The Movie Forums Top 100 Comedies Countdown

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I like Some Like It Hot fine (I think it's better than The Seven Year Itch and Irma La Douce in Wilder's filmography), but it was never in contention for my list.



Another classic comedy which isn't that funny. I've not seen it in a very long time, but I remember getting bored long before the end. Great final line/joke, but not worth wading through the whole film for.

TBF, it has little chance with me being both a comedy film and made in the 50's. Very few things I like from the 50's full stop.
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Some Like it Hot was #11 on the MoFo Top 100 of the 1950s. It was also #22 on the AFI 100 Years, 100 Movies List and was #1 topping the AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Billy Wilder for Best Director, Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond for Adapted Screenplay, and Jack Lemmon as Best Actor. Its only win was for black and white costume design.
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Some Like It Hot is good fun. Like I said before, I'm not as in love with it as some people, which is why it didn't make my list... but I did enjoy watching it.



Seen: 69/92

My ballot:  
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Originally Posted by Citizen Rules
It's been a crazy countdown and while all my favorites that I thought were a shoe-in didn't make it...I still think that's part of the fun...being surprised.
It certainly has been. It's made me think a lot. About generations and about sense of humor itself (some people don't like "British Humor", some people may not enjoy old-timey humor, I don't enjoy Adam Sandler humor, most of the time). It occurred to me that I am also thinking about it from a very Americentric place. That only non-US comedies that really broke through in the US were even in consideration for my list.
But also how things pass through time. Someone else alluded to the idea that something could be big in its time, pass away for decades and be thought of as not-funny and I-don't-see-why-this-was-so-popular, and then come back again in a big way. When I was young, the silent stuff through about the 40s was considered just too quaint to actually be funny. Now it's back in a fairly big way, as we've seen with Chaplin's work (though I expected we would see more than one Keaton and probably at least one Harold Lloyd).
I expect if I am around to see this list ten years from now, it will change significantly again, not just from new films that haven't happened yet but from some films from, let's say the 70s or 60s, coming back into favor.
Those are astute observations, good post I enjoyed reading that. Like you said, the countdown has made me realize just how different we all are especially when it comes to comedy. I've found out that people in my own age group have very different taste in comedies. I find all that fascinating.

But you know what else I find fascinating? The criteria that different people used to make their ballots. Some have posted that they limited themselves to only 1 movie per director. Others went with comedies that made them laugh the most. Whilst others voted for movies that they felt achieved excellence while still being tagged comedy. Many of us seem to have been influenced by nostalgia and fond memories of growing up with favorite comedies. Myself I used a variety of criteria to narrow my ballot down from over a 100 possible candidates to just 25.



...I never had any desire to see it [Some Like It Hot] either and then I just said, "Fine, let's get it over with"... and it ended up my No.19 Comedy Of All Time.
And also completely changed the way I thought about Marilyn Monroe.
And Tony Curtis, actually, but that's less significant.
20 years ago I wouldn't watch an 'old crusty b&w movie'. I did know who Marilyn Monroe was of course but had never seen any of her movies and to be honest didn't see what the big deal with her was. I didn't find her all that attractive. Flash forward to today and I've seen a good number of her movies and while I still don't have a 'thing' for her like some do, I do think she was excellent in the kind of roles she's associated with. Sure Marilyn wouldn't be anyone's first choice for Shakespeare but she was so much more than what I had imaged. She has this innocent vulnerability and natural exuberance that can be quite endearing and I think she's funny too. Geez now I want to watch more of her films



Victim of The Night
Just trying to be careful how I put things, but by your world, I was under the impression you meant the sjw world, and that's where my surprise came from.
Oh. No.
While I believe that Human Rights and Equality (social and economic) are the most important things in the World and that that's what our governments should exist to guarantee, that is not the sole defining element of My World. My World is made of people and experiences and moments and art and learning and emotion and the body that I live in and probably a lot of other stuff.
And in that world, Young Frankenstein has historically edged out Blazing Saddles. But Blazing Saddles is currently ahead.



Victim of The Night
I've never actually seen a Monroe movie, have only seen Curtis in Spartacus and, according to IMDb, one episode of Roseanne, and have limited experience with Wilder movies. My skepticism is pretty much entirely based on the genre and the era. There aren't many 1950s movies that I like and, except for some classic animated stuff, almost none of the ones I do like are comedies.
My skepticism came from the same place. A comedy from the 1950s seemed like it would charitable for me just to admit that it was probably funny in its time or something. It surprised me. It may not surprise you, but who knows.



Victim of The Night
Those are astute observations, good post I enjoyed reading that. Like you said, the countdown has made me realize just how different we all are especially when it comes to comedy. I've found out that people in my own age group have very different taste in comedies. I find all that fascinating.

