Amongst the many genre of films, good comedies take a truly admirable level of skill. Having the ability to create a story, and make an audience laugh for a pro-longed period of time is no easy task, and my god there have been some absolute mince ones over the years. I felt it would be good to make up a list of the ten best comedies, so here you are – enjoy!
10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
‘Silly comedy’ has lost its place in today’s movies. Sure, some will try and include it within their roster of sarcasm and crudeness, but it’s been a while since truly silly humour has been pushed well. Two films managed to do it very well, but we’ll get to that. Monty Python and the Holy Grail still holds well to this day, and features some of the most stupid but hilarious scenes in film history. The legendary British comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) give us their take on the King Arthur Story. Featuring memorable one-liners, you’ll talk about this film forever.
“Tis but a scratch!”
9. Borat
Edgy comedy is probably my favourite type of comedy. It makes you laugh, but at the same time makes you question whether you should find it funny. Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat embraced this in all its glory, with some of the most outrageous scenarios in modern comedy. I cried with laughter, and you will too. Very nice!
8. American Pie
Everyone has at least heard of American Pie. It was the film that started it all when it came to films based around boys losing their virginity. There have been many imitators, but none as good as the original. Yes the writing is crackin and the chemistry is gid, but the real star of the film is the main character Jim’s dad. We never find out his name, he’s just Jim’s dad – cause that’s all that really matters isn’t it? Played by the hilarious Eugene Levy, his performance was flawless. American Pie spawned 7 sequels; some good, some horrendous. Just stick to the first three and the last one and you’ll be okay.
7. Hot Fuzz
I’m sure the mass majority of us have seen the various Pegg and Frost films – Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul, and The World’s End. Everyone has their favourite, and Hot Fuzz is mine. Whilst Shaun of the Dead had a lot more heart, Hot Fuzz had the most belly laughs throughout. Yes the story about police officers in the countryside dealing with strange murders is silly, but bloody hell it is hilarious. Check out one of my favourite clips below.
6. The 40 Year Old Virgin
Judd Apatow is a genius when it comes to writing comedies, and when combined with Steve Carell’s natural funniness, a hilarious baby was born – The 40 Year Old Virgin. The plot is self explanatory, a 40 year old virgin trying to finally have sex. Such a simple innocent premise made for hilarious, crude comedy. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it right now. Have a look at a clip.
5. Superbad
Coming of age films – a plague in modern comedy. There have been many in the last decade, quite often not as funny as we hoped. The key to these comedies is they have to have the heart and humour to make it relatable to the audiences they’re trying to attract. American Pie did it, and Superbad did it. The story of two teenage boys trying to go to a party and have sex with their dream girls is simple yes, but the amount of chaos that ensues makes it brilliant, and still remains fresh.
4. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Remember how I said two films managed to do silly comedy well since Holy Grail? This is that film. Anchorman, starring Will Ferrell as titular anchorman Ron Burgundy, is still one of the finest comedies ever made. Firstly, the plot was fresh. Secondly, the humour was spot on. Thirdly, the chemistry between all the actors made things even better. This had potential to be absolute mince, but came out pure dynamite.
3. Dumb and Dumber
This here is the other film that aced silly comedy. Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey give us their finest comedic performances as best friends Lloyd and Harry, two fannies making a road trip ultimately to get a girl. Dumb and Dumber is a comedy that will always be close to my heart as I watched it an awful lot growing up, and I still enjoy it as much today. Forget the sequels, the original is perfect.
2. Step Brothers
Will Ferrell is a comedy icon. Hugely popular and quite rightly so, he has pulled it out the bag various times to bring us truly hilarious films. The pairing of Ferrell and John C. Reilly in Talladega Nights made the movie, so it’s only natural that they’d return. But I never expected something on the level of Step Brothers. The story of a married couple with two middle-aged sons living with them was perfect for the dynamic duo. The film flies on their chemistry combined with the fantastic writing of Judd Apatow.
Thought I’d give you all two clips cause this one is just priceless!
Honourable mentions
The Other Guys
Blades of Glory
Pineapple Express
Knocked Up
Zoolander
Meet The Parents
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
NUMBER ONE
1. The Hangover
So here it is, the best comedy of all time in my opinion – The Hangover. The plot: when three guys wake up after a bachelor party in Las Vegas, they realise they have no memory of the night before, whilst having to deal with the small problem of the groom having gone missing. Fairly simple premise, but it has a lot of scope for comedic chaos. The cast is one of the most important things to note, it featured a few big names. Zach Galifianakis stars as the weird, but lovable Alan. Ed Helms stars as the slightly uptight but eventually wild Stu. Finally, the one and only Bradley Cooper stars as the laid-back womaniser Phil.
The chemistry between the actors during their adventures in Vegas is outstanding. Some of the exchanges between them provided brilliant one liners, my personal favourite being: “You’re literally too stupid to insult”.
Parties-going-wrong movies aren’t in short supply, but what is genius is the mental night which caused all the trouble in the movie is left to our imagination. The film focuses on the aftermath, not the night out.
The director Todd Phillips (Old School, Project X), the writers, the cast all made this truly amazing. The ridiculous scenarios beyond what you could conjure up yourself (hello Mike Tyson?) bring with them lewd, raunchy, consistent, laugh-out-loud humour. Seriously, if you’ve some how been living under a rock for the past 6 years, go watch The Hangover.
Cameron Frew
What do you think? Am I way off? Let us know in the comments below or send a tweet to @frew_cameron.
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