What's the hands-down no-messing funniest film of the century so far?

nb I've watched like 8 movies this century.

yes yes yes

1. Zoolander
2. Anchorman
3. everything else.

:(

Though I must say that Arrested Development is better, but that's a tv show.

With Anchorman and Bad Santa as runner ups, it seems.

*blinks* Wait, hold on, I completely missed that this was the same film for some reason; I thought Kung Fu Hustle was the *new* film by the same dude.

the state troupes humor is all about absurdity. the movie's jokes aren't strictly limited to RETRO-CAMP AESTHETIC.

have you seen/heard of stella? that shit is ABSURD.

sorry, matthew. try watching it again, or get your sense of humor checked. WHAS is one of the funniest films ever.

i'm going to go smear some mud on my ass.

Seriously, weak movie, and were it not for David Hyde Pierce, almost entirely forgettable. Anyone who wants a free copy on dvd should email my gmail account.

By who? I'm not trying to argue, mind you, because I think that what you find funny is as personal as what you find sexy, but I hadn't noticed this movie being very rated at all.

Kung Fu Hustle is great but i didn't like the referential gags at all.

uh, what? 'subversion' doesn't explain very much. it's the density and frequency of the gags, the logic of their escalating intensity, the (yes vulgar) cadence of the writing and BB's performance of same, etc.

i haven't seen bad santa yet (heard a million different takes on it) but the rest of these films are great

Actually, that's true. I was expressing myself badly. I guess I was thinking "subversion" of the convention that the kid in your Christmas movie should be likable and cute, among other things. But you're right, the humor does not hang solely on that. Far from it.

It's a comedy of pain, really. Of alcoholism, of extraordinarily nihilistic behavior and thinking, of sport fucking and reckless drinking and being a worthless human being in every possible way. The "Bad" of the title is quite the understatement. But that's what I like about it -- it's *really* bad, not just nominally bad. You feel the bad. You really do. And that's kind of remarkable by itself.

Oddballs that have been terribly abused and then go on to abuse others. Yes. Ah, the circle of life.

Hm. I liked the movie well enough -- I do not particularly like Harvey Pekar, though. I think he's just a dull, uninsightful curmudgeon, which is what we call assholes when they get old.

I haven't seen Bad Santa or Harold & Kumar. For that matter, I haven't seen too many movies from this millenium.

Pekar's American Splendor story about record collecting I found to be insightful. I've read a bunch of issues of Pekar's comic and met the guy once, but never saw the movie.

Me too! I understand his complaints, don't get me wrong. It's the "dull" that gets me. The attempt to transform the mundane through sheer bitchy-ness. It doesn't work. If you're going to transform the mundane, there are a thousand great ways to do it, but just bitching about everything is not one of them.

i didn't think the movie was about bitchiness.

Of course it was. "Everyday life is complicated stuff" is a fair assessment of Pekar's work, but that doesn't make Pekar's work great art. Not that he thinks it is himself, but still.

I guess I just have a problem with the man himself, which the movie made every effort to try to integrate. He's a crotchety bastard, really, a habitual complainer. Who likes that kind of person? Who respects that? What's good about it?

Well, it's not the making the life better that's the thing, it's the effort. The comics and the movie go out of their way to demonstrate that this is *real*, that this is unfiltered, as if that's a virtue by itself. That's not necessarily true. Unfiltered works when the person behind the curtain is meritable on his own un-artistic accord. Pekar is a motherfucker, a real hard-on, a bastard. I do not want an unfiltered version of this prick. If he was a great writer, I'd forgive him. If he went out of his way in any way to make anything that even attempts to transcend himself, I'd respect him. He doesn't. He's just a prick and a hard-on. He's an unpleasant person, and I can't understand why so many people keep congratulating him on observing an unpleasant and abraisve life so astutely. So what?

Kinda why I hated Ghost World the movie. I thought Steve Buscemi was great but I thought the movie really glorified that h.s. im-cooler-but-no-one-knows-it insufferability. The comic felt objective but the movie had lots of scenes of suburban ack that felt staged, like Enid was directing. I really want to see American Splendor but I can sympathize with not liking to hear the mentality celebrated. some people hated Sideways for the same reason (haven't seen that either).

American Splendor (which I didn't care much about either way) never lends high-school-nerd syndrome any air of respectability. Pekar's really only a redeemable character (or person, depending on how close it mirrors life) after he gets married and they begin to raise the little girl. Prior to that, he's thoroughly unlikable and treated that way by the camera.

Sideways was far more cynical about Giamatti - he's a drunk, socially awkward, judgemental. In no way are his actions privileged, if anything they're looked down upon as major flaws, even moreso than his fuck-up buddy (whose foibles are played for laughs rather than pity and/or derision).

Of the three, I'd say American Splendor has the most objective viewpoint (Pekar was unlovable, did good and redeeming things), Sideways looked down on it's main character (Giamatti was a whiner finding redemption and getting over himself, etc.) and Ghost World bought into Enid's mindset and saw her as a hero (as did she).

