tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post1063158948606129533..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: My Favorite Films: Comedies (non-1980's)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-22329559969475089892014-04-18T22:04:53.183-04:002014-04-18T22:04:53.183-04:00Gun Shy
Oscar
I Love You To Death
Laugh out loud ...Gun Shy<br />Oscar<br />I Love You To Death<br /><br />Laugh out loud funny, superb casts, excellent performances, and brilliant screen writing. <br /><br />IMO, three underrated films that didn't get the exposure they deserve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-79074554074347560742014-04-14T20:19:31.218-04:002014-04-14T20:19:31.218-04:00Jed, that is the one line from Meaning of Life tha...Jed, that is the one line from Meaning of Life that I remember too. There are also a couple of amusing songs (e.g. Every sperm is sacred).<br /><br />In Life of Brian by contrast, you will learn how to pick stones for a stoning, how to conjugate "Romans go home" in correct latin, "What have the Romans ever done for us" (apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health), how to haggle, and how to look on the bright side.<br /><br />Of course, everyone should have their own favorite Python movie, because you are all individuals. Repeat in unison "We are all..."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18105609617071999765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-41836657717531957602014-04-14T20:17:57.721-04:002014-04-14T20:17:57.721-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18105609617071999765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-43330593481225260092014-04-14T13:20:24.061-04:002014-04-14T13:20:24.061-04:00Alex, You're welcome! Enjoy!Alex, You're welcome! Enjoy!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-48761790827643162692014-04-14T13:20:08.970-04:002014-04-14T13:20:08.970-04:00Scott, No, I mean Jennifer Coolidge. I really dis...Scott, No, I mean Jennifer Coolidge. I really dislike her and the two of them often seem to go as a package deal.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-46799728558727182912014-04-14T13:00:20.109-04:002014-04-14T13:00:20.109-04:00Andrew -
By 'that woman," do you mean C...Andrew - <br /><br />By 'that woman," do you mean Catherine O'Hara? I think she's great, but I grew up watching her in <i>Beetlejuice</i> and the <i>Home Alone</i> movies so I'm biased. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-891034452352852502014-04-14T12:46:42.127-04:002014-04-14T12:46:42.127-04:00Gah! I've only seen five of these! I need to b...Gah! I've only seen five of these! I need to brush up on my comedies! Some good recommendations here, Andrew. Thanks!Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-7136086841643324822014-04-14T00:19:37.828-04:002014-04-14T00:19:37.828-04:00Thanks John! My favorite Python is actually The M...Thanks John! My favorite Python is actually <i>The Meaning of Life</i>. Yeah, it's not perfect, but it's really really funny at times. I used to love <i>The Holy Grail</i>, but it kind of wore out with me. I should watch <i>The Life of Brian</i> again because I only saw it once about 20 years ago. I liked it, but it didn't make a huge impression at the time.<br /><br /><i>Men in Black</i>! Yeah, that should be on this list too.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-55223821457891073102014-04-14T00:17:34.573-04:002014-04-14T00:17:34.573-04:00Scott, Best in Show really rubbed me wrong. I thi...Scott, <i>Best in Show</i> really rubbed me wrong. I think it's his films that gave me my aversion to Eugene Levy and that woman he's always appearing with.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-61635074702559040702014-04-14T00:16:35.024-04:002014-04-14T00:16:35.024-04:00Backthrow, One, Two, Three was hilarious. It was ...Backthrow, <i>One, Two, Three</i> was hilarious. It was also one of the few times where Cagney played something other than the tough-guy thug. I really enjoyed it.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-82980781689617523372014-04-14T00:15:40.581-04:002014-04-14T00:15:40.581-04:00PikeBishop, I hope you're right. I think his ...PikeBishop, I hope you're right. I think his films are great. I just don't see them mentioned all that much anymore.