The Movie Forums Top 100 Comedies Countdown

Seen both too many times to count. Neither made my ballot.

I've always wondered how I've missed Back to the Future in those years. Mid to late eighties was exactly the school time when we've hardly missed a movie especially that type of show productions.
After that, for many years I've been so annoyed by the steady popularity of such a cheap high school films.
In the post-2000 period, couple of times I've caught some parts here and there on the telly, finally counting I've seen at least half of the movie. That's it.
I think something in-between and
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I can't recall anything about a movie Trading Places. It is another big wonder for me why is that since Eddie Murphy was skyrocketed in the 80's. How I've missed that title and why this film hasn't appeared on the cable for all these years. Probably, it's been there but I haven't paid much attention.

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Back to the Future was my #2. It’s about as close to perfect as a movie can get. Every single moment sets up or pays off something, sometimes multiple things. The lightning strike sequence at the end should be taught in editing classes on how to cut an action scene. It’s also a weird take on the fish out of water trope. While Marty does react to some stuff in 1955 a lot of the jokes are people in the ‘50s reacting to him. “Check out this guy’s life preserver, dork thinks he’s gonna drown!” “What’s a rerun?”

It’s a movie that should be a relic of the ‘80s. We should all be saying “Remember that weird movie where the kid goes back in time and tries to bang his mom? Who thought that was a good idea?” But it’s so well crafted that every character, scene, and the DeLorean itself are iconic and it’s become a timeless classic.


I kind of have a bone to pick with Trading Places. It’s not a very good movie and it’s barely a comedy. I think what a lot of folks remember is the train scene which is about 20 minutes long in the second half. And while the shenanigans in this scene are comedic they’re never actually that funny to me.That’s really the only scene that can be considered a comedy because the first half of this movie is kind of dull and depressing. The premise is fine for a comedy but the movie never really does much with it. I wasn’t around when it first came out but I’m guessing it succeeded on Eddie Murphy’s star power at the time. It is a bafflingly structured film.

I seen Trading Places once long, long ago in a theater far, well not that far away...or maybe it was on TV. Truth is I know I watched it and that's all I remember of it, so no vote from me.

Back to the Future wasn't on my list though I do think it's all kinds of wonderful I wrote this about it:


Back to the Future just flows perfectly and I was always interested in what was happening next. The film pacing and scene construction is flawless. So flawless that it actually gets studied.


The cast is great too. Originally Eric Stoltz was cast as Marty McFly. While Stoltz is a good actor he's no Marty McFly. After Stoltz left the film the producers first choice Michael J. Fox became available. Fox's comic timing and easy going demeanor with just the right bit of stumble-bumness is a perfect combination for the role.


The ungainly and awkward Crispin Glover as his nervous, flunky of a dad is equally perfect casting. I could go own with this...Lea Thompson as his mom, both young and old versions,...as well as the wonderfully colorful actor, who played Biff with such energy (Thomas F. Wilson)...both of them make the film special. And then there's the lovable, absent minded professor, Doc Brown (Christoper Lyold)...Doc Brown and Marty go together like potatoes and gravy!

The premise is so cool, with a teenager inadvertently using a DeLorean time machine to go back in time to 1955 where he meets both his mom and dad as teenagers...His own presences causes them to never date...and that's something he needs to fix pronto so that he's not wiped out of existence.

The other thing I like is that this movie just oozes 1985! From the DeLorean to Van Halen to the jokes about then actor Ronald Regan becoming president. This is such a well though out script and such a fun movie to spend time with.

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Back to the Future, my #5, is marvelous mainstream entertainment, which is so creative, scriptwise and visually, that it is difficult to conceive of improving upon it. Teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is thrust from 1985 back to 1955 through a series of events involving "mad scientist" Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and his time-traveling DeLorean. The only way Marty can get "back to the future" is to find the younger Doc Brown and enlist his help. However, Marty has also ended up at the time where his parents meet, and if he doesn't do something to help out, it looks like his parents will never get together. One of the funniest films ever made is also a real feel-good crowd pleaser.

Doc Brown: "Tell me, Future Boy, who's President in 1985?"
Marty: "Ronald Reagan."
Doc Brown: "Ronald Reagan? The Actor? Then who's Vice President? Jerry Lewis?"