I disagree. I think the point was that both characters have major, but I left the film thinking that Giamatti's were lass major if only because he had the hope of eventually dealing with them. The buddy's flaws were mostly clueless and meat-headed, and the implication was that he will never, ever learn from his mistakes. Play for laughs, yeah, but not without being an important counterpoint to Giamatti's character, who is at the very least self-analyzing enough to be capable of learning.

add "flaws" to that. Typo city.

I haven't seen Bad Santa, but I can't imagine anything by Terry Zwigoff as being a riotous laugh machine (and I liked Ghost World a lot). I haven't seen Anchorman, but I can't imagine even cracking a smirk while watching Will Ferrell.

Freddy Got Fingered is some kind of wonderful, too. But more terrifying than funny.

A few others: Stuck on You, Cabin Fever, Undercover Brother, Scary Movie.

OMG... see it.

I don't entirely agree with this, but I can certainly see it. Ferrell does good physical comedy, which I can understand, but I don't exactly "get" him, either. His presence != automatic hilarity to me, and I feel alone in thinking that sometimes.

Anchorman had too much Ferrell to be consistently funny.

I definitely enjoyed American Splendor although I didn't laugh out loud at it.

It tells us what we need to know (which is to ignore you).

His presence != automatic hilarity to me, and I feel alone in thinking that sometimes.

I can't imagine anyone being a total Will Ferrell fan, he does so much absolute shit, from the SNL movies (A Night At The Roxbury, Superstar, The Ladies Man), up to today (has anyone seen the trailers for Kicking and Screaming?). Dude even turns up in Boat Trip! And the other movies that people I like like, like Elf, just don't appeal to me, they're just hammering embarrassment, and my embarrassment bone isn't connected to my funny bone.

Saved!. The funniest high school movie since Clueless, and quite poignant too.

Shrek 2. It wasn't as touching as part one, but it was even funnier. I don't think I've laughed so hard at cinema for years.

Finding Memo. The seagulls!

Drive. Sabu is a master of low-key comedy and this is his best, in my opinion.

Jump Tomorrow. An indie comedy with no pretentiousness, just plain fun.

Mortal Transfer. There aren't too many good films on psychoanalysis, but this black French comedy is one of them. Certainly better than "Analyze This".

Happiness of the Katakuris. Whereas the Korean original ("Quiet Family") was low-key, this on is over-the-top as hell, but what can you except from Takshi Miike. He should do more pure comedies instead of crap like "Ichi the Killer".

Legally Blonde. Yeah, I liked this one too. A subtly feminist film even if the f-word is never mentioned.

Dude, Where's My Car?. The "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" of the 00s.

Songs from the Second Floor. As black and socially critical as comedy can get. Monty Python meats Ken Loach in welfarist Sweden.

A talking can of vegetables that can suck its own dick!

And I don't trust anyone who dislikes Kung Fu Hustle

I dunno. Having watched this movie two or three times and read the comic twice i can see slight differences in approach, but both are fairly ambivalent.
Both wind up with Enid being lonely and rejected as a result of her cooler than thou attitude. I don't think the film judges Enid and Rebecca for their life choices, rather it shows how friends can drift apart and the uncertainty that comes with leaving school and entering "the real world". I don't think Zwigoff and Clowes portray Enid as a hero at all. They admire her rejection of mainstream consumer culture and obvious talent up to a point, but aren't afraid to show up her more self-indulgent and prissy moments. Rebecca doesn't come off all that well in the comic either. Clowes shows her seducing Josh, something the film doesn't explore. The film is also conscious of the fact that by taking an interest in life's oddballs Enid (and Clowes and Zwigoff for that matter) could come across as smirking assholes.
It's really a very complex and soulful film, as is the comic.
And it's hella funny too. "Yeah, and Greece also invented homos!" etc.

"oh, fuck my cock!"

I'm sorry, but I've not laughed at one thing as much as "Everyone has AIDS! AIDS AIDS AIDS! AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS!" this decade.

Gotta say: Squid and the Whale

Harold & Kumar
Bad Santa
40 Year Old Virgin
Pootie Tang
How High

sure it's a little weak as a movie but show me a comedy that isn't!

WHAT? s1ocki you really believe this? That people actually buy into this is the reason it is so hard for comedic movies/actors to get nominated for Oscars. Not that an Oscar is the end-all and be-all and a perfect measurement of a movie's worth, but it still shows the amount of (a certain kind of) recognition a film gets.

not sure if it's my vote, but it needs to be mentioned. WHERE IS THE LOVE FOR PAUL RUDD? and there are volumes i could add to the Ghost World debate, but i'll just say that Buscemi's the one the filmmakers "identify" with.

also (and I'm sure I'll get shot down for this) Intolerable Cruelty is criminally underrated. It's the best screwball comedy since Preston Sturges quit (fuck you, What's Up, Doc!)

Shaun of the Dead was surely the biggest disapointment. Never scary and only occasionally funny. I've found with comedies it's best to ignore raves and see them as soon as possible, because even the half-way decent ones are oversold.

