For well over a year, that’s how I’ve kicked off my monthly roundup of the top comedies streaming on HBO Max. Under David Zaslav’s leadership as CEO of the new Warner Brothers Discovery, the business has abruptly canceled a number of movies and TV shows, including many that were far into production. Zaslav formerly oversaw the development of Z-grade unscripted shlock for Discovery.
Several original movies and TBS/TNT television series, such as An American Pickle starring Seth Rogen and Superintelligence starring Melissa McCarthy, have been quietly removed from HBO Max.
While HBO Max has proven to be the top streaming service in terms of content library breadth and original content quality, the company is now through a very strange and unstable period. Seems logical to let the Naked and Afraid channel set everything on fire.
Despite the upheaval of late, HBO Max continues to provide the largest library of quality comedy and the most variety of show formats. You won’t find nearly as many comedies from before the ’90s or classics on any other service. To me, HBO Max in 2018 is a lot of what Netflix was a decade ago before the streaming industry split into a dozen distinct walled-off rivals. Absolutely, that’s a positive development.
My customary caveat for comedy lists is that I am not basing my evaluations only on the films’ cinematic merits. There are several elements at play, including acting, storyline, and technique, but the one that matters most to me is how much I enjoy laughing throughout.
That being said, let’s dive in. These are today’s most hilarious movies streaming on HBO Max. Given what Discovery is doing for this streaming service, it’s probably best to consume the content now rather than wait till it’s gone forever.
1. Airplane!
Film poster from 1980 advertising an airplane-themed film.
A film directed by Jim Abrahams.
Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, Lorna Patterson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Robert Hays lead the cast.
Rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
This film is rated PG.
Time of running: 88 mins.
In 1980, the creative team of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker (together known as “ZAZ”) created a parody of the disaster film that would come to define the genre. From Roger and Captain Oveur’s “Who’s on First” uncertainty (“Roger, Roger. What’s our vector, Victor?”) to Oveur (Peter Graves) asking a little boy in the cockpit, “Joey, do you enjoy movies about gladiators?
From “stop calling me Shirley!” — a jive translator’s mother to “Jive-ass man don’t have no brains anyhow! Shiiiiit! It’s the funniest parody movie ever made since it’s stupid and can be quoted endlessly. As said by Josh Jackson
2. Best in Show
Christopher Guest directs.
Michael Hitchcock, John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., and Fred Willard star alongside Catherine O’Hara, Christopher Guest, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, and Parker Posey.
An astounding 94% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes!
Grade Level: 13+
Time of running: 91 min.
Christopher Guest’s mockumentary films are at their best when the performers fully immerse themselves in their roles, and Best in Show features the comedians from his other films in their finest form. The neuroses of Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock’s characters, Meg and Hamilton Swan, are projected upon their Weimaraner.
Catherine O’Hara, who is always the hidden weapon in Christopher Guest movies, completely dominates Eugene Levy’s Gerry Fleck in their marriage. Harlan Pepper, played by the director, is a Southern guy who has no sense of self yet can name every variety of nut there is. Laughter becomes inevitable as his babbling becomes increasingly ridiculous.
It may not be hard to see the absurdity in a topic like the world of dog shows, but any sarcasm is directed not at the topic itself but at the peculiarities of human nature. Characters are given surprising depth thanks to the comedy and deadpan delivery of Jane Lynch, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, Michael McKean, and notably Fred Willard as the sports broadcaster who doesn’t know anything about the subject he’s paid to talk about. It’s a creative symphony by a group of artists at the top of their game. As said by Josh Jackson
3. The Great Dictator
Year: 1940
Charlie Chaplin directed.
Featuring the talents of Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, and Reginald Gardiner in the leading roles.
Overall Critics’ Score: 93%
The grade for this article is G.
Time of completion: 126 minutes
In his debut “talkie,” Charlie Chaplin played both the fascist ruler (who looks a lot like Adolf Hitler) and the persecuted Jewish barber (who also looks a lot like Hitler). This picture is a prime example of the potency of well-executed satire; it was released during a period of nominal peace between the United States and Germany, yet it helped galvanize popular opposition to the Nazis, Mussolini, anti-Semitism, and fascism.
The choice to play both the tyrant and the oppressed man was an inspired one, underscoring the frightening but inescapable truth that we all contain a little bit of both characters (although Chaplin later recalled that he could never have made the satirical film even a year or two later, as the extent of the horrors in German concentration camps became clearer).
Not only is it a masterwork of cinematic technique, but it also has profound relevance as a study in projection, making it eminently worthwhile to be dusted up and re-queued for in the present time. Amy Glynn
4. Coming To America
Year: 1988
John Landis, the film’s director
Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, John Amos, James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, Madge Sinclair, Eriq La Salle, Allison Dean, Louie Anderson, and Eriq La Salle are among the cast members.
The score on Rotten Tomatoes is 72%.
Indicative of Recommendation: R
Length: 116 mins.
