The Movie Forums Top 100 Comedies Countdown

Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

07-31-22

I saw Annie Hall opening day and several more times at the theatre. The main thing I noticed from the beginning was that it looked different - it looked like it was a serious movie due to Gordon Willis' lighting and cinematography. It also didn't seem like it was going for non-stop laughs. After a few minutes, it became clear that it was an autobiographical film. What had the supreme author of crazy, funny films wrought? There were some earlier hints with Sleeper and Love and Death that his subject matter was getting more serious, but nothing to prepare one for - gasp! - a serious film. After a few deep breaths and a few jokes, I quickly readjusted the oxygen intake on my diving suit and proceeded deeper. There was the old Woody after all. He might never be as fully crazed as he was previously, but I could recognize the actor and the director as actually Woody. He did go out of his way to throw in some new ideas. He used subtitles to show what people were really thinking, animation, modern characters in the movie interacting with older characters seen in flashback, interviews with strangers on the street and several other cinematic ideas, like the Marshall McLuhan scene. He also produced one of his biggest laughs ever with the coke scene. It might not seem like it today, but Woody basically reinvented himself as a filmmaker with Annie Hall and even more than the look of the film was the emotion. Diane Keaton was absolutely brilliant basically playing herself, and she and the Woodman were natural and - gasp again! - warm, playing the most three-dimensional characters in a Woody movie up to that point. Whatever you know or think about Woody Allen, he has evolved and shared his life on screen, basically every year now for over 50 years, and I certainly find it a worthy one to follow.

Office Space is very funny and totally relatable (it reminds me of things I often wanted to do to my various bosses).

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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SpelingError

AKA Popcorn Reviews

07-31-22

Originally Posted by Thief

*sigh* I know I'm in a very, very small minority, but I just didn't care for Annie Hall.

"my main complaint is that I just didn't care for Alvy and Annie's relationship. From the get-go, I just didn't care about this characters. Not sure why, but I just couldn't get into their relationship which I didn't see a future in from the beginning (not a surprise, since Alvy reveals in the opening that they weren't together anymore). As accurate and deep as his ruminations about love and relationships might be, I just didn't care. So when they get together, and then break up, and then get together again, and break up again, I felt just like Annie, going through the motions of something that I wasn't totally invested in."

That reflects my opinion on the film. I think I liked it more than you did as the visual humor and some of the 4th wall breaks made up for its flaws, but like you, I was left too cold by its story to be into the film. I'd take Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters any day over Annie Hall, personally.

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John Dumbear

Out in God's Country

07-31-22

Originally Posted by Little Ash

Office Space was kind of a staple back in... I can't remember

I saw what you did there.

donniedarko

Survivor 3 Champ

07-31-22

Two from my list that I wasn't to sure on.

I'm a firm believer in separating and artist from their art, the further along in history the piece is examined the more relevant that statement is. That being said it's fairly difficult with how much of a central piece Woody Allen makes himself in much of his filmography. Luckily I watched Annie Hall before the allegations were publically surfacing (or before I heard of them) and I was able to find much charm and relevance of the film. One of the first that made me realize the beauty of a relationship.

Office Space is the masterclass of stop giving a f*ck comedies, and inspired much of what came later. I love everything from the hilarious opening scene (below), rap tracks mixed in, and chaotic sequences.

My List:
3. Annie Hall (1977)
5. The Graduate (1967)
6. The Great Dictator (1940)
9. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
13. Being John Malkovich (1999)
14. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
17. The Kid (1921)
24. Office Space (1999)
25. Scary Movie 4 (2006). (1 PTer)

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Originally Posted by mark f

Yeah, there's no body mutilation in it

Thief

Master of None

07-31-22

Originally Posted by SpelingError

I've only seen three Woody Allen films, and my opinions of them run the whole spectrum: Loved Blue Jasmine, thought Bananas was OK silly fun, and borderline disliked Annie Hall.

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honeykid

MoFo Whisperer

07-31-22

I've just read through 20 odd pages, having not been around for nearly a week, and.... Utter. Utter. Dogshit. And then, today's picks are decent (and more importantly for this) funny films. OK, they're not bust a gut laughing funny, but they do invoke actual laughs on more than one or two occasions, which makes them definite top 20 for this list, IMO. Probably better than about half of the films yet to come. I had neither on my list (or any of the last 12 obviously) but two very welcome additions.

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SpelingError

AKA Popcorn Reviews

07-31-22

Originally Posted by Thief

I've only seen three Woody Allen films, and my opinions of them run the whole spectrum: Loved Blue Jasmine, thought Bananas was OK silly fun, and borderline disliked Annie Hall.

I recommend giving Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters a watch as well. The former film might be the harder of the two to watch since it involves Allen in a romance with someone underage (which has some disturbing similarities to the real-life crimes he committed), but both are great films.

Kaplan

A genuine idiot!

07-31-22

I have two Woody Allen movies on my list and I could have included a few others, but neither were Annie Hall. I like it okay, but I'm not sure it would crack my top ten his films. I figured there was a good chance only Annie Hall would show, just because everyone seems to have their particular favorites and others just don't like him, but I really hoped at least Midnight in Paris would make it. It was a rather surprise hit not all that long ago. It's charming, filled with amusing versions of characters out of history, and has Owen Wilson filling in for the Allen character. Ah well.

