ten on tuesday: laughter is the best medicine

Carole finally has a “Ten on Tuesday” subject that appeals to me again (hey, they can’t all be winners): your top ten comedy films of all time. It was tough to narrow down this list, lemme tell ‘ya!

1. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. One of my favorite ensemble comedies, and while it’s a long film, it’s a ton of fun. If you like Cannonball Run, you really owe it to yourself to see this movie, which, to me, is far better. Note that it features some of the last on-screen appearances from Buster Keaton and Spencer Tracy, as well as the talents of Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Ethel Merman, Peter Falk, Phil Silvers, Jimmy Durante, and many more.
2. This is Spinal Tap. The rock-and-roll mockumentary to end all rock-and-roll mockumentaries. Runner-up for this, in my list, is The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash.
3. Sleeper. This is the first Woody Allen movie I ever saw, and still my favorite. There are so many things that seem relevant today in this movie, which is as old as me: virtual sex, cloning from body parts, arguments over what is a healthy diet, and artificial intelligence.
4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Probably the best of the Python films, even if the story isn’t quite as coherent as Life of Brian. The strung-together vignettes in this film have produced more quote-ready lines per minute than any film before or since.
5. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stopped Worrying and Love the Bomb). A tour-de force from Stanley Kubrick and Peter Sellers. Yes, it’s very dark humor, but it has aged incredibly well.
6. Blazing Saddles. My favorite Mel Brooks film for multiple reasons. Some of the humor is childish and silly, other humor is very witty and makes you think. “Howard Johnson is right!”
7. Return of the Pink Panther. Really, all of the Sellers Pink Panther films going go in here (and I almost chose A Shot in the Dark), but this one is the most complete, to me.
8. The Blues Brothers. OK, so this is really a bunch of kick-ass musical performances glued together with a road-trip premise. Still, it’s hard to deny that Belushi and Ackroyd were at their most potent in this film. “Four fried chickens and a Coke…. and white toast, dry.”
9. Rubin and Ed. I don’t know many people who have seen this Trent Harris masterpiece, but it’s a ton of fun. Howard Hesseman and Crispin Glover as perfectly mis-matched in this film, which was shot in my home state and features a dead cat who “can eat a whole watermelon.”
10. Four Weddings and a Funeral. Great film, great cast, and a lot of English rain – what’s not to like?

Note that there isn’t a single cycling or skiing film in the mix, though any of Warren Miller’s chairlift unloading bits from his ski films would work, and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is funny and features a very bling red bicycle.
Any of your faves that I missed? Tell me in the comments!