Starts slow, but cute and clean, with a few good laughs. (Last viewed: March 2011)

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Harold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay
      2008 | USA | Laughs: 4.9 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.6
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Only watch if you want to see a perfect comedy balance wasted. In this sequel to Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, the writers destroy the character of Kumar, turning the brilliant young man into an insensitive jerk. Harold's character is unchanged, but the magic is lost. No doubt, some good moments can be found in the middle of a hundred minutes of sewer-level language and situations. (Last viewed: January 2011)

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Johnny English
      2003 | U.K. | Laughs: 2.8 (Just Awful) | imdb: 6.1
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Sorry. I laughed hard at many of the old Mr. Bean series, but Roy Atkinson's ventures on the big screen haven't work on me. Something about needing a plot, perhaps. To give you an example, in this movie, jewels get robbed. The next day, investigators follow the tunnel right below the robbery location and immediately stumble upon the robbers in a room at the end of the tunnel. The whole script is on the same level of pathetic. Surprisingly, the sequel (Johnny English Reborn) is worth a watch. (Last viewed: January 2011)

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Office Space
      1999 | USA | Laughs: 8.6 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.8
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Life in a cubicle… the movie. Perhaps it inspired The Office, the UK TV series that spawned a US series by the same name. Very funny during the scene-setting phase. Once the movie acquires a plot, it loses steam on the laughs. For my taste, they could have made the entire movie without a plot—it would only have enhanced the study of pointlessness. (Last viewed: December 2010)

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Whatever Works
      2009 | USA | Laughs: 5.8 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.2
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An aging physics genius with a deep distaste for humankind (Larry David) reluctantly becomes involved with a twenty-one-year-old Southern belle. Larry David gives Allen's whining monologues a much more bearable tone than Allen's own. It's a match made in heaven: I cannot stand most of Allen's movies of the past twenty years, but I did enjoy this one. Do not expect a believable plot… Woody Allen never is, probably because he is too inward-focused to understand the world of people. Good chuckles, might even watch again some day. (Last viewed: November 2010)

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Ferris Bueller's Day Off
      1986 | USA | Laughs: 9.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.8
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Ferris decides to take a day off from high school and look at life outside. I love this movie: several endearing characters (Ferris is a treasure), a tale of rule-breaking without guns and cuss words, lots of grins and a few good laughs. (Last viewed: October 2010)

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Dinner for Shmucks
      2010 | USA | Laughs: 7.3 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 5.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

An ambitious professional receives the mission of inviting an "idiot" for dinner to entertain his boss. Many laughs in this Hollywood adaptation of The Dinner Game, one of the funniest movies ever, but the US version pales in comparison to the French original. Well, it's Hollywood, and they just had to show the dinner—easily the weakest scene in the movie; it truly is a dinner for shmucks, and the shmucks are the Hollywood people who asked for the dinner scene. Oh, and the movie also had to feature an utterly stupid romance. On the redeeming side, I was thrilled to see Jemaine Clement, a brilliant New Zealand actor (Flight of the Conchords, Eagle vs Shark). (Last viewed: October 2010)

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Clerks
      1994 | USA | Laughs: 3.3 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 7.8
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A black-and-white film purporting to present a day in the life of two clerks in a convenience store and the attending video store. Clerks didn't make me laugh when it came out, but in the coming years it attained something of a cult following, so I thought I'd give the movie another shot. It still doesn't make me laugh. The dialogue sounds like it's out of a book, clashing with the "realistic" images of the store. (Last viewed: Jul 1995 October 2010)

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The Big Lebowski
      1998 | USA | Laughs: N/A (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 8.2
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A Los Angeles "unemployed long-hair cool dude" gets embroiled in a kidnapping story involving the wife of a millionaire who shares his last name, Lebowski. He gets the well-intentioned but ineffective help of his bowling buddy. Fun but not laugh-out-loud. (Last viewed: Dec 1998 October 2010)