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-725764354276128812014-04-13T21:43:08.928-04:002014-04-13T21:43:08.928-04:00Ah, but monsieur Jamison, it is ....... "wafe...Ah, but monsieur Jamison, it is ....... "wafer thin"Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-19965959142344006322014-04-13T19:08:03.912-04:002014-04-13T19:08:03.912-04:00Great list, and some cool additions, including fav...Great list, and some cool additions, including favorites of mine such as <i>Dr Strangelove</i>, <i>Team America: World Police</i> ("I'm so wonewy!") and <i>Monty Python's Life of Brian</i>. The last is really an honorary 80s comedy, featuring the irreverence and parody that would make 80s comedy such fun, with an undercurrent of razor-sharp politcal satire. I think it is Monty Python's best movie: Meaning of Life is a bit hit and miss, while Holy Grail is let down by the ending - in contrast Life of Brian has one of the most memorable and uplifting endings in comedic film.<br /><br />One notable omission from this lists so far: <i>Men in Black</i>.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18105609617071999765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-10332655563668335132014-04-13T16:09:37.445-04:002014-04-13T16:09:37.445-04:00Backthrow -
Thanks for the heads-up on Milius - ...Backthrow - <br /><br />Thanks for the heads-up on <i>Milius</i> - I watched it this morning and highly recommend it. In fact, I wish it had been longer - they gloss over a few movies I would've liked to hear more about.<br /><br />I'm a Preston Sturges fan but I honestly can't articulate why. My favorite would probably be <i>The Lady Eve</i> if only for Miss Stanwyck.<br /><br />And I liked <i>A Mighty Wind</i> but I like <i>Best in Show</i> just a bit more. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-69253726659549803072014-04-13T15:18:12.117-04:002014-04-13T15:18:12.117-04:00Preston Sturges' quartet of top classics:
The...Preston Sturges' quartet of top classics:<br /><br /><b>The Lady Eve</b> (1941)<br /><b>Sullivan's Travels</b> (1941) --One of the in-jokes of <i>O Brother Where Art Thou</i> is that it is supposedly the film Joel McCrea initially wants to make in <i>Sullivan's Travels</i>.<br /><b>Hail the Conquering Hero</b> (1944)<br /><b>The Miracle of Morgan's Creek</b> (1946)<br /><br />Some popular ones:<br /><br />It Happened One Night<br />Mr. Deeds Goes to Town<br />My Man Godfrey<br />His Girl Friday<br />It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (not hilarious, but fun to watch)<br />The Pink Panther<br />A Shot in the Dark<br />MASH<br />Monty Python & The Holy Grail<br />Monty Python's Life of Brian<br />The Kentucky Fried Movie<br />Slap Shot<br />Animal House<br />Meatballs<br />The Freshman (1990)<br />Hot Shots<br />My Cousin Vinny<br />Groundhog Day<br />The Hudsucker Proxy <br />O Brother Where Art Thou?<br />Army of Darkness<br />Election<br />Napoleon Dynamite<br />Shaun of the Dead<br />Wedding Crashers<br />Mean Girls<br />Kung Fu Hustle<br />Scott PilgrimBackthrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02289433396695381105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-54048272160135254592014-04-13T15:12:04.257-04:002014-04-13T15:12:04.257-04:00Heaven Can Wait (1943) Don Ameche, figuring he bel...<b>Heaven Can Wait</b> (1943) Don Ameche, figuring he belongs in hell, tells his life story to an unusually kind and sympathetic Satan (Laird Cregar). Witty to its core.<br /><br /><b>The Ladykillers</b> (1955) A sweet little old lady unknowingly takes a gang of criminals, headed by Alec Guinness (and includes Peter Sellars), on as lodgers. The Coen Bros remake is their weakest film; I still like it, but it can't hold a candle to the original.<br /><br /><b>Love Crazy</b> (1941) William Powell, through a misunderstanding, is threatened with divorce by his otherwise loving spouse, Myrna Loy. In a gambit to keep the marriage intact and clear things up, he feigns insanity, and is thrown in the nuthouse, where he's mocked through the fence by her new beau, Jack Carson.<br /><br /><b>One, Two, Three</b> (1961) James Cagney gives an amazing, penultimate performance as the head of the West German division of Coca-Cola company, who has to deal with the daughter (Pamela Tiffin) of a muckity-muck of the company, who has secretly married an East German commie (Horst Buchholz).<br /><br /><b>Support Your Local Sheriff!</b> (1969) Western spoof with James Garner basically reprising his Bret Maverick character under another name. All kinds of funny, with a great supporting cast.<br /><br /><b>A Mighty Wind</b> (2003) As much as I love <i>This Is Spinal Tap</i>, I think this folk-themed follow-up by Christopher Guest and company is even funnier.