Just the moments at the My-T-Sharp barbershop would make this film one of the funniest of all time. Directed by John Landis (Blues Brothers), the film features a stellar cast including Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and others. To avoid an arranged marriage and discover love, Murphy disguises himself as Prince Akeem of the imaginary African kingdom of Zamunda and goes to the magnificent United States of America (in Queens, obviously).
It’s all here: the black preacher (through Hall as the amazing Reverend Brown), the club scene, the barbershop, hip-hop culture, and Soul Glo, all with a sarcastic twist that’s pure brilliance for Akeem. Murphy’s Trading Places co-stars Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy make cameo appearances, as do Cuba Gooding Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and Louie Anderson.
This narrative of a prince just yearning to be loved is a must-see, even for those of us who have previously seen it, because it is both a hilarious comedy and a loving ode to New York City. —Shannon Houston
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5. The Philadelphia Story
Year: 1940
The film’s George Cukor-directed
Featuring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey, and John Howard.
In other words, a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In short, an NR
The 112-minute runtime
Isn’t it shocking that there was a time when Katharine Hepburn was dubbed “box office poison” in the movie industry? After a string of failures, she found success in this movie version of a Broadway smash. In this “remarriage” comedy, she gives a tour de force performance as the cold-hearted heiress Tracy Lord. Cary Grant, who plays her now sober ex, is a welcome contrast.
As reporters who aren’t very good at hiding their identities, Jimmy Stewart and Ruth Hussey round out the group. The writing alone is a work of art, but the rest of the film is pure joy as well. Amy Glynn
6. Friday
Year: 1995
F. Gary Gary, the director
Film stars include Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tommy “Tiny” Lister, John Witherspoon, and Anna Maria Horsford.
An 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Indicative of Recommendation: R
Time of running: 91 min.
In Straight Outta Compton, Ice Cube finishes writing Friday as definitively as if he had begun a week earlier by stating, “I will now write a screenplay,” and as if he were to set down a pen and announce, “There. I’m done. Because Ice Cube is our hero in the film, a person who found no real difference, no barrier to entry, between wanting to do and then doing despite much of his world forcibly telling him otherwise, we are willing to accept that he once did little more than decide to write a screenplay, and then did, and then made the movie, and then people loved it.
The character of Craig, a young man from south central Los Angeles, is played by Ice Cube in the film Friday. Johnny has a lot of trouble during the day, including having his best buddy Smokey (Chris Tucker) frame him for owing $200 to Big Worm (Faizon Love). Deebo (Tony Lister Jr.), the local bully, is the most notable of them.
He has any human emotion whatsoever, as seen by the fact that he will take a man’s bike, wait for him to return, and then uppercut him so hard that he is carried a few feet into the air. This is, at least, what Smokey claims happened.
As a matter of fact, Craig laughs and says, “You’re lying,” but later Smokey’s narrative is proven accurate, at least in spirit, as Craig brains Deebo with a brick instead of shooting Deebo with a pistol, which had previously looked to be the only realistic alternative. However, despite being presented in the opening act, the gun is never used. Even if you care about such things, chances are you didn’t pay attention to them last Friday. Dominic Sinacola
7. When Harry Met Sally
Year: 1989
Rob Reiner, Director
Starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, and Bruno Kirby
90% on Rotten Tomatoes
Indicative of Recommendation: R
It’s a 96-minute-long movie.
It’s safe to say that Nora Ephron’s script for the narrative of Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) and their 12-year journey to couplehood, which is the most well-known romantic comedy of the decade, thrives on the surprising connection between its stars. (And every time a new set of couples watches the restaurant scenario on screen for the first time, another set of women laugh and another set of men sit silently, wondering what the heck is so hilarious.) —Michael Burgin
8. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit of Kazakhstan
Year: 2006
Artistic Direction by Larry Charles
Playing pivotal roles are Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, and Ken Davitian.
90% on Rotten Tomatoes
Indicative of Recommendation: R
There are 83 minutes of content.
As a result of Sacha Baron Cohen’s subsequent films, Borat, or Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, is often overlooked or underrated. Cohen’s faux-documentary about an uncomfortable Eurasian traveler is still kind of amazing, despite the fact that films like Bruno and The Dictator watered down his original thesis.
This mainstream comedy took a hard look at the American public’s casual racism, sexism, and xenophobia, as well as its readiness to fake sincerity if it felt it might gain an edge by using Borat. The foolish statements made by Borat are, at least, genuine results of his made-up background.
The fictional Borat is not a con artist, but the “actual” Americans he encounters in the film are. As a last note, I’d want to mention that, along with Anchorman, I’ve never heard a movie theatre audience laugh so loudly. —Jim Vorel
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9. Bottle Rocket
Year: 1996
A Wes Anderson film is directed by him.
Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, James Caan, Lumi Cavazos, Robert Musgrave, and Andrew Wilson star.
A score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes
Indicative of Recommendation: R
Time of running: 91 min.
Wes Anderson and the Wilson brothers’ eccentric universe were both new to us after seeing Bottle Rocket. The feature-length version of Anderson’s original short film of the same name shot four years earlier, follows two pals as they plot a series of daring heists in Texas.
