I’ve been thinking of watching some more movies recently and comedies are my favorite genre. However, it’s also a genre that’s difficult to pull off well, and probably at least somewhat subjective.
So, sneakily asking for recommendations, I’m going to ask what your all time favorite comedy movies are.
I’ll share my personal favorites too, as well as some I recently had seen and enjoyed. I’ll limit myself to movies that are available in English, otherwise a few Italian movies would also make the list.
Blues Brothers (1980) Mix together a cool retro music act, the Chicago Police Department and Carrie Fisher with a rocket launcher, and what do you get? One of the coolest and most fun movies ever, even if not laugh out loud material.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Love the Bomb (1964) A timeless classic slash terryfing 1960s satire of warmongering that feels still fresh and relevant today, for better or worse.
OSS 117: Cairo, a Nest of Spies (2006) Spy movie parodies are a favorite of mine, and this French movie is one of the best. Taking the reactionary undertones of those old movies, and mercilessly mocking them.
A Shot in the Dark (1964) Fun classic whodunit movie. Not much else to say.
Dr. Strangelove is one of the all-time greats.
Any Coen Brothers film is probably up there. Even their dramas are often laugh-outloud funny. O Brother Where Art Thou and A Serious Man stick out to me rn. Big Lebowkski of course.
I remember Obvious Child (2014) being a cute romcom about getting an abortion.
Lethal Weapon 2 (where the bad guys are South African fascists) and The Rock are great action comedies. So is Beverly Hills Cop.
Palm Springs (2020) was a pretty good Groundhog Day romcom.
Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums if you can handle movies about rich white people
Triangle of Sadness (2022) is a pretty funny one-time watch that features a Marxist captain who only listened to The Internationale and quotes Lenin.
While The Substance (2024) is a lot of things simultaneously it’s also a comedy and it’s fucking hilarious. If you get a chance to see it on a repertory cinema I’d highly recommend watching it in a crowd.
The Substance was just “me shouting ‘YESSSS’ for thirty minutes at the end simulator”
Oh I forgot I made posts in the past recommending Walker (1987) https://hexbear.net/post/259396, a satire on real life filibuster William Walker
And Beyond the Infinite 2 Minutes (2021) a very funny and impressive Japanese time loop flick that is done as a single cut https://hexbear.net/post/2076504?scrollToComments=false
I’ve seen Palm Springs yesterday, actually. Not too innovative in plot, but entertaining. Was a fun movie.
Also I watched The Big Lebowski last week and I was left thinking it’s good, but no masterpiece. But now I look at it differently. It has a vibe few movies have. That Blues Brothers style this is an adventure, and we have sunglasses on. Gotta find more movies like that.