You write funny.
November 14, 2015 9:45 AM Subscribe
The Writers Guild of America has released their list of The 101 Funniest Screenplays.
Groundhog Day is funnier than Airplane?
(And I like Groundhog Day, but come on.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:00 AM on November 14, 2015 [9 favorites]
(And I like Groundhog Day, but come on.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:00 AM on November 14, 2015 [9 favorites]
I dunno, I feel like the list confuses "funny" and "comedy." I've also seen a number of them recently (Animal House, for one) which were much funnier in memory than in review -- the comedies of the 70s and 80s haven't aged well, I think (and it's interesting how well a lot of the comedies of the 30s and 40s have aged -- the Marx Brothers and the Tracy/Hepburn comedies still work and, I suspect, will continue to.
It would be interesting to run this list past audiences watching them now and see how many would be less "laugh out loud funny" than "occasionally amusing."
Also, I guess I can't fault the WGA for only picking English-language films (and almost entirely American one), but, really.... No Forbidden City Cop? No Tampopo? No Herzog?
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:03 AM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
It would be interesting to run this list past audiences watching them now and see how many would be less "laugh out loud funny" than "occasionally amusing."
Also, I guess I can't fault the WGA for only picking English-language films (and almost entirely American one), but, really.... No Forbidden City Cop? No Tampopo? No Herzog?
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:03 AM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
Mostly an OK list, especially the top 50. Below that, there are some clunkers. Midnight Run is there, but State and Main is not.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:04 AM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:04 AM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Woody Allen is overrated.
Woody Allen as a human being is definitely overrated, but Annie Hall makes a lot of critics whose work I respect top lists (Kermode has called it, if I remember correctly, a perfect film), that it deserves its stature. The funniest film ever written, I don't know.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:06 AM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
Woody Allen as a human being is definitely overrated, but Annie Hall makes a lot of critics whose work I respect top lists (Kermode has called it, if I remember correctly, a perfect film), that it deserves its stature. The funniest film ever written, I don't know.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:06 AM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
No Captain Ron? I am disappoint.
posted by valkane at 10:09 AM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by valkane at 10:09 AM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
No MacGruber? No thanks.
"I bet you wish your nose was a dick so you could use it to fuck butts" may not be super highbrow but is certainly funnier than half the things on that list
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 10:11 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
"I bet you wish your nose was a dick so you could use it to fuck butts" may not be super highbrow but is certainly funnier than half the things on that list
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 10:11 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
DUCK SOUP is far and away the funniest Marx Bros movie (and the funniest screenplay).
posted by peterme at 10:13 AM on November 14, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by peterme at 10:13 AM on November 14, 2015 [9 favorites]
Groundhog Day is funnier than Airplane?
The movie? No, imo. As a screenplay, maybe?
posted by Room 641-A at 10:14 AM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
The movie? No, imo. As a screenplay, maybe?
posted by Room 641-A at 10:14 AM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
No Fast Times at Ridgemont High?? And I'd move Spinal Tap and The Big Lebowski up and Some Like it Hot, Tootsie and Airplane down.
posted by SA456 at 10:15 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by SA456 at 10:15 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I saw Annie Hall for the first time since the seventies a few years ago and really felt like it hadn't aged well at all. All the stuff about sex with twin sixteen year old girls and the grade school talking about being into leather comes off as seriously creepy now.
posted by octothorpe at 10:20 AM on November 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 10:20 AM on November 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
Tootsie was funnier than A Fish Called Wanda?
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:20 AM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:20 AM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
Yes, that seems more like a list of someone's idea of best comedies, rather than funniest screenplays. Maybe funniest movie is different than funniest screenplay, but The Gods Must Be Crazy and Soapdish really should be on either list.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 10:21 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 10:21 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Also, no "The In-laws"? Serpentine! Serpentine!
posted by octothorpe at 10:25 AM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 10:25 AM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
How old were the people who compiled this list? Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton?
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:27 AM on November 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Mental Wimp at 10:27 AM on November 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
Harold Ramis with 2 in the top 10 and 4 of the top 25. Seems about right. "Bridesmaids" in the top 20 -- that movie is the most recent of all 100 and is already mostly forgotten; weird choice.
posted by MattD at 10:28 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by MattD at 10:28 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Dr. Strangelove is a masterpiece of dark comedy, but I wouldn't call it ha-ha funny the way, say, Airplane or Some Like It Hot are.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:31 AM on November 14, 2015
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:31 AM on November 14, 2015
i'm supposed to be vacuuming but instead i am watching daphne and josephine trying to get onto a train
posted by poffin boffin at 10:33 AM on November 14, 2015 [12 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 10:33 AM on November 14, 2015 [12 favorites]
They include Modern Times, so silent films are in, so where's Harold Lloyd. WHERE THE FUCK IS HAROLD LLOYD.
This type of articles only exist to generate clickbaity complaints, but, man, it works.
WHERE THE FUCK IS HAROLD LLOYD?
posted by maxsparber at 10:40 AM on November 14, 2015 [9 favorites]
This type of articles only exist to generate clickbaity complaints, but, man, it works.
WHERE THE FUCK IS HAROLD LLOYD?
posted by maxsparber at 10:40 AM on November 14, 2015 [9 favorites]
MASH isn't a comedy, MASH is a hate crime. Mobile Army Sexual Humiliation
posted by Ian A.T. at 10:42 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Ian A.T. at 10:42 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I find the relentless sexual abuse of Hoolihan now makes the film unwatchable.
posted by maxsparber at 10:45 AM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 10:45 AM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
The current WGA isn't responsible for the entire history of Hollywood (or the world for that matter), but despite actually feeling like this is a pretty solid list at the top, it's a sad sign that Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is the only woman listed in the top 10 movies.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:46 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:46 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Especially since Sally Kellerman was so goddamn good in the role. She's never gotten her due.
posted by maxsparber at 10:47 AM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 10:47 AM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
11. This is Spinal Tap (1984)
I see what they did there.
posted by graymouser at 10:52 AM on November 14, 2015 [69 favorites]
I see what they did there.
posted by graymouser at 10:52 AM on November 14, 2015 [69 favorites]
Also no Withnail and not one Ealing Comedy!
