My Top 90 Favorite Comedy Movies

399   5.7   6 

To be quite honest, for a film that was made in the early 80's, I'm not sure how well Porky holds up these days as a high school comedy.
I think that this could be one of those of examples of a film that I still like based more on the sentimental memories I have when I first watched it than anything else.
To this day, the famous "tallywacker" scene, still is one of the funniest scenes in any movie that I've ever watched. Even now, whenever I watch just that one particular part of the film, I still end up in tears.

149   7.4   7.3 

One of the earliest "Monster Mash-ups" I saw as a kid on a local TV frightfest show called "Creature Features". I remember my older brother telling me right before the program started that just because this is called "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" the truth was that all three of the Universal Monsters Top Trio of Terror, Franky, Dracky & Wolfy, would be making an appearance throughout this film.
To which I couldn't help but inquire "All three of 'em? Cool. Who's on first?"

169   6.6   6.4 

Y'know, despite the freak that Dolly Parton has currently become,
9 To 5, her first foray into film shows that she was stacked really pretty frikkin' hot back in the day.

And yeah, I realize that by saying that, I'm probably going against the liberated women in the workplace theme that was the purpose of this movie,
but what can I say...? I'm a complicated man.
And women dig complicated men.

1809   7.6   7.9 

The characters created specifically for Saturday Night Live start to prove themselves as bankable movie properties starting with "Joliet" Jake & Elwood Blues, AKA the Blues Brothers. Portrayed by Jim Belushi & Dan Aykroyd, they originated as a fictional soul revivalist band as a part of a musical sketch for the fledging late-nite weekend comedy show.



In their big screen debut, they are couple of orphan-raised white guys who soulfully sing the blues, regularly defy the law & like to drive at night wearing their sunglasses. Basically because they're on a mission from God.
It's safe to say that, as a non-religious person, I came to see the light when I realized that the Blues Brothers is probably my favorite spiritual film of all time.

6038   6.7   7.2 

I was kinda surprised that as a comicbook nerd, I was never even aware of MIB until the movie came out. So afterwards, I decided to look up the printed version & check it out. And no wonder I had never heard about it: it was a piece of crap. Which I guess just made me like the film version even more, for what it was.
They say what you don't know can't hurt you.
And in this movie, this applies to idea of aliens as well.
Extra-terrestials have not only touched down to Earth, they are living amongst us & have been doing so for quite some while. So, how did we get by for so long without knowing?
The MIB, a secret organization that makes sure that unidentified flying objects remain unidentified & that extra-terrestrials remain extra (uhmnnn ...does that even make sense?).
And it's not a conspiracy, it's for you're own good.
These black suited, dark sunglassed agents know that if any of us average joes knew that we had been visited for years now, it'd be too much for us to handle. To save from us being taken away by the men in white, we need the Men In Black.
We just don't know it.

Heck, a being from another planet could be writing these very words that you are reading right now.

787   6.8   7.4 

In this third installment of the Vacation series, the adventures the Griswolds continues during the time of gift-giving and carefree carolling. And in keeping with their family tradition, they find that no matter what season it is, their luck is always gonna be bad.
Yuletide holiday merriment & cheer from back during a period when Chevy Chase was considered to be cooler than Santa Clause. Not to mention, this was also a time when he was actually, believe it or not, kinda funny.

2290   7.5   7.9 

A film by the comedy team of Simon Pegg & Nick Frost, the same duo responsible for what is, for my money, the best zom-com ever, Shaun Of The Dead. This time, they take on the world of the buddy-cop genre.
Hot Fuzz in neither as funny, engaging or as groundbreaking as Shaun,
but still, there was enough of the typical high balance of comedy & chemistry between the two stars to make this action comedy a commendable effort.
At least enough to include it on this particular list of faves.

