A place for the discussion of all things not closely related to the sport and its competitive side. (Locked down several times a year during the major championships)
aaronk wrote:Different eras produced different types of comedy. So from the 30's and 40's, I'd have to go with some of the Cary Grant/Irene Dunne or Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn comedies.
My favourite screwball comedy by a mile is The Awful Truth with Cary Grant and the great Irene Dunne. The scene where she pretends to be his sister is genius.
It's such a shame she's completely forgotten these days. 5 Oscar noms and more versatile than any of her peers which maybe accounts for why she doesn't have one iconic style or movie moment to base a legend upon.
Irene Dunne was one of the greats and could do anything - comedy, melodrama etc, and not above subtle parody. Joel McCrea was very fond of her but said there was no sexual chemistry - I think she was a strict Catholic and that sort of thing was out. Maybe that came across to the public? She definitely deserves to be remembered in the same way that, say, Katherine Hepburn is remembered (actually Dunne parodies her in one of her films and it's quite brilliant, it might actually be The Awful Truth).
In those days there were so many actors who had the perfect timing for comedy - Grant, McCrea, Dunne, Rosalind Russell, Jean Arthur, Melvyn Douglas, even Greta Garbo - why is it so rare now?
Make a point of watching The More The Merrier, if you can find it. Jean Arthur is paired with Joel McCrea and they have a rare chemistry together. Apparently Jean wasn't confident about her appeal, but there's a scene where she's talking and Joel keeps kissing and fondling her and she really looks like she's responding to it*! It's a surprisingly sensuous film.
Joel was very popular in Hollywood and had a reputation as an unassuming, nice guy, so naturally other actors were very fond of him. He was also one of the great romantic leads early in his career - very good looking, to the point where Anita Loos said she fainted the first time she saw him on the beach in his trunks (guess where all the blood went). He's great in romantic comedies that make the most of this combination, and this is the best of them.
*The same thing seems to happen to Claudette Colbert in The Palm Beach Story!
Rog wrote:Make a point of watching The More The Merrier, if you can find it. Jean Arthur is paired with Joel McCrea and they have a rare chemistry together. Apparently Jean wasn't confident about her appeal, but there's a scene where she's talking and Joel keeps kissing and fondling her and she really looks like she's responding to it*! It's a surprisingly sensuous film.
I've seen 'The More The Merrier'. It was Jean Arthur's only Oscar nom and Charles Coburn won Best Supporting Actor for it.
I actuallly prefer 'The Devil and Miss Jones' from 1941 also with Arthurs and Coburn which has some surprisingly left leaning politics for a major studio picture of the 40's.
Almost any of the Brit comedies made in the 50's,usually starring Peter Sellars, Terry Thomas, Ian Carmichael, Graham Stark, Alec Guiness. Actually Alec Guiness films stand out by themselves especially "Kind Hearts and Coronets," "The Ladykillers," and "The Lavender Hill Mob." Many Boulting films were great and usually had a twofer with TT and Carmichael. "I'm All Right Jack" probably the best spoof/satire of British labour unions, with Peter Sellars as a union boss with a hitler moustache.
aaronk wrote:Different eras produced different types of comedy. So from the 30's and 40's, I'd have to go with some of the Cary Grant/Irene Dunne or Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn comedies.
My favourite screwball comedy by a mile is The Awful Truth with Cary Grant and the great Irene Dunne. The scene where she pretends to be his sister is genius.
It's such a shame she's completely forgotten these days. 5 Oscar noms and more versatile than any of her peers which maybe accounts for why she doesn't have one iconic style or movie moment to base a legend upon.
Irene Dunne was one of the greats and could do anything - comedy, melodrama etc, and not above subtle parody. Joel McCrea was very fond of her but said there was no sexual chemistry - I think she was a strict Catholic and that sort of thing was out. Maybe that came across to the public? She definitely deserves to be remembered in the same way that, say, Katherine Hepburn is remembered (actually Dunne parodies her in one of her films and it's quite brilliant, it might actually be The Awful Truth).
In those days there were so many actors who had the perfect timing for comedy - Grant, McCrea, Dunne, Rosalind Russell, Jean Arthur, Melvyn Douglas, even Greta Garbo - why is it so rare now?
The film historians classify the "screwball comedies" for the period 1934-1942 ending with WWII. Cary Grant is also great in His Gal Friday and Bringing Up Baby. Every once in a while I see a screwball comedy on TCM that I had not seen before and almost always enjoy them.
Last edited by Halfmiler2 on Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
jeremyp wrote:Almost any of the Brit comedies made in the 50's,usually starring Peter Sellars, Terry Thomas, Ian Carmichael, Graham Stark, Alec Guiness. Actually Alec Guiness films stand out by themselves especially "Kind Hearts and Coronets," "The Ladykillers," and "The Lavender Hill Mob." Many Boulting films were great and usually had a twofer with TT and Carmichael. "I'm All Right Jack" probably the best spoof/satire of British labour unions, with Peter Sellars as a union boss with a hitler moustache.
Guiness is also quite good in The Man in The White Suit
preston wrote: Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and for sheer stupidity I put History of the World, Part 1 9"It's good to be the king!") over the Producers - which is just a better movie, but not necessarily funnier/sillier to me.
High Anxiety also deserves a mention as a parody of Hitchcock films - Brooks gets stabbed in the shower by a disgruntled hotel employee with a rolled-up newspaper! And he gives a talk at a shrinks' convention with large pictures behind him on the stage: Freud, Jung, and ... Dr. Joyce Brothers!