If we're talking moments now, I have to go with:

"Are you off your fuckin' meds?"
"Yes. But that isn't what this is about."

"Harold & Kumar" 2nd.

everything in it was funny.

Though I'm keen to watch it again and see if it's still as funny as I remember it being...

Not been a *classic* decade for comedy movies has it?

Kung fu hustle
Superbad
Super troopers
Team America
Anchorman

all worthy nominees.

Definitely not a classic decade for comedies. Hot Fuzz and 40-Year Old Virgin were v. funny, tho. Anchorman, too, but not in a "best comedy of the decade" kind of way. Ghost World and The Royal Tenenbaums are also ace, but they played more like a drama-ish films for me?

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie cracked me up too.

Shockingly, I agree.

WHERE IS THE LOVE FOR PAUL RUDD?

Yeah, he is funny. My wife is sort of in love with him.

I would add Hot Rod to the list. Maybe not the funniest of the lot above, but a worthy contender.

The biggest problem is that funny movies don't always remain so upon repeat viewings. Like, Anchorman and WHAS are two of my faves, but they don't make me laugh like they once did. I've only seen Hot Fuzz once in the theater and I kinda don't want to rewatch it for that very reason. Because I was almost crying that one time I saw it, and I would be crying different tears if it didn't make me laugh as much the second time 'round.

How was Hamlet II? I've heard good and bad things, but Pam Brady is on fiyah (writer or co-writer of Hamlet II, the South Park movie [and series], Team America, and Hot Rod), so I'm inclined to believe the good.

it's possible that i laughed more at talladega nights than at anything else this decade. the baby-jesus prayer scene alone belongs in the hall of fame.

In The Loop. Seriously.

there are as many classic comedies from this decade as there have been from all decades, yall are either old or crazy

yeah i don't think Hot Rod would be shamed up there.

challopy bill rides again but i roared laughing at Fantastic Mr Fox on more than one occasion.

Hamlet II was terrible. It just hasn't happened for Coogan since he attempted to crack Hollywood.

i was trying to figure out recently what my top 10 comedies of the decade would be, this is what i've come up with so far:

Anchorman: Legend Of Ron Burgundy
Best In Show (can't believe this hadn't been mentioned yet)
Mean Girls (ditto)
Shaun Of The Dead
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Super Troopers
Zoolander
Black Sheep (the 2006 New Zealand horror satire, not the 1996 Chris Farley vehicle)
Hot Rod
Waiting

Oh shit, A Mighty Wind for me.

Didn't think Zoolander would be in decade, for some reason? If so it's a cert for my top 10.

there are as many classic comedies from this decade as there have been from all decades

oh max, max

I still haven't seen it (shame on me), but it's a little strange that no one's mentioned Borat yet.

if you'd seen it, you'd know why.

If you're talking strictly Laugh-O-Meter, it ranks high for me.

Also 24 Hr Party Ppl and the Coogan-Molina segment of Coffeee & Cigarettes.

and Dude, Where's My Car?

The great Hollywood comedy of the '90s is Eternal Sunshine, which isn't primarily out for belly laughs.

If we're Cooganing, then A Cock And Bull Story was pretty hysterical. Although mostly coz the book's one of my favourites and it captured its spirit superbly. Need to see Eternal Sunshine again; I liked it, but I wasn't in the mood.

i think i actually laughed like 4 times in borat. for me most of it just fell under the "trying too hard" heading. i didn't mind the unfairness and easy targets so much, but if you're going after fish in a barrel you should at least hit them.

and i will certainly be alone in putting southland tales on the list, but i laughed a lot at that.

I like 24 Hour Party People a lot and it definitely has its funny moments, but I wouldn't count it among the funniest films of the decade.

I think 'What's the best comedy?' is a much different question than 'What's the funniest comedy?'. Shaun Of The Dead is better, but Hot Fuzz is funnier.

A Cock And Bull Story was pretty hysterical

yep, but i dunno about gut wrenching lols.

Primarily the "hot coal" scene.

I think I laughed most during Kung Fu Hustle.

Wedding Crashers for me. Will Ferrell cameo slayed me.

i'm gonna say the hangover was as lolly as some of the other nominations. pls don't kill me morbs Kung Fu Hustle was still way better

Hamlet II was fucking brilliant.

are ther any movies NOT from the stiller/ ferrel/ olson canon that were funny this decade? i still don't quite get what the big deal is with those guys. anchorman was pretty good but i mean sheesh you'd think it was Spinal Tap.