But you know what else I find fascinating? The criteria that different people used to make their ballots. Some have posted that they limited themselves to only 1 movie per director. Others went with comedies that made them laugh the most. Whilst others voted for movies that they felt achieved excellence while still being tagged comedy. Many of us seem to have been influenced by nostalgia and fond memories of growing up with favorite comedies. Myself I used a variety of criteria to narrow my ballot down from over a 100 possible candidates to just 25.
Thanks.
I agree with you, I've also found the different approaches people had to this to be fascinating. So many different processes.
I also had multiple criteria, 4 to be exact, but I was pretty strict with it. One thing that was really funny about how that played out is that there are a lot of movies on this list that are quite humorous in their own way, that I didn't consider at all, like they never even crossed my mind. But that's the way I approached it. As you say, many others came from many different points of view.
I think it's nice that we've been able to talk about literally anything in this world that so many of us feel differently about and never had it devolve into argument or ugliness.



The MoFo tradition is to mention the One Pointers. Those are films that received exactly one point, meaning that a single person had them in their last spot of the ballot (25th), with no votes from anyone else.It is common for people here to use that spot to put the spotlight on a rather obscure film, a "hidden gem", or just a bizarre nomination just for kicks
Be prepared, because we had 42 one-pointers





The Phantom of Liberty
Something's Gotta Give

Red Rocket
Paul
Tickled
Club Dread
Freaked
Night of Something Strange
The Fate of the Furious
Knick Knack
The Toy
Mother, Jugs and Speed
A Day at the Races
American Babylon
La guagua aerea

Meet the Fockers
Megamind
Rejected
Pink Flamingos
I love You Phillip Morris
Short Cuts
Le Grand Amour
The Imposters
The Grass is Greener
Teen Beach Movie
Ruthless People
Living in Oblivion
Smile
Beat the Devil
Artists and Models
Overboard 1987
Free Guy
Boeing, Boeing
Weekend at Bernie's
The Whole Nine Yards
Heavy Trip
Scary Movie 4
Seven Samurai
Austin Powers in Goldmember
Brewster McCloud
Dolemite
Stroszek

Nice to see some love for Red Rocket...though I'm not sure I would consider it a comedy.



Oh. No.
While I believe that Human Rights and Equality (social and economic) are the most important things in the World and that that's what our governments should exist to guarantee, that is not the sole defining element of My World. My World is made of people and experiences and moments and art and learning and emotion and the body that I live in and probably a lot of other stuff.
And in that world, Young Frankenstein has historically edged out Blazing Saddles. But Blazing Saddles is currently ahead.
I wonder if you know where I was going with this, but I will say that I like the way in which you express your views.



Some Like It Hot neither convinces me of Marilyn Monroes greatness (meh) or makes me find Tony Curtis' Cary Grant impersonation remotely amusing. Lemmon is as good as usual, and any Wilder film obviously looks great, but I find all of the comedy in this falls completely flat for me. And I couldn't care less about the story of these guys hiding from the mob by dressing in drag. It's one of the all time classics that just continues to baffle me. I don't like it.



My Number 9 was Gothic Lolita Psycho. I think I rated it higher just because it's supposed to be a comedy, but if I had spent more time on this list I don't think it would have made it. The movie's just an action comedy mashup of modern Japanese tropes. Of particular highlight is the fight scene between the Gothic Lolita protagonist and the Gyaru villain whose dual bayonet handguns turn into flip-phones so her boyfriend can break up with her moments before the hero snaps her neck.

I rated it a
.



1. ??? (1971)
2. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
3. Black Dynamite (2009)
4. Clue (1985)
5. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
6. ??? (1998)
7. ??? (1975)
8. ??? (2013)
9. Gothic & Lolita Psycho (2010)
10. Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)
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Victim of The Night
I wonder if you know where I was going with this, but I will say that I like the way in which you express your views.
Thank you.
And I'm not quite sure. I may have missed your point.
WARNING: "just to keep the forum tidy" spoilers below
Were you suggesting that there was content in YF that would be more objectionable to someone like me than BS?
Also, for me and people like me, and I know this not true of a number of misguided people on my roughly half of the sociopolitical spectrum, it's much more about intent than content.



Thank you.
And I'm not quite sure. I may have missed your point.
WARNING: "just to keep the forum tidy" spoilers below
Were you suggesting that there was content in YF that would be more objectionable to someone like me than BS?
Also, for me and people like me, and I know this not true of a number of misguided people on my roughly half of the sociopolitical spectrum, it's much more about intent than content.
Not BS, but rather RotN, which I had noticed your conversation about.



Some Like It Hot neither convinces me of Marilyn Monroes greatness (meh) or makes me find Tony Curtis' Cary Grant impersonation remotely amusing. Lemmon is as good as usual, and any Wilder film obviously looks great, but I find all of the comedy in this falls completely flat for me. And I couldn't care less about the story of these guys hiding from the mob by dressing in drag. It's one of the all time classics that just continues to baffle me. I don't like it.

I mildly enjoy Some Like it Hot, but it is "the least" of the Billy Wilder films I've seen (admittedly, I haven't seen Stalag 17 since I was a young teenager and I've never seen The Seven Year Itch).