<br /><br /><b>Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein</b> (1948) Most A&C flicks blend together, true, but this one stands out.<br /><br /><b>The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom</b> (1968) Shirley MacLaine is the neglected wife of bra manufacturer Richard Attenborough. When low-level employee James Booth ('Hook' from <i>Zulu</i>) is sent to fix her sewing machine, they fall for each other, and he moves into their attic and lives there for 5 years, carrying on the tryst, without the husband knowing about it. Filled with crazy little sight gags, eccentric side characters and dream sequences, it is almost proto-Python, and John Cleese has a small, funny role in a post office scene.<br /><br /><b>Ghost World</b> (2001) Two hipster girls (Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson), not bound for college, face life immediately after high school. Based on a graphic novel by cartoonist Dan Clowes; some dramatic elements factor in, but most of this is pretty hilarious.<br /><br />[cont]Backthrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02289433396695381105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-66834106006221925932014-04-13T15:11:07.002-04:002014-04-13T15:11:07.002-04:00Not a full list of favorites, by any means, but it...Not a full list of favorites, by any means, but it's a start:<br /><br /><b>The President's Analyst</b> (1967) James Coburn is appointed as the (unseen) U.S. president's shrink in this crazy/brilliant satire of espionage, politics, psychiatry, bureaucracy, hippies, etc. <i>Dr. Strangelove</i> is, of course, great, but this is actually a funnier movie.<br /><br /><b>Seven Chances</b> (1925) Pretty much all of Buster Keaton's silent comedy features make my list, but this is my favorite. The plot is simple: bachelor (and struggling stockbroker) Buster will inherit a huge fortune if he gets married by a particular deadline, but the news of this reaches him at the 11th hour. He ends up being pursued by thousands of determined brides in a truly epic chase. The plot was ill-advisedly remade as <i>The Bachelor</i> with Matthew McConaughey. The original is under an hour long. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTwfCyWKYYc" rel="nofollow">Watch it!</a><br /><br /><b>The Bank Dick</b> (1940) I could put nearly any W.C. Fields movie on this list, but this one is filled with so much good stuff, it leads the pack (though <i>It's A Gift</i> is a very close second). Climaxes with probably the funniest car chase scene, ever.<br /><br /><b>The Quiet Man</b> (1952) Sure, this has romance and drama in it, but it's a hilarious character comedy through and through. I never tire of it.<br /><br /><b>The More the Merrier</b> (1943) Too bad modern rom-coms aren't more like this one. In crowded, WWII-era Washington D.C., room vacancies are hard to come by. Visiting bigwig Charles Coburn manages to talk Jean Arthur into renting half of her apartment to him, and he ends up renting half of his half to Joel McCrea (who will soon be going overseas to join a bomber crew), behind her back. Then Coburn plays cupid between them, since Arthur is engaged to a stuffed-shirt type he disapproves of. Directed by the great George Stevens (<i>Gunga Din</i>, <i>A Place in the Sun</i>, <i>Shane</i>, <i>Giant</i>) and remade in the 60s as <i>Walk Don't Run</i>.<br /><br /><b>Champagne for Caesar</b> (1950) Ronald Colman plays a super-genius who can't find steady work. After a surreal job interview with nutty soap company president Vincent Price, he decides to be a contestant on the popular TV quiz show Price's company sponsors, with the intent of winning enough after a marathon of appearances to take over the company himself. Price (hilarious in this) is forced to take desperate measures.<br /><br /><b>Murder, He Says</b> (1945) Pollster Fred MacMurray seeks the whereabouts of his missing predecessor, and runs into the murderous Fleagle clan. Plays like hilarious 3-way cross between <i>The Addams Family</i>, <i>Arsenic & Old Lace</i> and <i>Li'l Abner</i>. The director had made <i>The Ghost Breakers</i> with Bob Hope 5 years earlier, and there's a joke reference to it in this film.<br /><br />[cont]Backthrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02289433396695381105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-4050816147981147772014-04-13T14:53:08.422-04:002014-04-13T14:53:08.422-04:00Andrew, I politely disagree.
