Throughout the selection process to find the funniest comedies, we kept echoing the same mantra: “Is this movie really that good?” The answer was consistent: shouts of “it’s hilarious!” were parried just as assuredly by “it sucks!” Comedy, we quickly discovered, is just as diverse and polarizing as drama. Really the two aren’t so different. The best of both make us think and elicit a strong emotional response; the worst of both make us reach for our Hollywood-producer-window-breakin’-brick. Both are near and dear to our hearts because we identify with them. After an irrational amount of hemming and hawing we came up with our fifty favorite funny movies, ranging from slapstick to black-as-they-come to downright strange. Regardless of their tone, each of our picks bring just the right amount of levity to keep us smiling.
Now, without further ado, grab some popcorn, queue up the comedy flick, sit back, and dim the lights. The show’s about to start.
Methodology: like our books piece, the selections for our Definitive Men’s Movie Collection represent our favorites, “considered in the light of how much they changed our lives, and might change yours.” If it makes you feel any better that your favorite flick didn’t make the cut, consider that one of our auditors, in a moment of weakness, tried to get Nick Cage’s Ghostrider on the docket. Taste is subjective, so take this for what it’s worth.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
When two rival con-men, played by Steve Martin and Michael Caine, realize that the French riviera isn’t big enough for the both of them, they engage in a friendly competition: the first one to con an American soap heiress out of $50,000 gets to stay.
Amazon DVD