Adam OTM, that movie was wonderful.

that reminds me: Some Kind of Monster is a very funny movie.

there are as many classic comedies from this decade as there have been from all decades, yall are either old or crazy

otm

are ther any movies NOT from the stiller/ ferrel/ olson canon that were funny this decade?

harold and kumar. not worthy of funniest film of the decade imo, but then again i laughed more at it than i did all will ferrell movies combined.

the olson canon? did i miss someone stanning for "new york minute"?

possibly a weird suggestion, but: 2 Days in Paris

actually no, not a weird suggestion at all: I think I got more and better laughs from that than any goofball comedies this decade, and formally it's not much different from some of Woody Allen's "older, funnier stuff," so really a pretty straightforward suggestion -- it was really, really funny

that reminds me: Some Kind of Monster is a very funny movie.

otm

american movie

some kind of monster definitely up there

that and The Ten would be my current votes

also Knocked Up

two words

house

bunny

two words

uh

no

step brothers imo

role models for me prob

wicker man

Hamlet II makes me want to die. so so bad.

Does anyone else find it slightly depressing how many of the nominees here come from the knowingly dumb ridiculous-comedy idiot-manchild territory? No wonder Apatow does so well, managing to get laughs into movies that actually present as narratives, instead of constantly goofing and parodying and saying it doesn't really matter. I mean, not that I have anything against a flat-out yuk-fest -- obviously that's going to be heavily represented when it comes to "hands-down no-messing funniest" -- but I wish I could think of more things that were really funny in a way that's not that tiny bit dumb or guilty.

Wait, that sounds too critical. I mean, I even enjoyed Beerfest. But I wish when I tried to think of funny things more stuff came to mind that was more than just goofball/dumb funny. (Even like a Harold & Kumar level feels refreshing, somehow.)

can you really say that old school comedies were reliably better on that measure?

sheesh you'd think it was Spinal Tap

spinal tap is ok but it's no joe dirt

not another teen movie is the best of the movie spoofs, i think.

Nabisco, when I think about it, that type of comedy has almost wholly migrated to television at this point. It's probably just a matter of economics. I'm sure low-brow bro-down yuk-fests rake in much more cash than the more intelligent, slow-burn comedies.

That said, television comedy has been vastly superior to film comedy this decade.

slow burn is exactly it though- you need to get an instant hit of chuckles when you've only got 90 mins to deliver it. a tv series has much more potential to drip feed a more thoughtful pace of yucks?

i'm sorry but do 30 rock or arrested development actually work at a "thoughtful" pace?

i was thinking of the sopranos tbh

There's an overarching x-files/babylon5 style mythology arc to 30 rock and arrested development. Thank you, sci-fi nerds, for changing the face of comedy.

i think the reason most "hands-down no-messing" funniest films of any decade tend to be screwball, from the Marx Bros to Monty Python.

xpost yeah there are callbacks but there's plenty of pratfalls and non-stop silliness as well.

woops, forgot to delete "i think the reason" from that post

american movie, nabisco

most "hands-down no-messing" funniest films of any decade tend to be screwball, from the Marx Bros to Monty Python.

― da croupier, Monday, November 9, 2009 4:11 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

croops beat me to it.

Yeah, the more cerebral stuff doesn't exactly inspire belly laughs. Kinda the nature of the beast.

i mean also, there's been a trend towards "guys being dumb manchildren" comedies this decade (not like it's a new thing - three stooges, marx bros etc etc) so there've been a lot of them, so a lot of good comedies have been... them! why is that depressing?

well not to get too far into this, but I'd consider Spinal Tap or Life of Brian to be a lot more sophisticated than this decade's huge preponderance of "ridiculous man-child in vague parody of 1980s athletic/achievement movie" template. but mostly, to be honest, per that 2 Days in Paris mention, I'm thinking of like reasonably "adult" comedy, like old Woody Allen or something -- if there's any structural reason there's less of this I'd assume it has to do with age cohorts and a huge youth/teen cohort and some sense that if you're going to make a comedy, it better make kids laugh, box-office-wise. that Delpy movie is seriously one of very few I can think of that are both (a) really funny and (b) about realistic/normal adults in some kind of normal life.* (again, not that that's inherently better or something, but you'd think there'd be at least a bit more of it!)

* yeah, Apatow films too, and like Superbad if you scratch out "adult," and others

well i mean... spinal tap is one of the greatest comedies of all time!

i would hardly call it typical of '80s comedies either.

and it's not like the 00s didn't have its share of christopher guest movies

haha guys these would all be valid defenses if I were picking on "dumb" comedies, but honestly I'm not -- just kinda lamenting that, so far as I can recall, the past decade has felt relatively low on ones that felt very, I dunno, substantive. I mean maybe that's just me and I'm forgetting stuff, or forgetting that previous decades didn't have such things either. but like leave aside whether goofy comedies are good (I like them!) -- I'm just asking out of curiosity: what are the good non-goofy comedies of this decade? are there many?

movies used to mean something, maaaan

N, do you really think Spinal Tap--a movie that's a parody about a documentary about a heavy metal band--isn't goofy?

haha yeah otm, spinal tap is as goofy as they get

I guess I don't tend to think of non-goofy comedies as straight-up comedies, per se. Like Eternal Sunshine, I (Heart) Huckabees, Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (sensing a pattern here?)... There's more going on in these movies and they tend to be more like dramadies, at best.

