The Movie Forums Top 100 Comedies Countdown

What We Do in the Shadows is great and a lot of fun. I didn't vote for it, but I'm glad it made the list. The Apartment is excellent too and a worthy addition to the list, although it didn't make my ballot either.

Excellent my #23, even only looking up a .gif of What We Do in the Shadows is already hilarious!
I have three Wilder's in my Comedy top 100, The Apartment at #62, One, Two, Three at #69 and Some Like It Hot (which I expected sooner) at #78. All of them are bonafide comedy classics and very worthy of placement.

Seen 47/72
Ballot 8/25

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Seventeen spots off.
The Apartment was my #20.
Though sticking with the Some Like it Hot prediction would have felt closer.
In my, "I always underestimate how people feel about Some Like it Hot," one of my data points was double-checking and realizing that Some Like it Hot usually ranks above The Apartment on a lot of respected lists, not just comedic ones. I thought both would be coming, so one of them would be soon. I just got it reversed because of my love for The Apartment and broken mirrors.


The Apartment - is it a rom-com? If not, it's the closest thing to a rom-com on my list. That and one from the 70s that's so acidic (unlikely to make the list) it certainly doesn't jump to people's minds as a rom-com (it's probably closer to being an anti-rom-com).


What We Do In The Shadows - Enjoyable. I don't feel the deep love for it others do. But it's pleasantly enjoyable.

ETA: my prediction for The Apartment making it after we through #41 in the reveals was down at 90%. At the beginning, I would have called it a lock, but it's hard to guess which "givens" might have consistently been skipped, especially in the cases where there's a comparable/associated comedy that people might choose over it in numbers (Some Like it Hot in this case).

Yes. Also becacuse it's shit.

Between the ages of 10-15? Trust me, you didn't see Trading Places.

#4 for me. I thought it'd be #3, but then you all surprised me with Black Dynamite.

That's not stopped anyone else.

I'm more interested in the pair from your previous post.

As for the last few. I've not seen PTaA or Anchor Man and have never felt the need or desire to. Animal House I saw when I was about 9 or 10 and I didn't like it. Probably too young to enjoy the better written stuff but if that kind of gross out humour isn't working for you when you're 10, it probably won't now. BttF is great, but not a comedy, IMO and so it didn't even come to mind, unlike Trading Places which was my #5 and, I have to admit, I was starting to worry about a little. It's just great and so well written, as are the characters who actually progress unlike a lot of comedy and all the main players feel perfect to me. Of course it wouldn't get made like that now (which is probably more true of comedy than any other genre?) but I'm glad it was and I can still enjoy it in all its glory.

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Okay, I've got 4 to catch up on here :

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is an old family favourite, and pretty much seared into my memory. Steve Martin and John Candy played off of each other really well - both were bankable, talented and had their own unique little comedy niche which they fit so well in this. Martin the straight man occasionally made crazy by Candy's overbearing, much more lowbrow hanger-on. A trip home on thanksgiving, by any mode of transport available, and an unlikely pair of frenemies - somehow glued to each other, and one with a big emotional reveal towards the end. I bet some of you cried at the end of this - awww. I used to love it, but I suspect if I were to watch it today it would have dated a little bit - anyway, it's given me as much joy as a movie possibly could over the years. I didn't vote for it, but I respect it, admire it and have a soft spot for it. "You're going the wrong way!" - "How do they know where we're going?"

Animal House - There are several classic comedies from the late 70s/early 80s that I'm still waiting to click with, and this is one of them. I've probably only seen this all the way through once, so it deserves another go (it spawned a making-of comedy - which is impressive.) Did these frat house comedies originate with Animal House? If so, that in itself is impressive as well. For some reason, I never really get Belushi's antics, or why they're meant to be funny - and to not get that is to not get the core of the whole film. Cruelty, confict and stupidity - fighting, bullying and partying - I just don't find any of it really funny. Admitting to not really liking these films is like a big confession for me. So many people I know love them. But I will give Animal House another chance one day soon, for I'm convinced that so many devoted fans can't be wrong.

You've made me very happy with this next reveal mofo :

What We Do in the Shadows was my #10, and I truly had given up hope of it appearing. That it's appearing this highly is some justification of it's place in modern day comedy, as well as Taika Waititi's. The film is absolutely riotous - a hilarious mockumentary which has a camera crew taken in by a bunch of everyday New Zealand vampires to see how they're just ordinary guys like you and me - so to speak. They are immortal, drink blood, fly and turn into bats etc. They also bitch, fuss over who does chores and try to be cool. There's not much I can say - those who have seen it know how funny it is - those who haven't should watch it, seriously. The talented Jemaine Clement co-starred and co-directed. It's simply brilliant, and a work of comic genius.

