The Funniest Comedies Ever

The Gods Must be Crazy 2
      1989 | South Africa | Laughs: 8.6 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

We meet Xi the bushman again as he goes on another mission—this time, to find his children. The plot is not as complex as that of the original movie (it mostly stays in the tracks of a truck), nor is it as funny, but the movie is cute and pleasant to watch. (Last viewed: Aug 1989 July 2010)

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This is Spinal Tap
      1984 | USA | Laughs: 8.3 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 8.0
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This movie that defined the mockumentary genre pretends to follow British band Spinal Tap as it tours the United States to launch its latest album. The two lead band members feel so real you keep grinning from start to finish. A few things go wrong. You may surprise yourself being fascinated as though you were watching a doco about the Beatles or David Bowie, whose music Spinal Tap's resembles in some of its periods. (Last viewed: Jul 1995 June 2010)

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Airplane!
      1980 | USA | Laughs: 8.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.8
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Many people say that Airplane! is the funniest movie they've ever seen; I wonder if they've watched it lately. When the pilots of a flight to Chicago (and most of the passengers) get food poisoning, the burden of landing the plane falls on the shoulders of a former war pilot still grappling with psychological damage. Very silly. Some laughs. (Last viewed: June 2010)

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The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
      1966 | USA | Laughs: 5.1 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.1
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The crew of a Russian submarine stranded on a small island off the coast meets the villagers. You probably won't laugh (hasn't our sense of humor changed since 1966), but you might still find the movie irresistibly cute. Personal theory: Alan Arkin's Lieutnant Rozanof inspired the personage of Borat. (Last viewed: June 2010)

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The Ladykillers
      1955 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.8
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A mild-mannered gangster (Alec Guinness) rents a room from an elderly lady to plot his next robbery. While he and his accomplices hash out details in the room, they pretend to rehearse for a string quintet. A charming movie that made me smile, but not laugh—surprisingly for a comedy that features Peter Sellers: he was grossly underused by the script, an Alec Guinness vehicle. (Last viewed: June 2010)

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Arsenic and Old Lace
      1944 | USA | Laughs: 4.7 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 8.0
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A famous art critic discovers that his two aunts have made a habit of poisoning some of their elderly lodgers to put them out of their misery. When his older brother (a convicted criminal on the run) arrives with his assistant, a German plastic surgeon, the house turns into a pressure cooker. This movie came out in 1944, and I don't think the humor works anymore. Cary Grant in particular is unbearably loud. Sorry, handsome. (Last viewed: Mar 1980 June 2010)

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The Cable Guy
      1996 | USA | Laughs: 1.3 (Just Awful) | imdb: 6.1
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A lonely cable guy (Jim Carrey) decides he wants to become one of his customers' best friends. Starts out silly (with some good laughs), ends up psycho. I wanted to watch a comedy, mama, not a stalker movie! Only watch if you're ready to zap. (Last viewed: June 2010)

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Meatballs
      1979 | Canada | Laughs: 6.8 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.2
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Bill Murray is the head counselor at a summer camp. It's 1979, so it's not as raunchy as it sounds. Not very funny either, but cute, and you want to watch it once because it's Bill Murray. Made in Canada.

In the Summer camp theme, Wet Hot American Summer is better value. (Last viewed: June 2010)

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Blades of Glory
      2007 | USA | Laughs: 8.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Disqualified from the solo category for getting into a fight, two rival male figure skaters pair up and sign up for a couple skating championship in order to stay in the sport. Well-paced and visually striking (the directors come from advertising), innocent as in the olden days, keeps you smiling and perhaps sometimes laughing. (Last viewed: May 2010)

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Role Models
      2008 | USA | Laughs: 6.3 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.8
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To avoid spending a month in jail, two buddies sign up for a mentoring program: each will be the "role model" for a troubled kid. Full of foul language and adult themes, but good natured… You forgive everything because of the several hard laughs. (Last viewed: May 2010)

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Encino Man
      1992 | USA | Laughs: 6.2 (Watch Once) | imdb: 5.7
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This was recommended to me by a clerk in a video store who said it was one of the rare movies where she couldn't stop laughing. I don't have quite the same sense of humor, but maybe you do. If you watch this movie in a generous mood, you're sure to enjoy it because it is fun, and at times very funny. It's refreshing to watch a high school comedy that doesn't run on sex and alcohol. Two friends introduce their high school to Link, a young man from the Ice Age whom they found while digging a pool. As silly as it sounds… and that's a good thing. (Last viewed: May 2010)