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Get Smart
      2008 | USA | Laughs: 8.8 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Spoof spy movie featuring Steve Carell, the boss in the US version of The Office. Much of the humor draws from the spies exposing their everyday human side. Good laughs! Only reproach: it's a bit of a work-out for the eyes—I didn't need all the special effects. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Grandma's Boy
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 7.9 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A fun dip into the world of the young guys who work for a video game company. An attractive female project manager walks in to get a game back on track, the genius programmer tries to seduce her, and the main tester moves in with his grandma and her roommates. The punchline after the dance game contest gave me a good laugh; smiled throughout the rest. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Analyze This
      1999 | USA | Laughs: 7.4 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.7
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Shaken by his mentor's demise, a mobster (Robert De Niro) seeks the counsel of a psychoanalyst (Billy Crystal) who reluctantly gets acquainted with the underworld. The string of uncomfortable situations and the interplay between the two main characters keeps you smiling. Don't bother watching the sequel, Analyze That. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Happy Gilmore
      1996 | USA | Laughs: 6.7 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.0
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Happy Gilmore has always dreamed of becoming a professional ice hockey player, and although he has formidable power when shooting the puck, he cannot skate. When the IRS threatens to auction his grandma's house, Happy unwillingly enrolls on the pro golf circuit after discovering that he can drive the ball over an exceptional distance. Cute and often funny, but not tight enough that I'd want to watch it again. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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If It's Tuesday, this must be Belgium
      1969 | USA | Laughs: 5.8 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A group of Americans travel to Europe for a tour of nine countries in eighteen days. Clean, cute and full of chuckles. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Way Out West
      1937 | USA | Laughs: 5.7 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Two companions travel to a pioneer town to find the daughter of a deceased miner and give her the deed to her father's gold mine. They get swindled by an unscrupulous couple. Produced by Stan Laurel, this film is probably one of the best "Laurel & Hardy" features (though far behind Block Heads). There is not much to laugh at, but there is lots to make you smile, from the cute music scenes to the flying mule and the ignitable thumb. I also appreciate that it is not as violent as most Laurel & Hardy shorts. Only an hour long, worth a watch. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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There's Something About Mary
      1998 | USA | Laughs: 6.8 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.1
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Hankering for "what could have been", a thirty-year-old man (Ben Stiller) hires a private investigator to track down his high-school flame, Mary. The investigator finds Mary but falls for her. Ben Stiller made me chuckle with the same charming awkwardness that made him shine in Meet the Parents. A particular treat for me was his best friend Dom (Chris Elliott), whom I recognized from his role as Larry the cameraman in Groundhog Day, one of my favorite comedies. The first half had some good laughs, the second half was entertaining. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Sons of the Desert
      1933 | USA | Laughs: 5.7 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This is supposed to be one of Laurel & Hardy's funniest feature films (with Way out West and Block Heads), and it's worth a watch, if only for historical reasons. Two men lie to their wives to travel to Chicago for the national convention of their men's club, "Sons of the Desert". There's not a lot to make you laugh, but there's a lot to make you smile. I guess thick caricatures have had their day in the sun—maybe we've moved a bit past that. I did laugh in the last minute, when you see the different fate that awaits the two husbands. As Stan explains, "honesty is the best politics". (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Big Daddy
      1999 | USA | Laughs: 3.8 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Man adopts child who shows up at the door with a note from the mom for the man's roommate, presumably the father. I like Adam Sandler, but the plot is so weak I had to stop after half an hour. No laughs. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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The Waterboy
      1998 | USA | Laughs: 1.6 (Just Awful) | imdb: 6.1
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Adam Sandler plays a slightly "slow" grown man who dispenses water to the players of a football team. Painful, had to stop after twenty minutes. Maybe I missed the good part. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Analyze That
      2002 | USA | Laughs: 1.6 (Just Awful) | imdb: 5.9
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Dismal sequel to Analyze This. These retarded Hollywood scripte writers couldn't help themselves…instead of featuring a believable mafia concerned with extortion and car wreckers, they had to invent a James-Bond-scale heist and make it unravel in the middle of a movie set—don't you know the whole world revolves around movies? De Niro and Crystal's strong acting coax out a few smiles, but even they could not save the movie from its sinking, stinking plot. Pathetic. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Dance of the Vampires (a.k.a The Fearless Vampire Killers)
      1967 | USA | Laughs: N/A (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Four stars. An eccentric professor travels to Transylvania to research vampires in company of his young assistant (Roman Polanski), who falls in love with the innkeeper's daughter (Sharon Tate) shortly before "his Excellency", the head vampire of the local castle, plunges his fangs into her neck. Every detail about the Eastern European inn and castle feels real. A beautiful movie that has stuck in my mind since I first saw it as a kid. (Last viewed: Mar 1982 September 2010)

