The Movie Forums Top 100 Comedies Countdown

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Victim of The Night
Yeah, I was surprised it got that high on the top 100, especially being a 1974 movie, and having such a younger crowd in the forum.

Another thing is it's got the "N" word in a scene which, although funny, I would have thought the PC crowd would have dismissed it for that reason.

As far as quality it might qualify in the top 100, but not #10.
As part of the PC crowd, I would say that I think Blazing Saddles is so unbelievably good for how it handles and portrays racism that it cannot be dismissed for any reason.
The scene you're talking about is such a phenomenal example of the casual racism that is at the heart of America that it really only fortifies the position of us SJWs. It's an SJW Classic, really.
Hence being my No.1.



Victim of The Night
I'm one of the few people who thinks Young Frankenstein is better than Blazing Saddles. If I ever did a top 100 favorite movies list, Young Frankenstein would probably come in around #3.
Actually, in my world, it's probably 50/50 and the people who have an opinion actually oscillate so often between one and the other that each 50 may consist of several people who said the other 50 last time they were asked, but were the same 50 two times ago.
And then I have a few people who are just die-hard YF.



I also assumed it would be Top-25 at least.
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.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Blazing Saddles is a fun movie with some very funny moments, a great cast, and a great theme song, but some of the humor just doesn't work for me. I like it a little bit more each time I watch it, but I still don't love it.
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Out of those ranked 101 to 120, I nearly voted for My Man Godfrey, but it was a late cut. I assumed it wouldn't make it, even with my help - but I think I was wrong. It seems that if I had of voted for it, it would have made it! Ooops.

I tried to warn about this type of self-fulfilling prophecy before people submitted their lists. That's why you should always include the movies on your list that you want on your list, not the movies that you think that other people might include on their lists.

If your favorite movies missed the countdown because other people didn't vote for them, that's their fault, but if your favorites didn't make it because you didn't vote for them, that's your fault.



I forgot the opening line.
I tried to warn about this type of self-fulfilling prophecy before people submitted their lists. That's why you should always include the movies on your list that you want on your list, not the movies that you think that other people might include on their lists.

If your favorite movies missed the countdown because other people didn't vote for them, that's their fault, but if your favorites didn't make it because you didn't vote for them, that's your fault.
It was a toss-up for me, whether to include My Man Godfrey or The Ladykillers (1955 version) for the particular spot that was vacant - I thought The Ladykillers could have really done with my help to get a good placing on the list, and that my vote for My Man Godfrey would be a wasted cry in the dark. So in the end, considering my vote for the former would have got it a place on the countdown I'm left to ponder what the hell happened with The Ladykillers. I really thought that film would make it.

It hit that 1950s roadblock Holden Pike was talking about.
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It was a toss-up for me, whether to include My Man Godfrey or The Ladykillers (1955 version) for the particular spot that was vacant - I thought The Ladykillers could have really done with my help to get a good placing on the list, and that my vote for My Man Godfrey would be a wasted cry in the dark. So in the end, considering my vote for the former would have got it a place on the countdown I'm left to ponder what the hell happened with The Ladykillers. I really thought that film would make it.

It hit that 1950s roadblock Holden Pike was talking about.
I hear you about The Ladykillers. I love it but I love another Ealing Studios classic even more but I'm sure it won't make it (even with the twists and turns of this countdown).

Now, Blazing Saddles is a favorite for me. I saw it the drive-in in '74 with my parents and so besides just loving the comedy, it's a sentimental favorite of mine. I placed it at #5 on my list.

My list:
#2.Arthur-#111
#4.The In-Laws
#5.Blazing Saddles
#8.Stripes
#9.The Blues Brothers
#11.Arsenic and Old Lace
#12.Tootsie-#108
#13.Raising Arizona
#14.Animal House
#18.Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
#22.Caddyshack
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I'm one of the few people who thinks Young Frankenstein is better than Blazing Saddles. If I ever did a top 100 favorite movies list, Young Frankenstein would probably come in around #3.

I don't think you're one of the few people, given that Young Frankenstein will ultimately place higher on this list than Blazing Saddles. Blazing Saddles is great and all, but Young Frankenstein has as many laughs and is the better movie.
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As part of the PC crowd, I would say that I think Blazing Saddles is so unbelievably good for how it handles and portrays racism that it cannot be dismissed for any reason.
The scene you're talking about is such a phenomenal example of the casual racism that is at the heart of America that it really only fortifies the position of us SJWs. It's an SJW Classic, really.
Hence being my No.1
.
I've heard whispers about Blazing Saddles being racist, although I don't know of anyone who's actually said that. I agree that it's an important and effective anti-racism film. I do know a couple of people who describe themselves the way that you do who are against the film, but it's not because they object to any of the content. It's more directed towards Brooks because of Young Frankenstein, which is why I was surprised to see what you said below.

