Something I’ve wanted to do for a little while is to check out the top comedies of all time and see how I feel about them. So I decided to get a list and try to watch 25 of them over the next year.
But how to create a list? IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes skew very much towards modern movies. Which may be fine; older movies may not hold up as times have changed. However, I don’t want to assume that, so how to avoid recency bias?
Back in 2002 the American Film Institute put out a list of the Top 100 Comedies of All Time. That seemed like a good place to start. Unfortunately, I’m going to guess that at least a few decent comedies were written in the last two decades.
So, I decided to up the count to 125 movies and add 25 recent ones. I figured IMDB.COM would be pretty accurate for movies since 2000 so I used their search screen to get the list. (I went to 25 so I could add The Big Short). Combining that with AFI’s list gave me the list below, which I randomized using random.org.
Many I’ve already seen and loved (Tootsie, Abbot And Costello Meet Frankenstein, This is Spinal Tap) or not (A Fish Called Wanda). If I’ve already seen it I am going to watch it again.
I’ll post my thoughts as I work through the list.
Here’s the list in the order I will view them:
70 MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN.
32 THE THIN MAN
33 MODERN TIMES
100 GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM
54 THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK
102 Marriage Story
40 IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD
66 TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN
75 SHE DONE HIM WRONG
19 HIS GIRL FRIDAY
37 THE GREAT DICTATOR
119 I, Tonya
26 BEING THERE
24 BORN YESTERDAY
110 The Peanut Butter Falcon
71 CADDYSHACK
95 SILVER STREAK
105 Love, Actually
103 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
123 La La Land
30 ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
112 The Farewell
15 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
106 The Two Popes
55 THE LADY EVE
84 LOST IN AMERICA
68 THE AWFUL TRUTH
81 THE NAVIGATOR
97 BULL DURHAM
96 SONS OF THE DESERT
4 9 TO 5
11 THE PRODUCERS
93 FARGO
38 CITY LIGHTS
39 SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS
62 SHERLOCK, JR
109 Green Book
34 GROUNDHOG DAY
57 DINER
101 Knives Out
98 THE COURT JESTER
41 MOONSTRUCK
21 A FISH CALLED WANDA
94 AUNTIE MAME
69 BANANAS
79 THE FRESHMAN
3 DR STRANGELOVE
35 HARVEY
92 BALL OF FIRE
44 MY MAN GODFREY
120 Almost Famous
7 M*A*S*H
48 A SHOT IN THE DARK
42 BIG
122 Moana
25 THE GOLD RUSH
88 BEETLEJUICE
10 AIRPLANE!
47 SHAMPOO
51 THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH
8 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
17 THE ODD COUPLE
118 Zombieland
58 IT'S A GIFT
23 WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
80 SLEEPER
121 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
16 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
60 TOPPER
116 Scott Pilgram vs. the World
46 MANHATTAN
64 BROADCAST NEWS
43 AMERICAN GRAFFITI
107 Jojo Rabbit
77 THE PALM BEACH STORY
28 GHOSTBUSTERS
85 DINNER AT EIGHT
115 Thor: Ragnarok
1 SOME LIKE IT HOT
87 FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
82 PRIVATE BENJAMIN
65 HORSE FEATHERS
14 BRINGING UP BABY
49 TO BE OR NOT TO BE
6 BLAZING SADDLES
12 A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
22 ADAM'S RIB
113 Guardians of the Galaxy
59 A DAY AT THE RACES
117 Deadpool 2
63 BEVERLY HILLS COP
4 ANNIE HALL
53 ARTHUR
67 MRS Doubtfire
111 Toy Story 4
5 DUCK SOUP
18 THE GENERAL
90 WOMAN OF THE YEAR
72 MR Blandings Builds His Dream house
76 VICTOR/VICTORIA
9 THE GRADUATE
20 THE APARTMENT
27 THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY
61 WHAT'S UP, DOC?
52 NINOTCHKA
86 CITY SLICKERS
31 RAISING ARIZONA
2 TOOTSIE
13 YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
73 MONKEY BUSINESS
45 HAROLD AND MAUDE
50 CAT BALLOU
108 Frozen
91 THE HEARTBREAK KID
36 NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE
99 THE NUTTY PROFESSOR
29 THIS IS SPINAL TAP
78 ROAD TO MOROCCO
104 Uncut Gems
124 The Art of Racing in the Rain
56 ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN
83 FATHER OF THE BRIDE
125 The Big Short
114 Deadpool
89 THE JERK