The Movie Forums Top 100 Comedies Countdown

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I HATED Bringing Up Baby the first time I watched it. Susan (Katherine Hepburn) was a royal pain in the green *golfing reference Then it got nominated for one of the HoFs and I warmed up to it a bit. Then I watched the movie for a third time with the commentary track by Peter Bogdanovich who was enamored with Hawk's film. It must be that some of his enthusiasm for Bringing Up Baby rubbed off on me as I then began to change my mind about the film.

I still don't love Bringing Up Baby but I did have it on my ballot at #10, I wanted to see it on the countdown and I'm glad to see it made it.

Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)

I have a hunch about the film...I don't think the genius of the film is in the story line or in the characters. They are just window dressing for the true star of the film, the writing. The star of the film is the quick wit of the script and the ad-lib lines done by Hepburn and Grant. It's almost like this is a cryptic film and the actors and writers are bypassing the story and speaking directly to the audience. It's an inside joke at a big party and the fun is in deciphering the double entendres.



Well, that means it's time for our fourth pit stop...


Decade Breakdown
  • 1900s = 0
  • 1910s = 0
  • 1920s = 3
  • 1930s = 3
  • 1940s = 6
  • 1950s = 1
  • 1960s = 5
  • 1970s = 7
  • 1980s = 23
  • 1990s = 14
  • 2000s = 15
  • 2010s = 3
  • 2020s = 0


The 30s finally showed up in this last batch with 3 entries, but the 80s continue to reign supreme. 7 entries in the last 20 slots to stay ahead of the pack by a slightly decent margin. Nothing from the 90s, though. Interesting.

Still nothing pre-1920s and nothing post-2020s, so both ends of the spectrum unrepresented. Will something show up on the last 20?


Recurring Directors
  • Charlie Chaplin = 4
  • Tim Burton = 3
  • Joel & Ethan Coen = 3
  • Preston Sturges = 2
  • Amy Heckerling = 2
  • Mel Brooks = 2
  • Jonathan Lynn = 2
  • Adam McKay = 2
  • Frank Capra = 2
  • John Landis = 2
  • John Hughes = 2
  • Billy Wilder = 2
  • Howard Hawks = 2
  • Harold Ramis = 2

More returning directors jump in, but Chaplin continues at the top with one more notch on his belt. The Coens are closing in, though, and we all know they have at least one more in the chamber. Does Chaplin have anything else? Capra, Landis, and Hawks... all three managed to sneak in two each in the last 20 to get in the group, which is interesting.


Two more foreign comedies (Amélie and What We Do in the Shadows), for a total of six. And we continue without any new animated films in this group. We're still at two, but will something else show up?
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I’ve seen Raising Arizon multiple times and don’t get the love for it. But there is one line that made me laugh so much I had to pause the movie until I got myself under control. “They’re jammies! They got Yodas and shit on ‘em!”

I haven’t seen Bringing Up Baby since college but I enjoyed it.



I have no problem with Raising Arizona but I find nearly a dozen Coen Bro movies funnier, even the ones that are edged way closer to Drama. But RA has its moments and white trash charm. Wouldn't be opposed to watching again

Haven't seen Bringing up Baby
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Have seen so far: 42 - Raising Arizona - Saw this for the Comedy countdown and thought It was an alright movie, I wouldn't consider it as a favorite of mines

Have not seen so far: 37

I have not seen Bringing Up Baby
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No votes. Revisited Raising Arizona earlier this year and it's worth it just to see the Coens follow up the cold neo-noir of Blood Simple with the hare-brained screwiness of this particular caper. I watched Bringing Up Baby last year and thought it was fine, didn't really grab me though.
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That’s pretty much why I’m not in them anymore. I thought you guys must have conspired behind my back to make them the Hall Of Bet You I Am The Only One Who Likes This Because I’m Really Really Cool.
To be fair, virtually every single film nominated in the last three main Halls have at least generally positive ratings on the internet (IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd). In fact, the same also applies to Themroc, which is perhaps the most despised film I've seen nominated in a main Hall. If the opposite was the case, then you could make more of an argument there.

