The Funniest Comedies Ever

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 8.5 (Laugh Out Loud) | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Warning: this movie is sometimes extremely graphic and often very vulgar. I didn't want to watch it again because I remembered how vulgar it often is. So it almost pains me to say that despite all this, Borat is a very funny movie. You laugh, but the movie leaves you feeling dirty. A television reporter from Kazakhstan is sent to New York to report on America. Soon, he decides to travel cross-country in order to marry Pamela Anderson. From the way he moves to the way he speaks, Sasha Baron Cohen is simply brilliant in this role. And yet, you hate him a little bit for the crass material he subjects you to. Keep children away when you are watching. (Last viewed: Oct 2008 October 2012)

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What about Bob
      1991 | USA | Laughs: 8.6 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A clingy new patient stalks his psychiatrist all the way to the doctor's lakeside holiday home. The family loves Bob, but the doctor wants him gone. Richard Dreyfuss and Bill Murray are excellent opposite each other. I love this movie—it has me grinning from beginning to end. Side-note: Bill Murray gets to practice his Heimlich Maneuver as in Groundhog Day, but not as expertly. (Last viewed: Nov 2008 October 2012)

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Life of Brian
      1979 | U.K. | Laughs: 2.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 8.1
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

The story of Brian of Nazareth, who had a parallel though more obscure life than a celebrated contemporary prophet. The movie has funny and perhaps clever moments, but I don't think you will laugh. It quickly loses points in the opening scenes by featuring a man who uses a shrill voice to play the role of a woman, a device I always find irritating—and hard on the ear. What's the point? Is that funny? On the more pleasant side, there's a lot of John Cleese to be seen, as well as pretty Tunisian landscapes. There's an animated Star Wars sequence, and the movie ends on the now classic song Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Eric Idle. The movie was banned in some places, which speaks less for the movie itself than about a rampant disease, human idiocy. If only for cultural reasons, it is worth a watch. (Last viewed: Jul 1995 October 2012)

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail
      1975 | U.K. | Laughs: 1.0 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 8.3
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

King Arthur and the knights of the round table go searching for the holy grail. Many people rate this as the funniest movie ever. I take that as proof that collective hallucinations do happen. In fact what people remember as being funny may well be the experience of watching this film in a drunken group. After forcing myself to watch it again on my own, I can assure you that the funniest part of the movie is the opening credits. To be sure, there are scenes that will bring you a smile, but they are all stretched out for so long that you'll want to yawn. That, some worthless musical scenes, and some boring animation, combine to make this 90-minute movie feel like two hours and a half. Oh, and let's not forget the amazingly bleak colors, which cannot all be put on account of English weather as some English movies are beautiful, but must be the result of appalling cinematography. Burn me at the stake, but it has to be said: This is a boring movie. If you want to laugh, watch Fawlty Towers, also featuring John Cleese. (Last viewed: Nov 1991 October 2012)

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It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
      1963 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 (Just Awful) | imdb: 7.6
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

As a man who crashed his car is about to die, he tells the five people who came down the ravine to assist him that a treasure lies buried 200 miles away. A mad hunt ensues. For humor, this movie relies on a single device—to have people punched, trampled and beaten up in a hundred other ways. It's also from a time when yelling at the top of one's voice was considered good acting. With two hours and forty minutes of this loud rubbish, watching it is extremely hard work. The best thing about the movie is the story I am about to tell you. I once asked a German visitor to tell me the names of the funniest German movies he had seen. He replied that his mom would be the one to ask, and that in fact she had often told him that as a young woman she had seen a movie that was so funny that during the projection a man had died of a heart attack. Needless to say, I immediately pushed the house phone in his hand and asked him to ring his mom. She told him that the movie was called Eine total, total verrückte Welt. I was excited to discover this amazing German movie, but a few seconds on Google revealed that it was in fact an American movie, the one we are now discussing. This shows how much we have moved on since 1963. I am sure that my grandfather (may he rest in peace) would have laughed if he had seen this movie as a boy, in the 1920s. People were simpler then. The fact that this movie still has a high imdb rating shows me that many people on imdb rate movies based on how they remember them, rather than rating them right after watching them again. There is simply no way that anyone in the 21st century could give this film more than a five out of ten, and that would be insanely generous. I wasted my time for you. Do yourself a favor and watch something else. (Last viewed: October 2012)

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Me, Myself And Irene
      2000 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A State trooper who has let others walk all over him for too many years acquires a split personality disorder. His other self is rather rough, which is handy when time comes to rescue a damsel in distress. Even funnier than Jim Carrey's decent performance is the dynamics between his three black kids. There's lots to like in this movie, though it's a little too unpolished to embrace whole-heartedly. (Last viewed: October 2012)

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One, Two, Three
      1961 | USA | Laughs: 2.5 (Just Awful) | imdb: 7.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

During the Cold War, the head of Coca-Cola in West Berlin must host the big boss's 17-year-old daughter, who falls in love with a handsome party member from East-Berlin. This movie is from a time when it was considered good acting to yell for the entire length of a movie. That's what the main character does, and it's really hard on the ear. There's also that awful, never-ending circus music that's been used in a million films since sound was introduced to the cinema. If you forgive that and the smug cold-war American propaganda, you're left with a fairly amusing farce—but no laughs. The story would have gone down a lot better if everyone had been more chilled out. This is Hollywood at its worst. (Last viewed: October 2012)