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Thank You for Smoking
      2005 | USA | Laughs: N/A (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.6
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Follows the adventures of the tobacco industry's top PR guy. You end up liking him, of course. Fun. (Last viewed: May 2010)

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Alvin Purple (Alvin Purple Rides Again)
      1973 | Australia | Laughs: 5.2 (Watch Once) | imdb: 5.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

For unknown reasons, a young man cannot keep women away, an "affliction" that he gets him into trouble at school then as he enters the workforce. You may not laugh, but Australians will enjoy images of Australia in the early 1970s. Prude alert: sexual content. As for the sequel (Alvin Purple Rides Again), the same story goes on a road trip, but it gets stranded in the weakest of casino robbery plots—firmly in the "Don't Bother Watching" category. (Last viewed: May 2010)

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Emoh Ruo
      1985 | Australia | Laughs: 5.1 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.2
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A young couple lives in a caravan by a gorgeous beach, but the young lady starts to dream "the Great Australian Dream"—moving the family into their very own house. When the couple manages to secure a mortgage and buy a house, everything goes wrong. If you're told that the title is "Our Home" in reverse, you might start to suspect that this movie's jokes are not exactly side-splitting. Charming shots of 1970s Australia; for serious students of Australiana only. (Last viewed: May 2010)

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Funny People
      1977 | South Africa | Laughs: 8.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.4
      who was involved?

South African candid camera classic by Jamie Uys, the director of The Gods Must Be Crazy. When it first came out, I howled in the theatre. On second viewing 23 years later, some of the situations still give me a hard laugh that makes some of the longish bits forgivable. Most of the scenes are obviously dubbed, and some seem to use actors rather than a hidden camera. The slightly patronizing tone of the (often dislikable) crew towards blacks also has interest for historical reasons. Favorite scenes: the dentist, the steak and fries, the camera shop. (Last viewed: Apr 1982 May 2010)

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Fletch Lives
      1989 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.1
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Never mind what they say about sequels being awful, Chevy Chase is in good form in this second Fletch as he battles villains in Louisiana. A chance to smile for ninety minutes, hear the classic Fletch theme tune and detect fake from real Southern accents. (Last viewed: April 2010)

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Kenny
      2006 | Australia | Laughs: 7.9 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

What? This was not a real documentary?" That's how I felt at the end of Kenny, a film that follows an Australian porta-loo installer and his truck as he travels where his trade takes him: concerts, races, and a sewage equipment convention in the United States. If it feels so real, it is because of the director's uncompromising "Get real, we're all people" message. I will long remember a sample of the film's clever, understated humor—a line of Kenny's ailing dad when he incites Kenny to take the management job he's been offered: "In life, no one looks up to you until you're sitting down." Five stars. (Last viewed: April 2010)

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Muriel's Wedding
      1994 | Australia | Laughs: N/A (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.2
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Everybody tells Muriel she's "daggy" (Aussie for uncool). By the end of this underdog story, she's made a place for herself, at least in her own heart. Featuring Australian archetypes and classic shots of the Gold Coast: required viewing for serious students of Australiana. (Last viewed: April 2010)

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Lost in Translation
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.8
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Five stars. Bill Murray shoots a whiskey ad in Tokyo. For the full review, skip over to my "Brush up your Japanese" page. (Last viewed: Mar 2003 March 2010)

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Block-Heads
      1938 | USA | Laughs: 8.1 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.7
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Brought back from the trenches twenty years after the war, Stan Laurel enters the apartment of his old friend Oliver Hardy on the day of his first wedding anniversary. Everything goes delightfully wrong. The funniest Laurel & Hardy movie I've watched, by far. I like that this film is not as violent as most others by Laurel & Hardy, films whose humor largely relies on Oliver getting hurt. (Last viewed: February 2010)

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Goodbye, Pork Pie
      1981 | New Zealand | Laughs: 5.2 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

If you can (i) get your hands on it and (ii) get over the accent, this classic New Zealand comedy is sure to give you a laugh and more than a few chuckles. Two petty crims make their way in a stolen yellow mini from Auckland (in NZ's North Island) to Invercargill, at the southern end of the South Island. (Last viewed: February 2010)