The Apartment I was expecting, and watched a couple of years ago - but for some reason I need to watch it again, because it didn't stick in my mind. Love Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Respect Billy Wilder. Had been looking forward to it. I was probably in the wrong headspace, and I've been meaning to watch it again ever since.

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Films I've seen : 56˝
Films that have been on my radar : 12˝
Films I've never even heard of : 3

Films from my list : 6

#30 - My #10 - What We Do in the Shadows - (2014)
#34 - My #9 - Back to the Future - (1985)
#62 - My #13 - The In-Laws - (1979)
#65 - My #21 - Black Dynamite - (2009)
#82 - My #8 - The Producers - (1967)
One pointer - Brewster McCloud (1970)

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I didn't expect What We Do in the Shadows to place so highly on the Countdown, but I'm glad it did. When it first released I was quite tired of vampires, and had never cared much for mockumentaries to begin with, but I really enjoyed the film despite those hurdles. It was clever and entertaining, and has a number of memorable characters and lines that I keep finding myself thinking about from time to time. I've talked pretty much everyone I know into watching it as well, to mostly positive reviews.

Both the tv series it spawned are entertaining as well, which is somewhat unusual for comedies. What We Do in the Shadows is the better of the two, but Wellington Paranormal is worth watching as well. The film was on my list at #17, but it easily could've been moved up a few places.

Seen: 43/72

My List: 6
04. Evil Dead II (1987) - #93
06. Brazil (1985) - #47
07. The Great Dictator (1940) - #50
14. Clerks (1994) - #64
17. What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - #30
21. Tropic Thunder (2008) - #58

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What We Do in the Shadows didn't make my ballot, but I definitely considered including it. I'm glad it didn't need my help to make it high on this list. Most recent comedies don't do much for me, but this one is a huge exception. It has loads of humor and charm to it which made a huge impact on me.

The Apartment, on the other hand, was #22 on my list. I considered ranking it above another Billy Wilder comedy which will likely make it higher, but I ultimately decided to put it at this spot. Still though, great film which, in many ways, is more dark than funny. Both Bud and Fran are complex characters whose lifestyles lead to them getting hurt time and time again and yet their interactions with each other provide some of the more hopeful bits to the film. Overall, huge fan of Billy Wilder and this is another one of the several great films I've seen from him.

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1. It Happened One Night (#35)
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4. To Be or Not To Be (#86)
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6. Harold and Maude (#45)
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10. Being John Malkovich (#44)
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12.Sherlock, Jr. (#56)
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22. The Apartment (#29)
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25. The Great Dictator (#50)

What We Do in the Shadows was my #15. I thought it was an absolute blast. Great characters, fun meta humor... and somehow, they've managed to come up with a show that's just as consistently clever and well executed. Great to see it make it, cause I was losing hope.

The Apartment is one of my favorite romcoms, but I didn't vote for it. Still, I love Lemmon and MacLaine in it. I think they have great chemistry, and MacLaine specifically? that character was something else. Love her.


Seen: 55/72

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My wife and I tried to watch What We Do in the Shadows, but ended up turning it off about halfway through - just not for us, I guess! None of the comedy was landing.

The Apartment is a blind spot for me...

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I've had my eye of What We Do in the Shadows for a while, but I;ve been putting it off for other movies. One of them was The Apartment, which told its story beautifully and relies on acting and chemistry to deliver its wide range of humor. 95/100.

Seen 45/72. Still within 60%.

Just watched "The Apartment" last week for the first time. I do like Jack Lemmon , but found this film a little "meh" and a tad overrated considering the love it gets here.

Never even heard of "What We do in the Shadows". Guess I'm going to seek this one out.
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I absolutely adore The Apartment. Im tired of yelping about the broad rule that I didn’t even follow. So I will say, it should have been on my list. Second best rom com of all time. More on that later I hope.

Did not expect What We Do this high. Judging from the conversation the other day, no one did. It’s a really funny movie. After watching Thor last night it seems ever finnier because Taika can be very very unfunny.

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I kind of wonder if it got helped by Thor: Love & Thunder being highly anticipated by many when the ballots were cast, but before it was released.


It is also crossing my mind as we're getting a lot of post-2000 movies pretty late on, the early tabulations on the breakdown by decades people were reporting for their ballots (which looked like a bell curve centered heavily on the 80s) was way off in terms of what to expect (decades-wise) because of all the people who submitted ballots but weren't in the preliminary thread.

What We Do in the Shadows was a late cut but I do love it.

“I think we drink virgin blood because it sounds cool.”
“Think of it like this. If you are going to eat a sandwich, you would just enjoy it more knowing no one had ****ed it.”