270   5.8   6 

Back before he was a multi-Oscar winning actor, Tom Hanks was one half of the crossdressing duo from Bosom Buddies. While wearing a dress, it was a role that found him surrendering his heart to a blonde bombshell. Soon he parlayed his TV comedic skills to the movie screen, making a Splash in Hollywood whilst giving his heart up to a beautiful lady who was half fish.
Which he quickly followed up with Bachelor Party, as a character who's up and getting hitched with MTV super-vixen Tawny Kitaen.
With all this funny business in the early 80's, who knew at the time that, as a serious actor, he would eventually end up becoming so big?

1243   6.4   6.8 

The tale of dwo d00ds who travel through time using a phonebooth, looking for historical figures, in order that they too, in the future can achieve their destiny as historical figures. And also, because they gotta do a book report.

1540   5.4   5.7 

Bonnie Hunt & Steve Martin play a couple of parents who've spawned 12 children & are trying to raise 'em in the white bread portion of the American Dream.
Cheaper By The Dozen is family formula flick with a heart that is down-to-earth enough that it avoids the typical sugary distance that has desenstized the genre over the years. IMO, it is a film that can almost be percieved as a poor man's Parenthood.
Even though these are the type of movies that have pretty covered the same ground over a hundred times by now, I still was surprised at how much I ended up enjoying this "story-straight out of Disney" flick.

943   6.7   7 

Paul is one of those typical big-eyed, big-headed aliens that we've grown accustomed to believing are hiding in Area 51.
Though, he disproves the stereotype that he & his kind are here in order to circle our crops, mutilate our cows & probe our anuses.....

Paul just wants to share with us what he knows & to smoke a doobie. The kind of doobie that killed Bob Dylan.

221   6.6   6.7 

This is a perfect example of how selling out with a buncha crumby sequels can ruin a franchise.
For it's genre, Smokey And The Bandit was a really quality film that was alot of fun & pretty cool (I mean, y'know, for it's time).
It was only after a multitude of sub-quality follow-ups & sequels, that this type of movie became the joke that it is usually considered now.

3006   7.2   7.7 

Worlds collide as the cartoon universe & the "real" universe meet in this who-dunnit "tail" of a wascally wabbit with claims that he has been
fwamed.



A groundbreaking modern day film noir with enough color, comedy & star-studded cartoon cameos to make any hardcore animated film buff want to play pattycake with themselves.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

871   5.8   6.4 

Hot Tub Time Machine is a film that uses time-travel to simply entertain thru a tale that just a bubbling bath of pure dumbassery. Which, even though it's a style I usually don't go for, this time around, I was quite surprised at how much I found myself laughing out loud during it's viewing.
Maybe it's a guilty pleasure that I won't watch with other people, but it was solid enough for me to include on this list.

168   6.2   6.6 

An L. A. story ( duh-uh.....!) about how life is constantly is showing us signals about the directions of our lives, if only we pay attention.
Particularly when those signals are coming from a huge traffic conditions sign that appears off the side of freeway

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

191   6.1   6.3 

Rodney Dangerfield stars as an old rich business guy who decides that it's time to get some respect by going back to school.
Which is convenient, considering that that's the title of this movie.

73   6.4   6.4 

You know,
there have been alot of movies about senior citizens.
But when it comes to old people,
let's face it....
they don't come any older than This Guy.
When it comes to the phrase "He's older than dirt",
the lead character in this film literally means it.

3916   7.2   7.4 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

51   6.3   6.6 

The day to day adventures of Kabluey, a flyer handing out mascot for an imploding dot com company.
Add the subplot that he's a down & out loser that has a nephew and an aged Terri Garr that both want to kill him (for different reasons ....of course) & it's becomes obvious to see that this is a story of comedy that practically writes itself.

336   6.8   7 

Actually, the only reason this is on my list is cuz ...well...I really like ABBA's music.
And sayin' that does not make my pimp-ass any less hairier.
So, you know....
shut up.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

2162   6.5   7 

While I'm not much of a fan of the more in your face & slapstick kind of comedy, this one still worked for me. Plus, Robert Downey's performance as an Aussie transforming himself into the "role" of a back man was alone worth the price of the theatre ticket.