Millions of American...Andrew, I politely disagree.<br /><br />Millions of Americans listened to Obama and..............................PikeBishophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761380937971970762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-32263319275729434932014-04-13T14:22:00.494-04:002014-04-13T14:22:00.494-04:00Kit, If anyone was truly listening to Groucho, the...Kit, If anyone was truly listening to Groucho, they never would have let him anywhere near power.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-48619347250108766432014-04-13T14:20:23.621-04:002014-04-13T14:20:23.621-04:00Anthony, South Park was really, really funny.
I e...Anthony, <i>South Park</i> was really, really funny.<br /><br />I enjoyed <i>Undercover Brother</i>. It's one of those like <i>Deuce Bigalow</i>, which just surprised me how funny it was and how much fun it was. Comedy which asks nothing more than just enjoying the film.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-46539414632850379592014-04-13T14:17:48.273-04:002014-04-13T14:17:48.273-04:00PikeBishop, Not Another Teen Movie really deserves...PikeBishop, <i>Not Another Teen Movie</i> really deserves more credit than it received. It not only wiped out every single trope and cliche, but it did it while making a pretty decent teen film itself. This is a parody based on love, not anger, and it shows. It's also packed with just hilarious moments.<br /><br />On Chevy Chase, he did a lot of films that seem to have been dismissed as B-movies, even though they were ultimately pretty good: <i>Deal of the Century, Fletch, Fletch Lives, Three Amigos, Spies Like Us</i> etc. His career seems to be slowly being forgotten for some reason.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-32044440073121073032014-04-13T14:13:04.022-04:002014-04-13T14:13:04.022-04:00Outlaw, Kentucky Fried Movie! LOL! I had no idea ...Outlaw, <i>Kentucky Fried Movie</i>! LOL! I had no idea what I was watching when I saw it the first time, but it made me laugh my butt off.<br /><br />On Broken Lizard, I wish they were funnier. I kind of like <i>Beerfest</i> and <i>Club Dread</i>, but they just aren't enough to recommend. There is something missing.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-35070702823581710062014-04-13T14:10:04.266-04:002014-04-13T14:10:04.266-04:00Scott, Interesting additions. I can't say tha...Scott, Interesting additions. I can't say that any are on my favorites list, but I definitely like <i>Strangelove</i> and <i>Animal Crackers</i>. I thought <i>Brain Donors</i> was ok.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-80329380046674557562014-04-13T14:01:34.599-04:002014-04-13T14:01:34.599-04:00Scott, You should give it another try. It's w...Scott, You should give it another try. It's worth it.<br /><br />I enjoyed <i>Rat Race</i> a lot. Not as anything memorable, but just as a lot of fun. On <i>Mad, Mad, World</i>, I just never thought it was all the great of a film. It's very labored, the cast never meshes, and the story feels like a set up to see these comedians.<br />AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-29099304012357141442014-04-13T13:59:18.999-04:002014-04-13T13:59:18.999-04:00Mike, Another excellent choice.Mike, Another excellent choice.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com