I wouldn't claim that Ace Ventura When Nature Calls is among the funniest of all time, but it has one of the funniest scenes (to me of course) of all time. Went and saw it during lunch of a workday and laughed so hard at the scene of the mechanical Rhino that I almost asphyxiated myself. I don't think I have ever come close to that with any other scene from any other movie.
I've seen some top ten titles already by others here. But if I had to name just one it is "The Producers," the best of Mel Brooks' movies, and I'm not talking about his latter musical. I rate it the best because it was his most original. Just about all his other movies are spoofs, which are "too easy" to get laughs out of.
I think another good related topic could be what are the funniest non-Englsih language films, to see where we find cross cultural humor. I think Italian films might lead the lists.
My tastes seem to have evolved.....when I watched a movie like Blazing Saddles originally it was very funny, but now it just seems corny. The ones that seem to keep me laughing now are Beverly Hills Cop and Napoleon Dynamite.
Master Po wrote:Even though "what's funny" is a radically individual thing,
Indeed - I do not endorse this list as 'great cinema' but as the things that really made me laugh!
10. Happy, Texas – broad farce 9. Hitch – Will Smith and Kevin James - Dream Team 8. The Hangover – crude but effective 7. Bridesmaids – see #8 and Kristen Wiig! 6. Dodgeball – Vince Vaughn! 5. Fish Named Wanda – Kevin Kline! 4. Juno - "I mean I'm already pregnant, so what other kind of shenanigans can I get into?" 3. A Shot in the Dark – Peter Sellers! 2. Dr. Strangelove – Peter Sellers!! 1. When Harry Met Sally – Billy Crystal!!! ("I'll have what she's having.')
Vince wrote:My tastes seem to have evolved.....when I watched a movie like Blazing Saddles originally it was very funny, but now it just seems corny. The ones that seem to keep me laughing now are Beverly Hills Cop and Napoleon Dynamite.
I agree. What I found funny as a teenager and 20's isn't quite so anymore. I ranted and raved about Monty Python and the Holy Grail only to have my wife and kids roll their eyes and quickly exit the room after buying the DVD. Part of it might actually depend on the mood you were in when you watched the movie and who you were with.
A couple that I like that have not been mentioned are Planes, Trains & Automobiles ("those aren't pillows!") and Uncle Buck.
I'm shocked that we got this far into the thread and nobody mentioned Buster Keaton. Coincidentally, as part of my regular great-movie-watch-group, we did The General last night (1926).
Not roll-in-the-aisles stuff, but very-very funny in its own way.
(Track connection: part of it was filmed in Eugene, the majority in Cottage Grove, just a few miles down the road) (and what great miler went to high school there?)
gh wrote:I'm shocked that we got this far into the thread and nobody mentioned Buster Keaton. Coincidentally, as part of my regular great-movie-watch-group, we did The General last night (1926).
Not roll-in-the-aisles stuff, but very-very funny in its own way.
(Track connection: part of it was filmed in Eugene, the majority in Cottage Grove, just a few miles down the road) (and what great miler went to high school there?)
Oy vey. I mentioned The General in my off hand list earlier. And Dyrol Burleson went to high school in Cottage Grove, where of course part of Animal House was filmed.
Master Po wrote:
Conor Dary wrote:Off hand, I would list: Duck Soup Airplane! Naked Gun Dr. Strangelove Monty Python and the Holy Grail Life of Brian Animal House The General
Even though "what's funny" is a radically individual thing, I endorse conor's list entirely, and would add to it some exemplars from Mel Brooks (The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles).
gh wrote:ahhh.... I searched the thread for "Keaton" not "General"
You probably thought I meant The General with Brendan Gleeson, about a violent Dublin gangster who was involved with the Ulster Volunteer Force, a real bunch of nice guys. It was funny. Especially when I saw in England. It had the crowd in stitches.
odelltrclan wrote:.. I ranted and raved about Monty Python and the Holy Grail only to have my wife and kids roll their eyes and quickly exit the room after buying the DVD. ...
I was a huge fan of the Monties, but at this point, the only movie that retains its humor is The Meaning Of Life ("every sperm is sacred....."
Come to think of it, I never made it all the way through Life of Brian even when I was a big fan back in the day.
Marlow wrote:1. When Harry Met Sally – Billy Crystal!!! ("I'll have what she's having.')
Maybe the funniest line in the history of film. But that does not mean that the movie was all that funny.
I show it every year in my film class and they still think it's hilarious, despite being over 20 years old. Its humor goes way beyond pratfalls and guffaws. Dodgeball, Hangover, etc., are funny in a laugh-out-loud-way, but WHMS is funny in a sustained and engagingly memorable way. I can watch every scene year after year and still laugh - that's pretty special when 99% of all humor depends on the surprise factor.
The funniest movie ever is Todd Solandz's 'Happiness'.
It's wildly offensive and yet hilarious at the same time. You find yourself laughing at the most disturbing moments. It's probably my favourite film.
I remember first seeing it in New York in 1999. Mump and I fell about laughing throughout whilst the rest of the American audience just looked at us appalled. I don't think many people 'got' it.
I once watched it on DVD and when it finished watched it all over again.
It's amazing.
The two other films that made me literally fall off my seat laughing are 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan' which is so funny it hurts. You can't believe what you're watching. He should have won the Oscar.
Also 'South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'. My jaw hit the floor about 2 minutes in and stayed dropped throughout.
