Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years [Archive]

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Smokey

11-14-2009, 09:33 PM

This catalogue of 20 funniest movies of last 25 years from Entertainment Weekly Magazine is a respectable list, but it does missed few good ones too. Somehow movies like Planes, Trains and Automobile, City Slickers, Back To School or Raising Arizona got overlooked.

You be the Judge.

1. GHOSTBUSTERS (1984): In the summer of 1984, the pop-culture question more common than ''Where's the beef?'' was ''Who you gonna call?'
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2. NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (1983): The best film Chevy Chase has ever been involved with.
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3. BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984): Eddie Murphy achieved megastar status with his portrayal of Detroit policeman Axel Foley.
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4. THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984): Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer play fools as only wise men can.
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5. OFFICE SPACE (1999): Mike Judge's comedy about three disgruntled Dilberts who rebel against cubicle drudgery.
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6. SOUTH PARK: BIGGER LONGER & UNCUT (1999): With poison-tongued jokes about everything from abortion to incest, this was one of the most blatantly offensive movies ever made — and also one of the funniest.
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7. THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (1998): A combination of romantic comedy and gross-out film.
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8. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998): For the Coen Bros. faithful, The Big Lebowski is a masterpiece of anti-storytelling.
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9. A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988): Pythonates John Cleese and Michael Palin reunited for this heist farce, featuring Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline as jewel thieves.
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10. DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993): A portrait of the stoned joys of life in the free-ride '70s.
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Smokey

11-14-2009, 09:36 PM

11. THE 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN (2005): Judd Apatow's hard-up story established his profanely sweet brand of humor and made a star of Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell.
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12. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... (1989): The film raises the question "Can men and women ever just be friends?"
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/080723/romance/When-Harry-Met_l.jpg

13. WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (1996): Director Christopher Guest's hilarious mockumentary introduces us to a community theater troupe from Blaine, Mo.
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14. WEDDING CRASHERS (2005): Best friends Jeremy (Vaughn) and John (Wilson) made a specialized after-hours career of wangling their way into strangers' weddings.
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15. TRADING PLACES (1983): It's the funniest movie about futures trading every made, hands down.
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16. SUPERBAD (2007): More than just witty — a blissed-out naughty-boy joyride. It takes the raunchily rude pop culture and moves it front and center.
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17. TROPIC THUNDER (2008): Ben Stiller's making-of-a-cinematic-disaster film would deserve a place on this list even if it wasn't a spot-on skewering of ego-out-of-control Hollywood.
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18. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (2004): Co-writer-director Jared Hess clearly asks us to laugh at him: at his hair, his glasses, his tater tots, and his abiding belief that practically everyone around him are ''freakin' idiots!''
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/080416/High-School/Napoleon-Dynamite_l.jpg

19. CLUELESS (1995): Writer-director Amy Heckerling's script still crackles, while Alicia Silverstone's central performance as a lovable airhead remains, like, totally awesome.
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20. BEST IN SHOW (2000): Director 's improvised dogumentary is as funny as any scripted comedy released this millennium.
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dakatabg

11-14-2009, 10:42 PM

Home Alone is a great movie too!

ForeverAutumn

11-15-2009, 06:18 AM

Dumb and Dumber!

Hyfi

11-15-2009, 07:18 AM

Wise Guys
Johnny Dangerously
Caddyshack

Jack in Wilmington

11-15-2009, 05:51 PM

Not a bad list. I would add.

American Pie
Daddy Day Care
Weekend at Bernies

Smokey

11-15-2009, 09:04 PM

Thanks everybody.

Going by list of movies mentioned so far, it is becoming more apparent that list from EntertainmentWeekly was subjective one. The magazine does not say how list was compelled or if there were any reader’s feed back, but it seem there were attempts to at least pick a movie from different sub category of comedy genera.

By the way Hyfi, Wise Guys is one of best hilarious movie I seen. Danny Devito and Joe Piscopo are terrific together.

Troy

11-16-2009, 10:29 AM

I think most of them have been hit already.

But some of the movies listed are stunningly meh. When Harry Met Sally is one of the funniest movies of the last 25 years? Really? Superbad was a snore too.