Dignan, portrayed by co-writer Owen Wilson, is a prototypical Anderson protagonist: he has lofty goals but lacks the maturity and insight to achieve them. Dignan is unlike other grownups who have neglected to grow up because, despite his wild schemes, he nevertheless manages to maintain a certain childlike likability.
In 1996, the same humor and artistic idiosyncrasies that are now old hat were a welcome change. The score by Mark Mothersbaugh and the classic rock (in this case, the Rolling Stones and Love) established the standard for most Wes Anderson films. –Josh Jackson
10. Top Secret!
Year: 1984
Jim Abrahams and David Zucker are the directors.
Jeremy Kemp, Peter Cushing, Omar Sharif, Val Kilmer, and Lucy Gutteridge also make appearances.
7.5/10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
This film is rated PG.
Running time: 90 minutes
For some inexplicable reason, this Monty Python-level ludicrous yet surprisingly narratively compelling satire of WWII-era propagandistic American espionage thrillers is not as popular or well-known as Airplane! or Naked Gun! The premise of a rock musician (Val Kilmer) who sounds like a cross between Elvis Presley and The Beach Boys becoming the savior of a gang of anti-East German rebels is used as a shoestring to hang as many cliché-skewering gags as possible.
Top Secret’s humor relies more on parts that reveal the numerous visual tricks that Hollywood utilizes to sell its dreams than airplanes did, which relied on story-based clichés. When riding a train, passengers on the inside get the illusion that the train is leaving the station, when in fact it is the station that is moving.
Shot using a phone in the foreground; it’s as big as it seems. Binocular observations reveal a herd of cows calmly strolling over an area where the point-of-view effect has been temporarily obscured. A Pac-Man-like game unfolds from an Indiana Jones-style map. This is only the beginning of a long list.
Kilmer’s explosive personality makes us care about Nick Rivers the way we’re intended to care about the supporting characters, and this helps the story from seeming like a collection of disconnected sketches. When it comes to comedies, Top Secret is the gold standard—Oktay Ege Kozak.
11. Modern Times
The year is 1936 and the image format is.jpg.
Charlie Chaplin directed.
Charley Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, and Henry Bergman star.
In other words, a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The grade for this article is G.
Time of running: 88 mins.
Because the Little Tramp’s trials in a mechanized world are so endless and repeated, luck and hope simply serve to propel Chaplin’s farce even if they have little to no bearing on his characters’ destinies, Modern Times are like a flat sprocket if time is a flat circle. The Little Tramp’s life is fairly consistent with the opening scene: he attempts to live, but the institutional system dumps him back where he started, miserably hungry and destitute, with no choice but to try again.
Even though this was Chaplin’s last time playing the Tramp, it’s clear to see how his “disappearance” into the contemporary industrial machine was a theme throughout the film’s numerous escapades, which he shared with his equally good-natured companion in crime, the gamin (Paulette Goddard). It’s a strange way for Chaplin’s iconic Tramp to go, but then again, so are the numerous ways he depicts the Tramp as an integral component of the contemporary industrial machine.
The Tramp may become one with the blueprints of a massive, sprocket-speckled machine as he is squished through it, but the assembly line’s twisting, wrenching and whirling also leaves an impression on him, leaving him unable to do much but waggle his arms around after a long shift.
Chaplin, who traveled the world after the triumph of City Lights, saw the circumstances of automotive lines in Detroit, and the drudgery of our modern times, and it is no surprise that the industrial setting in The President of Modern Times has a strong similarity to Henry Ford.
According to Chaplin, the Great Depression was the first indication of how profoundly technology may kill our spirits by absorbing our personalities rather than just dumping us. So, Modern Times is a movie that’s ahead of its time in more ways than one; it’s this seamless amalgam of CGI, mellow silent cinema techniques, and extreme rage. —Dom Sinacola
12. Broadcast News
Year: 1987
James Brooks directs.
Robert Prosky, Joan Cusack, Holly Hunter, William Hurt, and Albert Brooks also star.
The film has a 98% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomato
Indicative of Recommendation: R
It lasts for about an hour and a half and a half.
Broadcast News, set your classic cinematic love triangle against the backdrop of the evening news. Jane (Holly Hunter), an extremely driven producer, is known for her cool under pressure and unwavering excellence in her job;
Aaron (Albert Brooks as uber-mensch) is her loyal coworker and an intrepid reporter whose dynamic work in the field is often overlooked; and Tom (William Hurt), the new pretty boy anchor way more clever than he looks, is the key to their identities.
The continual balancing act that TV journalists must do between entertaining and hard reporting is reflected in Aaron and Tom’s struggle for professional recognition and Jane’s devotion. And, as is par for the course with Brooks, there is no simple answer to striking that equilibrium. Following the lead of Maura McAndrew
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13. Safety Last!
Year: 1923
Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor are the directors.
Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, and Bill Strother star in this film.
Rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
In short, an NR
Length of Show: 80 Mins.