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Van Wilder
      2002 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

The most popular man on campus, who is so in love with college that after seven years he still doesn't want to graduate, falls for the girl who has been assigned to interview him for the school paper. Despite a few gross-out scenes, this movie is not crass by today's standards. I found it quite pleasant. I enjoyed seeing Ryan Reynolds, whom I'd only recently discovered in The Change-Up, as well as Kal Penn from Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Well worth a watch. (Last viewed: October 2012)

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What's Up, Tiger Lily?
      1966 | USA | Laughs: 1.1 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Woody Allen took a Japanese spy movie and changed the soundtrack, turning it into a comedy. It's goofy, easy on the eyes, and if you're in a tolerant mood it will make you smile. (Last viewed: October 2012)

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Road Trip
      2000 | USA | Laughs: 7.1 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A college road movie that is not completely crass despite some nudity and an adult video tape at the core of the plot? Yes, it's possible. A college student travels cross-country with his friends to retrieve a tape that was erroneously sent to his long-distance girl-friend. The story is well told, and it's much more funny than it is raunchy. (Last viewed: October 2012)

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Keeping the Faith
      2000 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Two best friends (a rabbi and a priest) are reunited with a girl who was their other best friend when they were eight. Only now they both fall in love with her. As romantic comedies go, this one isn't too sappy, perhaps because it's got more than one track. I like it when Ben Stiller isn't playing a freak. This is one of his better roles. In large part thanks to him, the movie has many funny moments. The rest of the cast performs well too, and it's an enjoyable watch. (Last viewed: October 2012)

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Wayne's World
      1992 | USA | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A pair of friends who broadcast a community TV show out of their basement are courted by a ruthless producer. Once I overcame my negative reaction to the all-out charge of goofiness, I settled into the story and enjoyed the movie, which has a few chuckles and a number of clever jokes. (Last viewed: Apr 1999 September 2012)

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Bruce Almighty
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.7
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Bruce, a man who complains that God is persecuting him, finally meets God, who gives him the job of being God to see if he can do it better. After playing with his super powers, Bruce, who is only given a small section of Buffalo (New York) to start with, finds out that the job is not as easy as it sounds. This movie makes me chuckle a lot. The one scene that made me laugh out loud actually features Steve Carell in the lead, but Jim Carrey does a great job. For my taste, the ending scenes are a tad on the exalted side, but given the theme it could have been a lot worse. (Last viewed: Feb 2004 September 2012)

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Three Amigos
      1986 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Three actors known as the "three amigos" in a series of Western movies are naively called in by a Mexican village facing trouble with real bandits. They misunderstand the telegram and travel to Mexico assuming they have been hired to put on a well-paid show. Cute, but probably not worth watching unless you're about eight years old. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
      1982 | USA | Laughs: 2.5 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A beautiful woman hires a detective to investigate her father's death. Soon, you realize that many of the segments where someone plays opposite Steve Martin were taken from other films—black-and-white crime flicks from the 1940s and 1950s. The humor is laid with a light touch, so you won't burst out laughing, but the movie is beautifully put together and it's fun to watch. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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House Party
      1990 | USA | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A high-school student goes to a party despite his father's wishes. Over the course of the night, some things go bad for him, others go well. This is not really a movie where you laugh, but you do smile the whole time—at least I did. It's funny and it's a good movie, with several great characters. With its uninspiring poster, it would be easy to miss. That would be a shame. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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I Love You Man
      2009 | USA | Laughs: 4.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Faced with the fact he doesn't have any male friends, a man who is about to get married tries to get a buddy, and soon succeeds. A cute story with perfect Los Angeles weather and a fun cast (but no side-splitting scenes). It was nice to see a bit of Andy Samberg from Hot Rod. In the main roles, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Rashida Jones all did a great job. Well worth a watch. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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She's the Man
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 6.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

When her twin brother elopes to London, a girl pretends to be him for the first two weeks at his new high school so she can play on the soccer team. I liked this movie a lot. When women play men's roles, to me it usually feels phony in a really bad way. But for some reason, perhaps just great acting, for once it was very funny. By the way, what is it with movies about young women wanting to play soccer? They're really good! Actually I've only seen two. Bend it like Beckham was funny too, but this is funnier. I'll be looking for more films with Amanda Bynes. And young women who want to play soccer. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Tamara Drewe
      2010 | U.K. | Laughs: 3.5 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