Actually, in my world, it's probably 50/50 and the people who have an opinion actually oscillate so often between one and the other that each 50 may consist of several people who said the other 50 last time they were asked, but were the same 50 two times ago.
And then I have a few people who are just die-hard YF.



As part of the PC crowd, I would say that I think Blazing Saddles is so unbelievably good for how it handles and portrays racism that it cannot be dismissed for any reason.
The scene you're talking about is such a phenomenal example of the casual racism that is at the heart of America that it really only fortifies the position of us SJWs. It's an SJW Classic, really.
Hence being my No.1.
Welp, I know what movie I'm not watching.
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Didn't like these very much:

104. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) 60p 5 ballots
109. The Odd Couple (1968) 58p 5 ballots 11th Highest rank.
116. Safety last (1923) 53p 4 ballots

Both Tootsie and Arthur are very good with outstanding lead performances. John Gielgud's sarcasm in Arthur is legendary. He's almost as good as he is in Caligula, which also just missed my list. I think Arthur is the funnier of the two but neither came close to my ballot.

I thought about Bill and Ted but it would have been Bogus Journey. Going to hell has a little more edge to it than just going back in time for a HS history project. The Grim Reaper and a Pam Grier appearance helps put this above their most excellent first film.

Beverly Hills Cop and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me I thought both would make the list. BHC is my fav Eddie Murphy movie and Shagged is MM's best movie. Both of these would be in my top 50, probably.

I completely forgot about Liar, Liar. No biggie as I also forgot about Men in Black and threw away my number 25.

I went with a different Clouseau for my list so maybe the Pink Panther vote was a little split up. There are two PP movies that I think are better than A Shot in the Dark.

Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead...didn't like either one.

Galaxy Quest is funny. Only watched it a couple times but it appears to be one that gets funnier every single time you see it. The little things in this make me laugh like when Tim Allen pokes one of the Visitors in the gut and it lets out a little wheeze. No idea why I find that funny but I do.

Spinal Tap is classic. Wasn't on my ballot but it's deserving. Best in Show (it's got dahgs) is my favorite from the troupe but Spinal Tap has moments that are extremely funny. Little Stonehenge will always be funny.

Never got the love for Mel Brooks movies so not a Blazing Saddles fan even though it's my second fav from him and has moments that are hilarious. The campfire/beans scene, however, is not one of them. I have nothing against fart jokes, that well will never run dry in my opinion, but that scene never tickled my funny bone. I compare it to the baseball spitting in The Naked Gun which is the least funny part of THAT scene. I expected this to rank very high but am glad a different Brooks film seems likely to outperform it.


Time's running out. Beginning to think The Gods Must Be Crazy isn't going to appear.


Seen 70/90



There are more than enough people in the world, who either don't understand the importance of context, or who devalue why it is so vital when we look at a film like Blazing Saddles, that would definitely call it racist. "Where the white women at" or an elderly white woman saying the 'n' word would be all the proof they need. Perpetuating white stereotypes about black people, or just having that word included at all, would get them sure they were fighting the good fight. Of course, they'd be wrong, and they'd be extremely annoying to talk to, and they should probably just be ignored, but they are definitely out there.


There was actually a time that having these kind of discussions, even if the other person was being tragically reactionary (ie. wrong), could still be productive. But now I think they aren't even worth talking about. These days debate just pulls each party further and further into the dumbest corners of their reasoning, instead of attempting to find any common ground between differing opinions. It used to be even if you thought someone was wrong, you might learn something from them, at least regarding their perspectives. Not so sure how interested I am in that anymore though as I'm drowning in perspectives to the point that I'm even sick of my own.



My Number 10 was Dragon Tiger Gate, which really deserves to be higher up on my list. I first saw this movie advertised in a trailer compilation at a Hong Kong-themed DVD kiosk at my local mall and it really stuck out. Every other movie was advertising some relatively straightforward kung-fu-action-cop or historical fare, whereas this movie was kicking dudes clear across rooms. I bought it on pure impulse (the only movie I've ever purchased on impulse) and was not disappointed.

It's supposed to be a live-action adaptation of a manhwa and the result is an absurdly self-serious shonen anime smackdown. We get a Nunchuck v. Slipper fight, we get a character unlocking a literal Drill Kick, and the Big Bad goes up against the sensei character by tearing the sign off his dojo and beating him to death with it.