Trading Places is Eddie Murphy's second film performance. It's a mostly-hilarious, sometimes a tad too obvious, take on cruelty in the business world and the vast difference between the haves and have nots. That makes it sound too serious though since it's really about cramming in as many laughs as you can. The comeuppances are pretty good too.

My List

5. Back to the Future
11. Harold and Maude
13. One, Two, Three
16. It's Such A Beautiful Day
17. A Fish Called Wanda
25. Ruthless People

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Alright, noting at 33, we're still getting comments about a movie not being a comedy. I would have expected that directed more at Back to the Future (a sci-fi adventure, teen movie) than Trading Places, but it is what it is.

Some people won't think #1 is a comedy.

Back to the Future is an excellent movie, and one of my favourites. Everything about it is top-notch, including the soundtrack ("baah baah baah..."). It didn't occur to me that it's a comedy, otherwise I would've put it in my top 5. I like also BTTF 3 just as much.

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I've never thought of Back to the Future as much more than "pretty good, I guess" so while I'm not surprised to see it on the list, it didn't get my vote.

I haven't seen Trading Places.

Back to the Future's great, and definitely one of my favorite movies (which is saying a lot), but I think about it more as an Adventure movie with some comedic elements, similar to Indiana Jones which also has it's fair share of jokes. So it did not make my list.

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Yup...I find everyone's take on what is and isn't comedy to be interesting...'illuminating' might be a better word for what's becoming a phenomenon on this countdown.

Don't get me wrong people I'm all for individuality and enjoy the diversity in comments and views that we all have. I get it too, some find laugh out loud movies to be the only true comedies, whilst other's find movies that make you smile to equally be comedies.

I mostly never laugh out loud at movie comedies myself, I often find the best comedies are charming (like Amélie) or just plumb fun to spend time with (like Back to the Future). Maybe we'll get a pair of comedies that will shock the hell out of everyone when all of us whole heartily approve of them

No votes. Back to the Future would probably make an extended list just for the sheer craftsmanship involved, though assessed purely as a comedy it works mostly off because of Lloyd and his charmingly outsized performance (to say nothing of Wilson's turn as one of cinema's best bullies). Very surprised that Trading Places has shown up this late in the game - I've seen it once or twice and thought it was middling with a few memorable moments, but I know better than to expect much from the average Landis film.

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You saw my ballot ?!?

Lol kinda why I've stayed away from this list. My definition of a comedy movie is probably too narrow. It's probably because I think Comedy is the hardest genre to pull off. So when I see movies like O Brother (top 5 movie for me) over 40-Year Old Virgin or Back to the Future over Anchorman it bugs me. O Brother and Back to the Future are superior movies but 40-Year Old and Anchorman are superior comedies.

It goes back to my narrow definition of comedy movies. O Brother has comedy in it but it's point is to tell an entertaining story that has aspects of comedy. 40-Year Old's whole point is to get as many laughs as possible as it entertains.

It's why I've never taken the comedy category seriously (ironically) at the Golden Globes. It's all good my definition of comedy is just not as wide in scope as most. Still be interested in the rest of the list I would just have a widely different list

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Eh, I think of it the same way I think of horror movies. Both are genres that are intending to provoke an emotional response, but the approaches that individual films and creators take provides wildly different results. Is Possession any less of a horror film than The Evil Dead because one favours creeping psychological dread and the other favours the frantic immediacy of jump scares?

Definitely. It's actually part of what makes the film great, not something that compromises the film in any way.

Trading Places is my No.10.
I've seen it probably 30 times, maybe more. If I wanted a movie to just make me laugh it might be the one I picked, I think it is truly one of the funniest and most fun films I've ever seen.

It is my second film to make this list with Fast Times being the first one. 23 to go.

Back to the Future is one of the most entertaining films I've seen and easily on my Top 20 or Top 50 all-time. If I were being nitpicky, I see it more as an adventure/sci-fi with many comedic elements, so I didn't vote for it. Anyway, I knew it wouldn't need my help, so I'm glad it made it.

Trading Places is a film I'm really not sure if I ever saw when I was a kid/teen. I might have cause it seems like the kind of thing I would've rented when I was 10 to 15 years old, but if I did, I don't remember a single thing. Obviously, no vote from me.


Seen: 51/68

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*sigh* I'm losing hope in one of my top picks

Superbad (2007) was one I watched a little of and got up and left so that my roommate could finish and enjoy it. No real wish to give it another try since I care very little for Jonah Hill. He can act, and I appreciate his voice talent in my #25 Megamind but not someone that makes me want to see a film with him in it. No specific reason, it just works out that way.