If I tell you that this movie takes place around a writers' retreat in the English countryside, it's going to sound boring. Fear not, this is not one of these English movies where "well-educated" middle-aged characters gloat in their pompousness. This a good story, it has good characters, it's exceedingly well put together, it has eye candy for everyone, and it's fun too—so don't miss it. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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BASEketball
      1998 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Right off the bat, I'm probably the wrong audience for this movie because I know nothing about sports. In the first quarter of an hour, I thought that was going to be a terminal issue. However, the movie started to deliver laughs and chuckles, perhaps one every five minutes, enough to make me want to hang on. The humor in this movie is an unusual mixture, some of it echoing with nonsensical themes out of movies of old such as Airplane. It's not high grade, but unless you're allergic to sports it may be worth a watch. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Arthur
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 5.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Visually, this movie is far superior to the original Arthur. It's a feast for the eyes. When it comes to humor, though, it's a big flat nothing. I stopped after thirty minutes because I was bored. My feeling is that Russell Brand (who was excellent in Get Him to the Greeek) is a poor choice to play a nice guy, but that's beside the point: no actor can be expected to make you laugh without a decent script. Apart from the decor and photography, this film has another distinction: that of being thoroughly unfunny without being awfully crass—a rare combination in the 2010s. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Arthur
      1981 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.9
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A young man from a blue-blood New York family drinks way too much, partly because his family wants him to marry a woman he doesn't love. When he sees a woman steal a necktie in front of his eyes, he falls in love. A very enjoyable movie, but certainly not a laugh-out-loud comedy. The 2011 remake is a definite skip. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Due Date
      2010 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A classic "odd couple" scenario: fate forces a square business man and an eccentric actor to travel together cross-country. Apart from the one nod to the crass crowd—apparently an obligatory gesture in the 21st century—this is a pleasant watch with a few laughs. I actually liked it more than Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Both lead actors were good. I enjoyed Zach Galifianakis a lot more than in movies where he has to compete with a crowd of actors for attention. I'd like to see more of him in lead (comic) roles. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Hot Rod
      2007 | USA | Laughs: 4.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.7
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

With the help of his gang, an aspiring stuntman raises money to pay for his step-dad's surgery. I find this movie astonishingly underrated. This is a "smile-and-chuckle" more than a "laugh-out-loud" movie, but the characters and story are good, and the cast is refreshing. And let's not forget an excellent 1980s-dominated soundtrack. I enjoyed every minute of Hot Rod and I will watch it again with pleasure. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Hall Pass
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 3.2 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 5.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Two women give their sex-starved husbands a week off from their marriage. It's less a comedy than a tragedy (not a bad one) about the plight of males trapped by their biology and the roles carved for them in society. In that respect, this might be worth a watch, but not if you're hoping to laugh. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 3.1 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The good news is that since Harold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay, the writers fished the Kumar character out of the sewer and brought him somewhat back in line with his old self. The bad news is that the magic of the original Harold & Kumar hasn't returned. I didn't laugh once (though there was much to smile about). And you can't ask the studio to bring back the original writing team, because it was they who committed the two sequels. Many of the movie's frames are designed to give those with the proper glasses a 3-D thrill—but that doesn't help when all you care about is the laughs. The actors do a good job, especially John Cho, of whom I'd like to see more in other movies. But the writers have lost their touch. Next they seem to be lining us up for something along the lines of Harold & Kumar have Babies. Maybe this time the writers will take a year off in a remote cabin so they have time to focus and write something decent again. Otherwise, let someone else have the job! (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Step Brothers
      2008 | USA | Laughs: 9.4 (Laugh Out Loud) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Warning: this film has some gross-out aspects as well as adult themes, sometimes graphic. That said, I hadn't laughed that much watching a comedy in a long time. It was a surprise too as I hadn't yet seen a Will Ferrell movie that really did it for me. Two childlike forty-year-olds who live at home—one with his mom, one with his dad—get thrown together when their parents get married. At first they resent having to share their parents' attention (and a bedroom). The dynamic between the actors is fantastic. If you can handle occasional crudeness, don't miss out on this very funny movie. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Heavyweights
      1995 | USA | Laughs: 3.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.7
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A Summer camp where overweight kids normally have a great time turns into hell when a new owner bent on promoting his weight-loss program takes over. I like Ben Stiller when he plays nice guys (as in Meet the Parents), but I don't enjoy his performance when he plays nasty roles, which he too often does. There's nothing wrong with watching this movie once if you're in the mood for light entertainment. The kids are fun and there's a lot of smiling—but no laughing, at least for me. In the Summer camp movie category, Meatballs is probably an upgrade, as would be Wet Hot American Summer. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Throw Momma from the Train
      1987 | USA | Laughs: 2.1 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

You know these self-absorbed movies about people making a movie? This movie is not about making movies, but it's written by a writer who seems more interested in writing about writers than about making people laugh. A writing instructor wants to get rid of his ex-wife, one of his students wants to get rid of his mother. The actors are well-intentioned, but what can they do without a script? I picked this up because I realized the site didn't have anything with Danny DeVito, who is supposed to be funny. (Get Shorty might be fun, but it's not a laugh-out-loud comedy.) I will persevere. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Bliss
      1985 | Australia | Laughs: 0.1 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

In the 1980s, a few of the Australians I met seemed a little bit odd. If people are a product of their culture, films such as Bliss help explain that. It feels like an extended film school project with a bit of a budget. Though it's classified as a comedy, it's certainly not funny. Bliss is about a man waking up to the "system" and eventually leaving for a simpler life. The ending in a rainforest community resembling those of the Nimbin region is excellent—the movie should have started there. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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