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 11:03 AM on November 14, 2015 [12 favorites]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 11:03 AM on November 14, 2015 [12 favorites]
I scanned the list for things to be upset about, but they covered almost all of my bases. Raising Arizona, Fargo, Superbad, Rushmore, Best in Show, Spinal Tap, Galaxy Quest, Office Space...all on the list. Well met.
If I had to point out one glaring omission, I'd have to go with Idiocracy, which was just insanely brilliant. I loved Office Space, but Idiocracy is Mike Judge's finest work.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:06 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
If I had to point out one glaring omission, I'd have to go with Idiocracy, which was just insanely brilliant. I loved Office Space, but Idiocracy is Mike Judge's finest work.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:06 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
It's also probably worth noting that Pulp Fiction could certainly be considered funny and worthy of consideration.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:08 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:08 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm not sure what they mean by funny. Do they mean clever, or smart, or memorable due to funny situations? I liked Election, for example, but I don't see it as a funny movie.
Wet Hot American Summer was wonderfully funny, but not on the list.
posted by mochapickle at 11:10 AM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Wet Hot American Summer was wonderfully funny, but not on the list.
posted by mochapickle at 11:10 AM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Wow. I expect this sort of garbage from internet what do I have in my pants listsicles, but not from a collection of screenwriters. Where is Lubitsch? Only two from Billy Wilder? Tati? Laurel and Hardy?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:12 AM on November 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:12 AM on November 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
Idiocracy, which was just insanely brilliant.
And has proven to be somewhat prophetic...
I'm okay with the top ten but I would not have given Allen the top spot. I don't think Annie Hall stands well the test of time the way, say, Young Frankenstein does.
posted by fuse theorem at 11:15 AM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
And has proven to be somewhat prophetic...
I'm okay with the top ten but I would not have given Allen the top spot. I don't think Annie Hall stands well the test of time the way, say, Young Frankenstein does.
posted by fuse theorem at 11:15 AM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Where is Lubitsch?
Lubitsch, indeed. Trouble in Paradise, my friend, that is what I meant to complain about above. However:
from internet what do I have in my pants listsicles
Please do not use this phrase again. It raises, let us say, unsavory associations.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:15 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Lubitsch, indeed. Trouble in Paradise, my friend, that is what I meant to complain about above. However:
from internet what do I have in my pants listsicles
Please do not use this phrase again. It raises, let us say, unsavory associations.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:15 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
And there's no Zoolander!
posted by mochapickle at 11:18 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 11:18 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
DUCK SOUP is far and away the funniest Marx Bros movie (and the funniest screenplay).
Of course, talking about Marx Brothers screenplays is a bit... complicated. George S. Kaufman, who wrote many of the plays that helped make the brothers famous, supposedly once yelled at the stage during rehearsal something along the lines of "Hey, one of you accidentally used one of my lines!"
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:25 AM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Of course, talking about Marx Brothers screenplays is a bit... complicated. George S. Kaufman, who wrote many of the plays that helped make the brothers famous, supposedly once yelled at the stage during rehearsal something along the lines of "Hey, one of you accidentally used one of my lines!"
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:25 AM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
There are only a few on there I haven't seen, nodded along with most on the list. (Excepting National Lampoon anything, Airplane!, Dumb & Dumber, and Bridesmaids (which I wanted to like more than I did. Conversely, want to like early Woody Allen less than I do; problem solved by not rewatching any of it). ❤ all things Billy Wilder & Christopher Guest -related.
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:42 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:42 AM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Mental Wimp: who compiled this list? Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton?
I'm going to send a telegram to protest the omission of Fatty Arbuckle.
posted by dr_dank at 11:42 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm going to send a telegram to protest the omission of Fatty Arbuckle.
posted by dr_dank at 11:42 AM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
ixnay to Naked Gun too :/
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:43 AM on November 14, 2015
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:43 AM on November 14, 2015
Zoolander's omission is a problem.
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:44 AM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:44 AM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
what is this a list for ants
posted by poffin boffin at 11:45 AM on November 14, 2015 [21 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 11:45 AM on November 14, 2015 [21 favorites]
I want to point out that Mel Brooks has two movies in the top 10 (Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles) and three in the top 12 (The Producers.) As it should be.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:54 AM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Room 641-A at 11:54 AM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
I saw Young Frankenstein in the theater at last three times that year.
posted by octothorpe at 12:00 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by octothorpe at 12:00 PM on November 14, 2015
Mel Brooks minus Gene Wilder equals Men in Tights.
posted by BWA at 12:04 PM on November 14, 2015 [13 favorites]
posted by BWA at 12:04 PM on November 14, 2015 [13 favorites]
Duck Soup may be the funniest Marx Brothers movie, but A Night At The Opera is the best production of Il trovatore I have ever seen.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:10 PM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:10 PM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Young Frakenstein made it so the rest isn't all that relevant to me.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 12:11 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 12:11 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
I find the relentless sexual abuse of Hoolihan now makes the film unwatchable.
