The Funniest Comedies Ever

Mr Right
      2015 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A young woman on the rebound falls in love with a serial killer. Despite the threadbare script, the film has some very funny moments. We weren't sad we watched it. (Last viewed: May 2016)

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Real Genius
      1985 | USA | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

At a school for extraordinarily gifted children, the pupils unknowingly work on creating a horrifying weapon. This movie would be worth watching for its 1980s charm alone. It also has enough good laughs to deserve a spot on your shelf of comedy videocassettes. (Last viewed: April 2016)

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Trainwreck
      2015 | USA | Laughs: 3.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After dating an endless string of unchallenging men, a young woman breaks the pattern when she becomes involved with a star surgeon. The movie had many funny moments and probably made me laugh a couple of times. But I grew up in times when if a movie was longer than two hours there had to be a good reason for it—so for me 124 minutes seemed like too much time to tell this simple story. I'm also not fond of the approach of trying to draw the audience by shocking them in the opening scenes. With that said, this is a decent little movie if you're awake enough to last the distance and if you don't mind a strong focus below the belt. (Last viewed: April 2016)

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Dirty Work
      1998 | USA | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Desperate to raise cash for a surgery, two friends set up a business that helps customers get revenge. This comedy was a great surprise. There isn't much of a plot, but I smiled throughout and had some good laughs. At times the pacing was terrific: you come to a great punchline, and just as it hits you and makes you want to laugh, the action carries on as if nothing had happened, which makes the gag even funnier. (Last viewed: April 2016)

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Holy Water (a.k.a Hard Times)
      2009 | U.K. | Laughs: 1.5 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 5.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

In a depressed Irish village, four friends decide to hijack a truck from the Viagra plant and to sell the pills to shore up their finances. The plot sounds like it could work for a comedy and the cast is well-meaning, but the movie lingers on that "well-meaning" level without ever developing much comedic power. Ninety minutes isn't long but these particular ninety minutes felt like three hours. Since you probably won't watch the film, you won't mind this spoiler: the funniest part is the last minute, when a TV reporter does a story on the village, and in the background you can see shining new sports cars and farming equipment, all presumably acquired with the bounty. (Last viewed: April 2016)

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He Died with a Felafel in His Hand
      2001 | Australia | Laughs: 2.5 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.1
      wikipedia | who was involved?

When debt collectors get too close, an aspiring writer moves from a bad shared housing situation to the next. This by now classic Aussie comedy is a pleasant watch, but don't expect big laughs as the humor largely stays on the level of understated irony. (Last viewed: Mar 2002 February 2016)

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Animals Are Beautiful People (a.k.a Beautiful People)
      1974 | South Africa | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 8.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This documentary about animal life in arid regions of South African countries is narrated with a lot of light humor. The images are also sometimes quite funny. But the draw of the film, more than forty years on, are the feats performed by animals, many of which feats I found hard to believe.

Some indigenous people are described in a way that many will find dismissive. Certainly the filmmakers didn't seem to think it was worth including them in the credits. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if at the time the film's attitude to indigenous people would have come across as benevolent.

The soundtrack was on the heavy side, and I found the movie a bit long, but overall it's an interesting historical piece with many good moments, some funny, others educational. (Last viewed: Mar 1980 November 2015)

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What To Expect When You're Expecting
      2012 | USA | Laughs: 0.5 (Just Awful) | imdb: 5.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Several couples plan to have a baby, expect a baby, have a baby. Although there were a few chuckles, this was by far the worst comedy I've watched all year. At an early stage they turned the sappy tap on and never turned it off—it kept dripping, dripping, dripping. The last twenty minutes or so felt like an unending baby-fest. I don't mind indulging my partner in a chick flick sometimes, but gentlemen, do not concede on this one or the hair under your arms will fall out. (Last viewed: November 2015)

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Strange Wilderness
      2008 | USA | Laughs: 6.5 (Laugh Out Loud) | imdb: 5.3
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

In desperate need of redemption, the crew of a struggling wilderness show follows a lead to film Big Foot in his South American habitat. I was drawn to this movie because it features the main actor from Grandma's Boy. Sadly, in this film Allen Covert's role was nowhere near as interesting.

Overall, it's probably fair to say that this is a terrible movie. Nevertheless, it has some very funny moments. I laughed out loud a few times and had a moment of hard laughter shortly before the fifteenth minute. Come to think of it, if you watch that far, you might want to quit while you're ahead: turn the movie off and go do something else. (Last viewed: November 2015)

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White Wedding
      2009 | South Africa | Laughs: 3.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 5.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A vast distance away from Cape Town, where his wedding is schedule for the end of the week, a man runs into a number of obstacles as he and his best friends tackle the long drive. This was a light-hearted movie rather than the laugh-out-loud comedy I was hoping for, but I enjoyed it all the same. Having never visited South Africa, I found the movie culturally fascinating. After watching a number of movies that depict the country grimly, it was a nice change to see people go about their lives with none of the usual stress—only the unusual stress of their wedding risking to fall apart. (Last viewed: October 2015)

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Material
      2012 | South Africa | Laughs: 4.0 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 7.3
      who was involved?

