My Top 25 Favorite Comedy Films of All Time, Part One
From 25 to 11, Laughter is the Best Medicine.
Hello friends — I’m thinking of you and hope you’re hanging in there.
Given current events, I thought it would be worth my time to post a follow-up to my Top 25 horror film list from Spooky Month. This is a list I actually compiled a few months ago and posted on Letterboxd, but put off turning it into a Substack post. As Stephen Colbert likes to say, “It’s impossible to be afraid when you’re laughing.” So if you are weary from the news and longer dark nights, or in need of a laugh to ward off fear, I hope this list reminds you of a few gems you can re-visit, or maybe discover a new favorite you never saw before. When the future is uncertain and we need a rest to keep our minds from spinning, a good comedy movie can do the trick.
So because I love y’all, and if you’ll indulge me, let me spill my beans and tell you which cinematic comedies are most near and dear to me. It was difficult to narrow this list down to 25 and many others were considered, swapped-out, or shifted around. This is not for lack of love for other films, but more due to trying to give them specific parameters that go beyond mere nostalgia, pure filmmaking excellence or whatnot. The list could always change depending on my mood or whenever I discover something new to re-shuffle the deck, but all things considered this is where things stand if I had to choose.
Criteria for this list:
— could be considered pure comedy, horror-comedy, drama-comedy or comic fantasy, but in any case leans mostly towards humor/jokes/gags/comedy or defined by IMDB as a comedy.
— still makes me laugh (out loud) every time, and is one I think about often and quote lines from often.
— means something to me personally and has somehow influenced my personality, my sense of humor, and general sense of being.
So here we go….
CADDYSHACK (1980) — Directed by Harold Ramis
This movie was such a mainstay of my high school and college years in particular, quoted so often and re-watched so often, it’s like an itch I can’t ignore even as I wondered if other films should move into its ranking. I simply love its aimless quality, the naughty vibe it gives off, and the utter absurdity of it all. I also keep finding joy in the performances of Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield, and especially Bill Murray — and how they keep stealing the show from the fantastic ensemble that surrounds them. And the gopher puppet.
THE ‘BURBS (1989) — Directed by Joe Dante
My favorite Tom Hanks movie by far, when he was truly at the peak of his comedic phase, before moving into more serious dramatic roles. Last time I watched it, I clued in to a moment of ironic actor-role foreshadowing as he watches Mister Rogers and starts singing along.
However, the best lines mostly belong to Bruce Dern...
"Gentlemen. We are on alert."
"You keep a horse in your basement?"
"Hey! Pinocchio!"
It’s a film that says something about suburbia, paranoia, and fear, and simultaneously about the power of community. "God, I love this street." And this movie.
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (1999) — Directed by Spike Jonze
Decidedly the darkest, blackest comedy on my list, and I won’t deny that a few choice scenes of mean-spirited insanity are a little unsettling — plus it has a chimpanzee in it and I’m terrified of chimpanzees — but the concept is so original and outrageously bonkers I simply can’t shake it from my head (see what I did there?).
The cast is amazing, the dialogue is brilliant, and I can’t help but laugh like a hyena every time someone gets ejected onto the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. The other reason this movie stays on my list is the delivery of John Cusack’s Craig Schwartz first explaining to Catherine Keener’s Maxine exactly what he’s just discovered and how it works.
BEETLEJUICE (1988) — Directed by Tim Burton
The model house with the spider crawling over it wins for best opening set-up to establish a movie’s tone right away. After that it’s one iconic moment after another.
This is Tim Burton at the zany height of his powers, and still one of the best things he ever directed. You can tell he was having fun with this one, and the cast is a who’s-who of rising stars and ‘80s comedy staples. Winona Ryder is a gem in her iconic role of the definitive goth girl next door, and I have a theory that Eszter Balint’s character Eva from Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise may have influenced her look a little bit. I could be wrong, but stranger things have happened. (Ha! See, did it again — I’m here all week, kids….)
This movie still makes me laugh out loud so many times, no matter how many times I re-visit it. The fan-service-heavy sequel released this year was kind o’ fun but a hot mess, and can’t hold a candle to the original.
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (2014) - Directed by Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi
Not only do vampires not sparkle, they also don’t put down towels or do dishes. But they do have bat-fights.
Also Number 1 on my List of Favorite Vampire Movies, this is the most recent film on my Top 25 Comedies list, being only a decade old now (because it’s of all-time, meaning these films have been with me the longest — so that’s why most of my list is from the ‘80s or ‘90s. I guess the 2000s were not as memorably funny. Or maybe I’m just old.)
Anyway, this is by far the funniest movie I’ve seen in this century. The first time I saw this, I don’t think I had laughed so hard at a movie in years. Every time I come back to this I find another reason to chuckle and another little moment I either forgot about or didn’t notice. The post-credits scene and the throwaway gag of the mirror during the masquerade ball kills me.
SPACEBALLS (1987) — Directed by Mel Brooks
Comparatively-speaking, Spaceballs is not as strong of an actual movie as Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles, both films that could be orbiting around these rankings easily — however it’s such a huge part of my 12-to-13-year-old self (which is still in there somewhere) and I’ve been quoting it out-of-context for decades, so it stays on my list no matter how stupid, dated or juvenile the whole thing is. In fact, it quite possibly stays on my list for those exact reasons.