When I last saw it, I saw the harassment scenes as a serious indictment of sexist attitudes and behaviour. I'd like to think this reaction was not simply reading into things.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 12:13 PM on November 14, 2015
When I last saw it, I saw the harassment scenes as a serious indictment of sexist attitudes and behaviour. I'd like to think this reaction was not simply reading into things.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 12:13 PM on November 14, 2015
Mel Brooks minus Gene Wilder equals Men in Tights.
Gene Wilder minus Mel Brooks equals Haunted Honeymoon.
posted by maxsparber at 12:14 PM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
Gene Wilder minus Mel Brooks equals Haunted Honeymoon.
posted by maxsparber at 12:14 PM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
Good list. Don't want to derail, but do want to observe: good grief, that is a lot of white males. I admit I am a fan & a repeat viewer of so many of these films, but the whiteness & maleness strike me in this list, & make mainstream Hollywood comedy like a genre that has held / is holding out on progressivism & inclusion in a way that other genres arguably aren't. Glad that Bridesmaids & Trading Places are there, but they are exceptions for the rule. (Again, don't want to derail too much, since this sort of list is what I think we need while contending with Paris.)
posted by foodbedgospel at 12:16 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by foodbedgospel at 12:16 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Right... I'll try again. In Bruges is one of the best films of the last ten years, indeed this century... it should be on this list. (EXPLETIVE RIDDEN QUOTE DELETED)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:22 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:22 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Young Frakenstein made it so the rest isn't all that relevant to me.
Not because you are a monstrously reanimated corpse-person, I hope....
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:22 PM on November 14, 2015
Not because you are a monstrously reanimated corpse-person, I hope....
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:22 PM on November 14, 2015
Oh and I saw some Laurel and Hardy recently, for the first time in ages, and yeah their best stuff was in their shorts and it's arguable how much is performance rather than script... but I did laugh so hard I nearly ruptured something. So them.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:23 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:23 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Mel Brooks minus Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel and Mel Brooks equals the remake of The Producers, which, while entertaining at points (particularly some of the expanded musical numbers), could not capture the manic energy of the original version, resulting in a workman-like adaptation that ultimately leaves one disappointed.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:24 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:24 PM on November 14, 2015
Weirdly, the filmed version of Rhinoceros, starring Mostel and Wilder, is sort of monotonously paced.
posted by maxsparber at 12:27 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by maxsparber at 12:27 PM on November 14, 2015
Woody Allen is a creep but he was pretty fucking funny in his day. But then I also think Animal House also holds up pretty well taking into account a couple bits that obviously don't. Much better than most 70s/80s comedies.
posted by atoxyl at 12:28 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by atoxyl at 12:28 PM on November 14, 2015
I know lists of The ____ Greatest _____s are supposed to generate discussion and dispute, but this is an awfully generous use of the term "screenplay." It seems to here encompass everything from the clockwork precision of A Fish Called Wanda to a bunch of largely improvised movies (Spinal Tap, Borat, two or three Christopher Guest movies). And though Harold Ramis is brilliant, I wonder how close what he and Kenney and Miler wrote for Animal House is to what we saw on screen.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:29 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:29 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
I just tried making duck soup not too long ago and realized where the phrase "as easy as duck soup comes from."
posted by destro at 12:37 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by destro at 12:37 PM on November 14, 2015
screenplay
I think it's fine to treat the finished product as the "screenplay" (including those resulting from devised performances and whatnot). Is screenwriting ever a 100% solitary, self-contained endeavour?
Borat
Oh yeah. Not a fan. It's satire, yeah, was successful at the punching up bit, but wound up punching down & reaffirming stereotypes in a lot of ways, too. Found that one actually painful to watch.
posted by cotton dress sock at 12:37 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think it's fine to treat the finished product as the "screenplay" (including those resulting from devised performances and whatnot). Is screenwriting ever a 100% solitary, self-contained endeavour?
Borat
Oh yeah. Not a fan. It's satire, yeah, was successful at the punching up bit, but wound up punching down & reaffirming stereotypes in a lot of ways, too. Found that one actually painful to watch.
posted by cotton dress sock at 12:37 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Battlefield Earth should have been on the list.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:46 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:46 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Kind Hearts and Coronets is definitively in the top five funniest films ever made, and its screenplay stands out as perfect. These chumps know nothing.
posted by biffa at 12:47 PM on November 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by biffa at 12:47 PM on November 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
This strikes me as a more diverse list than these things usually are, at least in terms of timeline. Often I find these lists end up being 1/3 things that were made in the last 10 years, 1/3 things from the 20 years before that, and then the last third evenly spread among the really obvious candidates from all the prior decades.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:00 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 1:00 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Populist pap, this list! Where are the films of Max Guber, or Elliott Lautner, or Valérie Wennek? Where is Through the Keyhole, or My Doctor Tomorrow, or (for the love of god) Strange M. Gaulet? Are you telling me that no films of the Spanish New Silents were 'funny' enough for this list? Have none of these writers heard of Maurice Penot?
posted by shakespeherian at 1:00 PM on November 14, 2015 [15 favorites]
posted by shakespeherian at 1:00 PM on November 14, 2015 [15 favorites]
Shaun of the Dead is on there, but Hot Fuzz isn't? That's... An interesting choice.
posted by brecc at 1:07 PM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by brecc at 1:07 PM on November 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
I feel kind of dumb asking this, but are those actual people/movies/movements, shakesperian?
posted by jacquilynne at 1:07 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 1:07 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
tim you nerd
posted by poffin boffin at 1:07 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by poffin boffin at 1:07 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've seen all of these. It's depressing how many of these "classic" movies didn't make me laugh once ('Animal House', 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles', 'MASH').