A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Wanda: I'm sorry about my brother, Ken. I know he's insensitive. He's had a hard life. Dad used to beat him up.
Ken: Good.

Definitely a very laugh-out-loud film. Especially each and every single time Kevin Kline appears. His comedic timing is laser sharp. Creating a brutish, obnoxious, over-the-top character is a complete f@ckin joy to behold and nearly puts the remaining cast in his shadow.
This is very impressive, considering how well everyone does in their perspective roles. From the thieving gang's leader: Georges Thomason, played by, amusingly, Tom Georgeson, to Patricia Hayes' angry old lady who continues to "lose" her precious dogs to stuttering Ken's (Michael Palin) inability to take her out. As well as Maria Aitken completely nailing it as John Cleese's unhappy wife, Wendy. Whom I found a new appreciation for during a recent rewatch for how well she does. Especially when nitpicking through Kline's Otto's fumbling lies.
And no, I have not forgotten the character that ensnares, entices, and out-thinks them all, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Her performance reminded me of Lucille Ball. There's that style of balancing beauty and slapstick expertly.




Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy 2004

Brick Tamland: [riding a bear] Hey, Ron. I'm riding a furry tractor.

While I am very so-so when it comes to Will Ferrell, this is one of his top comedic films. The ad-libs are pretty d@mn great, and the real highlight for me is Carrell as the slightly off-centered Brick and Christina Applegate holding her own with the Men's Club of this film.




It Happened One Night (1934)

Alexander Andrews: Do you love her?
Peter Warne: A normal human being couldn't live under the same roof with her without going nutty! She's my idea of nothing!
Alexander Andrews: I asked you a simple question! Do you love her?
Peter Warne: YES! But don't hold that against me; I'm a little screwy myself!

YAYYY, an Oldie and TRULY a Goodie!
Colbert has run away from her father in Florida and is hightailing it to the man she had eloped with previously. In her attempt NOT to be caught, she hops a bus, where she crosses paths and words with Gable's character, a recently fired newspaperman. Who, once realizing who she is and the great story in the making, sticks to her like glue for the exclusive.

I don't know if this is considered one of the original Road Trip movies, but it has many parameters that such films use as staples.
And, forgive the cliche, but the first time around does remain the best time around, and Capra does his usual charm in creating a cast of characters you can't help but enjoy. They must work around some hi-jinks and situations while falling for one another.
A truly enjoyable romp, if I must so.
And I will.




Back to the Future (1985)

Dr. Emmett Brown: Then tell me, future boy, who's President of the United States in 1985?
Marty McFly: Ronald Reagan.
Dr. Emmett Brown: Ronald Reagan? The actor?
Then who's vice president? Jerry Lewis?
I suppose Jane Wyman is the First Lady! And Jack Benny is secretary of the treasury.

For me, the first of the series of these films is just fine, and the others were more cash cows than worthwhile.
Regardless, this deserves the praise that it continues to have, with Lloyd and Fox having great chemistry as the "teen" looking to keep his existence by going back to ensure his mom and dad hook up to the mad scientist who makes a time machine with a Delorean. Because if you're going to use a car for a time machine, it should be one with STYLE.

While, at times, the Fox charm did get a little too much for me, this is still one of his best comedies for me. And there's plenty of fodder for laughter, mix-ups, and comedic storytelling. All of which Robert Zemeckis is more than competent enough to pull off nicely. And he does.
This film has become iconic, and there's a good reason for it. From the Delorean to the "Hello, McFly!" to Fox's guitar playing mimics Chuck Berry, Pete Townsend, Angus Young, and Eddie Van Halen.




Trading Places (1983)

Louis Winthorpe III: [to Penelope] Those men wanted to have sex with me!

I've always been around mid-point for this Dan Ackroyd/Eddie Murphy comedy. There are moments when they shine and work fairly well with one another but more on their own. And of course, once more, enticing and hitting every mark, is Jamie Lee Curtis.




Watched: 56 out of 68 (82.35%)
1. Kung Fu Hustle (2004) #66
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7. What's Up, Doc? (1972) #59
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9. Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain aka Amélie (2001) #40
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25. Megamind (2010) One Pointer

One Pointers: 18 out of 42 (40.47%)

Rectification List
1. Mean Girls (2004) #67

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