I’ve only seen The Apartment once but it was so charming.

I don't remember much about The Apartment, but here's what I said for a hall of fame nearly a decade back

It was #20 on my 60s list, but I had never considered it for this one.

I haven't seen What we do in the shadows nor did I realize it's this popular, so I'll have to change that

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Meanwhile, I need to do a writeup on this film, since it was my Numero UNO!


(Donner, 1985)



Back to the Future is what you get when somehow, all the stars align on a film project, and pretty much everything comes together perfectly. A fantastic, almost flawless script, a rousing score with a memorable theme, hilarious comedy, a fun buddy dynamic, time travel, a kooky scientist, 50s nostalgia... the list goes on.

Back in the early and mid-80s, my grandmother would sit in her big chair, reading her paper, while I dorked around with whatever nonsense I was into at the time. Occasionally, she would look down and say "Hmmm, this movie looks fun, let's head down to the mall and see it." She mostly did this during the summer months, as I was out of school and needed to spend time at her house due to my mother working long days. Since we lived in Arizona, she would be looking for ways to escape the brutal summer heat, as well. On this particular July Saturday, it was time to go see Back to the Future.

I recall the theater being alive with energy as the events of the film unfolded. The audience was chock full of folks of all ages and backgrounds, and everyone was having a blast. I recall several cheers at various points in the film, such as the moment George punched biff, and at the moment Doc plugged the cables together at the last second, perfectly timing the energy surge into the time traveling DeLorean. It was cinema magic, smack dab in the middle of the blockbuster 80s, and it just didn't get better than that at the movies. Lastly, the film had everyone laughing out loud for much of its runtime.

After the show, we couldn't stop talking about it, and my Grandmother, who was quite a reserved, classy woman, couldn't stop babbling about the fun she had just had. The film had whisked her back to the 50s, making her feel young and alive again, as well as capturing the imagination of her young grandson. I can't think if another film that can pull off such a feat!

There is so much to love about this film, with the great comedy being just one piece of this perfect pie. All the fun little details like the Twin Pine/Lone Pine Mall bit, Crispin Glover's performance, Biff, the DeLorean, and an iconic performance by Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown. Everything came together brilliantly with the result being on of the most fun and entertaining films of all time.

Of course, it could have been a very different film, as they shot most of it with Eric Stoltz in the lead before deciding to replace him with Fox...

I never get tired of watching this, and I can't wait to sit down and watch this with my daughter once she is a little older.

The Apartment: Gosh I've only seen this once and that was almost 20 years ago so I didn't remember it well enough to vote for it...but I do remember being very impressed with it and generally Wilder is tops for me.

Never heard of What We do in the Shadows...and I've only seen one of Taika Waititi films 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' which I thought was way cool...so not opposed to seeing more of his work.

What We Do In The Shadows is certainly funny even if some of it seemed to go over my head, but my daughter could explain some of it.

You know that scene near the beginning of The Apartment where Jack Lemmon comes home after a long day's work and then waits for some executive and his escort to vacate his apartment? He eats a TV dinner and drinks a bottle of Coke (a sly preview of Wilder's next film, One, Two, Three) while he's watching late-night TV. The channel is going to show the classic Grand Hotel, but instead they list all the cast and just when Jack's excited, they go to those late-night TV commercials they had during all-night movies back in the day. That scene really reminded me of how I'd stay up all night at the neighbors' house babysitting and watch tons of old movies with those lousy, ridiculous commercials. Another anecdote I can tell you about The Apartment was that when I bought my first VCR, it was one of the movies I bought along with it. I used to watch it every time it was on TV, but I hadn't seen the film for a few years, and it was the best film I could buy at a reasonable price.

This really is an acerbic drama masquerading as a "light romantic comedy". But it's really about a bunch of wealthy, misogynistic creeps taking advantage of women and Jack Lemmon's poor schmuck. But Jack gets blamed for the poor behavior, and Shirley MacLaine is demeaned so much, she tries to commit suicide! Light entertainment? It does have Billy Wilder and writing partner I.A.L. Diamond's usual quota of wit and dark satire, but it's one of Wilder's most dramatic films, at least since Some Like It Hot. But it's also a very good movie and obviously one of his most beloved.

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What We Do In The Shadows was my #5.

Super happy to see it here on the list, especially so high. I rewatched it recently and it was such great fun, not too long and just such a funny and inventive set-up with funny and interesting characters. The sandwich joke! Rhys Darby's werewolf gang! Love it.


Nope, not Crocodile Dundee. I do think people's reactions would be funny if it placed this high though


I watched it with my son and his take on it was "so basically it's about someone from the past going back even further into the past..."