After playing the score for Safety Last!, Rodney Sauer of the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra informed me, “I shouldn’t have bothered scoring the last 15 minutes.” In San Francisco, during the Silent Film Festival. The audience at the Castro Theatre was so amused by Harold Lloyd’s renowned building-scaling sequence that he and his ensemble had trouble hearing themselves speak.
The climax, culminating in the now-iconic clock-hanging gag, is so expertly balanced between tension and comedy that it hardly matters that the remainder of the film serves as nothing more than a setup. This is Jeremy Mathews signing off.
14. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Year: 1990
Cinematographer: Joe Dante
Robert Prosky, John Glover, Zack Galligan, Phoebe Cates, and Galligan.
Grade Level: 13+
It lasts for 107 minutes.
Joe Dante was averse to doing another Gremlins film. The first movie left him feeling drained, and the tale was resolved satisfactorily enough that he didn’t see the need in continuing it. But the studio was determined not to lose up, and in a last-ditch effort, they handed over the entire creative power to him.
They got exactly what they paid for, as this sequel to a cult classic throws everything at the audience without caring if any of it would stay. It’s a comedy with a lot of slapstick and some violent cartoon sequences, but it also has some biting commentary on big business and the capitalist system. Not to mention, Hulk Hogan makes an appearance. This is a quote by Robert Ham.
15. House
Year: 1977
The film’s director, Nobuhiko Obayashi
Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Ohba.
Comedy and horror.
90% on Rotten Tomatoes
In short, an NR
Time of running: 88 mins.
Rarely do we see a film with as much whirling richness and strangeness as House. Nobuhiko Obayashi, a man who had previously only directed TV commercials, made his feature film debut with his fairy tale-as-fever-dream from Japan in 1977. When a failing company with little to lose gave Obayashi the chance to direct his debut film, he did what any aspiring auteur would do:
he consulted his 11-year-old daughter Chigumi for inspiration. What they came up with was a tragic-comic festival of the uncanny revolving around a group of seven Japanese schoolgirls, a maiden aunt with a heartbreaking secret, her freaky-ass white cat named Snowflake, and the titular house, an ooky-spooky hallucination out of gothic myth and Japanese folklore jazzed by an animated, ADD-afflicted spirit. Though:
No summary really does House justice, and everything about it demands attention, from the schoolgirls themselves—precocious archetypes with the monikers Gorgeous, Melody, Fantasy, Prof, Sweet, Mac, and Kung Fu—to the anything-goes flourishes of gimmick and technique, which evoke everything from silent film to children’s shows, classic surrealist cinema, and Italian Giallo.
Because of his training in 30-second commercials, Obayashi is unable to let the screen go blank for more than a few pixels at a time. House implies that the nitrous oxide hyperdrive of Japanese popular culture is a wonderfully conceived, if not actually transcendental, kind of treatment. Money, Steve
16. House Party
Year: 1990
Reginald Hudlin Directed by:
Featuring the talents of Kid ‘n Play, Full Force, Robin Harris, Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, and A.J. Johnson
Overall Critics’ Score: 93%
Indicative of Recommendation: R
An hour and a half are allotted.
This hip-hop comedy, which was written for DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, centers on two best friends (the rap group Kid ‘n Play) who are planning a massive house party in high school. Casting a number of promising young actors and hip-hop artists, the film explores whether or not Kid can outwit his strict father (Robin Harris) and his bumbling bullies (Full Force).
The film’s contagious energy and fresh ideas come from Hudlin’s astute direction and hip-hop-infused music, which together perfectly represent the experience of being a Black American adolescent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Patterson, Adreon
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17. A Mighty Wind
Year: 2003
Christopher Guest directs.
Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Eugene Levy star.
It’s a comedy, therefore that’s the genre.
It has a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Grade Level: 13+
Time of running: 91 min.
It’s clear from A Mighty Wind that there is a reason mockumentaries and musical themes complement each other so well. The film follows Mitch & Mickey, The Folksmen, and The New Main Street Singers as they reconnect to perform a tribute performance for music producer Irving Steinbloom after his death.
The film’s original songs are catchy and entertaining, but what really set it apart from the competition was the return of co-stars Dana Levy and Denis O’Hara, as well as the presence of This, is Spinal Tap veterans Michael Guest and Michael McKean, and co-stars Michael Shearer and Ed Asner as band members. The end. —Amanda Wicks
18. Metropolitan
Year: 1990
Whit Stillman (the director)
Featuring Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols, Allison Parisi, and Dylan Hundley in key roles.
Overall Critics’ Score: 93%
Grade Level: 13+
Time of running: 98 mins.
Just like there have been countless “next Michael Jordans” and “next Bob Dylans,” there have been countless “next Woody Allens” in the film industry, yet every once in a while, the label is apt. With his first film, Whit Stillman established himself as the Woody to the upper-class, white, Christian, male, New York City crowd. It’s not without reason, though;
seldom has a filmmaker of any level of experience so skilfully juggled dialogue that could have sunk into too-clever-by-half-isms, or trained such a compassionate eye on a sometimes problematic nostalgia for the end of an age. However, the overall effect of visiting Metropolitan is to make you feel intellectually superior. The value for the price of admission is satisfactory, according to Michael Dunaway.