Rachel Getting Married was 00s equivalent of all the John Hughes comedies.

what are the good non-goofy comedies of this decade?

Guest comedies mentioned already, being fair.

The Edgar Wright movies fall into that category, as well, I think.

In what universe was Rachel Getting Married a comedy?

likewise, I don't think the life of brain is any more 'substantive' than most of the stuff on this thread - maybe it's just goofing on a substantive subject, but so are 'team america' and 'borat'

same universe as the last ten minutes of "There Will Be Blood"

Que I said I thought of Spinal Tap as more "sophisticated," pretty much precisely because its format was still kinda new and untapped, at least in feature-film terms. (also its topic/milieu, mostly)

xpost omg never mind

there are as many classic comedies from this decade as there have been from all decades, yall are either old or crazy

this feels right, even tho i hate a whole bunch of the comedies popular on this borad

'borat' was a format that was kinda new and untapped

nabisco, i agree--the format is sophisticated. topic? ummm. i don't think so. also you're talking about a film that contains the couplet

I saw her on monday/twas my lucky bun day

haha okay I will actually give this one more try:

Que: I didn't say the topic was sophisticated; I'm saying its milieu (parody of aging rock world) was still relatively fresh at the time -- it was good early timing on a target that still actually gets used a ton

iatee: I don't disagree about Borat! I guess this is what is weirding me out here, that I keep saying I'm not bagging on any films, I'm asking for examples of where less-goofy / maybe-more-naturalistic comedy are, just out of curiosity, and like except for Dedric y'all keep saying "but good comedies have always been goofy," which ... okay, sure, but the question remains, I think?

DId Punch Drunk Love come out this decade? Adam Sandler's pudding speech is pretty low-key/non-bombastic comedy.

oh i see you're saying the topic & milieu were fresh, gotcha. it totally was, absolutely. but we're still talking about a movie filled with man-child protagonists, so i dunno. . .

yeah but i dont really consider that a comedy either

xp

Tropic Thunder was another goodie that had a little more going on than just goofball for goofball's sake.

Oh! There's a Ben Stiller/Jack Black movie called Envy where Jack Black invents a dog-poo vapoorizer.
It's very low-key and also weirdly like Punch Drunk Love, hinges on custard.

Starter For 10 has just been on the tellybox and deserves to be mentioned here.

how the fuck is punch-drunk love on this thread

uh - someone typed the phrase and hit submit post?

it was probably paul thomas anderson

what a douchebag!

ha sorry bad attitude

it really is quite astonishing, PTA's quality variation

http://www.nndb.com/people/401/000108077/paul-thomas-anderson-1.jpg

y do u h8 me

i really can't stand his movies.

even ones about pudding?

Punch Drunk Love was really lame, but I liked his other stuff that i've seen

i like both boogie nights and there will be blood! i mean they're both a tad empty but boy aren't they grand. insert cliche about a real motion-picture experience.

they just seem permeated by artificial pathos and this "lol ironic" attitude to characters and scenarios but at the same time seemingly wanting the viewer to find them insightful and poignant, so they just come across to me as empty and self-indulgent.

but look it is the empty artifice of porn and venture capitalism DO YOU SEE

and they're really heavy-handed, so it's also a bit insulting.

I laughed at Don Cheadle picking out donuts. Basically, I think pudding and pastries are funny and if your movie has pudding or pastries, it is a comedy.

punch drunk love is fuckin awesome

they are big and sprawling and over the top and enjoyable. thundering in an arch but likeable way. xps to sarah

do you enjoy his other movies? xpost to s1ocki

xp - i would agree with you, minus the words "enjoyable" and "likeable"

I like punch drunk love cause it's short and pointless and has the popeye soundtrack

end of 'sympathy for lady vengeance' = cake used in non-comedic manner

oh man another PDL conversation.

do not get, i guess. hated that piece of shit!

it's such a slight movie, I dunno why anyone would have such strong feelings about it. I guess cause ilx hates twee.

the editing and structure of TWBB was horrible.

If twee means "pudding", y'all can choke on activia.

"Sweet Movie" might have the best use of confectionary products of all time

manbaby stuff i can handle but manbaby womanhater stuff is no go

that would be so awesome if twee meant pudding

twee = weird people fall in love and it actually works out in the end

xp - you should add it as an alternate meaning in urban dictionary

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2009-10/50164918.jpg

oh haaii

do you enjoy his other movies? xpost to s1ocki

― TGAAPQ (Mr. Que), Monday, November 9, 2009 5:52 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yes

the editing and structure of TWBB was horrible.