My list has to include:

Team America
The Aristocrats
Bad Santa
Step Brothers
The Meaning of Life
Flirting With Disaster
The Big Picture
Bottle Rocket

Charlie04SiR

11-16-2009, 03:00 PM

yeah, some great laughs! My list includes:

Planes, Trains & Automobiles-Timeless John Candy & Steve Martin
Houseguest-Phil Hartman & Sinbad
Sgt. Bilko-Steve Martin
Bean The Movie-Rowan Atkinson
Johnny English-Rowan Atkinson
Animal House-John Belushi
Blues Brothers-Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi
Cristmas with the Kranks-Tim Allen & Jamie Lee Curtis
Envy-Ben Stiller & Jack Black
The Cable Guy- Jim Carrey
Sensless-Marlon Wayans
Nothing To Lose-Tim Robbins & Martin Lawrence
Bad Boys I & II-Will Smith & Martin Lawrence
Big-Tom Hanks
Dragnet-Tom Hanks & Dan Aykroyd
Dennis The Menace-Mason Gamble
Home Alone I & II-You know who-what's his name
Kingpin-Woody Harrelson & Bill Murray
Lethal Weapon I, II, III, & IV
The Naked Gun I, II & 1/2 & 33 & 1/3rd-Pretty much anything with Leslie Nielson
Airplane I & II-Robert Hays & Julie Hagerty
Groundhog Day-Bill Murray
Back to The Future I, II & III
Uncle Buck-John Candy
The Great Outdoors-John Candy
Career Opportunities- Jennifer Connolley
Dumb & Dumber-Jim Carrey & Jeff Daniels
The New Guy-DJ Qualls & Eddie Griffin
Borat-Sasha Baron Cohen
Jingle All the Way- Arnold Swarzenegger & Sinbad

3LB

11-16-2009, 05:23 PM

I gotta agree with Troy here...When Harry Met Sally? other than a couple of scenes, and I do mean couple, it was boring pap. Ghostbusters at number one? Hell, Stripes was funnier (same writers and actors for the most part). Office Space, Spinal Tap, Superbad, and Napolean Dynamite are terribly over-rated. They cheated to sneak NL's Vacation and Eddy Murphy's Trading Places in there (both deserve to be on a list). Eddy Murphy movies are so hit and miss with me though, as are many SNL alum movies. I agree with picks like 40 Year Old Virgin, A Fish Called Wanda, Dazed & Confused and Something About Mary.

But where the hell is:

Dodge Ball
Kingpin
Tommy Boy
Me Myself & Irene
Christmas Vacation
Throw Mama From The Train
Wayne's World

Auricauricle

11-16-2009, 05:32 PM

The Royal Tenenbaums
Raising Arizona
The Big Lebowski
The Neighbors
A Fish Called Wanda
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Still Crazy
Saving Grace

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Smokey

11-16-2009, 10:19 PM

I also agree with Troy that When Harry Met Sally is a bore movie. I like Billy Crystal, but romantic comedy might not be his cup of tea, and Meg Ryan was too pretty for Billy to be her boy friend. Also agree that GhostBusters at #1 was a joke.

But couple of mentioned movies, Tommy Boy, Raising Arizona, Christmas Vacation and The Neighbors deserve a spot on the list.

Smokey

11-16-2009, 10:27 PM

yeah, some great laughs! My list includes:

Planes, Trains & Automobiles-Timeless John Candy & Steve Martin
Houseguest-Phil Hartman & Sinbad
Sgt. Bilko-Steve Martin
Bean The Movie-Rowan Atkinson
Johnny English-Rowan Atkinson
Animal House-John Belushi
Blues Brothers-Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi
Cristmas with the Kranks-Tim Allen & Jamie Lee Curtis
Envy-Ben Stiller & Jack Black
The Cable Guy- Jim Carrey
Sensless-Marlon Wayans
Nothing To Lose-Tim Robbins & Martin Lawrence
Bad Boys I & II-Will Smith & Martin Lawrence
Big-Tom Hanks
Dragnet-Tom Hanks & Dan Aykroyd
Dennis The Menace-Mason Gamble
Home Alone I & II-You know who-what's his name
Kingpin-Woody Harrelson & Bill Murray
Lethal Weapon I, II, III, & IV
The Naked Gun I, II & 1/2 & 33 & 1/3rd-with Leslie Nielson
Airplane I & II-Robert Hays & Julie Hagerty
Groundhog Day-Bill Murray
Back to The Future I, II & III
Uncle Buck-John Candy
The Great Outdoors-John Candy
Career Opportunities- Jennifer Connolley
Dumb & Dumber-Jim Carrey & Jeff Daniels
The New Guy-DJ Qualls & Eddie Griffin
Borat-Sasha Baron Cohen
Jingle All the Way- Arnold Swarzenegger & Sinbad

Man, you are all over the place.

