The Movie Forums Top 100 Comedies Countdown

These are the first appearances of Superbad and A Fish Called Wanda on any of the official MoFo Lists.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

I can say without a doubt that I have no idea what films are going to round out this countdown. This time last countdown, everybody knew exactly which films we were going to end with, and it was only a matter of where they came. Now all bets are off! I have to say it makes for a more interesting final stretch.

Superbad I've nearly seen, but the couple of times I've decided to watch it I haven't got all of the way through - no fault of the movie, it's just one of those that always gets interrupted, and then sits around for the next attempt. So there are parts I've seen twice, and parts I haven't seen at all (love the McLovin bit) - I knew people liked it, but I did not know it would turn up at a high spot for a countdown here. I didn't think it had enough to beat out all of those great comedies throughout the history of cinema. I'll give it one more try and see if I reach the conclusion.

A Fish Called Wanda was a huge hit in it's day, and I saw it at the movies and multiple times on VHS afterwards. Man, John Cleese was huge back then, but Jamie Lee Curtis seems to have hung around nicely over the decades. Great to see her getting good roles to this day. Of course, how good those roles are could be debated by some - but I think she's doing great. Because of this movie I named my pet rat "Lunch". It was my introduction to Kevin Kline, and always delighted me seeing two old Monty Python pals reunited. Very good comedy, and a classic. Lots of segments stand out, but the accidental dog killings were so wrong and so right at the same time - really funny. Kline's whole schtick was funny too. It never came into consideration for votes from me, but I don't mind seeing it here - and it's great to see two 100% comedies.

Seen 48½/64 - Looking bad for my choices - you crazy people

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Have seen so far: 33 - Superbad - A funny high school comedy movie.

A Fish Called Wanda - This movie was alright when I saw it.

Have not seen so far: 31

My Ballot so far:

#8 - The Hangover (2009)
#9 - Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
#10 - Dumb and Dumber (1994)
#11 - Step Brothers (2008)
#12 - Tropic Thunder (2008)
#14 - Superbad (2007)
#17 - Mean Girls (2004)
#21 - Happy Gilmore (1996)

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Moviefan1988's Favorite Movies
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...?t=67103<br />

Welcome to the Dance: My Favorite 20 High School Movies
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...02#post2413502

Superbad is a movie that I have seen. In theaters. I am sure I laughed given it was in a theater.
I don't remember a lot from it other than, "Emma Stone had a small role in it and had good comedic timing/delivery)."
Also something about penises. Lots and lots of penises.
I had not stood out in my memory other than the fact that it exists. Maybe it's good? I'm pretty sure I enjoyed more than the 40 Year Virgin. I'm now seeing the other reason why I didn't put many straight comedies on my ballot. I apparently can't remember much about them.


A Fish Called Wanda - it's just crossing my mind now that I've never actually seen this, I think. I've definitely seen parts of it as a kid/teenager, while channel surfing on TV, but I don't think I've seen the entire thing. Definitely one of those, I didn't see this coming; but also one of those, "oh yeah, pretty famous '80s comedy, so I shouldn't be surprised. Something that resembles what you'd imagine a list being like that pulls heavily from the 80's". It's now crossing my mind Trading Places will probably be on this list. Let's see if I remember that thought or will be also br surprised when it does show up.

I've seen A Fish Called Wanda several times. I remember always enjoying it, especially the Kevin Kline/Jamie Lee Curtis banter (I even use a small clip of it on my podcast intro). However, it's been a while since the last time so I left it out.

I've never seen Superbad.



Seen: 48/64

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Superbad: I like this. A perfectly acceptable teen comedy, with some good characters, some heart, some genuine laughs. I wouldn't consider it as a 'greatest of all time' comedy, but I've got nothing substantially negative to say about it. And I really like Cera, Hill and Heder, and they all represent themselves well here.



Fish Called Wanda: One of those great comedies that doesn't seem to have the cachet it once had. I don't know if I would have considered it for this list either, but it's certainly worthy. Essentially a screwball premise of a comedy, yet mostly character driven humor. Klein is incredibly good, as is Palin. And Cleese is a God amongst men, even though this is hardly the standout comedic performance of his career. Fans of British humor (you know, better humor) should mostly be satisfied. For those that aren't fans of such great things, that's on them. I guess they can always burn ants with a magnifying glass, or watch an Adam Sandler movie for kicks.

I'm not a fan of either of these.

I like both of these movies plenty, but never would have thought either would place so highly. A Fish Called Wanda didn't even make the 1980s countdown, meaning some of the comedies from the second half of that list such as Diner, A Christmas Story, Tootsie, The Purple Rosa of Cairo, and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles very likely won't make it here. Starting to wonder if some of the comedies from the top of that list will, at this point?

Superbad is a lot of fun, holds up really well, but I would have thought that era would be represented by The Wedding Crashers and/or Anchorman. And they may still be coming, but we are running out of slots to fill (that's what she said).

Only thirty-six left and a lot of classics that haven't shown.