― sarahel, Monday, November 9, 2009 5:56 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

how was the editing horrible? i can not begin to understand what u mean by that.

this isnt a thread about pta guys

xp - it jumped around too much -- i don't think it really effectively worked as a character study or as a film about the business practices of the oil industry at the time.

sorry max

suggestion for nabisco: anything made by pixar this decade! or does that not count because its not really "adult"?

wall-E is better than every single PTA movie i've ever seen.

or what about the coens? are big lebowski and burn after reading about man-children?

wall-e is better than basically every movie

o what about the devil wears prada

big lebowski and burn after reading ARE about manchildren!!

i mean come on... the dude!!!

or--not that im arguing for these necc--but every hoodie quirk-mance? lil miss sunshine/juno/etc--non gag fests and i bet youd find a lot of people arguing for em as hilaaaarious

im just trying to find stuff to argue w/ nabisco!!! ok!!!!!!!!!

i thought snakes on a plane was pretty funny.

or wes anderson come to think of it

snakes on a plane is about snakechildren

rushmore is pretty hilarious imo

I probably had more actual laughs out loud at wall-e than I did at most of the rest mentioned

plus, talking like the robots in wall-e is fun.

Borate elicited the most actual painful howling laffs but that might have been contextual (crowded theater)

watched step brothers he other night, def funny (sleepwalking SLAYS) but predictable for the most part. Superbad was more original (despite holding fast to the comin of age story), but I can't figure out why. The Hangover should not be on this hread

Borate elicited the most actual painful howling laffs but that might have been contextual (crowded theater)

dunno, we had actual painful howling laffs watching that in our living room

sometimes I think a movie is hilarious and then I see it again and remember that the first time I saw it I drank 2 bottles of wine in a parking lot before walking into the movie theater

And even though Old School and Anchorman are this generations Billy Madison and Tommy Boy, they're both pretty fucking funny. And anchorman is sort of deeply weird in it's own way, which is endearing to me.

I've probably laughed hardest at Louis CK standup and Steve Coogan clips
on YouTube now that I think about it

I've never seen a comedy in a theater that had *anywhere* near the effect borat did - theater was going crazy.

relevant facts: 1. I don't watch that many comedies in theaters 2. I saw it in a college town

I've laughed pretty hard at youtube clips yeah

The Hangover should not be on this ((t))hread

― how rad bandit (gbx), Monday, November 9, 2009 5:27 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Oh really. It's on my list.

^^^that is the thing. The only other movie I've been to where the audience was fucking DYING was the part in ace
ventura where he crawled out the rhinos ass

is there a techno remix of kiss from a rose

xp fuck an iPhone

gbx: I mean, it's fucking funny. Maybe not twice, but I haven't really watched it twice. When I saw it, I would have made an ass of myself laughing, except for not being anywhere near alone.

the hardest I've laughed at a scene in a movie this year is when the lion ate that dude on the iphone in the happening

Kenan: I wanted it to be so funny and it just...wasn't. For me. Which is weird because I was ANTICIPATING and it was just enh.

Then again I thought zoolander was sucky and flat the first time and have since come around so

Biggest laughs I can think of (top of my head, there are others): The Hangover, when an angry naked Asian leaps from the trunk wielding a crowbar; Borat, the scene that also involves nudity... hmmm. Maybe I think naked men are hilarious. Again, I would not be alone.

Which is weird because I was ANTICIPATING and it was just enh.

No, see, that's why. I didn't even know what The Hangover was about at all, I just took a recommendation from my little brother, which I never do. I hadn't seen a single trailer or TV ad, nothing.

The funniest awesomest part about the nude part in borat was that I saw it in a crowded college town theater in Montana that went from uproarious to dead silent during that part...while my friends and I basically pooped our dang pants

STUNNED INTO SILENCE

lol hicks

Yeah I had really high hopes for the hangover :/

That's what happened! It was like all laughing all the time and the. Itwent eerily quiet when the dicks were out.

xp I thought it was really goddamn funny. I think I'm on the record on that point already, but twice now.

But if I'd told you that beforehand, I would have been part of the problem. I understand.

I hate wondering how much more I would have enjoyed x-and-such movie if I had exercised the willpower to not watch the trailer or read any spoilers. I am a weak and small man.

Different strokes, kenan! I just didn't laugh much, I'm not gonna morbs on u and question yr worth as a humanbecause you lold at something I didn't lol that much at. still think there's a more universally funny movie out there

Surely there is. Mel Brooks has made a couple, iirc.

ooooo that's another one for a million post thread, what's the most universal funny movie out there

Young Frankenstein

http://prblog.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/ralphie_1.jpg

don't think young frankenstein is that funny tbh

yeah agreed

Defining the "comedy canon" more problematic than defining the "horror canon" to be sure

The only other movie I've been to where the audience was fucking DYING was the part in ace
ventura where he crawled out the rhinos ass

One of the only scenes in any of Carrey's "wacky" comedies that made me laugh. Hard.

And even though Old School and Anchorman are this generations Billy Madison and Tommy Boy,

I can think of much worse things to be compared to.

Also, I know it was released in '98, but Dirty Work needs some quick props even if it doesn't qualify in the topic at hand. Norm needs to do more stuff!!!

another vote for anchorman here. and it surprised me, which was nice.

I think most comedies in the Anchorman/Tommy Boy plotless-n-silly genre owe a huge debt to The Jerk.