In fact, I've always found that movies have an embarrassingly low laugh ratio compared with TV. I can remember tons of Simpsons episodes that made me laugh out loud through the whole damn episode, but very few movies that made me laugh a dozen times. Lots of TV shows are on par with the very best handful of movie comedies.
posted by dgaicun at 1:09 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
In fact, I've always found that movies have an embarrassingly low laugh ratio compared with TV. I can remember tons of Simpsons episodes that made me laugh out loud through the whole damn episode, but very few movies that made me laugh a dozen times. Lots of TV shows are on par with the very best handful of movie comedies.
posted by dgaicun at 1:09 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Just happy Mean Girls made the list
posted by en forme de poire at 1:10 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by en forme de poire at 1:10 PM on November 14, 2015
I'm genuinely disappointed that "Joe Vs. the Volcano" isn't on the list. It's a favorite of almost every screenwriter I know.
posted by ColdChef at 1:24 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by ColdChef at 1:24 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Kind Hearts and Coronets is definitively in the top five funniest films ever made, and its screenplay stands out as perfect. These chumps know nothing.
Kind Hearts and Coronets is a British movie. This a list of American screenplays from the Writers Guild of America.
What would I put on here? Possibly Safety Last! (1923) is deserving, but with Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd, I suspect most of the genius is in their performances and not in the screenplays.
For screenplays I guess I would look for movies with lots of wit and verbal humor. My favorite Billy Wilder is actually One, Two, Three (1961), which is full of snappy dialogue. I also think The Court Jester (1955) could justifiably replace lots of these entries. You Can't Take It With You (1938) could easily replace Superbad. Way too much Woody Allen; I would have no qualms substituting Metropolitan (1990) in for say Take the Money and Run (1969).
Edit: Waitaminute there are British films on here. Yeah, then this list is missing a lot.
posted by dgaicun at 1:44 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Kind Hearts and Coronets is a British movie. This a list of American screenplays from the Writers Guild of America.
What would I put on here? Possibly Safety Last! (1923) is deserving, but with Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd, I suspect most of the genius is in their performances and not in the screenplays.
For screenplays I guess I would look for movies with lots of wit and verbal humor. My favorite Billy Wilder is actually One, Two, Three (1961), which is full of snappy dialogue. I also think The Court Jester (1955) could justifiably replace lots of these entries. You Can't Take It With You (1938) could easily replace Superbad. Way too much Woody Allen; I would have no qualms substituting Metropolitan (1990) in for say Take the Money and Run (1969).
Edit: Waitaminute there are British films on here. Yeah, then this list is missing a lot.
posted by dgaicun at 1:44 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
This a list of American screenplays from the Writers Guild of America.
Well, it's 100 American films and also Life of Brian.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:50 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Well, it's 100 American films and also Life of Brian.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:50 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
The lack of Ealing makes the list unappealing.
posted by maxsparber at 2:03 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by maxsparber at 2:03 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Young Frankenstein made it; the rest are not revenant.
posted by benzenedream at 2:10 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 2:10 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Trading Places was written by white men. The screenplays listed are all written by WGA members.
posted by Ideefixe at 2:12 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by Ideefixe at 2:12 PM on November 14, 2015
I'm a blazing saddles fan, but i have to admit that the jokes about rape were very disturbing, but still I decided to give it a pass.
recently, I saw Young Frankenstein for the first time a month ago, and was enjoying it until the rape scene at the end, and I was like, is it Mel Brooks, or did people find sexual assault funny in the 70s?
i guess we're somewhat more evolved as a society 40 years later, and that's a good thing, but it makes for some rather uncomfortable viewing of classic comedies.
posted by bitteroldman at 2:12 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
recently, I saw Young Frankenstein for the first time a month ago, and was enjoying it until the rape scene at the end, and I was like, is it Mel Brooks, or did people find sexual assault funny in the 70s?
i guess we're somewhat more evolved as a society 40 years later, and that's a good thing, but it makes for some rather uncomfortable viewing of classic comedies.
posted by bitteroldman at 2:12 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
ColdChef -- that's very cool at about Joe vs. Volcano being a screenwriter favorite.
JvV was really the dawn of my independent critical sense. I saw it in its first release as a teenager, and walked out absolutely gob-smacked by its brilliance but simply COULD NOT persuade anyone else of that ... for years. I lost an awesome potential girlfriend by simply insisting that she sit her down in front of my VHS (lost on a move lo these many years gone by) and watch it until the end. She over me well before the credits rolled.
posted by MattD at 2:29 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
JvV was really the dawn of my independent critical sense. I saw it in its first release as a teenager, and walked out absolutely gob-smacked by its brilliance but simply COULD NOT persuade anyone else of that ... for years. I lost an awesome potential girlfriend by simply insisting that she sit her down in front of my VHS (lost on a move lo these many years gone by) and watch it until the end. She over me well before the credits rolled.
posted by MattD at 2:29 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
11. This is Spinal Tap (1984)
I see what they did there.
I see what they did there.
—15. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)posted by Sys Rq at 2:37 PM on November 14, 2015
Woody Allen is overrated.
posted by hal_c_on at 9:58 AM on November 14 [12 favorites +]
this comment is overrated
posted by philip-random at 2:50 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by hal_c_on at 9:58 AM on November 14 [12 favorites +]
this comment is overrated
posted by philip-random at 2:50 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
and no Buckaroo Bonzai? am I supposed to have not laughed at the reveal that the alien invasion at Grover's Mill in 1938 did in fact happen and that Orson Welles' was complicit in the coverup?
posted by philip-random at 2:53 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 2:53 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Also I think Clerks should've been where The Philadelphia Story was.
posted by graymouser at 3:00 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by graymouser at 3:00 PM on November 14, 2015
this comment is overrated
It's a candidate for the Academy.
