I really need a good laugh or two today. Not thinking about politics for a day or two might even be restorative. But if I want to laugh, what film should I watch?
The BBC has provided an expert answer.
Their aggregated Top 10:
Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)
Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979)
Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, 1980)
Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)
This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984)
The General (Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton, 1926)
This is a decent list, but this is the era of dismissing expertise, so I'm coming up with my own dang list. To be honest, only two of their Top 10 make my Top 10. At least, that's the case if I'm going by the BBC's definition:
"BBC Culture did nothing to define in advance what a comedy is; we left that to each of the critics to decide. As always, we urged the experts to go with their heart and pick personal favorites, films that are part of their lives, not just the ones that meet some ideal of greatness."
OK, if that's the case, then here are my Top 10:
The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1986).
Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974).
Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, 1980)
Sleeper (Woody Allen, 1973). The opening 15 minutes of this film might contain the best slapstick comedy ever put on film. Even though it's more than 40 years old, a surprising amount of it holds up.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010). I love all of Wright's films, but this one moves at such a breakneck pace, and features Mary Elizabeth Winstead. It also has an amazing Chris Evans cameo.
Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011). The comedy runs the gamut from Judd Apatow-esque to the scene between Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph about adult sleepovers. And not for nothing, but Melissa McCarthy is this generation's John Belushi.
Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984). "Back off, man, I'm a scientist." Another movie I can quote from at will.
Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988). The best baseball film ever made. It's the pitcher conferences that are the funniest. Particularly the most crowded of the lot.
Crank (Marc Neveldine, 2006). There's a fine line between over-the-top action films and over-the-top comedies, and this Jason Statham film crosses way, way over the line.
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll watch one of these films and try to forget about politics for a while.
Editorial on 08/26/2017