Which owes a huge debt to the Duck Soup and the more plotless-n-anarchic Marx Bros films. Yeah, it could get hairy, talking about this. I think it already has on ILX before. Funny is personal.

big lebowski and burn after reading ARE about manchildren!!

I totally disagree with this assessment of The Dude, dude.

Kenan stay on task

big lebowski and burn after reading ARE about manchildren!!

I don't even understand what this means, tbh.

Kenan stay on task

Haha ok. I'll try. It's a constant battle. :)

I vote for The Room

I still need to see that. The clips I've seen were tantalizingly... something.

The Room is sooooo much funnier than all these movies. Though Wet Hot American Summer and Best in Show (haven't seen A Mighty Wind) are actually good comedies, imo.

Funniest film of the century = Pineapple Express!

See, I'm sorry I started this. If I did, I can't remember.

xp fred willard in best in show is my favourite comic performance of the century so far, hands down.

I think maybe that Fred Willard in A Mighty Wind >>>>>>> Fred Willard in Best In Show. Even though he's great in both.

yeah he's definitely the funniest thing in that. "wha' happened?"

Amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SHRFhfeLgY

"I got a real red wagon!"

yeah actually "wha' happened" is perhaps my favourite comic moment of the century so far. fred willard is something else, right enough.

that is a timeless bit, it's true

Some of the funniest movies of this decade, like Anchorman or Team America, were movies I saw in a theater with an audience that was really enthusiastic and having the time of its life. Anchorman is a great example of a movie that is much funnier when seeing it with a group, while Team America holds up well when you're by yourself, watching on a laptop. So those movies are my top two contenders, off the top of my head, but they are subject to great diminishing returns when not seen in a group.

Does anyone else find it slightly depressing how many of the nominees here come from the knowingly dumb ridiculous-comedy idiot-manchild territory? No wonder Apatow does so well, managing to get laughs into movies that actually present as narratives, instead of constantly goofing and parodying and saying it doesn't really matter. I mean, not that I have anything against a flat-out yuk-fest -- obviously that's going to be heavily represented when it comes to "hands-down no-messing funniest" -- but I wish I could think of more things that were really funny in a way that's not that tiny bit dumb or guilty.

This complaint reminds me of John Simon, writing decades ago, saying that (and this is my remembrance of the quote) "European farce features grown men acting like children, American farce is children pretending to be grown men." In really great European comedies featuring idiots ("The Dinner Game", "The Ruling Class") the stupidity is coming from a grownup who has a childish stupidity or personality, but they're still very recognizable as a human adult. As Nabisco is saying, in America the idiots in comedies act like children who have adult bodies (so many movies fit this description). You wonder how these characters would've survived into adulthood without their stupidity getting them killed. I don't dislike the genre but I'm getting tired of it. I think one of the reasons Jim Carrey has lost so much clout is because he's been watered down by the influence he's had - there are so many comics and actors who have stolen from him that Jim Carrey's mannerisms and devices aren't so novel anymore.

You wonder how these characters would've survived into adulthood without their stupidity getting them killed.

have u been to america

The Room

i saw 'team america' for the second time with an audience a couple years ago, and it was kind of painful to sit through. it felt like a below-par south park episode stretched out to 90 minutes.

have u been to america

Yes, but never without Arsenio Hall by my side.

^^^that is the thing. The only other movie I've been to where the audience was fucking DYING was the part in ace
ventura where he crawled out the rhinos ass

― how rad bandit (gbx), Monday, November 9, 2009 6:35 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

OTM

don't think young frankenstein is that funny tbh

yeah agreed

I pity youse.

yeah seriously what the fuck

i dunno the last time i saw it on tv it was the puttin on the ritz scene, just didn't think it was funny so switched to something else. i think the 12 year old me liked it though

I'll do you one better and say that I don't think Mel Brooks is all that funny across the board (with the exception of The Producers, somewhat). But I think that's maybe more to do with the relatively short shelf life of comedy than anything else.

Marx Brothers are from another dimension of comedy and shouldn't be listed on the same page as most of these films.

Funniest in a "howling in a crowded theater" way for me was definitely "Borat". I thought "Priceless" ("Hors de prix") was very good in more of a "classic comedy" way.

I'm going with Supertroopers. So much replay value.

I thought The Hangover was one of the funniest films since Superbad, but that's just me I guess.

not just you.

it does help if you watch it with a hangover, mind

noone's gonna rep for Napoleon Dynamite?

or is populism only for music?

what? how is ND more populist than most of the films ppl have mentioned? it's more like the film equiv of Arcade Fire

nope, napoleon dynamite was more popular than the hangover, anchorman, or step brothers, and if you didnt like it yr a rockist

ND 'populism' = laughing at retards

I like Napoleon Dynamite, but I don't think it's uproariously funny. I do like comedies with a skewed perspective that don't really seem to be trying to make the audience laugh in any traditional sense (see also Freddy Got Fingered).

nope, napoleon dynamite was more popular than the hangover, anchorman, or step brothers, and if you didnt like it yr a rockist

I'm a rockist,(n.1) and I liked Napoleon Dynamite.