It has memorable music, great high-impact martial arts fights, intermixed with brief but hilariously obvious wire-fu, and it's trying SO HARD to be cool and dramatic... but it fails spectacularly.

A far-and-away better movie than Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon combined.

I rated it
.



1. ??? (1971)
2. ??? (1999)
3. Black Dynamite (2009)
4. Clue (1985)
5. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
6. ??? (1998)
7. ??? (1975)
8. ??? (2013)
9. ??? (2010)
10. Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
None of the Near Misses for me. Didn't expect to lol




Annie Hall (1977)

Alvy Singer: Sun is bad for you. Everything our parents said was good is bad. Sun, milk, red meat... college.

For me, in Woody Allen's films from Annie Hall onward, the cleverness of wit cannot abate the pseudo-intellect babble that attempts to cover someone's insecurities, much like someone trying to use a towel to cover themselves as if it was a blanket. Causing me to shake my head and wonder: What the f@ckin are you doing?
Making it an exasperation instead of a celebration for me.
I do not deny the spot on fourth-wall breaking as we share Woody's inner thoughts - doubling as yet another outlet for his snarky commentary. The quick wit and observational conversations delve into the more awkward emotions that are the very lifeblood of this film. The feeling of being a fly on the wall of a day in the life on what, if spoken of, sounds incredibly mundane and yet, in Allen's hands, keeps us fully attentive and involved.




Office Space (1999)

Bob Porter: Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately.
Peter Gibbons: I wouldn't say I've been missing it, Bob.

Been a little bit since I've enjoyed this'n. Ron Livingston as Peter Gibbons gets to not care, not stress, and the always outstanding character actor Stephen Root, the man the myth, the legend; One man, one stapler. Nothing else matters.




The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

The halcyon days of the Leslie Neilsen franchise. The first remains my absolute favorite, along with the short-lived TV Show. VERY nice to see it so high - VERY cool, MoFo!




The Princess Bride (1987)

Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

I cannot count the times I've seen this truly delightful and enjoyable film that, while it does not take itself seriously, does a very respectful tip of the hat to fantasy/ swashbuckling adventures throughout.
I loved the "out of the box" situation of a grandfather (Peter Falk) reading the story to his sick grandson (Fred Savage), who would rather be playing his video game instead.
And like Savage's character, it's very easy to get drawn into and be caught up in this little fairy tale. Delivering the goods that the grandfather promises when his grandson asks if there are any sports in it.

Every single person in this seems tailor-made to the character they play. Elwes brings an Errol Flynn flair and style to his lead character, and Robin Wright truly is a Princess Bride. With Mandy Patinkin stealing scene after scene as a Spaniard intent on revenge against the six-fingered man and even Andre The Giant's lovable character, Fezzik is a fun watch.
And the list continues on and on through the entire cast.

This may not cause you to burst out laughing, but it does deliver smile after smile after smile, and quite honestly, that has and continues to do me just fine.
Quotable lines, excellent swordplay, enjoyable characters, and a fun story are the heart and soul of this film and one I continually rewatch for the smile it brings me.





Shaun of the Dead (2003)

Liz: It's just with Ed here, it's no wonder I always bring my flat-mates out, and then that only exacerbates things.
Shaun: What do you mean?
Liz: Well, you guys hardly get on, do you?
Shaun: No, what does "exacerbate" mean?

A heavy ReWatch at the house and my favorite pairing of Simon Peg and Nick Frost.





Galaxy Quest (1999)

[Reading a tactical display]
Guy Fleegman: Hey guys, there's a red-thingy moving toward the green-thingy.
Jason Nesmith: What?
Guy Fleegman: Red-thingy moving toward the green-thingy. I think we're the green-thingy.

This one is in serious need of a rewatch. Used to watch it quite often when it came out.




This is Spın̈al Tap (1984)

[When asked what happened to their first drummer]
David St. Hubbins: He died in a bizarre gardening accident...
Nigel Tufnel: Authorities said... best leave it... unsolved.

While it doesn't cause all-out belly laughter, it does put a smile on my face any time I watch it.




Hot Fuzz (2007)

Nicholas Angel: And are they as big as he is?
Danny Butterman: Who?
Nicholas Angel: The mum and the sister?
Danny Butterman: Same person.

This, surprisingly, took a couple of watches to truly enjoy it. Not sure why, but worth the time for it.




City Lights (1931)

As with any Chaplin, it is a salve for the heart and soul as Charlie falls in love with a blind Flower Girl.


My #13:



Blazing Saddles (1974)

Taggart: I got it! I know how we can run everyone out of Rock Ridge.
Hedley Lamarr: How?
Taggart: We'll kill the firstborn male child in every household.
Hedley Lamarr: [after some consideration] Too Jewish.