19. Sleepless in Seattle
Year: 1993
Nora Ephron
Includes performances by Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, and Bill Pullman
This film is rated PG.
Time of running: 105 mins.
Sleepless in Seattle, written and directed by Nora Ephron, is essentially a long ode to An Affair to Remember (1957). After watching the film and being moved by Rita Wilson’s tearful synopsis, Annie (Meg Ryan) writes to Sam (Tom Hanks) on Valentine’s Day, suggesting that they meet atop the Empire State Building like Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr does in the film.
At the moment of their first meeting on the observation deck, the soaring theme from the romantic comedy classic An Affair to Remember plays, creating the scene for moviegoers everywhere. In honor of Bonnie Stiernberg.
20. 13 Going on 30
Year: 2004
Cinematographer: Gary Winick
Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker, and Phil Reeves are among the film’s stars.
A score of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes
Grade Level: 13+
Runtime: 97 minutes
What may have been written off as a blatant imitation of The Big might really be superior. Perpetually underestimated Judy Greer excels in her finest film role as Garner’s best frenemy, while Jennifer Garner is at her most endearing as a 13-year-old trapped in an adult’s body.
The writing, which is nostalgic and charming, deserves most of the praise, though; a film like this could have been spoiled by excessive amounts of cheese, but 13 Going on 30 has just the proper amount of schmaltz to please the masses. —Allyn Moore
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21. Back to School
Year: 1986
Alan Metter is the director.
A cast including Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Keith Gordon, Burt Young, Robert Downey Jr., and Paxton Whitehead
The audience approved of the film (86%) on Rotten Tomatoes.
Grade Level: 13+
It’s a 96-minute-long movie.
Once one of four protagonists in Caddyshack, the archetypal populist fool Rodney Dangerfield now takes center stage in Back to School. It’s nearly ideal for Dangerfield’s bombast, which succeeded not just due to his complete disdain for the conventions of society but also because of the underlying melancholy he betrayed. Back to School is a cut above the typical ’80s college comedy thanks to its tinge of sadness and Rodney Dangerfield’s decades-long gimmick. —Garrett Martin
22. Down By Law
Year: 1986
Jim Jarmusch (the director)
Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Ellen Barkin, and others make up the cast.
A score of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes
Indicative of Recommendation: R
It lasts for 107 minutes.
A scene that many other filmmakers would have used as a signature is purposefully left out of Down By Law, making it the typical Jarmusch picture. Among the prisoners are two innocent individuals (John Lurie and Tom Waits), and a third, criminal man (Roberto Benigni), who has a reasonably solid case for self-defense.
While playing cards, Benigni’s character mentions that he has a failsafe method of escape as the conversation turns to different dramatic jailbreak episodes in cinema history. After a scene that alludes to these iconic moments in the film, Jarmusch skips over the actual escape and goes straight to the inmates on the run.
The dialogue referencing earlier jailbreak films is an expression of how thoroughly American popular pop culture has formed a large part of Jarmusch’s personality, and the film’s lack of action is a concise demonstration of this. —Oktay Ege Kozak.
23. American Splendor
Year: 2003
In charge of the camera are Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman.
Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Judah Friedlander, and James Urbaniak play lead roles.
An astounding 94% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes!
Indicative of Recommendation: R
An hour and a half are allotted.
The “American Splendor” novels by Harvey Pekar are intriguing because the author thought that everyone’s life, no matter how simple or ordinary it may seem, deserved to be recorded. This approach is put on display in American Splendor, which combines genuine videos of Pekar with fictitious versions of individuals from his life, keeping both exaggerated caricatures and naturalistic drama, and even incorporates animated sequences culled from the comics. For Ross Bonaire
24. Stranger Than Paradise
Year: 1984
Jim Jarmusch (the director)
John Lurie, Eszter Balint, and Richard Edson star in this.
Rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Indicative of Recommendation: R
Running time: 90 minutes
The body of work that Jarmusch has created is extremely individual, yet it is also elegant and cohesive. When Jarmusch’s second movie, Stranger Than Paradise, was discovered by an audience in the early ’80s, it helped define the American independent movement with its trendy yet easy pace, deadpan humor, and an apparent understanding of foreign cinema.
The film satisfies a yearning for movies that deviate from Hollywood’s model while maintaining a minimalist style and even fewer shots than the film he did in college, Permanent Vacation. The industry has responded to this need by establishing “independent film” cable channels, festivals like Sundance, and specialist divisions of big studios. —Robert Davis
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25. A Hard Day’s Night
Year: 1964
Cinematographer: Richard Lester; Director:
Wilfrid Brambell, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon star.
The film has a 98% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomato
The grade for this article is G.
Duration: 87 mins.
The opening chord of “A Hard Day’s Night” is instantly recognizable, and it becomes much more so when juxtaposed with images of the Fab Four laughingly escaping a mob of shouting fans. Stop thinking about it. The Beatles’ debut film, a mockumentary shot in the height of Beatlemania, is also their greatest.
