Variety has posted their list of The 100 Best Comedy Movies of All Time. Oh yes, it's full of funny movies, but ranking them as the best of all time is a venture fraught with peril, unless the purpose is to start a fight in the internet forums. First off, is it really fair to include stand up specials in a ranking of movies? Next, how does one define a comedy movie? I never thought of Pretty Woman as a comedy. Or Everything Everywhere All at Once, or Broadcast News. That in itself is subjective- others are just as baffled, but by different movies.
The real trouble with such a list is that it doesn't include the funniest movie you've ever seen, which is different for everyone. The discussion at Metafilter is full of other films that should have been included. Really, how did Ace Ventura make the list but not Raising Arizona or Ghostbusters? And where are the foreign films? But honestly, if you cared less about the ranking and used the list to find something new to watch (at both links), you'd be way ahead.
(Image credit: Variety)
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I would argue stand-up specials are not comedies despite the two listed were released theatrically vs directly to cable/streaming. I know Netflix categorizes them as such but I disagree. They are they are their own thing.
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I don't like this list at all.
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Best of lists are clickbait but I finally took the bait. There's a lot of stinkers here and by their introductory standards regarding comedy, they should have included The Human Centipede; now that was a funny movie. Anyways, just off the top of my head, it would have been nice to see Ball of Fire and Meet John Doe. Guess I have a thing for Barbara Stanwyck. As for #1, surely you can't be serious.
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Agreed. It definitely deserved the #1 slot.
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Blazing saddles at 77? Should be number 1!
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