What happens when the Internet is full of lists? List-eria — like, "hysteria," right? Except with lists — cuz we’re all, like, crazy for lists, right? Crazy, and maybe a just tad nauseated. (The best part of this coinage is, it comes with absolutely no negative associations.)
So what’s the latest, shall we say, outbreak of listeria? It’s in the pages of Premiere magazine, which has ranked the 50 greatest comedies in that least controversial of orders: chronological. Not that there won’t be controversy: Any list that privileges Zoolander over Tootsie is going to kick up more than its fair share of dust. But what can be done? It’s a little of the 50 greatest movie comedies of… ever (including Rushmore, pictured). In any language. (By my count, only one foreign entry made the cut.) You’d never see a list of "the 50 greatest dramas" — it’d be deemed far too nebulous a category. Yet comedy, as always, gives the illusion of classifiability.
But this is what "list-eria" is all about: rowdy debate. And, according to the CDC, vomiting. Indulge in both below.
The Premire list is crap…though some of my faves were there, Wedding Crashers?!?!?! Austin Powers?!?!? Are you kidding me with this? And everyone knows Waiting for Guffman is a million times funnier than Best In Show
they just don’t make movies (or movie posters for that matter, i’ve always loved the old-time posters!), like they used to, ah what hollywood has done to ruin everything. the list is cool up until 2000 anyway
The list was pretty good, then it hit the year 2000 and the funniest thing we got to show for it is Zoolander. It’s really our fault not Premiere’s. But we’ve become less funny with the years… and that list proves it.
I’m wowed by a couple of the choices as well like “Wedding Crashers”. I thought it was a funny and fun movie, but one of the funniest of all time? Not for me. I do love that 40 yr old Virgin made it on the list. Def the funniest movie I’d seen in a long time. Also, happy about Vacation! Still cracks me up on the TBS and TNT repeats. My old fave is Bringing up Baby. I was mixed about Zoolander because when i first saw it, i didn’t find it as funny as i’d hoped, but upon multiple viewings on TNT and TBS, it has really grown on me!
One of my personal favorite comedies is Coming to America. Sexual Chocolate!
Where are “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and “Liar, Liar” on the list?
Uh, what about Shrek!! That has to be the funniest movie in recent years. I mean the first one- not the lousy sequel.
I like how they did the list in chronological order and tried to spread it out between classics and more modern movies. That makes it slightly less annoying when they leave things out. And thank GOD they included The Jerk, all those Mel Brooks movies, and 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Although, where are The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters?! And what about Wayne’s World, which deserves to be on the list just for the “Bohemian Rhapsody” lip-synch fest at the beginning? And that list needs more ladies, too. Might I suggest Tina Fey’s oh-so-witty Mean Girls?
To Jess B, right on about Wayne’s World! and about the list lacking ladies.
Wrong, Best In Show was a lot funnier than Guffman, in fact Fred Willard was brilliant.
Here are my picks:
Animal House
Vacation and Christmas Vacation
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
The First Police Academy
Airplane!
Fargo
The Kentucky Fried Movie
I’m Gonna Git You Sucka!
Brain Candy
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Time Bandits
Mean Girls
All i can say is ¡No jim Carrey!, they made a list and there is no Jim Carrey, they are Crazy, that`s all i can say
…where the eff is ‘Office Space?’
RUSHMORE is my favorite movie, hands down. Awesome.
And WAITING FOR GUFFMAN is funnier than BEST IN SHOW. Especially if you’re a “theater” person.
“Do you need us to strike, because we know how to do that.”
Okay, so maybe that’s not the line verbatum, but you understand.
i’ll start with the comedies that have no place on this list: Private Benjamin, Austin Powers, Zoolander, Wedding Crashers. that was easy. if i want to be a little more picky, i’d say they picked the wrong Christopher Guest-ensemble (Waiting for Guffman is clearly superior to Best in Show), and maybe one too many Cary Grant-style screwball comedies. you’re telling me Wedding Crashers or Zoolander is funnier than Fletch?
Ok, comedy is subjective and I agree with maybe 45 films on the list but ZOOLANDER was not funny. I was hoping that Royal Tanenbaums would be on the list as I liked that movie better than Rushmore(Then again, Jason Schwartz is not one of my favorite actors, in fact I see him and I have an urge to smack him…I need help.)While I’m here, Waiting for Guffman is a funny move..but the horrors of my own experiences w/ community theater made the film a painful documentary rather than a comedy to me and Guffman didn’t have Jennifer Coolidge who was a scream in Best in Show.
How about the ” The Russians are coming, The Russians are coming!” Brilliant comedy by Noramn Jewison and “1941″ also!