Movie : Best comedy movies of all time
The Best Comedies for the Home Collection
“Monty Python and the Holy Grail” is the best comedy ever made. An historical spoof by the British comedy troupe Monty Python, it is not only hysterically funny but is also one of the few movies ever made that puts the Arthurian Legend in it’s proper time-frame. This is probably due to co-director Terry Jones’ fondness for medieval history (his 2004 “Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives” was nominated for an Emmy). I’m sure the rest of the cast would have loved to work with much less mud in more comfortable costumes but that wouldn’t have been proper.
It could have been worse, I suppose. The cast could have been chafed while riding horses across Scotland but the small budget wouldn’t allow it. So, instead, they used “empty halves of coconuts and bang[ed] them together”. This only added to the humorous quality of the movie and, today, “Holy Grail” fans couldn’t imagine the movie without the running coconut jokes.
Most people will name the Black Knight scene as the funniest in the film. As King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his faithful servant Patsy (Terry Gilliam) engage the Black Knight (John Cleese) in a sword fight, Arthur continues to dismember him. When he points this out to the Black Knight, the knight denies it (“It’s only a flesh wound”). In the end the viewer sees the armless, legless Black Knight still taunting Arthur, “Running away, eh? You come back here and take what’s coming to you. I’ll bite your legs off”. It’s a classic and easily found on Youtube.
My personal favorite, however, is in the Cave of Caerbannog when the cast is reading the message about the Grail being in the Castle Aaaaarrrrrggghhh. Brother Maynard (Eric Idle) says, “He must’ve died while carving it”. I laughed so hard that I missed then entire next scene. I had no choice but to watch the movie again. . . and again. . . and again. And, I’m glad I did. There are so many site gags and verbal afterthoughts throughout the film that only the most focused movie watcher can catch them all the first time through.
Tied for second place for best comedy are two films by Mel Brooks. I simply cannot decide which is funnier, “Young Frankenstein” or “Blazing Saddles”. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) and the Monster’s (Peter Boyle) dance number to “Putting on the Ritz” is definitely on par with Dom Deluise directing the musical number “The French Mistake”. The racial subtext in “Blazing Saddles” provides just enough tension to keep the viewer on the edge of giggling just as does the sexual subtext in “Young Frankenstein”.
Male viewers are likely to choose “Blazing Saddles” simply because the fart scene appeals to their boyhood love of noisy bodily functions. I, however, am completely in love with Marty Feldman’s portrayal of Igor. His consistently moving hump (“What hump?) was pure genius and, I learned later, was not originally in the script but was Feldman’s idea of a practical joke. Whether one chooses to watch either “Young Frankenstein” or “Blazing Saddles” they are guaranteed a good time. Mel Brooks can be very proud of both of these movies.
Third place has to go to the Zucker Brothers film, “Airplane”. It is the perfect example of deadpan satirical comedy. Robert Hays’ portrayal of the confused Ted Striker and Julie Hagerty’s portrayal of the sheepish Elaine are highlighted by the comic genius of Leslie Nielson. This was Leslie Nielson’s first comedy film though you’d never know by watching him. He delivered his lines (“I am serious. . . and don’t call me Shirley”) as if he had years experience as a stand-up comedian.
My favorite scene in “Airplane” is a quick one barely remembered by fans. Striker, in a sort of panic, opens a door with the warning: Danger. Vacuum. Inside is an actual vacuum that comes at him like an out of control firehose. It may be a minor joke to the overall plot but it’s just that kind of unexpected joke that keeps me watching the Zucker Brothers movies.
I based my choices of best comedies not only on what I found funny but on the movies from which I can drop a quote and, more often than not, others in the room will follow up with their favorite quote from the same movie. This tells me that these four movies are good enough to be watched numerous times and have the staying power that most movies do not. These are the movies that people keep in their DVD collections because one just never knows when they’ll need the kind of laugh they provide. And, unlike other comedies in the home collection, they rarely gather dust.
Learn more about this author, Sandi Crain.