3648   6.6   7 

Jack Black needs a paycheck,
so he decides to go to school & become both a teacher & the leader of the band. With a bunch of fourth graders.
Class is now in session.
Time to rock on.
And then to enjoy a fruit snack & a nap time.

781   6.9   7.4 

A story of a poor black man trading places with a rich white man, with the lead roles going to Dan Akroyd & Eddie Murphy.
For those of you who haven't yet seen this early 80's classic, based on that information, can you guess who plays which part?
Considering that this was one of those early 80's movies that features Jamie Lee Curtis in her prime, I wouldn't mind trading places with either of those guys, just so I'd be able to star in a film with her insanely perfect & fine ass, yo.

903   6.1   6.8 

.... and no, this movie's title is not referring the one that landed him in jail.

114   6.7   7.1 

The escapist fantasy of innocence that baseball tends to provide kids comes colliding with the realism of crushed spirits that tends to come with adulthood.
Oh, but with humor.
And with Walter Matthau doing what he does best.
Not to mention that one kid who would eventually grow up to be Rorschach.

2430   7.3   7.7 

I've never been really big into the horror-comedy genre. It always felt to me that the comedy sorta cancels out the horror aspect of the film. Fortunately, Zombieland seems to focus more with the comedy area of it's premise, & the story centered more on the main characters dealing in world with few human survivors than it does on these characters battling their way thru flanks upon flanks of zombies (though, there are enough of those scenes to warrant the name of this movie). So, even though I'm not a big fan of zombie apocalypses, I found that I was able to sit thru this one with a bit more of an appreciation not only for the sub-genre itself, but more importantly, with an appreciation for a certain actor* with the initials BM. And yet, even more importantly, with an appreciation for the fact that I live in a time when I don't have to worry about life's little Twinkie gauge going on empty.



*Kind of a spoiler if I mention the actor's name.

150   5.5   5.9 

Boy, I gotta tell ya,
whether they're on appetizer sticks, in a sandwich, on top of spaghetti or in the form of a movie, I really do like me some Meatballs.
Back during the late 70's & early 80's, summer camp was a very popular theme with teenage-targeted flicks.
And while I was never really a big fan of the overall theme, I did like this flick. Not just because it's considered one of the classics of the genre, but also, because it featured Bill Murray in his first feature film appearance. I really enjoyed how his laid-back approach to both his humor and his acting always managed to bring the same kind of smirky smile he had on his face, onto my face.

131   7.4   7.3 

MSTK:TM is a science fiction movie about watching a science fiction movie.
I guess, it's kinda like creating a fictional universe within a fictional universe.
With robots.
And when you think about it,
a science fiction film probably couldn't get any more science fictiony than that.

5371   6.4   6.8 

I was a fan of the Mask back when hardly anyone knew anything about the comicbook.
So for me, it was kind of surprising when I heard that a movie about this character was going to be released.
Now, since superhero movies were just starting to finally prove to be able to generate attendance from the general public, I knew that there was no way they were going to be able to translate the dark humor & the violent tone of the comic for the silver screen, so I just assumed that out of necessity, Hollywood was just to completely re-invent the character, and Hollywood being Hollywood, would just completely eff it up.
However, they somehow were able to make this reinvention work for the medium of a live action movie. Not perfectly, mind you, but with the bizarre ingredients that were required for the basis of this weird, reality-altering anti-hero, it came off pretty well & pretty consistent. While the Mask doesn't hold the weight of any of its comicbook colleagues of this genre, it held it's own enough to be succesful at the box office & not spawn the ire of nerds like me who, especially at the time, just wanted to see these kinds of films earn a little more respect.

2284   7.3   7.5 

With names like Gene Hackman, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller & Angelica Houston,
it's no surprise that as far as dark comedies go,
The Tenenbaums are what you might call the royal family of aristocratic & eccentric dysfunction.

