My Favorite Comedy Films

This was a very difficult list for me to make as I love so many different comedies. I decided to only include one film per director and that made it possible to have a more diverse list. My preliminary list had four from the Coen brothers, two from Wes Anderson, and two from Jason Reitman.

The first seven entries all rank among my Top 100 favorite films and the last three are pretty close to making that list, too.

Don't forget to check out Kyle's blog at www.enterthemovies.blogspot.com for his list, too!

1. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

A main component behind the success of O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the hilarious lead performance from George Clooney. I wrote about this in depth during my Favorite Lead Actor Performances segment (http://goo.gl/xndPm2) so I won't go over it again here. Besides Clooney, the rest of the cast is also great - especially John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson as his dim witted co-conspirators. Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Charles Durning, and Wayne Duvall take turns stealing scenes and help to create one of the best acted comedies I've had the pleasure of watching. The magnificent script, wonderful direction, and seamless editing (all thanks to Joel and Ethan Coen, who are featured in my Favorite Directors entry: http://goo.gl/O0NKPq) combines with a great soundtrack (from T Bone Burnett) and glorious cinematography (by Roger Deakins) to make my #2 favorite film of all-time, a position it has held for several years now. My favorite aspect of the film is how insanely quotable the dialogue is. I bet I could rattle off 15 or 20 lines with ease. This is partially due to the fact that I've watched O Brother countless times, but it's also because the script is so fantastic and everything flows so well. There is not a character or scene or line of dialogue in the entire film that I don't like. Not a moment anywhere in the 106 minute running time that falls flat. For me, it is a "perfect" film.

2. Dr. Strangelove or: How I to Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

I have written about Dr. Strangelove several times now (in my Favorite Lead Actor Performances piece: http://goo.gl/xndPm2, in Part 4 of my Favorite Films segment: http://goo.gl/UXLJ2z, and briefly in the piece on my Favorite Directors:http://goo.gl/O0NKPq) and don't think there's much to add here. Dr. Strangelove is an infinitely rewatchable film, a masterpiece that gets better with each viewing.

3. Thank You for Smoking

Thank You for Smoking is a rare example of a film being better than the source material, here a novel by Christopher Buckley. Buckley is an author I really enjoy, but Jason Reitman's film improves on most aspects and even changes some characters and plot points for the better. Thank You for Smoking is a dark comedy and biting satire and every aspect of the film is first rate, from the performances and writing to the soundtrack and direction. Aaron Eckhart is an actor who seems to do more bad films than good ones, but he's perfect here as Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for the tobacco industry. Naylor is a despicable character, but one you can't help but love and root for. Eckhart is surrounded by a talented cast which includes JK Simmons, Katie Holmes, Maria Bello, Robert Duvall, Sam Eliot, David Koechner, William H. Macy, and Cameron Bright, who manages to hold his own despite being a youngster surrounded by veteran actors. The script gives each character and actor their moment (or several moments) to shine and none of the actors waste any opportunities. There are a lot of great lines of dialogue, but one of my favorites is delivered by Macy, as a Senator from Vermont: "The great state of Vermont will not apologize for it's cheese!" Out of context, that line might sound absurd, so if you haven't seen the film, I urge you to check it out and I'm sure you'll love the scene when it pops up. Reitman has written and directed some of my favorite films - in addition to Thank You for Smoking, he also made Juno and Up in the Air - but this one is his best, and comfortably sits in my Top 20.

4. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I just wrote about Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in depth last week in Part 5 of my Favorite Films (http://goo.gl/bW0XvS) so please follow the link for my thoughts.

5. The Royal Tenenbaums

Wes Anderson is one of my favorite directors (http://goo.gl/O0NKPq) and his best film, in my opinion, is The Royal Tenenbaums - a story about a highly dysfunctional family in New York City. Gene Hackman leads the all-star cast as the patriarch of the Tenenbaums, Royal, and gives the best performance of his career and one of the best comedic performances I have ever seen. The fact that Hackman so stands out among this talented cast shows how extraordinary his work is. Angelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow (before she became mostly unwatchable), Ben Stiller, Bill Murray, Danny Glover, Owen Wilson, and Luke Wilson are all very good, as well. Each has a distinct and memorable character and, no matter how unusual or zany they are, each seems like a real person, not just a movie character. Some people criticize Anderson for being too stylized or quirky, but those aspects have never bothered me. I love his style and it's never been put to greater use than it was in The Royal Tenenbaums. The production, set, and costume designs all work together and help to create this whole universe that the Tenenbaums inhabit.  

6. Bad Santa

I covered my thoughts on Bad Santa in Part 2 of my Favorite Films list (http://goo.gl/DhAQDG) so feel free to check out that page.

7. Dogma

Another film I've already written in depth about, in Part 3 of my Favorite Films series (http://goo.gl/pSzY15), Dogma is not only hilarious, but also insightful and thought provoking.

8. Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is a film I've seen probably ten times in my life, but it wasn't until a recent reevaluation that it cemented itself as one of my favorite comedies. I was surprised to find that it's even better now than when I first saw it as a young kid. A lot of that is due to the impressive screenplay - it's loaded with so many jokes and great character moments that I just couldn't keep up as a kid. Bill Murray is one of the funniest actors around and it's no coincidence that he appears in three of these ten films. His work in Ghostbusters is probably my favorite. He nails every punchline, his screen presence is second to none, and he has great chemistry with the entire cast, which is fabulous. Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton are all very funny and inhabit their characters well. The special effects, while obviously outdated now, are still effective and don't distract from the overall film in the least - if anything, they add a little something. My most recent viewing was with my son (http://goo.gl/W1n2MX), who fell in love with Ghostbusters right away. It's now on of his favorite movies and he's rewatched it several times in the past few months. Like father, like son.

9. The World's End

The newest film on my list is also one of the most surprising. I didn't really have high hopes for The World's End, despite thinking the previews looked funny and liking most of director Edgar Wright's other films. I was completely taken aback by how hilarious and expertly made this film was. As the last of the "trilogy" of films including Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, it's easily the best. It's not only the funniest, but also the most endearing and touching. The characters all seem like real, fully developed people - which is a rarity in most comedies. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who have such a great working relationship together, switch roles here, with Pegg playing the alcoholic and sophomoric character and Frost playing the straight laced and mature one. It works fantastically. Both actors turn in their best performances and they're aided by quality work from Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike, Pierce Brosnan, and Bill Nighy who supplies only his wonderful voice. The World's End is a smart and witty action comedy, and the action set pieces manage to be intense and funny at the same time, which is no small feat. I give Wright a lot of credit, as he's proven himself a very talented director. His visual flair is second to none in the comedy genre.

 

10. Kingpin

Generally, I don't really care for "dumb" comedy films, but there are, of course, exceptions. Kingpin is a masterful combination of gross out humor, dumb sight gags, witty dialogue, and memorable characters. Woody Harrelson and Randy Quaid are great as a washed up ex-professional bowler and his Amish prodigy, respectively, but Bill Murray is the MVP of the film. His character, Ernie "Big Ern" McCracken, is one of the very best comedic roles and features Murray at the top of his game - charismatic, hilarious, and completely over the top. Murray's hair is reason enough to watch this film, as it feels like it has a life of it's own. Kingpin comes from the same writer/director team that made Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary, and Stuck on You, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, so if you know any of their work, you can probably guess what type of film this is. I think Kingpin works on every level, though, and is much better than any of their other films. 



There's my list. Do you love or hate any of them? What are some of your favorite comedies?

Next week's list: Part 6 of My Favorite Films.