Recently, Variety published their 100 Greatest Comedies of All Time. I saw a lot of websites comment on the list on how right or wrong they were.
This made me think of what would put on my own list. However my mine is different. Instead of "The 100 Greatest Comedies of All Time," these are the "100 Funniest Movies of All Time." A comedy movie can be great without being the funniest. For example, Life is Beautiful is one of the greatest films I have ever seen and it is at times very funny. But the reason it is so great is that it uses the humor tell a story that is beautifully heartbreaking. In the same way, Wag the Dog is a brilliant movie that uses comedy to make incisive commentary about modern politics. But I usually don't watch specifically for the laughs.
So my list consists of the 100 movies that make me laugh the most.
A few notes:
1. Comedy is SUBJECTIVE. You may not find my list of movies funny. That is fine with me. There are several movies that are comedy classics that didn't make my list (like Dr. Strangelove) that others think are hysterical, but really don't make me laugh.
2. This is indifferent to the MORAL CONTENT. I know a number of devout Catholics who cannot help but laugh at movies like Blazing Saddles. This does not mean that the movie is morally good. It just means that the jokes are funny, even if they are inappropriate. You will find some raunchy comedies on my list, only for the simple reason that they honestly make me laugh.
3. This list is in FLUX. Because comedy is subjective, there are times when some of these movies make laugh a lot more than they do now. This isn't just a matter of age, but it could be a simple matter of mood. There are times when the old timey comedy wit really hits my funny bone and sometimes I just want some insane slapstick. I don't imagine that if I make this same list in 5 years that it would be exactly the same.
So below is my list. Anything highlighted in yellow are films that are also found on Variety's list.
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