It’s humorous, ridiculous, bizarrely melancholic at moments (it’s impossible not to see the foreshadowing when Ringo briefly quits the band after feeling unloved), and packing of some brilliant early performances. From the looks of things, no one thought it funnier than John, Paul, George, and Ringo. —Bonnie Stiernberg It manages to poke fun at the celebrity system from the inside.
26. City Lights
Year: 1931
Charlie Chaplin directed.
Included in the cast are Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, and Florence Lee.
The film has a 98% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomato
The grade for this article is G.
Running time: 90 minutes
Later in life, Charlie Chaplin was known for injecting touching moments into his comedic routines. In City Lights, he proves he deserves every penny. While the plot follows a similar pattern to Chaplin’s typical picaresque style, this one has more of an objective as the tramp tries to aid a poor, blind flower girl (an endearing Virginia Cherrill).
Harry Myers, who plays the kind billionaire who forgets his charitable acts when sober, also merits recognition for his work in this production. This is Jeremy Mathews signing off.
27. Time Bandits
Year: 1981
The film was directed by Terry Gilliam.
With John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, and Ian Holm in the lead roles.
89% on Rotten Tomatoes
This film is rated PG.
Time of the show: 110 min.
Time Bandits, the debut film in Terry Gilliam’s “Trilogy of Imagination,” pulsates with the uninhibited joy of cinematic enchantment. Although God (Ralph Richardson) and the Devil (David Warner) are never named, the picture depicts a real conflict between Good and Evil as seen through the eyes of Kevin, a neglected 11-year-old (Craig Warnock).
Gilliam achieves the perfect ode to the imagination by having Kevin meet such famous figures as Robin Hood (John Cleese), Napoleon (Ian Holm), and an irrepressibly charming King Agamemnon (of course, Sean Connery). Time Bandits is like a more offbeat cousin to Bill & Ted, using equal parts of nostalgia and pseudo-history to brilliantly convey the feeling of being 11 years old again.
28. The Gold Rush
Year: 1925
Charlie Chaplin, the director
It features the talents of Charlie Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, and Georgia Hale.
In other words, a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In short, an NR
Runtime: 82 minutes
The Klondike gold rush created the perfect environment for Charles Chaplin’s tramp to go wild. In order to create the iconic scenes for which he is best known, Chaplin compiled all the themes he could find from westerns, melodramas, and other adventure tales.
He makes light of dire situations, such as the terrifying teetering cabin scene, hunger (in which he famously eats his boot), and, of course, his dancing roll sequence. The terrible voiceover Chaplin recorded for the 1942 release, however, has not been deemed funny by anyone. You should check out the original version. See Clarence Brown’s The Trail of ’98 for a sobering account of life in the Klondike (1928).
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29. The Player
Year: 1992
Cinematographer: Robert Altman
With Tim Robbins, Greta Scaachi, Fred Ward, and Whoopi Goldberg in the lead roles.
The film has a 98% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomato
Indicative of Recommendation: R
Length of Show: 124 mins.
Both this and the next year’s Short Cuts, which also has a large number of cameo appearances, are considered to be Robert Altman’s late-career masterpieces. The Player’s satire of the film industry begins cold and eventually warms up until it seems to embrace the schmaltz and insincerity of Hollywood, and the film’s structure is reminiscent of a film noir even though it takes place in the shallow, pampered world of movie executives.
The movie’s witty satire with a nasty edge, and it has two excellent performances from Tim Robbins and Whoopi Goldberg, plus a cameo by Burt Reynolds, who will please all you Gator fans. —Garrett Martin
30. Shiva Baby
Year: 2021
Email Seligman Directs
With Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon, Polly Draper, Fred Melamed, Danny Deferrari, and Dianna Agron in the lead roles.
Rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
In short, an NR
Total Time: 77 mins.
The humor and horror in Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby are well suited to the story’s premise and the heroine, college student Danielle, who the reader will immediately identify with thanks to the film’s hilariously awkward and cringe-inducing tone.
Actress and comedian Rachel Sennott, who is already messy-millennial royalty due to her extremely online comic sensibility, plays Danielle, who is first seen mid-tryst, with an unconvincing orgasm capping off her perfunctory dirty talk (“Yeah, daddy”) before she dismounts and collects a wad of cash from the older Max (Danny Deferrari).
Though it’s transactional, as with any sugar relationship, Danielle seems open to discussing her hazy career aspirations with Max and he gives her an expensive bracelet, suggesting a quasi-intimate familiarity with their dynamic, even if the underlying awkwardness keeps either from getting too comfortable.
The scene where Danielle leaves Max’s apartment to go lay shiva with her parents, Debbie (Polly Draper) and Joel (Fred Melamed, of course), is a clever preview of what’s to come. A running gag about Danielle’s confusion about who died is always funny, but she hardly has time to process the information before being thrust into the event itself, a bewildering maze of superficial pleasantries and self-serving schmooze.
