Comedy Faves

By Michael Murray

To coincide with the launch of this most excellent website, I thought it would be fun to take an informal survey of some people to find out what their favorite comedy was. This is a wildly subjective enterprise, of course, and by now means represents a definitive list of the funniest films of all time. It’s just a bunch of weird people saying weird things, for the most part, and as such, I ask for your participation. You should not hesitate for a second to comment on the picks, screaming bloody murder when somebody has suggested a lame-o movie, applauding when good taste has been exercised, and of course, elevating us all, by telling us what movie really makes you howl. And of course, bonus points will be awarded for any personal anecdote, or forceful explanation, that shows why Shallow Hal is a work of comedic genius.

And with that, let the dialogue begin!
 
Because I’m brave and support the troops, I will start.
 
People, I cannot quite express just how funny I found TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE.
 
Lordy.
 
Watching those impassive and self-important puppets wandering about-- with strings attached-- was utterly hilarious. The movie, conspicuously low budget, but still crazy high tech, was profane and utterly brilliant. It was the perfect marriage of high and low art, and as embarrassed and ashamed as I am to admit it, I found the puppet sex scene to be kind of hot. And the puke scene reminded me of high school.
 
William, my five-year old nephew, told me that the funniest movie on the planet was the 1933 Marx Brothers film DUCK SOUP. When I asked him why, he said, “They sing good songs and they hit one another.”
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFpHRFGpqBw

Harold, an acquaintance of mine who has been attending anger management training after an ugly incident at a Fantasy Football draft, voted for PULP FICTION. Harold, or Daddy-H, as he asks to be called, said that Tarantino was a stylistic genius that can make violence charismatic, funny and beautiful, and then he screamed at the waitress for blocking his view of the TV.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec-8mD_BhrU

My cousin, who is a fantasy baseball geek and thinks he’s smart but isn’t, has declared GHOSTBUSTERS to be “THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE.” He also says that pretty much anything with Bill Murray in makes the list, too.
 
Rachelle, who is nearly six feet tall and can dunk a basketball, thinks that DUMB AND DUMBER is a work of genius. She attributes this to Jim Carrey’s haircut and to the bathroom scene with Jeff Daniels. She also likes the films of Woody Allen, pink dresses, chocolate and money. Her favorite film of all time is Amelie, but that isn’t relevant here, unless you want it to be.
 
Mark is a thin stand-up comic who--even though he is purportedly straight-- takes an awful lot of pride in receiving the attention of gay men. He said that his favorite comedy was YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Starring Gene Wilder, this 1974 classic reformulates the Frankenstein story and makes a delicious fetish out of Madeline Khan, or so Mark says.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWrCf7rAytc
 
Gareth, who always insists on being the quarterback whenever we play a game of pick-up football, insists that RON BURGUNDY: LEGEND OF AN ANCHORMAN is the obvious choice. “Will Ferrell is God!” he shouts, before launching the football over the fence and then screaming at Peter for “not running the proper pattern.”
 
Min Ho, who runs the convenience store under my apartment, believes that
 
KINGPIN is tops, just edging out There’s Something About Mary, another Farrelly brother movie. Min Ho then told me that back in Korea he used to be a pretty fine bowler, but he’s out of practice now. And then he looked so sad that I bought three packages of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups hoping to cheer him up.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t2GgN_RC7M

Tony, who fries the burgers at Jimmy’s Best Western Diner and has a throat tattoo, told me that he thought TRADING PLACES was the funniest movie he’d ever seen. “There was nobody like Eddie Murphy, and I tell you, when Jamie Lee Curtis took off her top, Yowza!”
 
Jillian, who cheats at Euchre, said that NAPOLEON DYNAMITE ruled. She then proceeded to do a few imitations of Napoleon, before launching into her inevitable, and very pitiful dance, which happens whenever she’s had more than three drinks, which is everyday at four in the afternoon.
 
Jeff, who is a Poindexter and a bit of a buzz kill, said that he thought that the 1953 French film MR. HULOT’S HOLIDAY, was the standard by which all other comedies must be measured. He went on about the inventive use of sound, the brilliance of the physical comedy and a bunch of other stuff, but honestly, he lost me when he said French film.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_92Cm8gl7L

Thinking it would be kind of whimsical and charming to ask the woman using the dryer next to me at the Laundromat what her favorite comedy was, I was greeted with “ you’re not going to make any time with me, creep, so you can just shut-up right now! And stop trying to look at my delicates!”
 
Matt, the meaty bartender at my local, declared BORAT to be his favorite, slipping into the now familiar and irritating, cadence and accent of Cohen’s character. But then, as his eyes lingered on the hockey highlights on the TV above his head, his face lit up, “No! SLAPSHOT is my favorite! It’s the best ever!!”
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i_D6oQO6b8

Donny, a barfly, having overheard our conversation, piped up, “no way, man, it’s MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL!” So that we all understood exactly what movie he was talking about, he started to shout-out “Ni-Ni!”, but all slurry-like.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIV4poUZAQo

The next day, via email, I heard from one friend who nominated THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU. A huge fan of Wes Anderson, he narrowed it down to this one, giving honorable mention to Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. But Zissou carried the day for it’s perfect boyishness, melancholy and, of course, Bill Murray.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0yucFw3qCQ

There were a few mail-in ballots, that included a couple of Coen brothers films, like RAISING ARIZONA and THE BIG LEBOWSKI, as well as the Mike Judge movie OFFICE SPACE. My mother, who says very weirdly that, “ Elvis made me meow,” thinks that the Elvis Presley movie HARUM SCARUM is the funniest thing she’s ever seen.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdn-KIc4N9w

At any rate, this was an entirely random sampling of the opinions of all sorts of different people. Any further comments or suggestions, are encouraged and all sorts of welcome.

© Showflicks Inc. 2010

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