In fact, I've always found that movies have an embarrassingly low laugh ratio compared with TV. I can remember tons of Simpsons episodes that made me laugh out loud through the whole damn episode, but very few movies that made me laugh a dozen times. Lots of TV shows are on par with the very best handful of movie comedies.
And I've always found the exact opposite. The overwhelming majority of TV comedies strike me as depressingly, dispiritingly unfunny (especially and most insultingly just about anything with a laugh track). I guess I should specify network TV comedies. There's stuff on Comedy Central, Adult Swim, HBO, etc., that makes me laugh. But not like Annie Hall or Buster Keaton makes me laugh. But sometimes I feel like if you grow up on TV, your standards have been systematically lowered over the years.
Anyway, the WGA list strikes me as an exercise in demographic identity. Really, 10 of the 20 funniest movies ever made were released in a roughly 10-year period running from 1974-1984? Well, maybe they were if you're polling a bunch of screenwriters in their 50s who were just starting college when Annie Hall came out. Even accounting for a nostalgia factor, it's an odd list. Is Groundhog Day really widely perceived as a laugh-your-ass-off spectacle along the lines of lower-ranked Airplane!, Young Frankenstein, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail? People think The Hangover is funnier than The Lady Eve and Sullivan's Travels? Hell, I'll bet #1-ranked Woody Allen would be the first to complain that he doesn't deserve to have five movies on this list if Preston Sturges only has four, Chaplin gets just three, and Keaton (Keaton!) has to settle for one. What I wouldn't give for a large sock with horse manure in it.
posted by Mothlight at 3:04 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's a candidate for the Academy.
In fact, I've always found that movies have an embarrassingly low laugh ratio compared with TV. I can remember tons of Simpsons episodes that made me laugh out loud through the whole damn episode, but very few movies that made me laugh a dozen times. Lots of TV shows are on par with the very best handful of movie comedies.
And I've always found the exact opposite. The overwhelming majority of TV comedies strike me as depressingly, dispiritingly unfunny (especially and most insultingly just about anything with a laugh track). I guess I should specify network TV comedies. There's stuff on Comedy Central, Adult Swim, HBO, etc., that makes me laugh. But not like Annie Hall or Buster Keaton makes me laugh. But sometimes I feel like if you grow up on TV, your standards have been systematically lowered over the years.
Anyway, the WGA list strikes me as an exercise in demographic identity. Really, 10 of the 20 funniest movies ever made were released in a roughly 10-year period running from 1974-1984? Well, maybe they were if you're polling a bunch of screenwriters in their 50s who were just starting college when Annie Hall came out. Even accounting for a nostalgia factor, it's an odd list. Is Groundhog Day really widely perceived as a laugh-your-ass-off spectacle along the lines of lower-ranked Airplane!, Young Frankenstein, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail? People think The Hangover is funnier than The Lady Eve and Sullivan's Travels? Hell, I'll bet #1-ranked Woody Allen would be the first to complain that he doesn't deserve to have five movies on this list if Preston Sturges only has four, Chaplin gets just three, and Keaton (Keaton!) has to settle for one. What I wouldn't give for a large sock with horse manure in it.
posted by Mothlight at 3:04 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
To see not only Clueless and Mean Girls, but The Lady Eve, The Apartment and All About Eve below misc. more recent grossout stupidities, oy vey. Cos pooping in the strrets or three douchebags in Vegas is so much funnier than Billy Wilder or Preston Sturgess.
posted by NorthernLite at 3:06 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by NorthernLite at 3:06 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Kind Hearts and Coronets is a British movie. This a list of American screenplays from the Writers Guild of America.
I guess the WGA need to work on their copywriting skills, since the linked site is headed '101 funniest screenplays', without any mention of where they hail from. Chumps.
posted by biffa at 3:16 PM on November 14, 2015
I guess the WGA need to work on their copywriting skills, since the linked site is headed '101 funniest screenplays', without any mention of where they hail from. Chumps.
posted by biffa at 3:16 PM on November 14, 2015
The two movies that probably made me laugh the hardest in a theater are Team America: World Police and A Christmas Story. (Well, that and Eraserhead, but that was out of sheer nervous terror.) Both should be on here.
I've been a Python fan since the show first aired on PBS in America in 1974, and I have to say I find long stretches of Life of Brian pretty bad/unfunny. Meaning of Life has a much higher hit ratio, though as essentially a series of sketches, that's easier. I never much cared for A Fish Called Wanda, either.
Would have liked to see I'm Gonna Get You Sucka and Hollywood Shuffle.
posted by stargell at 3:35 PM on November 14, 2015
I've been a Python fan since the show first aired on PBS in America in 1974, and I have to say I find long stretches of Life of Brian pretty bad/unfunny. Meaning of Life has a much higher hit ratio, though as essentially a series of sketches, that's easier. I never much cared for A Fish Called Wanda, either.
Would have liked to see I'm Gonna Get You Sucka and Hollywood Shuffle.
posted by stargell at 3:35 PM on November 14, 2015
I'm genuinely disappointed that "Joe Vs. the Volcano" isn't on the list. It's a favorite of almost every screenwriter I know.
It's the central preoccupation of my life.
posted by echocollate at 3:49 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's the central preoccupation of my life.
posted by echocollate at 3:49 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think there is some confusion between "funniest screenplays (or movies)" and "best screenplays (or movies) which are comedies". I'm thinking especially of things like Groundhog Day and Princess Bride. Those are great movies, and they are comedies. If you're making a list of "greatest comedies", sure, put them high up on the list. But I don't, at any point, remember gasping for breath from laughter, or missing a line because I was laughing so hard from the previous line, or recalling a line or a gag or something later on and breaking out in laughter again. When you're talking about "funniest screenplays", that's the stuff you should be looking for.
posted by Bugbread at 3:56 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Bugbread at 3:56 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
and no Buckaroo Bonzai?