But the real reason it’s in my Top 20 is for this scene alone:
TRADING PLACES (1983) — Directed by John Landis
Perfectly cast and encompasses the 1980s while remaining somewhat timeless in its social satire and commentary on greed, race, and class. It’s a smart comedy that’s not afraid to be silly and childish at the same time, which is a hard commodity to sell these days. A great favorite to watch around Christmas or New Years, and the train sequence is basically one great one-liner after another. So many iconic moments.
TOP SECRET! (1984) — Directed by Jim Abrahams and David & Jerry Zucker
The gags and sequences in this absolute classic are a stroke of genius, especially when it plays around with the medium of film itself through its optical illusions. The singing horse gets me every single time, along with lines like “There is sauerkraut in my lederhosen,” “I know a little German,” “Latrine!” and “Viva La France!”
MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE (1983) — Directed by Terry Jones
“Oh shit! It’s Mr. Creosote!” gets me howling every time.
The perfect Python swan song. The cynicism, the smugness, the satirical hate of everything and the unhinged crassness of it all — it’s the Pythons going fully R-rated and tasteless because they knew they were done with it all and wanted to go out with an epic vomit explosion. Stroke of genius.
ONE CRAZY SUMMER (1986) — Directed by Savage Steve Holland
Is there anything more joyful than ‘80s comedies about nerds giving the middle finger to the rich and powerful? I think not. It’s movies like this one that might give us the most courage and inspiration in times to come.
And the lines are so good…
“Thank you very much, I think I will have a few cookies.”
“There’ll be armpits hanging from trees!”
“I’ll go after I do my laps!!!”
“Oh my God. A giant dolphin with rabies.”
…and the Animal Acupuncture Clinic.
GROSSE POINTE BLANK (1997) — Directed by George Armitage
John Cusack shows up a lot in this list — as does Dan Aykroyd. This one is personal for me since I was born and raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan (although the actual movie, apart from a few establishing shots, was not filmed there). Coming back to this film is literally like a reunion with an old friend. Structurally there’s not much plot until the brilliant twist ending brings everything together, but the string of scenes with razor-sharp dialogue and deadpan humor are so great — from recipes for soup to houses torn down in the name of convenience, and I still laugh out loud at the absurdity of its delivery and disposing of a dead body to 99 Luftballoons. I can quote scenes from memory, and the soundtrack is amazing, but the crowning moment of glory is Bob’s poem.
WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (1996) — Directed by Christopher Guest
“Everybody dance!”
I love all the Christopher Guest comedies, in particular the trilogy that started with this one and continued with Best in Show and A Mighty Wind — and of course Rob Reiner’s This Is Spinal Tap — but Waiting for Guffman is my favorite.
It resonates with unbridled joy and a pure definition of small-town quirkiness that only the warped mind of Guest and his ensemble can inspire. So many great lines, characters, and brush strokes of laughter with touches of bittersweet melancholy at the same time. The characters feel like people I’ve known over the years, and it takes me back to the anticipation and camaraderie of high school musicals and putting on a show. So many great lines and absurd moments.
“Lloyd is a music teacher, and he shops at Wal Mart. He doesn’t even support the town.”
“Being a Fabin is not easy. I can certainly understand how the Kennedys felt.”
“Just come in and have a Coke if you’re thirsty.”
Waiting for Guffman is a tone poem of naivety about the American dream through a lens of childlike innocence, nonsensical wisdom, and the power of play.
THE HUDSUCKER PROXY (1994) — Directed by Joel Coen
You know, for kids, not counting the mezzanine.
Again, I love so many Coen Brothers comedies it was agonizing to place so few within my Top 25 when so many other different movies exist, but this is the one I treasure the most.
The editing, music, production design, and absurdity of it all clicks like a well-oiled machine. The snappy dialogue has a rhythm and musicality that’s infectious and so much damn fun. It’s one of those rare films that speaks to the head — and then by the end it lifts up the heart.
A few of my favorite things:
-the long take monologue about the gazelle and the antelope or ibex.
-Tim Robbins’ body language, Buzz the Elevator Boy, and everything about John Mahoney (I miss seeing him in movies) and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
-“Still waters run deep, Chief.”
-“which keeps you from flying off ze Earth into ze cold reaches of space where you would die like a miserable swine.”
-“fall” “fail” “fail” “fall”
Long Live the Hud.
THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980) — Directed by John Landis
This is the best thing by far to crossover from Saturday Night Live to the big screen, and nothing else has come close. Every moment, every song, every cast member, and every chase scene is iconic. It’s one of the earliest ‘adult’ comedies I became aware of as a small child, catching a few glimpses & sequences on television in the early ‘80s. I was captivated by the fact that Carrie Fisher, known to me only as Princess Leia, was in it — and I have a vivid memory of my uncle telling me John Belushi was my dad, and for awhile I actually believed my dad was in this movie. Its R-rated language wouldn’t allow me to watch the entire thing until years later, but I was hooked once I was finally mature enough to relish it. I love every single frame.
REAL GENIUS (1985) — Directed by Martha Coolidge
“I want to start seeing a lot more of you in the lab.”
“Fine. I’ll gain weight.”
I’m grateful that we still have movies like this to remind us that the best comedies should be silly and SMART. The razor sharp jokes and dialogue, Val Kilmer’s delivery, the implausible mixed with the intelligible, and above all the victory of brains, creativity & science against evil & tyranny.
And the joy of children swimming in popcorn.
Continued in the link below, my top 10.
My Top 25 Favorite Comedy Films of All Time, Part Two
Continued from Part One (#25 to #11), here are the Top 10 cinematic treasures that give me the most laughter and joy, especially when I want it or need it most.