Office Space is great, but I never really considered it.

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

Holden Pike

One Ornery Sumbitch

07-31-22

Originally Posted by honeykid

I've just read through 20 odd pages, having not been around for nearly a week, and.... Utter. Utter. Dogshit...

Looking at a sampling that includes titles as diverse as The Graduate, His Girl Friday, Raising Arizona, Bringing Up Baby, The Blues Brothers, and Monty Python's Life of Brian and blanketly labeling them utter dogsh!t is, well, utter dogsh!t.

But as you were.

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Last edited by Holden Pike; 08-01-22 at 10:47 AM.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-31-22

Originally Posted by SpelingError

I recommend giving Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters a watch as well. The former film might be the harder of the two to watch since it involves Allen in a romance with someone underage (which has some disturbing similarities to the real-life crimes he committed)...

Say what? Woody Allen was convicted of sex crimes??? Uh, I don't think so...then it can't be said he committed them. He was accused by a disgruntled Mia Farrow. I'd hope we'd learn something from the Deep v. Heard trial.

SpelingError

AKA Popcorn Reviews

07-31-22

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

Sorry, I probably should've worded my post differently. Regardless of whether the allegations are true or not though, it still makes it harder to watch Manhattan.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-31-22

Originally Posted by ScarletLion

...This countdown is bananas. Are we really going to get Ghostbusters about 20 places ahead of films like 'The Apartment' ? Is it that much better / funnier?

Is Ghostbusters funnier than The Apartment? I'd say yes. Is it better? no.

I think the explanation for the seemingly odd placement of some of these films is twofold:
1, Some people used the criteria that a film had to make them laugh out loud. Hence The Apartment is viewed by many as more of a drama...which then cost it votes.

2, Go out to the street and ask 10 people if they've seen Ghostbusters and The Apartment. I bet anything many more people have seen Ghostusters than The Apartment.

cricket

Msg

Registered User

07-31-22

I watched Annie Hall a few years back and liked it quite a bit.

I did not see Office Space coming. I think it's the 7th to show that I haven't seen and it's the one I know the least about. My father in law once gave me the dvd for it but obviously I never watched it and I don't have it anymore.

cricket

Msg

Registered User

07-31-22

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

If I ever do a favorite films list in the future, there's a chance that The Apartment beats anything that I voted for here, yet I didn't vote for The Apartment. My favorite movie that I did vote for I put at #24.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-31-22

Originally Posted by SpelingError

Sorry, I probably should've worded my post differently. Regardless of whether the allegations are true or not though, it still makes it harder to watch Manhattan.

Fair enough.

For me those allegations makes Manhattan all the more interesting. I really need to see it again as I watched it before I was fully immersed in Woody's style of film making. Just for fun I wrote this about Manhattan 5 years ago.

Manhattan (1979)

Woody Allen's masturbatory ode to himself...A film that has become seminal in the annals of celebrated film reviewers around the world...Yes Virginia, there's life outside of Manhattan but one wonders if Woody is aware of anything outside of his own existence. Nay, make that outside of his own fantasies.

In 1979 director, writer and actor Woody Allen crafted an introspective film that was so unique in it's style that it still influences film makers today. One can hardly watch a Jim Jarmusch film without seeing a bit of the city-scape cinematography that Woody so masterly incorporates into his look at the denizens of Manhattan.

The strength of Manhattan is the sheer beauty of it's black & white photography. But any 'joe schmo' can shoot his movie on B & W film stock. It takes an artisan's eye to hand select the perfect location for the shot and to create a composition that's uniquely framed to give maxim artistic impact....and of course: lighting and shadow is all key. Woody Allen is undeniably a master at this.

For all the cinematic artistry, Manhattan plays out like one of Woody's personal fantasies, that's his auteur's stamp. Woody Allen is Isaac a successful but neurotic New York intellectual who's magnetic to women and despite looking like a peeping tom, manages to marry a young and beautiful Meryl Streep, who we find out turns lesbian and divorces Isaac. The 43 year old then has a fling with a 17 year old played by Mariel Hemingway also 17 in real life at the time of filming.

The much older man involved with a teenage girl could have had so many possibilities for exploration with this taboo theme. Woody, who wrote this film could have shown the relationship as having some type of consequences or made some type of statement.

But instead the movie presents the friends of Isaac (Woody Allen) as having no real objections to a relationship that would be considered pedophile-ism in the real world and could result in statuary rape charges. But no, not here in Woody's make believe world. Woody the person, wants to bring his fantasy to life and so has the characters readily accepting his strange love.

And that's one of the weak points of Manhattan...it fails to explore this relationship and it's consequences. In fact none of the relationships seem to say much about anything, they just simply happen so that Woody can hang his intellectual name dropping script onto the back of the actors.

Little Ash

he/him

07-31-22

In my prediction of the top 20, I also left off Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. At least one of those is coming, if not both of them. Since I'm more of a, "like, don't love. didn't even laugh that hard," on Edgar Wright's films (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was at least an initial laugh out loud theater going experience for me, but never even crossed my mind for this ballot), I guess I should say "unfortunately."

I think I only have three left on my ballot actually showing up at this point, I suspect the rest won't even be honorable mentions for me at this point (I think Cabin the Woods would be the most likely candidate for an honorable mention making it). But we shall see.

seanc