Buckaroo Banzai is a brilliant, understated comedy that just gets better with every viewing.
Buckaroo Bonzai appears to have never been filmed.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 4:03 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Buckaroo Banzai is a brilliant, understated comedy that just gets better with every viewing.
Buckaroo Bonzai appears to have never been filmed.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 4:03 PM on November 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Cos pooping in the strrets or three douchebags in Vegas is so much funnier than Billy Wilder or Preston Sturgess.
WRONG! Melissa McCarthy pooped in a sink.
Maya Rudolph was the one who pooped in the street.
posted by Etrigan at 4:13 PM on November 14, 2015
WRONG! Melissa McCarthy pooped in a sink.
Maya Rudolph was the one who pooped in the street.
posted by Etrigan at 4:13 PM on November 14, 2015
Rudolph in the streets,
McCarthy in the sinks
posted by shakespeherian at 4:36 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
McCarthy in the sinks
posted by shakespeherian at 4:36 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Voted on by members of both Guilds, films were eligible if they were exhibited theatrically; live-action, animation, silent, and documentary features were all eligible; and films must have been written in English. Short films (under 60 minutes in length), films that initially premiered on television, and films that do not feature on-screen writing credits were not eligible for consideration.
So, not American necessarily, but written in English.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:37 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
So, not American necessarily, but written in English.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:37 PM on November 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Related: Anxious introvert males name Annie Hall funniest screenplay
posted by Green Winnebago at 4:39 PM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Green Winnebago at 4:39 PM on November 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
I just saw so many American movies I assumed it must have been a requirement. I noticed my error before the edit window expired and put in a correction.
Even if it is limited to English language films, the US-centrism of this list is sad. I mean, of course, Kind Hearts and Coronets deserves an entry.
posted by dgaicun at 4:44 PM on November 14, 2015
Even if it is limited to English language films, the US-centrism of this list is sad. I mean, of course, Kind Hearts and Coronets deserves an entry.
posted by dgaicun at 4:44 PM on November 14, 2015
Interesting to compare this with the American Film Institute's 100 funniest films, which despite actually being limited to American films is basically the same list. And despite not having to leave a few charity spaces for foreign films, still managed to fit in a couple of Lubitsch.
posted by dgaicun at 4:59 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by dgaicun at 4:59 PM on November 14, 2015
I liked Sideways but it did not belong on this list. Dodgeball should've been on this list. Heathers should've been on this list. And, yes, where the fuck was Harold Lloyd?
posted by Bella Donna at 5:56 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 5:56 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Even if it is limited to English language films, the US-centrism of this list is sad. I mean, of course, Kind Hearts and Coronets deserves an entry.
As long as The Man in the White Suit is on there too.
posted by octothorpe at 6:22 PM on November 14, 2015
As long as The Man in the White Suit is on there too.
posted by octothorpe at 6:22 PM on November 14, 2015
No Scott Pilgrim? I am disappoint.
posted by valkane at 7:03 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by valkane at 7:03 PM on November 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
I appreciate the comment above concerning the question of comedy vs. funny seem confused in the list, and the some responses as well. As long as the door gets opened, let me ask...where's something from Neil Simon?
posted by xtian at 7:40 PM on November 14, 2015
posted by xtian at 7:40 PM on November 14, 2015
Xtian, #41 The Odd Couple.
Also, Joe vs the Volcano is the worst movie I've ever seen in my life.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 9:17 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Also, Joe vs the Volcano is the worst movie I've ever seen in my life.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 9:17 PM on November 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Annie Hall is No. 1. Huh. I've tried to watch that movie on a few occasions. I get to the part where they're going to go see a movie and I fall asleep. I'm told Marshall McLuhan shows up shortly thereafter.
For that matter, I was a little surprised to see so many of Woody Allen's movies in that list. I shouldn't have been, perhaps; he's had tremendous staying power over the decades, and I can respect that without enjoying his work in the least.
posted by bryon at 10:42 PM on November 14, 2015
For that matter, I was a little surprised to see so many of Woody Allen's movies in that list. I shouldn't have been, perhaps; he's had tremendous staying power over the decades, and I can respect that without enjoying his work in the least.
posted by bryon at 10:42 PM on November 14, 2015
The standout thing in Joe vs the Volcano is Meg Ryan doing all those different characters very well indeed, which I didn't know she had in her.
"When I last saw it, I saw the harassment scenes as a serious indictment of sexist attitudes and behaviour. I'd like to think this reaction was not simply reading into things."
You are reading into things; the sexist comedy in Altman films is notorious and you were definitely supposed to get a kick out of Sally Kellerman's straight-laced nurse getting her comeuppance when this film was released. Remember this is 1970, second wave feminism was just underway due to the gross sexism in political movements and scenes/social arenas of the 1960s (the DNC springs to mind). The cultural context was very different, with assumptions that we were all supposed to laugh it up at good ol' boy humor.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 10:43 PM on November 14, 2015
"When I last saw it, I saw the harassment scenes as a serious indictment of sexist attitudes and behaviour. I'd like to think this reaction was not simply reading into things."
You are reading into things; the sexist comedy in Altman films is notorious and you were definitely supposed to get a kick out of Sally Kellerman's straight-laced nurse getting her comeuppance when this film was released. Remember this is 1970, second wave feminism was just underway due to the gross sexism in political movements and scenes/social arenas of the 1960s (the DNC springs to mind). The cultural context was very different, with assumptions that we were all supposed to laugh it up at good ol' boy humor.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 10:43 PM on November 14, 2015
Also no Withnail and not one Ealing Comedy!