When he takes up stand-up comedy, the son of a fabric store owner upsets his touchy father. I thought this movie was a comedy, but it spends more time on the drama side. In fact by the end my ears were hurting from the excessive use of violins. The lead actor and his buddy carry the movie part of the way, but the editing was appalling and I only kept watching out of cultural curiosity. It's a shame as the decent reviews had led me to hope for a good laugh. (Last viewed: October 2015)

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Run, Fatboy, Run
      2007 | U.K. | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Five years after leaving his fiancee at the altar, a man enters a marathon to win back her heart. This may not sound like much of a plot, and it isn't. But the movie has a lot of smiles, and as the romantic comedy genre goes it's just about watchable, especially if you're a fan of Simon Pegg. (Dylan Moran from Black Books.) On the other hand, if you've never heard of Simon, you'd be better off watching How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. (Last viewed: October 2015)

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Big Nothing
      2006 | U.K. | Laughs: 2.5 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A call center employee gets approached by a con man to extort money from a perverted clergyman for a good cause. Everything goes wrong (would you have guessed it?) and dead bodies soon pile up.

After twenty minutes, I almost gave up on the movie as it felt like it was going to be painfully predictable. However, the script took a couple of left turns and the rest of the film was entertaining enough to keep watching, with a couple of chuckles here and there. That being said, if you skip it you won't have missed much. (Last viewed: October 2015)

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Tammy
      2014 | USA | Laughs: 1.5 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 4.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A young woman who discovers her husband has been cheating goes on a road trip with her grandmother. Tammy's straight-shooting, foul-mouthed character is endearing and the movie is well meaning. But there are no laughs and the plot fails to generate enough interest to redeem the lack of laughs. Overall, I'd say the movie is about as weak as this review—that's how inspiring it was. (Last viewed: October 2015)

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How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
      2008 | U.K. | Laughs: 7.5 (Laugh Out Loud) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Hired to write gossip pieces for a New York glam mag, an Englishman gets the idea that his job is to expose the celebrity baloney and soon rubs most of his workmates the wrong way. This was the funniest British movie I had seen in a long time. There were no long hard laughs but lots of short ones. I'd be happy to watch it again soon. (Last viewed: October 2015)

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The Heat
      2013 | USA | Laughs: 6.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

An uptight female FBI agent gets paired up with a foul-mouthed, disheveled female cop. There's nothing new about the odd couple formula, but this particular combination was quite funny. While Sandra Bullock's main contribution was to keep a deadpan face, Melissa McCarthy was animated and did great with her outrageous lines. As often with these kinds of movies, the first half was quite funny and the last quarter was ruined by boring plot-unwinding material (car chases etc.) Despite this flaw, the movie is well worth a watch. (Last viewed: September 2015)

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Wanderlust
      2012 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 5.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After losing their jobs, a couple of yuppies find themselves trying to live on a commune. The concept and cast were decent, but the script was severely lacking in the laughs department. The communal house looked more like a Beverly Hills mansion than the kind of building likely to be found on an intentional community, and most other things about the commune also felt fake. It's not just that the caricature was rough: it seemed that whoever wrote the script didn't bother doing any research and instead chose to follow the lines of the most common stereotypes. For instance, it was heavy on free love, but missed what in my experience is one of the main issues of communal living: division of labor. Why do the same people do all the work while others spend their days "sending energy" or plucking their guitar? There's a lot of humorous potential in such situations. A for concept, E for effort. (Last viewed: September 2015)

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Spy
      2015 | USA | Laughs: 3.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A desk agent at the CIA gets pulled into the field and proves her worth against all expectations. This was an entertaining watch with some good moments, but it didn't trigger a lot of laughter and ran a big long. It would have been better if some of the big budget had been diverted to improve the writing. (Last viewed: September 2015)

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White Chicks
      2004 | USA | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 5.6
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

To foil a kidnapping attempt, two black FBI agents pose as high-society white females. Over the years, I've seen so many films where whites disguise as blacks that it's refreshing to see the opposite premise. The movie is a bit loud, and it's definitely not a roarer, but it has some good moments and might be worth a watch if you have nothing better on hand. (Last viewed: September 2015)

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Pitch Perfect 2
      2015 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 (Just Awful) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Pitch Perfect—a movie about a university's all-female a cappella group—was funny. This sequel had close to nothing going for it in the first thirty minutes, and we just gave up. Sure, they threw money at it to make things bigger and brighter. But isn't that precisely the recipe for a doomed sequel? (Last viewed: September 2015)

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Man Up
      2015 | U.K. | Laughs: 3.8 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A woman standing under a clock at a train station gets accosted by a man who mistakes her for his blind date. Since she has been harassed by her sister to "get out there" and meet men, she goes along with the stranger's mistake.

