The 20 Funniest Movies of All-Time
First thing first: this is not a perfect list. Humor is the most impossibly subjective quality of movies to quantify, and what I might find hilarious might bore you to death. Vice versa, there are some classic comedies that I didn’t include on this list, most notably Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. It’s not that they are bad films, just that I found them about as funny as a fly in my soup. And the soup was poisoned. And I hadn’t eaten in five days. Besides, I just love Bill Murray much more as a serious actor.
You will also notice that the list is dominated by movies from the past 30 years, but what can I say? Laughs expire quicker than art. I also kept the list down to one per staple, since I didn’t want to clog the list with every Judd Apatow film. Without further ado, and in no particular order, I give you: the 20 funniest movies of all time.
There’s Something About Mary
Roger Ebert once recalled that this was the only movie he ever attended in which someone in the audience fell of his chair from laughing. My own reaction to it, even the second time around, was hardly more dignified or less physical (I literally laughed myself to tears). Diaz has never been funnier again, while Stiller has (to my mind) never been funny at all after this. But if lighting only strikes once, it surely strikes hard.
The Monty Python Trilogy
“If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know”, Louis Armstrong once quipped. The same goes for the humor of Monty Python: if you don’t laugh, there is no way in hell anyone will be able to explain the joke – because, well, there isn’t one. They ended sketches by having a knight hit people over the head with a rubber chicken, by having a policeman come in to proclaim the whole affair “far too silly” or just by breaking out of character and saying “this isn’t going anywhere, is it?” to each other. The dispute about which or their films is the best is as pointless as it is silly: all three are hilarious and essential viewing for everyone ever.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
I have a very infantile love for the Pink Panther series, but there is a definite quality to the movies besides the fact that they made me piss my pants as a kid. Peter Sellers is often regarded for his brilliant high-brow impersonations more than for his physical comedy, but he excels in the latter as well. Combine that with some great set-pieces (a scene in which Sellers’ character tries to cross a moat is especially memorable) and one of the best sidekicks of all time, and you have an absolute winner.
Some Like It Hot
After seeing this movie on every “best movies ever” list there is, you might forget just how exasperatingly much fun this movie is. The script is fantastic, the two leads are absolutely killer in high heels and Marilyn is sexier than ever. Billy Wilder was a master in making his films both really good and really funny, and he is on top of his game here. The Apartment is even lovelier, but has fewer laughs.
The Circus
There is a chase scene at the beginning of Charlie Chaplin’s The Circus that is so pitch-perfect in set-up and execution that it gives every comedian (with the possible exception of Buster Keaton) something to look up to on the front of physical comedy. While this is not Chaplin’s best film (Modern Times probably takes that honor) or even his most lovable one (without a doubt The Kid), this is probably the one with the most laughs.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Imagine all the comedy of an entire season of The Office – a good season of The Office – put together in a 90-minute movie. If that mental image has very little room for a plot or coherence, you might understand the sheer insanity of Anchorman. The plot of the movie is maybe given of five minutes of screen time, and the rest is filled with Steve Carell, jazz flute, Steve Carell, the scientific proof why women can’t be anchormen, Steve Carell and the most glorious leading mustache in all of the cinema.
Clerks II
At the end of Clerks II there is a scene so gloriously over-the-top, so incredibly out-grossing and so fantastically hilarious that it might distract from the fact that at it’s heart, it’s actually a really good movie. There is a lot of thought about both Smiths style of filmmaking and the film universe that he created, and it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to consider the movie as a career thesis statement. Oh, and someone fucks a donkey.
Superbad
Judd Apatow & compatriots have given us some great movies in the past years, (almost) all of which could be included in this list. But Superbad is the one that gets my vote, probably because I find it most relatable. Make of that what you will.
The Naked Gun
Beating down on Leslie Nielsen’s style of comedy from the perspective of a serious film critic is easy, but why bother? The Naked Gun‘s humor might be silly to the max, but it’s also incredibly inventive and you have to give Nielsen’s fantastic comic timing credit.
Raising Arizona
This entry is mostly based on the first twenty minutes of the film, which kicks off an avalanche of idiocy (including the most original meet-cute of all time) under a gleeful score of yodeling folk music. That the rest of the movie is mostly spent resolving the problems set out in the fantastic opening shouldn’t take away the fun. There’s always Nic Cage’s hair to laugh at, after all.
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41 Comments
YES!! All of these films are ace! Especially Hot Fuzz, Monty Python and of course my all time have, The Pink Panther….
I still to this day quote, “Does your dog bite?” in my best French accent. HAHAH
Great list matey!
C
I haven’t seen a few of these but YES on Hot Fuzz and Naked Gun. Humor is such a personal thing though, but some things are universally funny. Fun list, Max, well naturally
As rtm very correctly said humour is a very personal thing, which is why I was surprised to see that I mostly agreed with the film. Except for a few entries (Anchorman and Napoleon Dynamite) I agree almost completely. But if it were up to me Team America, one of the Marx brothers’ films (probably Duck Soup) and The Hangover.
And you’re absolutely right on Monty Python, it cannot be explained despite how much I’ve tried.
I love the Marx’s, but more as a piece of film history then outright hilarity. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are already on the list. The Hangover was fun, but I wonder if anyone will remember it in 10 years.
I think people will remember The Hangover but unfortunately will be negatively associated with its sequels. Similar to how many people lost interest in The Matrix and Star Wars because their sequels didn’t live up to their expectations.