The very first time I saw this I was in fourth grade. There was a nearby movie theater in a strip mall with only two theaters set up like a split hallway from the entrance, past the refreshment stand to the movie theaters themselves.
They'd show a G or PG film in one and an R rated in the other. We'd buy a G-rated film ticket and, near the back before the doors to watch the films was a golden barred partition. We'd slip through that and watch a R-rated film instead.
Such as this.
I literally peed myself during the campfire bean eating scene and have loved this irreverent western spoof filled with the fourth wall breaking of every kind imaginable since then.

Co-written with Richard Pryor who was originally slated to play Bart, the new Sheriff of Rock Ridge, I'm really quite happy that it was Cleavon Little instead. Giving a certain panache to the role that he seems to be having all sorts of fun with. As well as the rest of the cast seemed to.

As previously stated, this is one of my two favorites of Mel Brooks, and both I own and watch quite often and still laugh VERY loudly throughout.
While only occasionally peeing myself.




Watched: 73 out of 90 (81.11%)
1. Kung Fu Hustle (2004) #66
2. Would have been a happy surprise; ship go bye-bye; I eat a LOT of ice cream
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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Welcome to the human race...
I guess as long as we're doing the also-rans on our ballots, here are mine...



Slacker was my #4. Slacker is the kind of freewheeling indie feature that defies easy genre classification, but enough of its interconnected vignettes take on distinctly comedic tones that I considered it eligible. The film's most iconic scene involves a scatter-brained young woman trying her hardest to sell a pap smear that allegedly belonged to Madonna, but there are all manner of off-beat interludes - one man suffering all manner of inexplicable misfortunes, the running gag of conspiracy theorists rambling about their obsessions to captive audiences, the hitchhiker giving a foul-mouthed interview to a local camera crew - that coalesce into an amusing little portrait of Austin weirdos.



Chungking Express was my #6. This has to qualify as a romantic comedy, right? Between the film's first half about the lovesick Officer 223 moping about his recent breakup (up to and including his sudden fixation on tins of expired pineapple) and the second half about Faye the street vendor who becomes weirdly obsessed with tidying Officer 663's apartment behind his back, there's certainly enough of a humourous streak running underneath the lush visuals and emotional yearning that I think it fits the bill.



Repo Man was my #9. Much like Slacker, this is another off-beat cult classic with a tendency to meander its way around anything resembling a coherent narrative - while this film is driven by the search for the highly dangerous MacGuffin that is a 1964 Chevy Malibu with radioactive cargo, it's ultimately a hook on which to hang everything from weird repo man stories to punk critique to absurd visuals of a world on the brink of apocalypse. It is, in other words, an extremely me film.



Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky was my #10. It's admittedly debatable how much of this is a "so bad it's good" film (a type of film that I would disqualify from my ballot on basic principle as I think it's not a comedy if there's no intent to be funny) but Riki-Oh seems aware enough of its absurdly audacious approach to the prison genre that it qualifies to some extent as a comedy in a vein similar to Evil Dead II or Dead Alive.



Police Story was my #19. A little disappointing to realise that there isn't a single Jackie Chan film on this entire list, but I guess that's to be expecting when he doesn't exactly have a consensus pick for a single great film that fans can rally behind for the sake of representing him. I would currently give that honour to Police Story with its blend of the usual Chan stuntwork and slapstick, though I can think of enough other contenders from his filmography that I wouldn't be surprised to learn other people picked different films of his that would make me reconsider.



Ghost World was my #24. Gotta admit, I'm due for a rewatch to see how this holds up anyway, but as it stands it's another off-beat kind of movie about weirdos trying to make their way in the world - two antisocial friends slowly drift apart as one starts to conform to societal norms while the other stubbornly refuses to compromise. Also, Steve Buscemi as a pathetic jazz fan.
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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0



107. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) 58p 6 ballots
Austin Powers 2 was my #2.

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. ??? (2010)
10. Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)





294 points, 22 lists
Some Like It Hot
Director

Billy Wilder, 1959

Starring

Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, George Raft


#9






Victim of The Night
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.



Victim of The Night
I've heard whispers about Blazing Saddles being racist, although I don't know of anyone who's actually said that. I agree that it's an important and effective anti-racism film. I do know a couple of people who describe themselves the way that you do who are against the film, but it's not because they object to any of the content. It's more directed towards Brooks because of Young Frankenstein, which is why I was surprised to see what you said below.
I'm not sure I follow you. BS was my No.1 Comedy. And what were you surprised about?

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