THE GREATEST COMEDIES OF ALL TIME - Steven Lewis
Movie Guy Steven Lewis from TheMovieGuys.net lists his top comedies, by year, since 1976.
In considering the list, I specifically kept my focus on solidly “Ha Ha” comedy, using as my gauge “What movie from this year made me laugh the hardest?” Not necessarily “Which comedy gave me the most insight” or “Which one was most redolent of the human condition?” I bring this up because films like “Sideways” and “As Good As It Gets” and “Silver Linings Playbook” are technically classified as comedies – but I maintain there’s just as much (if not more) “drama” in each of those movies, and it’s not fair to stack them up against flicks whose only (or main) goal is to make you laugh. Now, sometimes the most insightful of comedies from a given year is also the funniest (“Tootsie”, “Groundhog Day”) but this is often not the case, and in making a determination between different styled comedy flicks, I chose for this list the one I considered overall the FUNNIEST. - SL
In considering the list, I specifically kept my focus on solidly “Ha Ha” comedy, using as my gauge “What movie from this year made me laugh the hardest?” Not necessarily “Which comedy gave me the most insight” or “Which one was most redolent of the human condition?” I bring this up because films like “Sideways” and “As Good As It Gets” and “Silver Linings Playbook” are technically classified as comedies – but I maintain there’s just as much (if not more) “drama” in each of those movies, and it’s not fair to stack them up against flicks whose only (or main) goal is to make you laugh. Now, sometimes the most insightful of comedies from a given year is also the funniest (“Tootsie”, “Groundhog Day”) but this is often not the case, and in making a determination between different styled comedy flicks, I chose for this list the one I considered overall the FUNNIEST. - SL
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- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsChristian BaleAmy AdamsBradley CooperA con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild F.B.I. Agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and the Mafia.
- DirectorGlenn FicarraJohn RequaStarsSteve CarellRyan GoslingJulianne MooreA middle-aged husband's life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars.There's NOTHING funny about the 2012 movies, I refuse to even make a choice!
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsTom CruiseCameron DiazPeter SarsgaardA young woman gets mixed up with a disgraced spy who is trying to clear his name.
- DirectorRuben FleischerStarsJesse EisenbergEmma StoneWoody HarrelsonA shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting bruiser in search of the last Twinkie and a pair of sisters striving to get to an amusement park join forces in a trek across a zombie-filled America.Special Mention - "500 Days of Summer".
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsRobert Downey Jr.Gwyneth PaltrowTerrence HowardAfter being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.Not technically a comedy but funnier than anything else out there.
- DirectorGreg MottolaStarsMichael CeraJonah HillChristopher Mintz-PlasseTwo co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.
- DirectorJonathan DaytonValerie FarisStarsSteve CarellToni ColletteGreg KinnearA family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.
- DirectorJudd ApatowStarsSteve CarellCatherine KeenerPaul RuddGoaded by his buddies, a nerdy guy who's never "done the deed" only finds the pressure mounting when he meets a single mother.
- DirectorRawson Marshall ThurberStarsBen StillerChristine TaylorVince VaughnA group of misfits enter a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament in order to save their cherished local gym from the onslaught of a corporate health fitness chain.
- DirectorJoe DanteEric GoldbergStarsBrendan FraserJenna ElfmanSteve MartinThe Looney Tunes search for a man's missing father and the mythical Blue Monkey diamond.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsNicolas CageMeryl StreepChris CooperA lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen.Special Mention - "Bubba Ho Tep".
- DirectorPete DocterDavid SilvermanLee UnkrichStarsBilly CrystalJohn GoodmanMary GibbsIn order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.Special Mention - "Series 7: The Contenders".
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJohn CusackIben HjejleTodd LouisoRob, a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress.
- DirectorDean ParisotStarsTim AllenSigourney WeaverAlan RickmanThe alumni cast of a space opera television series have to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help. However, they also have to defend both Earth and the alien race from a reptilian warlord.
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyHalle BerryKimberly Deauna AdamsA suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.Special Mention - "The Truman Show"
- DirectorTom ShadyacStarsJim CarreyMaura TierneyAmanda DonohoeA pathological liar-lawyer finds his career turned upside down when he inexplicably cannot physically lie for 24 whole hours.Special Mention - "Grosse Pointe Blank"
- DirectorBen StillerStarsJim CarreyMatthew BroderickLeslie MannA designer makes a grievious mistake when he rejects the friendship of a borderline cable guy.
- DirectorJohn LasseterStarsTom HanksTim AllenDon RicklesA cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's bedroom.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Not technically a comedy, but I laughed harder at it than any other movie this year – an AWFUL year for comedies! As a matter of fact, the early ’90s in general was a pretty meager time for screen comedy.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsBill MurrayAndie MacDowellChris ElliottA narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMeryl StreepBruce WillisGoldie HawnWhen a fading actress learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsSteve MartinVictoria TennantRichard E. GrantWith the help of a talking freeway billboard, a wacky weatherman tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early 1990s Los Angeles.
- DirectorJohn Patrick ShanleyStarsTom HanksMeg RyanLloyd BridgesWhen a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsSteve MartinMary SteenburgenDianne WiestFour Buckman siblings attempt to raise their children - each in their own different style - and deal with the joys and sorrows that the process brings.Special Mention - "When Harry Met Sally".
- DirectorDavid ZuckerStarsLeslie NielsenPriscilla PresleyO.J. SimpsonIncompetent police Detective Frank Drebin must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsSteve MartinJohn CandyLaila RobinsA Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.
- DirectorJim AbrahamsDavid ZuckerJerry ZuckerStarsBette MidlerDanny DeVitoJudge ReinholdA couple cheated by a vile businessman kidnaps his wife in retaliation, not knowing that their enemy is delighted that they did.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsChevy ChaseJoe Don BakerDana Wheeler-NicholsonWhile working undercover wisecracking newspaper reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher is offered a large sum by a millionaire with a terminal disease to kill him. Intrigued, Fletch decides to unearth the full story behind the offer.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsRob ReinerMichael McKeanChristopher GuestSpinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsChevy ChaseBeverly D'AngeloImogene CocaThe Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsDustin HoffmanJessica LangeTeri GarrMichael Dorsey, an unsuccessful actor, disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayJohn CandyHarold RamisTwo friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsKurt RussellJack WardenGerrit GrahamWhen the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.
- DirectorTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseMichael PalinBorn on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
- DirectorWarren BeattyBuck HenryStarsWarren BeattyJames MasonJulie ChristieA Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsRichard DreyfussMarsha MasonQuinn CummingsAfter being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsPeter SellersHerbert LomLesley-Anne DownAfter escaping from an insane asylum, the bonkers Charles Dreyfus sends 26 assassins on the trail of the forever bumbling Inspector Clouseau.