Regardless, my approach with nominating films isn't to nominate something which I expect for everyone to enjoy, but to nominate films which aren't bought up that often around here and which I think some users might really click with. In the current Hall, for instance, A Moment of Innocence has been hit or miss with some users yet has led to some interesting discussions about its merits from several participants. Of course, I imagine that some people might not care for my nominations, but I always like seeing the various reactions to them.
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To be fair, virtually every single film nominated in the last three main Halls have at least generally positive ratings on the internet (IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd). In fact, the same also applies to Themroc, which is perhaps the most despised film I've seen nominated in a main Hall. If the opposite was the case, then you could make more of an argument there.

Regardless, my approach with nominating films isn't to nominate something which I expect for everyone to enjoy, but to nominate films which aren't bought up that often around here and which I think some users might really click with. In the current Hall, for instance, A Moment of Innocence has been hit or miss with some users yet has led to some interesting discussions about its merits from several participants. Of course, I imagine that some people might not care for my nominations, but I always like seeing the various reactions to them.
Yeah most of the films in the Halls have been good to great and I enjoyed the majority of them. A Moment of Innocence was very good and I might not have seen it if it hadn't been nominated.



The trick is not minding
I don’t think there has been a single film in the HOF I can say I truly hated, although certainly some I didn’t like at all. It even those those that don’t work for me, are often near misses.

I think Raising Arizona was one of those



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
I don’t think there has been a single film in the HOF I can say I truly hated, although certainly some I didn’t like at all. It even those those that don’t work for me, are often near misses.

I think Raising Arizona was one of those
deh HECK u say?!
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That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
"Raising Arizona" is my #2. Loved it in the theater and still laugh my arse off at it today. My favorite part, your fifteen minutes into the film before the credits even start. For myself, the finest Coen output.

Haven't seen " Bringing Up Baby".
yer a FLAh'r, yew arr.



We think there's 20 left then?


Here are my guesses for the remainders then


WARNING: spoilers below

I didn't order them, just kind of typed them out as they came to mind.


Probable locks:
Lebowski
Duck Soup
Dr Stangelove
Life of Brian
Holy Grail
Airplane!
Blazing Saddles
Young Frankenstein
City Lights
Ghostbusters
The General

My guess for the remainders
Groundhog's Day
Shrek (ug, I don't like this one)
The Philadelphia Story
Network
Beverly Hills Cop (haven't seen, so my sense of it might be off)
Lethal Weapon (haven't seen, so my sense of it might be off)
The Princess Bride
Spies Like Us
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

Might have a chance, but not in my final cut for guesses:
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
History of the World Part 1
Possibly a fifth Coens' movie
The Nake Gun
A Night at the Opera



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
You heard me. This wolf don’t stutter.
Maybe not, but baby sharks ...do-do-doot, dee-do dee-doo. And we know that sharks (and wolves) eat goats, so all we really have to do is connect the dots here and I think you know exactly what I'm saying.

so stop pretending.



A system of cells interlinked
Maybe not, but baby sharks ...do-do-doot, dee-do dee-doo.

You!!! Argggggggg!
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The trick is not minding
Maybe not, but baby sharks ...do-do-doot, dee-do dee-doo. And we know that sharks (and wolves) eat goats, so all we really have to do is connect the dots here and I think you know exactly what I'm saying.

so stop pretending.
Baby shark do-do-do-doot, dee-do dee-doo!



This will probably be my least favorite pair because I don't like either movie. I just don't like silly comedies, I prefer more sophisticated comedies like Stripes and The Hangover.



This will probably be my least favorite pair because I don't like either movie. I just don't like silly comedies, I prefer more sophisticated comedies like Stripes and The Hangover.
And Animal House
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