It helps if you’re Jewish, but you don’t have to be to enjoy the high tension and mortifying humor of Seligman’s film. The Coen Brothers understood this when they wrote A Serious Man, their hilarious retelling of the Book of Job, and so does Seligman in Shiva Baby;
below all the finest Jewish jokes is a somber acceptance of the inevitability of pain. One of the most self-assured, winningly Jewish comedies in years. —Isaac Feldberg The conclusion contains smashed glass, hopeless tears, and a few humiliations more.
31. A Christmas Story
Year: 1983
Producing and Directing by Bob Clark
Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon, Ian Petrella, Scotty Schwartz, and R.D. Robb star in this production.
89% on Rotten Tomatoes
This film is rated PG.
Runtime: 93 minutes
To pull something as genuinely warm and sympathetic as it is humorous from a major topic of unrestrained materialism is a rare thing. To displace the Christmas Day TV schedule formerly held solely for classics like It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street is quite another.
To bring Jean Shepherd’s cherished tale of childhood in the midst of Major Awards, first swear words, cynical Mall Santas, and, of course, the musings on what it truly means to shoot your eye out to the screen, director Bob Clark assembles a pool of on-screen talent who were clearly born to inhabit these roles. Scott Wold
32. City Slickers
Year:
Ron Underwood is the film’s director.
Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, and Bruno Kirby star in this film.
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%
Grade Level: 13+
Time of running: 114 mins.
If you’re anything like me, you enjoyed City Slickers when it came out, but you’re not really sure how well it holds up now. Have the jokes aged badly? Did I find them amusing when I was 22 but not anymore? Ok, you can relax.
This is a picture with a well-crafted screenplay and performers that know when to improvise to great effect; sure, there are some gags that could be a touch childish, and Billy Crystal’s schtick is a tad over the top at times, but for the most part, it works.
This film is a great reminder of why Daniel Stern is one of the best (and most underused) comedic actors working today (the birthday party scene is hilarious), and why Bruno Kirby, whose life was cut tragically short at age 57 by leukemia, was simply one of the most versatile actors of his generation. — Michael Burgin
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33. The Ruling Class
Year: 1972
Peter Medak, the film’s director
Starring Pete O’Toole
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 83% approval rating.
This film is rated PG.
Overall Time: 154 Min.
In this biting critique of British upper-class values and the mental health system, Peter O’Toole is electric. It’s the type of movie where characters may periodically break out into ludicrous songs even though it’s not a musical, and it concludes with a dismal final sequence that’s far more of a horror picture than anything else, so the tone of The Ruling Class constantly flips with little notice.
Its critique of capitalism and class structure is not nuanced, but good satire need not be. It is easy to see why O’Toole received an Oscar nomination for this performance. —Garrett Martin
34. Elf
Year: 2003
Author: Jon Favreau; Director:
It features Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, and Ed Asner in lead roles.
With an 84% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes,
This film is rated PG.
Runtime: 97 minutes
Making light of Christmas requires little more than a cynical and gloomy response to a tradition that was intended to spread goodwill and cheer. Is there a fictional character in a Christmas comedy that truly enjoys Christmas? Thanks to Will Ferrell’s unflinchingly devoted turn as the title character, we know the answer to this question is yes.
Will Ferrell in yellow tights, a green parka, and a cone-shaped hat is the epitome of the Christmas spirit. A lot of his humor comes from the way he reacts to things with a childish sense of amazement. Watching Buddy the Elf, arguably our generation’s classic Christmas film, makes you laugh, smile, and, to paraphrase the Grinch, feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
The movie’s many strengths outweigh the fact that the final 30 minutes turn it into a generic “race against the clock” flick. Elf is instant holiday merriment thanks to its endlessly quotable lines—”cotton-headed ninny muggins” is just one example—the hilarious fruit spray scene, Zooey Deschanel showing off her singing chops before She & Him, Mr. Narhwal, and the arctic puppets (a band name if I ever heard one), and, of course, Ferrell’s contagious enthusiasm. Written by: Greg Smith, Jeremy Medina
35. Man Bites Dog
Year: 1992
Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, and Benoît Poelvoorde are the film’s directors.
Andre Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde, and Rémy Belvaux star.
In other words, a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Confidentiality warning: NC-17 content.
There are 97 minutes of footage.
Although Man Bites Dog was awarded the International Critics’ Prize at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, it was rated NC-17 in the United States and was banned entirely in Sweden due to its obvious influence on Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.
One can understand the reluctance to watch Man Bites Dog, which depicts serial murder in all its graphic banality, from children to the elderly to a gang-raped woman whose corpse is later photographed with her entrails spilling all over the table on which she was violated, with the perpetrators lying in a heap on the floor in their drunken stupor.
Mockumentary film Man Bites Dog goes to disturbing measures to present the necessities of murder as crudely as possible, even including the reluctance of the team documenting such atrocities to give the public a reflection of the manner in which they were likely reacting.
Our readiness to stomach the horrors shown is made apparent by the fascinating grief exhibited by the filmmaker (Rémy Belvaux) when he discovers what it means to make a documentary film on a serial murderer, becoming more and more involved with the crimes as the film progresses.