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National Lampoon's Vacation (a.k.a Vacation)
      1983 | USA | Laughs: 6.9 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.4
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Clarke Griswald (Chevy Chase) drives his family across country from Chicago to Wally World. Part of the movie's charm is that it skirts the line between family movie and adult comedy. Definitely very cute, with a few great moments. If you're in a very forgiving mood, you can also watch Christmas Vacation, which I find flat but some people prefer. Do yourself a favor and skip European Vacation and Las Vegas vacation. (Last viewed: October 2009)

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Caddyshack
      1980 | USA | Laughs: 6.8 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.3
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A slice in the crazy life of a golf club. Fun throughout, but real laughs are few. The funniest scene—surprise?—is the one time when Chevy Chase and Bill Murray come face to face. It used to puzzle me why some people (especially men born in the late 1960s) consider this the funniest comedy ever. When I watched it again, it all became clear: what these men probably enjoyed most, when they first watched Caddyshack in their teens, was the nudity. It's the same principle that earns "American Pie" the status of funniest movie ever with many men of the next generation. (Last viewed: Aug 1991 October 2009)

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Southpark: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
      1999 | USA | Laughs: 5.3 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

If you can stand a certain amount of obscenity and crassness, you'll probably find a laugh or two in this animation, which is delightfully counter-cultural and subversive. (Last viewed: October 2009)

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Police Academy (a.k.a What an Institution)
      1984 | USA | Laughs: 9.5 (Laugh Out Loud) | imdb: 6.7
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To avoid being shut down, a Vermont highway patrol unit competes with the local police to impress the Governor. Many of the comic situations develop because these cops say and do things you never see cops say and do in movies. If you're looking for an intellectual brand of humor, Super Troopers may not be for you. The people I watched the movie with called it stupid, but who cares, I laughed hard, and they did too. (Last viewed: September 2009)

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Beverly Hills Cop
      1984 | USA | Laughs: 8.7 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.3
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Despite a brutal murder scene and lots of shootings, this movie packs lots of laughters. A Detroit cop (Eddie Murphy) elopes to Los Angeles to investigate the murder of a childhood friend. There, he must play a cat-and-mouse game with the local police. Bonus: It's 1984, and the clothing styles and theme music are just wonderful. Don't bother watching the sequel. (Last viewed: September 2009)

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The Spy who Shagged Me
      1999 | USA | Laughs: 8.3 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.6
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The first Austin Powers sequel. The jokes are starting to head in the direction of the bathroom, but still very funny. One wishes there weren't so many barely disguised ads in this movie. By the way, don't bother watching Goldmember, the third instalment in the series. (Last viewed: September 2009)

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The Pink Panther
      1963 | USA | Laughs: 7.8 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.2
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A slow start at a ski resort in Italy where Sir Charles plans to steal the Princess's diamond under Inspector Clouseau's eyes. No hard laughter in this first Pink Panther movie (where Clouseau is not yet the main character), but a number of surreal scenes make it a 1960s art classic that you'll be glad to watch again. Clouseau is much more human—and endearing—than the caricature to come in the following installments. (Last viewed: September 2009)

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A Shot in the Dark
      1964 | USA | Laughs: 7.7 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.5
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Jacques Clouseau in a movie without the Pink Panther diamond (or the Pink Panther theme music). Since his first film, Clouseau has acquired a silly accent, a servant (Kato), a superior (commissioner Dreyfus), while his erstwhile innocent charm has turned into mild idiocy. Clouseau is convinced that Maria Gambrelli, a cute maid at the Balland residence, is innocent of the murder of Miguel the driver, even though she was found with the murder weapon in her hand. This early Pink Panther may not make you laugh out loud, but it has an enduring charm, thanks in part to magnificent photography of Paris streets in the 1960s and of unlikely settings, in trademark Blake Edwards style. Unfortunately, so memorable it cannot be watched often. (Last viewed: September 2009)

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Return of the Pink Panther
      1975 | USA | Laughs: 7.7 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.1
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Twelve years later, a new Sir Charles, and an acrobatic theft of the famous diamond somewhere in a country that could be Iran. Clouseau's accent has thickened. Indeed, the character has become a caricature of the original. And the movie is funnier than the original, though not as classy. With his Clouseau-phobic fixation, Dreyfus is way over the top. (Last viewed: September 2009)

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