_______________________________
(n.1) I'm at least sort of a rockist. I mean, I like Wilco.

of the ones I've seen listed on this thread the one I want to rewatch the most is super troopers

I think Super Troopers, Anchorman or A Mighty Wind hold up best to repeated viewings of the ones I've seen. Probably Kung Fu Hustle too.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall had me in belly laughs for at least the first 2/3.

So beyond Kung Fu Hustle and Eternal Sunshine, what else rates for you, Morbs?

fuck haters, Be Kind Rewind was funny

I wouldn't really call Eternal Sunshine a comedy, even though it's among my faves of the movies mentioned so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwcMEQYYow&feature=channel

Real answer

that movie is really funny

Considering its terrible rep in some quarters, it makes me laugh a lot too.

No love for Blades of Glory? I thought it was waaaay better than Step Brothers and almost on par with Anchorman and TN.
"The night is a very dark time for me."

not many others, Eric. As Mort Sahl said, comedy changed in the '70s -- "it stopped being funny." Witness the 2-hour SNL sketches listed here.

oh, I laughed a fair amount at High Fidelity and Be Kind Rewind too.

the top 4 grossing comedies of the 00s:

1) Meet The Fockers
2) My Big Fat Greek Wedding
3) Bruce Almighty
4) Goldmember

The Room

think shaolin soccer is better than Kung Fu hustle; need to investigate stephen chows earlier work

As Mort Sahl said, comedy changed in the '70s -- "it stopped being funny."

Bull, but hey, I don't think it started getting funny until the '60s.

Bugs Bunny was funny

esp. when he dressed up like a woman.

Point taken.

It's been a while since I've seen it, but Rat Race used to have me in stitches. Plus, you get a Smashmouth concert at the end.

It's been a while since I've felt it, but a chinese burn used to have me in stitches. Plus, you get a noogie at the end.

I would be glad to refresh your memory, Louis.

Rat Race has a couple very funny scenes.

unfortunately those couple of very funny scenes are in the movie "Rat Race"

hitler moustache nazi rally scene is funny.

but Dan otm

and come on smash mouth, it's not even like it's the only fucken film which ends with THAT PARTICULAR FUCKEN SONG

still, possibly Lovitz's peak.

Lovitz is better in the opening 5 minutes of Happiness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b_x9R44qoI

Acting!

see now i actually am honestly wondering what Lovitz's peak was

what? how is ND more populist than most of the films ppl have mentioned? it's more like the film equiv of Arcade Fire

Well, I seem to recall one of the guys in the AF looking like Napolean Dynamite.

Bull, but hey, I don't think it started getting funny until the '60s.

Depends on how you remember or view the sixties. Early sixties mainstream comedies were really broad and corny, and were a step back from where Hollywood was in the 40s and 50s.

ND is Owl City not Arcade Fire

philadelphia story is the most consistenly belly laugh inducing 4 me

yo know, ever, not since 2000

obv.

god that Happiness opening is so perfect

i love Lovitz. his performance of the art teacher in the 'brush with greatness' episode of the simpsons is pretty much my perfect idea of what all teachers should be like.

Kind of bumming that I can't think of anything this decade that even approaches the Austin Powers 1/Something About Mary/South Movie belly-laughs run of 1997-1999

*South Park movie

I still stand by my answer in this thread:
What was the hardest you've ever laughed in a movie theater?

dunno, lotta good calls in this thread: anchorman, zoolander, team america, borat, super troopers, harold & kumar, jackass, POOTIE fucking TANG, napoleon dynamite, superbad, kung fu hustle, mean girls, bad santa, the hangover, the 40 year old virgin.

funny's a matter of taste, but I think it's been a fantastic decade for light comedies. plus a TON of great kids'/family stuff that's more funny than not: spongebob movie, over the hedge, pixar flicks, etc.

plax is right tho, the philadelphia story = the funniest movie ever made. and that was quite a while back.

Kind of bumming that I can't think of anything this decade that even approaches the Austin Powers 1/Something About Mary/South Movie belly-laughs run of 1997-1999

― got the feelin for the flava of a gucci (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, December 19, 2009 7:16 PM (38 minutes ago) Bookmark

oh sure, nothing approaches that towering classic 'there's something about mary'.

Towering Inferno?

i dunno whiney's kinda otm for me a bit: 97-99 were the last two years of high school for me, and i saw all of those w/bros looking for excuses to laugh our asses off. cf ave ventura, dumb and dumber, farley/sanders

dont know how all of them hold up, but at the time they were comedy ne plus ultra

ave ventura, lol

Ave Ventura
Gratia placenta
Dominus rectum
Benedicta tu in moley, hairy butts
Et been-a-dick-tush fructus tetris
To wee on Jesus
Scrota Ventura
Mater Diarrhea
Oral pro nob us, pectoral us
Nunc et in whore-a mortis nostril
A Mento.

i saw 2 days in paris, partly based on nabiscos suggestion in this thread, and it was hi. lar. i. ous.