Even nevertheless, our emotional responses are based on the film’s intellectual issues, which include true crime as a pop culture commodity and reality TV as harmful mitigation of the truth, and which ultimately indict the viewers most likely to appreciate this movie.
The protagonist, Benoit (Benoît Poelvoorde), is a sociocultural misfit who suffers from xenophobia and misogyny and who provides a wealth of neuroses to investigate in light of his psychopathy and serial murder, which he views as a profession.
Man Bites Dog, on the other hand, is less concerned with the flagrant killing it indulges for laughs than it is with the laughs themselves, implying that the real blame for such well-known horror falls at our feet, in which we take large, basic steps every day to normalize the violence and hate that constantly surrounds us. Dominic Sinacola
36. Singin’ in the Rain
Year: 1952
Filmmakers: Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor, Jean Hagen, Rita Moreno, and so on.
In other words, a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The grade for this article is G.
Runtime: 103 minutes
Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor give immortal performances in Singin’ in the Rain, the most famous of all Hollywood musicals. In the year 2020, musicals may be an acquired taste, but this is one of those genuine masterpieces that just about each movie fan should watch at least once. A delightful and romantic trifle, expertly crafted. —Garrett Martin
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37. Young Adult
Year: 2011
Cinematographer: Jason Reitman
Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Jill Eikenberry, and Mary Beth Hurt are among the cast.
Review Average: 80% (+/- 5%) on Rotten Tomatoes
Indicative of Recommendation: R
The 94-minute runtime
Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody reunited four years after Juno to make Young Adult, which is a better, funnier, and less frustrating film. As a once-prolific young adult novelist battling alcoholism, depression, and writer’s block, Charlize Theron plainly relishes the opportunity to play the type of terrible midlife crisis normally reserved solely for males.
Theron’s former high school bully, played by Patton Oswalt, gives a performance of the tragicomic variety. In a way that is both moving and darkly funny, Garrett Martin’s Young Adult tackles the paralysis that may result from giving up on one’s future and living in the past.
38. Colossal
Year: 2017
Name of the Director: Nacho Vigalondo
Features Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Tim Blake Nelson, and Austin Stowell in pivotal roles.
81% on Rotten Tomatoes
Indicative of Recommendation: R
Time of the show: 110 min.
The marketing for Colossal led me to believe that it would be a lighter, more comedic film, but in reality, it’s much darker and more serious than I was prepared for. It develops into a tale of selflessness and martyrdom, yet its cast of mostly unlikeable characters is hardly a paragon of virtue. In many ways, this film is a contradiction to itself, which is why I realize that description sounds contradictory.
However, the film’s feminist originality and aim are revealed in the very cognitive dissonance that it could never have sought as a conventional comedy. Colossal is a film with tonal shifts so jarring that the audience’s definition of its genre is likely to change repeatedly throughout the course of watching it.
Not everything in the film can be explained, but it’s obvious that the writer-director was given complete creative freedom, and as a result, we have one of the most intriguing movies of 2017. Using a gigantic, monster foot, Vigalondo stomps on the tired tropes of film festival plays. —Jim Vorel
39. Wedding Crashers
Year: 2005
Director: David Dobkin
Stars: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughan, Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Jane Seymour
7.5/10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Indicative of Recommendation: R
Runtime: 119 minutes
The obnoxiousness of the ’00s frat scene may not fly in the #MeToo era, but that doesn’t deflate Wedding Crashers too much. The supporting ensemble, which includes Isla Fisher, Rachel McAdams, Christopher Walken, Bradley Cooper, Henry Gibson, Jane Seymour, and an uncredited Will Ferrell, is equally as funny as Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn’s Lotharios who visit at odd weddings to pick up ladies. —Garrett Martin
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40. The Brothers Solomon
Year: 2007
At the helm, of this production was Bob Odenkirk.
Features the talents of Will Forte, Will Arnett, Chi McBride, Malin Akerman, Kristen Wiig, and Lee Majors.
The film only received a 16% approval rating on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Indicative of Recommendation: R
Time of running: 93 min.
You may be wondering how a film starring Will Forte and Will Arnett and written by Forte and directed by Bob Odenkirk got such a bad rap. One of the few widely distributed films I can remember of that failed to earn $1 million in its opening weekend and failed to earn $1 million in total throughout its brief run in theatres, it was a flop. Sure, the reviewers panned it too, but they’ve been known to slam plenty of other comedies that audiences found amusing.
The Brothers Solomon is a movie that will make you laugh out loud several times if you have the same sense of humor as Forte, despite the fact that it is too uneven to be truly humorous.
The Brothers Solomon contains all of Forte’s signature stylistic tics, such as his fondness for music, his peculiar way with language, his fascination with the cringe-inducing awkwardness of characters who often have sincere and good intentions, and his courage to then take those characters into dark and depressing territory as their intentions turn sour.
Despite its flaws, Garrett Martin calls The Brothers Solomon an essential piece of Forte’s canon and an odd aside in the long and illustrious career of comic god Bob Odenkirk.
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