This was a good premise and it is an okay watch as romantic comedies go, but I can't recall laughing. Some will also dispute the authenticity of the lead actress's English accent. (Last viewed: September 2015)

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The In-Laws
      1979 | USA | Laughs: 3.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Days before his daughter's wedding, a dentist makes the acquaintance of the groom's father, who asks him a favor that leads to a chain of events which shakes the roots of the dentist's conservative life. Peter Falk was delightful as the groom's father, and so was Alan Arkin, his counterpart. No big laughs, but an entertaining movie that has aged well. Please steer clear of the 2003 remake. (Last viewed: August 2015)

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The In-Laws
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 0.5 (Just Awful) | imdb: 5.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This is a remake of a funny 1979 movie by the same name. Days before his daughter's wedding, a risk-avoiding podiatrist meets the groom's father, who entangles him in the cross-border sale of a nuclear submarine. Albert Brooks slides right into Alan Arkin's shoes, but Michael Douglas can't hold the candle to Peter Falk. The movie can't decide whether it should be about plain comedy or espionage, and ends up settling on a formula of beautiful people and special effects on expensive sets. Alan Arkin and Ryan Reynolds are grossly underused, while Michael Douglas is grossly overused. We couldn't get past the first half. (Last viewed: August 2015)

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Lost in America
      1985 | USA | Laughs: 3.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A well-off advertising executive and his wife liquidate their assets to go "find themselves" by touring the United States in a mobile home. This isn't one of these comedies that make you laugh out loud, but I found the film funny and attaching. The authentic 1980s texture also appealed to me. It's a shame Albert Brooks has only directed a handful of movies. (Last viewed: August 2015)

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Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
      2005 | USA | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 5.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The U.S. State Department supposedly hires comedian Albert Brooks to travel to India and Pakistan to investigate what makes Muslim people laugh. He sets up shop in New Delhi with two government goons and a local assistant. This is one of those movies where the low imdb rating belies a comedy gem. Although there were no laugh-out-loud moments, the humor was subtle and relentless, making me smile and chuckle throughout. I'll be embarking on a quest for more material by Albert Brooks. (Last viewed: August 2015)

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Jack and Jill
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 3.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Of the hundreds of comedy movies I've reviewed so far, this one has the second-lowest imdb rating. Since I usually dislike comedy that tries to draw laughter by featuring men playing women (a strange, enduring phenomenon), I was predisposed to join the ranks of the bashers, but for some reason Adam Sandler pulled off the drag thing for me. In fact, he pulled playing off two roles at onces—a Los Angeles advertising executive, and his twin sister who visits from their native Bronx for the holidays.

At the risk of sounding too contrarian, I'll advance that there were some good comedy moments in this film, especially in the first half. It's far from being the worst movie with Adam Sandler who, although he's starred in some terrific comedies, has also picked a number of duds. (Last viewed: August 2015)

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Legally Blonde 2 (a.k.a Red, White & Blonde)
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 1.2 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 4.8
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

While the original Legally Blonde was surprisingly entertaining, this first sequel has very little to offer. It takes place in Washington, DC, where our heroin takes a job with a congresswoman in order to push an animal rights' bill. The movie missed the "just awful" category, but not by much. (Last viewed: July 2015)

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Legally Blonde
      2001 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.3
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I can hardly believe it took me nearly fifteen years to watch this movie, but the numbers don't lie. I guess I was prejudiced against it without knowing what it was about. As it turns out, this is a movie about prejudice, probably the same kind of discrimination that kept me away from it all those years. Dumped by her boyfriend who thinks she is not smart enough for him, a young woman gets admitted to the same law school he is about to attend, but finds that people there are also very much prejudiced against her blonde hair—or perhaps more accurately her blondeness. I may not have laughed, but I chuckled a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the film. Another thing I did not expect: the movie is devoid of obscene language and nudity. (Last viewed: July 2015)

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Rat Race
      2001 | USA | Laughs: 6.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.4
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A casino owner pits six people in a race to retrieve two million dollars from a train station locker in New Mexico. The movie's weakest point is probably the gross misuse made of the British talent (John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson). It still had excellent moments and deserves a watch if you're a comedy fan. (Last viewed: July 2015)

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The Dictator
      2012 | USA | Laughs: 7.8 (Laugh Out Loud) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Stripped of his signature beard, a dictator who is stranded in New York struggles to reclaim his post before an imposter signs a new constitution for his beloved homeland.

If you are not easily offended, this movie has some terrific moments. You just have to take the good with the bad. I'm not a fan of the many crass bits, but Baron Cohen has the rare ability to keep gags coming at top speed, and the movie left me with a good fill of laughs. (Last viewed: July 2015)

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