I watched Cristmas with the Kranks with Tim Allen & Jamie Lee Curtis, but didn't care for it much. Somehow the movie just didn't bind together. But I like your choice of Jingle All the Way and Houseguest as they are my favorite also.

Troy

11-17-2009, 09:26 AM

bubslewis

11-24-2009, 09:00 PM

Anybody seen the movie "Dogma"? Circa 1999. Excellent cast (Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Jay and Silent Bob, Linda Fiorentino, Matt Damon, among others). Great mixture of several types of humor about (of all things) religion, Catholicism, angels. If you haven't seen it, try and catch it. It's really worth it and it's a really funny movie.

Bill

thekid

11-25-2009, 04:47 PM

I am filing a protest- The cut-off date of 25 years was deliberate so that there would not be any of the classic Monty Python movies on the list........... :D

Ex Lion Tamer

12-07-2009, 11:03 AM

I think in general comedies have, as a genre, been in a slump. Given that my list would include;

Raising Arizona
High Fidelity
Almost Famous
Something Wild
Repo Man
Burn After Reading
Scrooged
Bad Santa
School of Rock
Wonder Boys
Beetlejuice
Broadway Danny Rose
Midnight Run

canuckle

12-12-2009, 04:10 PM

Fierce Creatures was a great comedy with the funniest scene in any movie ever when John Cleese goes crazy after they shoot old man McCain in the head.

RGA

12-14-2009, 11:04 PM

Comedy is far too subjective. Some on the list I agree with some are pretty banal.

Office Space I immensely like in a "I can relate way" and I can rewatch segments of the movie endlessly - someone else here found it way overrated. A buddy of mine thought it was merely OK while he loves David Letterman - a man that is the least funny useless TV host I can imagine - only Conan is worse - you have to be bad to make Leno seem good (and he's not). I like Ferguson by miles over the rest of the late night heap of trash.

Planes Trains and Automobiles ranks up there for me. Something about Mary has some scenes that had me rolling in the aisles but just parts of it not the whole movie. Airplane set a high standard for that kind of humour and was proabably the best of its kind. Young Frankenstein and the original Producers are both too old but they're probably 1-2 on my list with Dr. Strangelove.

When Harry Met Sally was a romance - a good one - some humour but not really a straight out comedy.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Rupret - well there is a scene where Steve Martin asks to go to the bathroom - I fell out of my chair.

Ghostbusters is a better movie than Stripes - Stripes falls apart in its final act - the Winnibego part was truly bad.

Ghostbusters also remains hugely re-watchable - but it wasn't completely belly laugh funny - just fun all the way through. I think it's underrated.

Groundhog Day could be on the list here as well.

And in a sick way Pulp Fiction - dark humour.

I enjoyed Slap Shot and Major League for the sports funnies.

Feanor

12-15-2009, 03:26 AM

Comedy is far too subjective. Some on the list I agree with some are pretty banal.
....
Planes Trains and Automobiles ranks up there for me. Something about Mary has some scenes that had me rolling in the aisles but just parts of it not the whole movie. Airplane set a high standard for that kind of humour and was proabably the best of its kind. Young Frankenstein and the original Producers are both too old but they're probably 1-2 on my list with Dr. Strangelove.
...

Ghostbusters is a better movie than Stripes - Stripes falls apart in its final act - the Winnibego part was truly bad.

Ghostbusters also remains hugely re-watchable - but it wasn't completely belly laugh funny - just fun all the way through. I think it's underrated.
...

And in a sick way Pulp Fiction - dark humour.

I enjoyed Slap Shot and Major League for the sports funnies.
RGA, I think your sort of comedy is closer to mine than a lot of peoples'. I guess I consider humor to be comedy, hence Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, even Pulp Fiction (though that's a stretch). One-liners, gags, sex jokes, silly antics just don't have me rolling in the aisles like they do some people.

Ghostbusters, BTW, is perhaps my favorite all-time rewatcher and hugely funny for me.

Fifth Element is one I don't think anyone mentioned; its another big rewatcher for me.

tlax25

01-10-2010, 06:30 PM

lots of good selections on here (though many are older than 25 years). I can't believe no one has yet mentioned.....Zoolander.

jvc

01-11-2010, 03:05 PM

One of the funniest movies ever was "Weekend At Bernies" (1st one).
My stomach and jaws hurt from laughing............:D