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Ali G, Aiii
      2000 | U.K. | Laughs: 9.7 (Laugh Out Loud) | imdb: 7.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Compilation of clips from Da Ali G Show, the original UK TV series featuring Sasha Baron Cohen in the role of Ali G. A fake gangsta-rapper show host interviews a number of unsuspecting people on topics ranging from politics to animal rights. The segment where Ali G quizzes a law enforcement official on the merits of various drugs is on my all-time favorite list of sure laughs. In fact, the laughs keep coming, making Aiii one of the funniest tapes in circulation today… Sadly, none of Cohen's later material that I've seen comes close for quality or potency—perhaps because to reach the mass market, the producers had to dig in the toilet and cross the line between humor and disrespect. On Aiii, there is still a sense that it's all in good fun and that the "victims" can join into the laughter once the situation is revealed. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Crocodile Dundee II
      1988 | Australia | Laughs: N/A (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 5.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Two stars. The best thing about this movie is the poster. Unlike the original Crocodile Dundee, this is not so much a comedy as a light-hearted adventure movie. The cocaine-drug-lord story line is as weak as it gets, but the film has its good moments, especially once the plot tears itself away from New York and moves back to Australia. No matter how awful the screen writers you throw at him, Paul Hogan's character is good value. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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Meet the Parents
      2000 | USA | Laughs: 9.7 (Laugh Out Loud) | imdb: 7.0
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A man plans to propose to his girlfriend, but first he must meet her parents. You cringe and laugh as Greg (Ben Stiller) does everything—wrong—to secure the approval of her tough dad (Robert De Niro), a former CIA agent. The movie has several laugh-out-loud moments, but it is also funny throughout even if you sometimes want to scream rather than laugh, as you watch in disbelief, horrified by how Greg's situation keeps worsening by the minute, fighting the impulse to cover your face as his plight reaches new levels of awful. All the minute psychological observations that build the story's tension and humor are right on target and make this movie a delightful little marvel. (Last viewed: August 2010)

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Meet the Fockers
      2004 | USA | Laughs: 8.4 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The movie made me laugh as much as Meet the Parents, perhaps more. Seen from the viewpoint of this page (movies that make you laugh), it is therefore as good as the original, a rare feat for a sequel. However, it must be said that overall, it is not as good a movie. Meet the Parents has a story that you'll never forget. Meet Fockers makes you laugh, but it doesn't have a story apart from the simple set-up: Greg, his fiancée and her parents travel down to Florida to meet Greg's parents. In the original movie, the discomfort Greg felt as he tried to please Jack was potent and contagious. In the sequel, the discomfort is second-hand as Greg worries about his parents' conduct with Jack. You also don't have the joy or discovering Jack's character (Robert De Niro) for the first time—in fact they've made Jack less human. On the other hand, the movie has other treats in store: Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand, who play Greg's parents. Forget the sequel, Little Fockers. (Last viewed: August 2010)

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Uncle Buck
      1989 | USA | Laughs: 6.4 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.0
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When a couple leaves town hurriedly to attend to a sick relative, they have no choice but to call Uncle Buck (the family's "charity case") to look after the house and kids—two young' uns and a surly teenage girl. The teenager subplot is as boring and predictable as teenagers themselves, but John Candy and the little boy (who starred in Home Alone the next year) tease out bit smiles. (Last viewed: August 2010)

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Easy Money
      1983 | USA | Laughs: 1.5 (Just Awful) | imdb: 6.3
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An outgoing man who loves drink, games and smoke must give up his "sins" for one year in order for his wife to inherit ten million dollars. Rodney Dangerfield tries hard, but the laughs don't come—I feel sorry for him and the crew, as it's a cute story. Honorable appearance by Joe Pesci as the best friend who helps you get in (or stay out of) trouble. (Last viewed: August 2010)

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My Cousin Vinny
      1992 | USA | Laughs: N/A (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.5
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Four stars. An excellent, fun, even funny movie, but not the kind that has you in stitches. A New York lawyer (Joe Pesci) travels to Alabama with his fiancee to defend his nephew and another youngster, who have been falsely accused of murdering a grocery store clerk. It's always pleasant to see justice triumph—hopefully, it doesn't only happen in the movies. (Last viewed: August 2010)

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