1569   5.9   6.8 

Will Ferrell fits very comfortably into the role of an elf who finds out that his elfin roots are alot shorter that the height of his colleagues.
An engaging heartwarmer of a tale as Santa's largest little helper journeys out to the big city to discover that as an elf in the North Pole, he might be large, but out in the real world, he's still got alot of growing up to do.
A hell of alot.

401   6.8   7.4 

Remember back when swing music was experiencing a revival, before Jon Favreau got fat & Vince Vaughn's annoying personality wasn't all that annoying yet?
Yep, that's back when these two up & comers were both doing their thing as swingers.

1289   7.8   8 

What is it that makes a young surgeon carry on the family tradition of creating a patchwork monstrosity of a menace that always seems to rile up the local villagers into taking up arms with their pitchforks & their torches & then, storming the castle?
Simple. It's in his blood.
Y'know....
as in a vampiric metaphor....?

Okay, okay,
I know that some of you out there would be quick to remind me that vampires are not the the central theme of this list. Frankenstein monsters are.
To which I can only respond "Actually, it's pronounced Frankensteen."

2613   7   7.6 

When I first decided to put up this list I wasn't going to put up any animated films.
But, since the newer generation of computerized cartoon flicks seem to be able to incorporate humour that can generate giggles from the adults as well as kids, I thought I'd include at least one on this list.
Probably the one that made me laugh more than any other in recent years would have to be Kung Fu Panda (though this was a tough call).
For my money, the "anthropormorphic" facial expressions & the characteristics of the movements reached in this film truly allowed the humour to shine thru in as much in the way the characters moved & "acted" & really helped to enhance the jokes in the script.

859   6.5   6.9 

Role Models is a film that, with it's plot of grown men learning to grow up with the help of a couple of non-grown-ups, in my opinion, came off sort of as a waterdowned Apatow movie. However, it still provided me with more out-loud laughs than I had expected walking in. Not to mention that it's a comedy that comes with a message: "Don't try to bulls#t the bullsh#tter".
I think.

367   8.6   8.2 

During these early days of film, it's not all that hard to figure out who were the ruling kings of the cinema back then.
When it comes to the 20's, Buster Keaton is without a doubt one the first names to come up.
After viewing the combination of fantasy dream sequences with the elaborate stunts of physical comedy in Sherlock, Jr., is becomes clear why these theatric traits will always be cemented as the stylistic signature of Buster Keaton.
It's also easy to see why this film is regarded by many as the best the of 1924.

3096   6.6   6.7 

In this family, dysfunctionality is a form of functionality.
Stretching mom out on a torture rack or throwing the baby out of a third story window is simply a way of communicating "You're okay, I'm okay".
And one of the advantages that comes with having the last name of Addams is that, no matter how many family-friendly games of tag you play,
your cousin will always be Itt.

2441   7   7.3 

As a self professed comicbook nerd, one would think that, naturally, I'd be a fan of fellow comicbook nerd, Kevin Smith. And as that sentence implicates, I'm not.
I enjoy watching & listening to his various convention & college speaking tours, but his movies, while not bad,
I don't think their humor & storylines are as solid as his stories that he likes to relay whenever he's in auditorium full of his fans.
Whenever I listen to one of his scripts, I tend to hear him talking more than I hear the characters conversing with each other.
Dogma is no exception to this,
the difference being that in this movie, I do enjoy listening to the points he brings about religion & the stigmas that result or tend to grow out it.
Still monolithically-centered writing, but still fun & interesting in the end, for me.

121   7.5   7.7 

Have you ever wondered what was the story behind the making of the short fright film Coven, pronounced with a long "o" instead of the standard short "o" most associated with the word?
Well, if you're like most fans of films from the early 2000's, the answer is most likely "No". Followed up by another question "What the hell is Coven?".

Rather than explaining what "Coven" is & why the long "o" that has become attached to it, it might just easier to direct you toward this particular move. It's an american movie called "American Movie" and it will clear any and all confusion that might have surfaced after reading this entry.