The screenplay for Withnail and I is sublime and I am upset at its exclusion.
I am not going back up the list but Dr. Strangelove is BOTH dark and laugh out loud funny and you are wrong.
I was struck by the inclusion of Being There, not because it isn't very good, but because I think I cried through the whole entire film. Ugly cried.
It's funny for Jerzy Kosinski, though.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:17 PM on November 14, 2015
The screenplay for Withnail and I is sublime and I am upset at its exclusion.
I am not going back up the list but Dr. Strangelove is BOTH dark and laugh out loud funny and you are wrong.
I was struck by the inclusion of Being There, not because it isn't very good, but because I think I cried through the whole entire film. Ugly cried.
It's funny for Jerzy Kosinski, though.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:17 PM on November 14, 2015
I was pleased to see Superbad on this list (although I would probably have put it higher up). For my money, it's one of the funniest movies of the last decade, and it also manages to have a lot of heart and believable, moving interpersonal drama.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 1:01 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 1:01 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Unforgivable that they're not on the list:
To Be or Not to Be (Lubitsch)
Twentieth Century
Hellzapoppin'
One, Two, Three (has been mentioned already)
The Party
Raising Arizona
Tin Men
Pink Panther only on 73?
And no W.C. Fields???
posted by ojemine at 1:39 AM on November 15, 2015
To Be or Not to Be (Lubitsch)
Twentieth Century
Hellzapoppin'
One, Two, Three (has been mentioned already)
The Party
Raising Arizona
Tin Men
Pink Panther only on 73?
And no W.C. Fields???
posted by ojemine at 1:39 AM on November 15, 2015
Look I know there's no accounting for taste but if you came in here to complain about Annie Hall and not The Hangover what is wrong with you.
posted by thetortoise at 1:59 AM on November 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 1:59 AM on November 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion was robbed!
But yeah, this whole list is very male, very American and very ... 60-something.
posted by Sonny Jim at 2:18 AM on November 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
But yeah, this whole list is very male, very American and very ... 60-something.
posted by Sonny Jim at 2:18 AM on November 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Of course the funniest film I ever saw in the cinema was There's Something About Mary... when I staggered in blind drunk to a midnight screening, so drunk in fact that I had intended to see Natural Born Killers (again) but went into the wrong screen and could not be bothered to get up once the titles came up. My inibitions and critical meters were turned down to zero and I remember laughing loudly. A lot. So funniest ever. Your millage may vary of course.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:23 AM on November 15, 2015
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:23 AM on November 15, 2015
Army of Darkness made me laugh out loud so many times I can't believe it's not on a list somewhere. Of course, I've been ridiculously stoned every time I've seen it. 'I'll stand by ye'. Snerk.
posted by h00py at 2:44 AM on November 15, 2015
posted by h00py at 2:44 AM on November 15, 2015
The order of this list is inconceivable.
The funniest film I ever saw was Rosemary's Baby in a cavernous empty movie theater, but then again, we also were drunk.
posted by Namlit at 3:42 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
The funniest film I ever saw was Rosemary's Baby in a cavernous empty movie theater, but then again, we also were drunk.
posted by Namlit at 3:42 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
WHERE THE FUCK IS HAROLD LLOYD?
Dangling from a clock somewhere?
posted by Grangousier at 4:25 AM on November 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
Dangling from a clock somewhere?
posted by Grangousier at 4:25 AM on November 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
Unforgivable that they're not on the list:
. . .
Raising Arizona
Um,
. . .
Raising Arizona
Um,
23. Raising Arizona (1987)posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:02 AM on November 15, 2015
Written by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
Of course the funniest film I ever saw in the cinema was There's Something About Mary... Your millage may vary of course.
It does. In I guess 1998 I realized I hadn't seen many good new comedies in a long time. The state of big releases seemed to be a choice between Jim Carrey doing funny voices or Robin Williams doing funny voices, with the occasional shot at Eddie Murphy doing funny voices while wearing a fat suit. This was on top of the constant low level of flaccid reboots of marginal TV series from decades before (Sgt. Bilko and Car 54, Where Are You -- that sort of thing).
I figured that there must be something a little more inventive, so I caught a double bill of The Waterboy and There's Something About Mary. It was very disappointing. The Waterboy was merely slack and unmemorable, but TSAM was frustrating because there is one brilliant scene which showed the Farrellys can actually write fantastic comedy but just I guess usually just say, "Ah, fuck it -- this is good enough."
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:17 AM on November 15, 2015
It does. In I guess 1998 I realized I hadn't seen many good new comedies in a long time. The state of big releases seemed to be a choice between Jim Carrey doing funny voices or Robin Williams doing funny voices, with the occasional shot at Eddie Murphy doing funny voices while wearing a fat suit. This was on top of the constant low level of flaccid reboots of marginal TV series from decades before (Sgt. Bilko and Car 54, Where Are You -- that sort of thing).
I figured that there must be something a little more inventive, so I caught a double bill of The Waterboy and There's Something About Mary. It was very disappointing. The Waterboy was merely slack and unmemorable, but TSAM was frustrating because there is one brilliant scene which showed the Farrellys can actually write fantastic comedy but just I guess usually just say, "Ah, fuck it -- this is good enough."
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:17 AM on November 15, 2015
Why doesn't this list have hotlinks to the Netflix or Amazon streaming pages, and the iTunes / Amazon rental pages if not streaming? Weird how people miss those opportunities.