Clerks 2 makes the list but This is Spinal Tap doesn’t? Hmmm…the subjectivity of humor makes this a list that everyone will have a different opinion on.
This Is Spinal Tap is golden, but I find it more worthwhile as a music film then as a comedy. I considered it, though, but in the end it just didn’t make me laugh that much.
I have only seen 5 of those. Comedy is definitely one of the most subjective genre out there and I often don’t find the most acclaimed comedies to be that funny. I have been more prone to laughing to sit-com type comedy rather than over-the-top, crude comedy.
One more thing: Loved Anchorman, absolutely LOATHED Napoleon Dynamite
agree with your last sentence.
Narrowing a list of the funniest movies of all time to 20 has to be very difficult. I can’t really argue with most of these picks, as many are a lot of fun. Two choices that would definitely be on my personal list would be City Lights and L.A. Story, but it’s hard to say they should definitely be here since what’s funny is so subjective. Nice job.
What about me? http://www.anomalousmaterial.com/movies/2010/08/the-greatest-comedy-tournament-the-final/
Haha…Clerks II on a ‘best’ list of anything that’s not “Best movies with ‘clerks’ in the title” – that is truly hilarious. Proof that even subjectivity can be wrong sometimes.
I’m being a shit, but I do enjoy the personal spin on your list. That makes it meaningful. I just wish it had been titled “My Top 20 Comedies” or something like that.
Well, any list about funny movies will be subjective, so I had really no choice. Still, I think that many of these movies have made a lot of other people (besides me) shit their pants with laughter.
Didn’t we do a list like this awhile ago? And wasn’t that rather chaotic?
REJECTED FUCK YEAH!
You mean the Great Comedy Tournament we had last year? I believe the UN is about to bestow it as the 8th wonder of the world while obviously, it is the all-encompassing reference on the matter.
You know who wasn’t even writing for this website last year?
You?
But wasn’t Black Cat, White Cat in Romani? And Serbian? And some other ones?
Or maybe I’m thinking of a different one.
Yes it was. But there is something essential about Eastern Europe that is hard to define but which was definitely present in the movie.
Wait… no Keaton? No Marx Brothers? No Caddyshack, Animal House, or Blues Brothers?
Crazy indeed. No Duck Soup or A Night at the Opera. No General or Sherlock Jr.
I absolutely love Keaton. If I were to make a list of “best stuntmen” or even “my favorite directors” he would be on it. But I just don’t laugh that much at his films in the way I do at Chaplin or Loyd. I gasp, yes, and I cheer, but I don’t laugh.
Interesting. I’m in the other direction. I can appreciate Lloyd’s stunts and Chaplin as jack-of-all-entertainment-skills, but Keaton’s the one that makes me laugh the most. There are probably ten Keaton sequences that reduce me to tears of laughter every time I watch them.
Good list, but where is Dumb and Dumber?
I don’t see how Clerks II can possibly beat the original, but it’s your list and I must say it is a very good one, although it’s missing what I still think is the funniest movie I’ve ever seen: Dr. Strangelove. What gives?
I wrote this list not by measure of “best movies that also happened to be comedies”. I wrote a list of the funniest movies. And no matter how much I love Stanley Kubrick and Dr. Strangelove, the movie was more a high-brow satire then a genuine laughfest. To me, at least.
raising Arizona i agree with, as well as naked gun. but not really the others…
Quite a couple I have not seen yet. Just watched Rejected and although it’s an acquired taste I thought it was very funny. Just couldn’t stop watching it.
Like others stated comedy is very subjective so there are a couple of them that would never make my list.
I saw Anchorman once and never understood why people loved it. Then again I have the same thing with The Office. I didn’t even finish Napoleon Dynamite.
Two of my personal favorite funny movies are Dumb and Dumber, Team America, Four Lions and Kung Pow (this last one a lot of people won’t agree with).
Nice to see Some Like it Hot in there.
Clerks II ????????
Not Clerks but its far inferior sequel instead ?????
OK. I suppose somebody has to like that movie.
I actually didn’t like the original Clerks all that much. It’s more an interesting piece of film history then a full-fledged comedy to me, which has mostly to do with budget issues. The sequel just felt far more thoughful to me, as strange as that sounds.
As a local critic here said once, Anchorman is the height of Western civilization.
Couldn’t disagree.
Good post, but Napoleon and Superbad… why?
Because they made ma laugh. Hard.
Good call on including Some Like It Hot. That movie had me doubled over from laughing so much.
Your refusal to include Ghostbusters is entirely logical given your explanation and, thus, I will not seethe and simply applaud you for including A Fish Called Wanda (my #1 comedy ever) and…..Mighty Aphrodite. Love that one. Bold. “Do me a favor, go back to Athens!”
Also, Black Cat, White Cat. Never heard of it. I’m intrigued. I will check it out.
I guess I’m kind of surprised you picked Superbad out of all the Apatow productions. My favorite is easily 40-year-old virgin. Classic in every sense.
I whole heartily agree on Some Like It Hot though. Sometimes theres a legit reason a film is on so many best of lists.
Some very interesting choices – thought I would argue that ‘Plan 9′ isn’t an intentional comedy.
Why Clerks II, but not Clerks?
…I thought that too. Both good films but Clerks stands out for me.
A really good list and a nice selection of eclectic movies. I think a top comedy list on Anomalous Material is a touch act to follow after the definitive comedy tournament held (was it last year?). But this is list is excellent. Great to see films new and old. Some Like It Hot is one of my personal favourites.
seriously? where’s Dumb and Dumber?
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