I'll take a stab at what I think are still locks at this point, but clearly that is very difficult to say this time around and seems less sure with every pair revealed.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Airplane!
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Annie Hall
The Apartment
The Big Lebowski
Blazing Saddles
The Blues Brothers
Beverly Hills Cop
Bringing Up Baby
Caddyshack
City Lights
Dr. Strangelove
Duck Soup
Fletch
The General
Ghostbusters
The Graduate
Groundhog Day
His Girl Friday
Hot Fuzz
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Mrs. Doubtfire
National Lampoon’s Animal House
The Princess Bride
Raising Arizona
Safety Last
Shaun of the Dead
Some Like it Hot
This is Spinal Tap
Wedding Crashers
Young Frankenstein

That is thirty-three. And I am becoming less sure that more action-oriented comedies will show this high? Maybe the likes of Beverly Hills Cop, Fletch, and Midnight Run from the '80s split the vote so much that none of them are going to make it and will be in essence replaced by Hot Fuzz, which is referencing movies like that?!? It could happen.

But even taking BHC and Fletch off of my list, that only leaves five "extra" titles to go with the other thirty-one. Will Woody Allen really only have Annie Hall on the list? Will another Wes Anderson make it (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel)? Is another John Hughes still due (The Breakfast Club or Planes, Trains, and Automobiles)? No Neil Simon? Are classics such as It Happened One Night, The Philadelphia Story, Arsenic & Old Lace, Kind Hearts & Coronets, Harvey, and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein simply not going to show? If Beverly Hills Cop doesn't show is Trading Places Eddie Murphy's only Hail Mary to make the cut? How about The Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Jerk from the '70s? Did enough MoFos collectively eliminate Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit from their "comedy" consideration? What about '80s cult faves like UHF, ¡Three Amigos!, and After Hours (very different cults, BTW)? Is a megahit like There's Something About Mary going to be snubbed? Will Adam Sandler only have one movie make the countdown while The Waterboy, The Wedding Singer, and all the others are excluded? What about more recent fan favorites like In Bruges, Bridesmaids, Pineapple Express, We're the Millers, Game Night, and Knives Out? Will they take the spot of a more established classic? Oscar nominees like Little Miss Sunshine, Lost in Translation, Jojo Rabbit, Four Weddings and a Funeral, City Slickers or even Parasite? Is some PIXAR or something like Shrek still going to disrupt the list this high?

Weirdest list ever.

No votes. Back when we still did our own yearly version of the Oscars on this site, I introduced a "mixed bag" category dedicated to the films that had too much wrong with them to be considered the best but enough right that they merited some sort of consideration. Superbad is one of my ultimate "mixed bag" movies, a film seemingly hand-crafted for my mini-generation (it dropped in my senior year) and one that is by turns effective and frustrating - I can certainly dig the painfully grounded antics of Seth and Evan but I tend to bristle at the more outlandish B-plot involving "McLovin" tagging along with a pair of reckless cops, so I have trouble thinking of it as a genuine classic. A Fish Called Wanda is definitely funny.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

The Kid already showed

No chance in hell Wedding Crashers or Ace Ventura are making it at this point.

Because you thought there was a chance in Hell that A Fish Called Wanda and Superbad were still coming before an hour ago?

Yes. I actually predicted Superbad to show today.

A Fish Called Wanda (1988) was #5 on my ballot.

It is amazing that almost all the movies so far are from the list of about 10% of us or less. In other words, any of the 63 movies movies revealed so far was not on the list of 90% of us!

This confirms that "comedy " is too vast and pervasive a genre in cinema for a meaningful top 100 list.. Next time, we should make different list; one for action comedies, another for black comedies, romantic comedies, satires, etc.

At any rate, I am happy that some of my favorites made it:

1. Singin' in the Rain (1952) #49
3. A Fish Called Wanda (1988) #37
7. MASH (1970) #76
8. When Harry Met Sally... (1989) #84
14. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) #51
19. Beetlejuice (1988) #78
24. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) #55
25. The Whole Nine Yards (2000) one pointer

Haven't seen either film.

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If UHF somehow not just shows up from here, but wins the entire countdown at number 1 (not on my ballot), that would probably be the crowning achievement of self-referential performance art that is this countdown.


: fingers_crossed:


My guess though is, somewhere around 10-15, everything that shows up on the list will start to become something people were expecting to show up somewhere on the list. Which ones and were they expected to be that high, will be another matter.


I'm also guessing around that point, we'll see big jumps in the points.


This is all coming from the informed position of never even having observed any of the previous countdowns.

This just means you're completely unbiased by that judgement-tainting fiend, experience.

You're not missing much.

I like Superbad, don’t know if it should be this high but it’s a solid little comedy. The scene where Cera and Hill go to the adult party is terrific. It perfectly encapsulates how intimidating being a teen at a party for adults feels.

I liked A Fish Called Wanda when I first saw it but upon a rewatch many years later could not get through it.

Yep, we're already stepping deep in top 50 and still the reveals are based on less than 10 ballots.

As far as I remember, in the 2000's countdown this line was crossed somewhere between #80 and #70.

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