2304   8.3   8.6 

Since you can't see it completely in the title box, the full name of this movie is "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb."

And lemme tell you guys something, when it comes to politically satired black comedies....



.... I truly loves me some bomb.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

1380   6.6   7 

For me, the story of Pineapple Express wasn't as strong as an earlier Apatow film from this year, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but the laughs were more constant & consistant. Though still not in the range of Super-Bad, Knocked Up or especially 40 Year Old Virgin,
but,
if Apatow was able to keep his moves over-all at this level, I'd still go see 'em.

347   6.4   7 

Yet another story of a team of misfits & losers banding together to form a winning world series team.
But what separates this one from the rest is that this is the only baseball movie franchise that exeplifies the idea of what a baseball movie should be by featuring Mr. Baseball himself, Bob Uecker.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

86   6.1   6.3 

Real life friends Jon Faveau & Vince Vaughn portray movie life friends in a film that shows that if you can make it in the mob,
then you've really got it made.

This is a movie that tends to get overlooked because of the more well-known Faveau/Vaughn indie efort, Swingers.
And while I like that film too, I thought this one was just a tiny bit better, story-wise & especially comedy wise.

450   6.2   6.9 

This film is often credited as the one that started the trend for the modern "buddy cop" movie that took over theatres thru-out the 80's & early 90's. And as the one that set the standard for the story of how two completely different cops from different backgrounds must learn to work together to solve a crime.
And even though Eddie Murphy's character isn't a cop in this movie, it's still okay, since this film's director, Walter Hill, isn't really a hill.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

3054   7.6   8 

The zom-com finally crystalizes itself with this entry, a film that features a shlockful of ghouls & gags, but without the over-the-top camp that infested the genre for such a long time.
I knew that this was gonna be my kind of zombie movie when in one early scene, the main character, Shaun (duh!), in the midst of of the zombie apocalypse, stated that he liked the album Second Coming, the much under-appreciated 2nd. effort by the Stone Roses.
After that part, my hairy pimp-ass just sat back into my easy-chair, relaxed, & enjoyed all the thrills, chills & gags.

1036   5.8   6.4 

And speaking cartoonish stories about the fast-paced Nascar racetrack life style coming to life,
in TNTBoRB, Will Farrell, John C. Reilly & Sasha Baron Cohen show that you don't need millions of dollars worth of hi-tech CGI. Just a couple of million dollar comedians getting paid a couple of million dollar paychecks and who are willing to go those extra couple of miles.
This is a modern day spoof that from the the starting gate to the finish line was that just speeding along with one funny bit after another.

644   6.6   7.4 

My favorite Joe Pesci movie, with a formula plot that works in the way that good formula plot is supposed to work. A plotline with an unplausible situation but with enough strikes at all the chords of the suspendibilty beliefs along with it's fair share of laughs, that it can comes off as almost believable.
Not to mention that Marissa Tomei not only steals the show, also looks as hot that she ever has have in any movie.

1090   8.3   8.5 

Chaplin speaks!
Capturing not just a moment in film history as the master of silent stunt work utters his first words onscreen, but also that his words are an uncharacteristic (& for the time, risky) serious reflection of the status of a moment in world history.

2172   7.4   7.8 

For me, I found this to be, by far, the second funniest film in the sublimely funny hick movie genre. Unfortunately, there are only two movies that make up this genre so far ( the Coen's Raising Arizona being the other one). However, that takes nothing away from the fact that O Brother Where Art Thou?, in its own distinctive mannaer, is a movie that can truly be referred to as bonafide.

1877   7.4   7.8 

Uber-nerd boy Kevin Smith harnesses his experiences of working in a convienence store, writes a script, then gathers up his buddies to help put it all onto film. Thus does Mr. Smith come from behind the counter & to enter into the realm of movie-making.
And the San Diego Comic-Con will never be the same.