I will continue to forget and then be confused by why this seems to top so many lists for Wilder, outside of Sunset for general.

ETA: Granted, I really like the Coen brothers for comedy, but am not a big fan of O' Brother Where Art Thou? and for some reason has never made the jump of connecting with Lebowski (the one I might keep going in with the wrong expectations when revisiting it), so this out of step assessment opinion might not be a rare occurrence for me.



I was wondering if we'd get any Iannucchi (In the Loop, The Death of Stalin - also Veep for TV) or Winterbottom/Coogan The Trip movies in the countdown. I know they suffer from being more recent, but also benefit from being in people's mind's eye because they were recent.


I guess not from the looks of it.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé


Some Like it Hot (1959)

[at the booking office, trying to be hired]
Joe: What kind of a band is this, anyway?
Sig Poliakoff: You gotta be under twenty-five.
Jerry: We could pass for that.
Sig Poliakoff: You gotta be blonde.
Jerry: We could dye our hair.
Sig Poliakoff: And you gotta be girls.
Jerry: We could...
Joe: No, we couldn't!

This, muh lil kiddies is wha' ya grandma and me used a call: Comedy Gold!
That's right, yessiree!

In my very first pairing of Lemon and Curtis, I was somewhere around 5 or 6yrs with The Great Race. Perhaps even younger.
My first time with this, with a love for them for the previous film (that continues to this day), I was around 10, maybe 12 yrs. That initial love resounded and grew. Much like my love for TGR, Some Like it Hot has become a lifelong favorite.

Having witnessed Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, our leading musicians are on the lam! Their ONLY escape route? Dressing as broads and hopping a train with an All-Women Band for Florida.
Let the hilarity ensue!

Once the setup is primed and our "ladies" board the train, this film wonderfully takes off.
This film is filled with a fantastic, quick wit and double-meaning gags that deliver each and every time.
We also get Wilder's sharpened writing and directing style and his love for older films. Using an original gangster, George Raft, for the Mob Boss is hot on our heroes' "high" heels. LOVE the tip of the hat scene in the hotel where Raft's character is dealing with a coin-tossing hood and makes a derisive remark about it. When that was his move back in the day.
Like so many, that makes me chuckle. Along with the man's troubles of being hit upon: the Bellboy for Curtis and the cartoon-sized smile of Joe E Brown playing the millionaire who adores Lemon.


and for one of mine, at #2:




Cruella de Vil: You killed my mother!
Baroness: You need to be more specific.

Helmed by two truly extraordinary Emmas, Stone and Thompson, this lil Disney Origin Story quickly became a favorite and one I've watched over and over in such a short time. Hell, I watched it last night lol.
With a long list of redone animations into live action, Disney found an easy niche for making money, and for me, this is very much top tier of the bunch. With a solid storyline, a list of great characters, clever dialogue, some SERIOUSLY awesome costumes, and the people to truly nail their performances that make me laugh, cheer, and in one particular scene, shed a tear - what more can you ask for?





Watched: 74 out of 91 (81.31%)
1. Kung Fu Hustle (2004) #66
2.Cruella (2021)
3. Gonna be in the Top Ten
4. Long past its due date
5. Has a little bit of life left, maybe
6. F@CK ALL YA ALL this doesn't place
7. What's Up, Doc? (1972) #59
8. Locked for Top Ten
9. Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain aka Amélie (2001) #40
10. Wasn't gonna happen, but f@ck how it makes me laugh
11. Something I never thought had a chance, but by conversations, I've read. . . ??? Annd back to not freakin likely
12. I thought, at least, maybe the back fifty. F@ck me till I giggle if it shows in the next ten or so
13. Blazing Saddles (1974) #10
14. Caddyshack (1980) #25
15. Yeah, NO WAY, but f@ckit, I'm calling a #10 on this'n
16. OK, this one kinda pisses me off in a kinda snobby "No, good sir, f@ck not only you but each and every one of your associates. So, yes, if you please, gag, choke, die. You pick what order. Now, off with you."
17. Um, let's see, I. . . think, I'm gonna go with. . . um, yes. #6, yes, please, thank you
18. F@ck, I already know; I'll have a #4, thanks
19. Was hoping for a spot in the back twenty. . . oh well, boo effin hoo pour moi lol
20. Oh, I knew -- I KNEW::evil laugh:: -- sorry, um, I'll have a #10 as well
21. How about I go Large on the #10 and gimme a #20. Awesome, thanks, dude
22. Oh MY God! Gimme THAT. #20 for me too.
23. I'm dieting, so - f@ckin delish, Do enjoy, but, yes, a #10 ONLY, if you'd be so kind and thank you - LOVE your scarf.
24. Animal House (1978) #31
25. Megamind (2010) One Pointer

One Pointers: 18 out of 42 (40.47%)

Rectification List
1. Mean Girls (2004) #67
2. What We Do in the Shadows (2014) #31
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