The Movie Forums Top 100 Comedies Countdown

I've loved Dr. Strangelove... since it was first released, and I've watched it many times since. It has to be one of the best constructed comedies ever done, featuring Peter Sellers playing 3 parts, and the hilarious portrayal by George C. Scott of General "Buck". No one could have played a better crazed paranoid general than Sterling Hayden, and the casting of Slim Pickens was a masterstroke. I had this film at my #9.

As far as The Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges was one of the best casting decisions of all time. He plays a stoner as "The Dude" to perfection-- possibly his finest role. The cast line up in the classic comedy is full of heavyweight actors giving their best, and enjoying it. The picture was #3 on my list.

I have an additional personal reason for liking this film. During a specific scene they used a song I played in from a band I was in. The title was "Your Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles". It was used for the scene in which The Dude mixes up his first white Russian cocktail near the beginning of the picture. I still get a little check each year...

Good on both of you! I loved American Movie. Not on my ballot but one of the best films I've watched in an HoF and never heard of before watching.

I'm glad I got a couple new fans out of the film by nominating it.

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Oh yeah, seen 102/120...

Honestly, I was really surprised we didn't see this one.

I've been out all day, so I'm gonna try and catch up with all the messages. However, I didn't want another minute to pass without thanking @Diehl40 and @Yoda for all the work. I'm more or less new here, but it is a pleasure to see all of this unfold, and that's thanks to you two.

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Ohh, almost forgot this!!


Decade Breakdown

• 1900s = 0
• 1910s = 0
• 1920s = 3
• 1930s = 5
• 1940s = 5
• 1950s = 2
• 1960s = 6
• 1970s = 12
• 1980s = 29
• 1990s = 18
• 2000s = 17
• 2010s = 3
• 2020s = 0

Like I mentioned a couple of days ago, the 1980s ran away with this fairly easily. Before we started the countdown, we were trying to figure out if the average age of the average MoFo would play into that. I'm no shrink, so make of that what you may.


Recurring Directors

• Charlie Chaplin = 5
• Joel & Ethan Coen = 4
• Mel Brooks = 4
• Billy Wilder = 3
• Harold Ramis = 3
• Tim Burton = 3
• John Landis = 3
• Rob Reiner = 3
• Amy Heckerling = 2
• Jonathan Lynn = 2
• Adam McKay = 2
• Frank Capra = 2
• John Hughes = 2
• Howard Hawks = 2
• Edgar Wright = 2
• Ivan Reitman = 2
• Terry Gilliam = 2
• Terry Jones = 2
• David Zucker = 2

A nice bunch of directors with two or more films on the list, headed by Chaplin, of course.

Finally, only two animated films, which I found quite surprising. Granted, I didn't vote for any, but I thought a lot of you would go crazy with Disney, Pixar, and the likes.

As for foreign, the line is a bit blurry with a few, but it is less than 10.

American Movie is so good that you should nominate it again

What did I do?

A favorite that narrowly missed my list.

Here's my voting list. Those in red didn't make it.

*1 It Happened One Night (1934)
2 My Man Godfrey (1936)...Can't believe this didn't make it
3 Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
*4 Some Like It Hot (1959)
*5 One, Two, Three (1961)
*6 His Girl Friday (1940)
7 Play it Again Sam (1972)...Not much love for Woody here I guess
*8 Ed Wood (1994)
9 American Graffiti (1973)...At least MarkF voted for it.
*10 Bringing Up Baby (1938)
11 It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)...pffft
*12 To Be or Not To Be (1942)
13 Lord Love a Duck (1966)...this one is too hip for this countdown
14 School of Rock (2003)
*15 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
*16 Best in Show (2000)
*17 Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
18 Pillow Talk (1959) @gbgoodies I guess we're the only two who voted for it.
19 Uncle Buck (1989)...John Candy got rooked!
*20 What's Up, Doc? (1972)
21 Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)...I know not PC.
22 The Cable Guy (1996)....Can't believe this didn't make it
*23 The Jerk (1979)
*24 Dumb & Dumber (1994)
25 Boeing Boeing (1965)...one pointer

Not voting for it

I was just goofing around with that post, btw.

Oh, right, I forgot about the 20 on the edge. 101/120.
You win.

I'll keep nominating it until it makes a MoFo countdown.

That's the spirit

I'm pretty sure that was on my consideration list. There's just only so many spaces, ya know (and it's one I haven't revisited a lot since the mid-late 00's, though it would have been in consideration if we were doing a best of the 00's list for me).
It probably doesn't help I've gotten diminishing returns from subsequent Roy Andersson films.


I saw Re-Animator mentioned, that was in consideration for at least a hot second for me, but kind of got nixed just because of the number of horror comedies I would have listed before it would have meant at least 6 horror comedies on my ballot, and I felt uncomfortable going up to four (though in retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have). And I felt Return of the Living Dead already hit a similar vibe of what I would have been including with it.

Off the top of my head the biggest surprises for me watching this countdown:


Chaplin got five films on the countdown, while the Marx Brothers and Keaton only got one each. Neither even had a second on the near misses. Harold Lloyd only managed a single near miss.


(Already stated) It's Such a Beautiful Day (my #1) and Hausu (#4) made the countdown (which I thought they had reasonable shot of doing, but as good of a chance of missing), while Barton Fink (my #2) didn't even make the near miss list (which at the beginning, didn't even cross my mind it wouldn't make it).


When Clue was revealed so high. Something about that said, "anything goes."


Raul, Miss Vicky, and I all had a movie in common (Heathers) on all three of our ballots. I've gathered we don't have much overlap in movies we like.

Watching the film made me eager to check out the sequels, but maybe I'll hold back on them for the time being then.

You'll probably still end up liking them, but it seems to be a common thing to like each one slightly less than it's predecessor. Not really sure why.