Speaking of Amazon Prime streaming -- "Dr Strangelove" streams on Amazon Prime. If any of you kids are wondering how a movie about nuclear holocaust is one of the funniest movies ever made, please go watch it now.
posted by MattD at 6:39 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Speaking of Amazon Prime streaming -- "Dr Strangelove" streams on Amazon Prime. If any of you kids are wondering how a movie about nuclear holocaust is one of the funniest movies ever made, please go watch it now.
posted by MattD at 6:39 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
The great thing about Strangelove is that it started out as a straight drama based on a serious book called Red Alert but Kubrick and Southern realized as they were writing the screenplay how absurd the whole thing was and rewrote it as a farce.
posted by octothorpe at 6:52 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 6:52 AM on November 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
How funny is Strangelove? It's so funny that it torpedoed a first-class drama on the same subject.
Columbia Pictures produced both this movie [Fail Safe] and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Director Stanley Kubrick insisted his movie be released first, and it was, in January 1964. When Fail Safe (1964) was released, it garnered excellent reviews, but audiences found it unintentionally funny because of "Strangelove", and stayed away. Henry Fonda later said he would never have made this movie if he had seen "Strangelove" first, because he would have laughed too.posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:10 AM on November 15, 2015
The great thing about Dr. Strangelove is everything about Dr. Strangelove
posted by mochapickle at 8:37 AM on November 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 8:37 AM on November 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
The WGA 101 Funniest Screenplays List Is Hot Garbage
posted by brundlefly at 11:17 AM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by brundlefly at 11:17 AM on November 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
How funny is Strangelove? It's so funny that it torpedoed a first-class drama on the same subject.
The weirdest part is that both films were produced by the same studio. My guess is that Columbia optioned the rights to Fail Safe first, and, upon learning that its author had settled a plagiarism suit brought by the author of Red Alert, optioned that too just to cover their ass.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:37 AM on November 15, 2015
The weirdest part is that both films were produced by the same studio. My guess is that Columbia optioned the rights to Fail Safe first, and, upon learning that its author had settled a plagiarism suit brought by the author of Red Alert, optioned that too just to cover their ass.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:37 AM on November 15, 2015
Any list that doesn't have "Att angöra en brygga" near the top is fundamentally broken.
posted by effbot at 12:04 PM on November 15, 2015
posted by effbot at 12:04 PM on November 15, 2015
No Clue? No Roger Rabbit? Someone is wrong on the internet.
posted by zeusianfog at 1:50 PM on November 15, 2015
posted by zeusianfog at 1:50 PM on November 15, 2015
I saw Annie Hall last night for the first time. It failed to make me laugh even once, so I disagree with its placement on this list, let alone first on the list. It does however get my vote for first on the list of Most Irritating Screenplays.
posted by orange swan at 5:03 PM on November 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 5:03 PM on November 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
I think a lot depends on when you saw the movie (both how old you were and what year it was). I tried to watch Annie Hall for the first time a few months ago, and I don't think I managed to get more than halfway before turning it off. Never laughed, never even chuckled. However, when I saw Bananas as a kid it cracked me up, so I don't think it's an innate aversion to Woody Allen. It's just a matter of age and year
posted by Bugbread at 5:59 PM on November 15, 2015
posted by Bugbread at 5:59 PM on November 15, 2015
Someone is wrong on the internet.
the internet was just a red herring
posted by poffin boffin at 6:29 PM on November 15, 2015
the internet was just a red herring
posted by poffin boffin at 6:29 PM on November 15, 2015
The funniest film I ever saw was Rosemary's Baby in a cavernous empty movie theater, but then again, we also were drunk.
Rosemary's Baby has some pretty good intentionally funny parts (like the Satanist gathering at the end). As folks have said, this list is really more a list of "top comedies" than "funniest movies". (And definitely nothing to do with the screenplay.)
My personal "how could you leave that off??" is Mary and Max.
posted by phoenixy at 12:24 AM on November 16, 2015
Rosemary's Baby has some pretty good intentionally funny parts (like the Satanist gathering at the end). As folks have said, this list is really more a list of "top comedies" than "funniest movies". (And definitely nothing to do with the screenplay.)
My personal "how could you leave that off??" is Mary and Max.
posted by phoenixy at 12:24 AM on November 16, 2015
Also the claim that this is a list of "Funniest Screenplays" is apparently false; the movies are being ranked as movies and not as screenplays.
For example, Waiting for Guffman is #40, but little about the screenplay is funny. The humor in that movie comes from the performers; 100% of the dialogue was ad-libbed.
posted by dgaicun at 6:27 AM on November 16, 2015 [3 favorites]
For example, Waiting for Guffman is #40, but little about the screenplay is funny. The humor in that movie comes from the performers; 100% of the dialogue was ad-libbed.
posted by dgaicun at 6:27 AM on November 16, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm genuinely disappointed that "Joe Vs. the Volcano" isn't on the list. It's a favorite of almost every screenwriter I know.
Also, Joe vs the Volcano is the worst movie I've ever seen in my life.
I also thought Joe Vs. the Volcano was two movies. The first part with Tom Hanks amid the fritzing fluorescents, the powdered coffee creamer, the bland ennui-filled office, and the brilliant Dan Hedaya's bossman ("You've got to get yourself into a flexible frame...") was stunningly done. The second half I went, WTF?
posted by Mental Wimp at 4:07 PM on November 16, 2015
Also, Joe vs the Volcano is the worst movie I've ever seen in my life.
I also thought Joe Vs. the Volcano was two movies. The first part with Tom Hanks amid the fritzing fluorescents, the powdered coffee creamer, the bland ennui-filled office, and the brilliant Dan Hedaya's bossman ("You've got to get yourself into a flexible frame...") was stunningly done. The second half I went, WTF?
posted by Mental Wimp at 4:07 PM on November 16, 2015
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