My Ten Favorite Comedies

Much like horror, comedy is a particularly difficult genre to effectively present and simultaneously make memorable. Just like fear, what makes a person laugh is entirely subjective, and may make another person roll their eyes in annoyance. Bearing this in mind, here is a list of my ten favorite comedies. While they may not be your favorite comedies, I hope it helps you see them in a new light.

10. Young Frankenstein

Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974)

Before the likes of Epic Movie, Date Movie, Superhero Movie, and Disaster Movie single-handedly destroyed the once successful parody genre, Mel Brooks was the reigning king of parody. Responsible for classics such as Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Mel Brooks made the parody genre into something witty. My personal favorite of his is Young Frankenstein, shot purposefully in black and white, with Gene Wilder in one of his best roles as the unhappy grandson of the infamous Doctor Frankentsein who inherits his grandfather's estate and recreates his famous experiments. Essentially, it's a parody of the original Frankenstein film, and an effective one at that. It's morbid, campy, and an absolute blast with every viewing.

9. ¡Three Amigos!

Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short in ¡Three Amigos! (1986)

Speaking of campy fun, ¡Three Amigos! is just that.  Starring three legendary comedic actors in their prime, ¡Three Amigos! is the story of three conceited (and, frankly, idiotic) actors whose heroic films are mistaken for documentaries of real events by a desperate woman who begs them to save her village from the monstrous El Guapo. Guided by greed and stupidly assuming that she's asking them to star in another movie, the three men agree, and find themselves in a small Mexican village which considers them all to be heroes rather than movie stars. Featuring a memorable and surreal music number which ends as abruptly as it began, ¡Three Amigos! is fun and charming.

8. The Princess Bride

Cary Elwes and Robin Wright in The Princess Bride (1987)

There's very little that can be said about The Princess Bride which hasn't already been said. It's clever, heartfelt, memorable, funny, and genuine in a way that many comedies attempt to be but fall short when audiences pick up on their forced and desperate pandering. It knows when to be funny, and it knows when to slow down and give the audience the emotional moment they need. The Princess Bride is sincere from beginning to end, and it wears its campy large rodents and wisecracking giants as a badge of honor rather than something to try and convince the audience that these aspects of the film are truly frightening.

7. Napoleon Dynamite

Jon Heder in Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

I have loved Napoleon Dynamite since the day I saw it in theaters in elementary school. That being said, it is because of this love that I have found this movie to be extremely hit-or-miss with audiences. No one has lukewarm feelings toward Napoleon Dynamite, it's the sort of film that people either love wholeheartedly or absolutely can't stand. That being said, I adore this movie. It's strange retro look which makes it difficult to pinpoint the year, the odd elevator-esque soundtrack, and the way actors fumbling over their lines nervously is left in and simply accepted as the character's intentional muttering, are all endearing qualities which will either draw audience members in with glee or have them shuddering and longing to watch something else. While not a traditional comedy and more comedic in the sense that the likes of shows like King of the Hill are comedic in an odd small-town mentality sort of way, Napoleon Dynamite is a staple of American culture whether we like it or not, and I choose to embrace this movie in all its wonderful weirdness.

6. Swiss Army Man

Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe in Swiss Army Man (2016)

Speaking of weird, if Napoleon Dynamite is divisive, then Swiss Army Man is something else entirely. This film is gross and vile, filled with juvenile humor and with a plot centered around fart jokes, but it's absolutely wonderful. Featuring phenomenal actors Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe and with an incredible soundtrack which sometimes causes the film to toe the line between a traditional comedy and a musical (the soundtrack is mainly based around repeating sounds throughout the film which build up to form a rhythm of some sort), Swiss Army Man is a wonderful and charming movie for anyone who can sit through it without feeling uncomfortable from the premise of a man who is also a motorboat powered by his own farts. This isn't the sort of movie I feel comfortable recommending, because I'm well aware that many people are going to be disgusted and uncomfortable throughout, but for those of you who can handle the humor of a fourth grade boy, you're going to be pleasantly surprised when you find the genuine heart at this film's core.

5. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Centered loosely around the story of King Arthur and his quest for the Holy Grail, Monty Python's most popular movie quickly devolves into a series of bizarre sketches and strange vignettes which could only ever be found in something made by the Monty Python team. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a classic British comedy, with a sort of strange charm and odd sudden ending which seems to imply that the team had no idea where to go from there and realized the movie was already nearly three hours long and needed to end eventually. I have trouble viewing this film as one linear story, due to all the small plots and adventures throughout, but even bearing that in mind each story it tells is hilarious and memorable.

4. The Jerk

Steve Martin in The Jerk (1979)

In Steve Martin's best performance of his career, he plays the naive and lovable Navin Johnson, an idiot (for lack of a better word) who goes off to live on his own in St. Louis. Unlike other films efforts at portraying unintelligent characters, The Jerk, assisted greatly by Steve Martin's fantastic acting, somehow manages to make an otherwise unintelligent and obnoxious character into someone who is simultaneously endearing and who the audience wishes to see succeed. This film is hilarious, carefully combining high-brow humor with vulgar and raunchy jokes without either seeming forced or disgusting.

3. Addams Family Values

Christina Ricci in Addams Family Values (1993)

I was always easy to scare when I was a child. I was unable to even sit through Edward Scissorhands without having nightmares and being terrified for days. That being said, Addams Family Values horrified me when I was young, but it grew on me, and eventually I grew to love it. Despite this being a sequel, Addams Family Values works well as a standalone film, and anyone who is at least vaguely familiar with the concept from the original television series will have no difficulty understanding who is who. This film contains some of the best casting I have ever seen in a movie based off of other source material, every role is cast so perfectly and acted so fantastically that it is impossible to call out one specific actor for having the best performance. The dark and macabre humor mixes the genres of campy horror with comedy so well that it's difficult to find reasons why fans of either genre wouldn't enjoy this movie. With a memorable and absolutely hilarious villain and a plot which forces our eccentric gothic protagonists to interact with the real world, it's easy to see why this film is so charming and memorable.

2. Hot Rod

Isla Fisher and Andy Samberg in Hot Rod (2007)

Bearing in mind that this film was made by the men behind comedic rap group "The Lonely Island", Hot Rod isn't exactly high-brow comedy trying to tell a deep and intelligent story. It is, however, the sort of movie which remains absolutely hilarious from beginning to end. Hot Rod is, without a doubt, the funniest film I have ever seen. Every joke is perfectly timed and expertly delivered, and with comedic actors as fantastic as Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Will Arnett, and Isla Fisher, it's not surprising. Hot Rod tells the story of an aspiring stuntman, Rod, who lives with his mother, step-father, and step-brother. Rod's step father (who he constantly fist fights in an attempt to earn his respect) falls ill, and so Rod sets out to earn money doing stunts so that he can help his father have life-saving surgery, and then kick his ass afterwards (to earn his respect as a man, of course). Hot Rod is strange, sometimes bordering on surreal, but it is sincere and gladly embraces its ridiculousness without attempting to force an emotional impact or tearful response from its audience. Instead, it recognizes that it is a comedy, and is perfectly fine with remaining just that.

1. Hot Fuzz

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Hot Fuzz (2007)

The second, and arguably the best, of Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy places Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the role of police officers in a small village. All three pieces in Edgar Wright's trilogy are stand-alone films, so you are free to watch any of the three without seeing the other two. Hot Fuzz stands out most in its careful story-telling through the use of visual cues. When Edgar Wright was told to show and not tell, he took it seriously, and the creative visual style, hilarious scene transitions and jump cuts, and clever use of jump cuts to depict a passing of time, all highlights how the medium of film can be used to convey stories entirely through visuals. This leaves room for hilarious dialogue, because none of it is lent to tiresome exposition or repetitive conversations. Hot Fuzz is hilarious, and it's also an example of what happens when a competent director is given free reign to make a comedic film into art, while simultaneously creating something which is genuinely funny.

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