Fizz Magazine

90 – Kung Fu Panda

- Not all of the funniest movies of all time feature live actors. There have been some great animated comedies over the years as well, and this recent release by Shrek creators Dreamworks could nab a deserving spot on a list of the best martial arts movies of all time. Jack Black is perfectly cast as the protagonist Po, a fat Panda who works at his father’s noodle shop and dreams of being a great kung fu warrior someday. Fate steps in when Po is mistakenly (or perhaps purposely) named the Dragon Warrior who must defend his people from the evil Tiger warrior, Tai Lung. An all star cast joins Black as Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, and David Cross all lend their considerable talents to the voice acting of the movie. Kung Fu Panda is one of those rare animated movies that can be enjoyed equally by both children and adults alike, and I promise you’ll be laughing throughout.

89 – Fargo

- Known for their off-the-wall filmmaking the Coen Brothers are hard to peg down when it comes to defining the genre of the films they make. Movies like Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men, Burn After Reading, Miller’s Crossing and Raising Arizona all have plenty of obscure (and not so obscure) humor to be found among them, though none have been marketed as comedies. However, if you were to compose a list of the top 100 cult movies ever made you would likely find multiple selections from these super talented siblings. Fargo is another of the Coens’ movies that refuses to be defined, but every time I watch it I find myself laughing throughout at Jerry Luundegarde’s (William H. Macy) bumbling criminal antics, and yokel pregnant policewoman, Marge Gunderson’s (played to perfection by Frances McDormand) seemingly dimwitted but effective police work. Steve Buscemi, a Coen brothers favorite who always seems to get offed before the end of the movie, dies in a spectacularly gruesome way this time around. Funny, and never dull, this Oscar winning picture belongs in everybody’s DVD library.

88 – The Aristocrats

- Well, it is about time we added a true gross out comedy to the list of the top 100 funny films. The Aristocrats certainly qualifies, and from the title you certainly would not guess at the content of this film. There really isn’t any sort of plot, but the whole film revolves around the telling of a joke as some of the raunchiest comedians around try to one up one another in pure disgustingness. Carrot Top, Drew Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander, and the late great George Carlin all make an appearance. If you are one of those people who aren’t offended by anything and want to watch some truly shocking comedy, give The Artistocrats a rent.

87 – Big


- From gross out comedy to a friendly family film Big starring Tom Hanks is about as different from The Aristocrats as it is possible to get. Hanks followed a similar career path to the aforementioned Michael Keaton, starring in goofy 80s comedies like Splash, Bachelor Party, and Dragnet before taking on meatier dramatic roles in Philadelphia, Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan in the 90s. However, as forgettable as some of his comedy films were Hanks work on Big is still regarded as one of the great comedic performances of the 80s, and when you turn on TBS and see Hanks get his wish to be big granted by the Zoltar machine you’ll find yourself unable to turn the channel until the final credits roll.

86 – Best In Show


- This parody comedy about dog shows and the owners that take this “sport” so seriously might not appeal to all viewers, but if you have a bit of an off the wall sense of humor and have always been secretly curious and amused by the culture surrounding the whole dog show phenomenon then you will probably enjoy this movie. Christopher Guest as Harlan Pepper is fantastically funny, and SCTV alum Eugene Levy delivers the laughs as always. Just writing about it is making me smile. Off to Blockbuster I go…

85 – Shaun of the Dead


- You’d expect to find a movie about zombies on a list of the scariest movies of all time, not the best comedy films, but Shaun of the Dead is not your average zombie film. Yes, there are the usual shambling corpses that are hungry for brains, but there are also plenty of laughs as well. Simon Pegg and Jack Frost, who also teamed up for the British cop comedy Hot Fuzz, will keep you laughing throughout, despite the peril their characters are in. If you’ve grown tired of the repetitious formula of movies like Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead then give this genre –busting zombie comedy a go.

84 – Team America: World Police

- From the demented minds of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the cult animated comedy show South Park, this animated puppet movie is certainly raunchier than Pinocchio. Political humor abounds throughout, and there are few (if any) boundaries when it comes to good taste. You certainly wouldn’t expect to see sex scenes in a puppet movie, but you will. As usual Parker and Stone pull no punches when it comes to their mockery of political policy, and even the biggest stars in Hollywood feel their wrath as Matt Damon, Michael Moore, Sean Penn and Tim Robbins all get a taste of their mockery. Kim Jong Il’s heart-wrenching rendition of I’m So Ronery will have you laughing so hard you’ll be crying and you’ll find yourself annoying your friends with quotes from the movie weeks after you watch it.

83 – Knocked Up


- Over the past few years no comedy team has been hotter than the duo of director Judd Apatow and actor Seth Rogen. Rogen first worked with Apatow on the TV shows Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. Both were cult hits, but each series only lasted a single season. However, the experience gained was a springboard for both Apatow and Rogen. Rogen landed a cameo in Anchorman which Apatow produced, and then a strong supporting role in The 40 Year Old Virgin which Apatow directed. However, it wasn’t until 2007’s Knocked Up that Rogen finally got his shot in a lead role. In the movie Rogen plays Ben Stone, a slacker who has an unrealized dream of launching a website that details exactly when female nude scenes occur in movies. Out at a bar one night Ben meets Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl of Grey’s Anatomy) who is out celebrating a recent job promotion. They both get blindingly drunk and end up in bed together and use no protection. Alison gets pregnant and these two vastly different people find a way to make it work with lots of stumbles along the way. Apatow regulars like Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann and Jason Segel are all stellar in supporting roles. Not Apatow’s crowning achievement, but still good for plenty of laughs.

82 – Happy Gilmore


- It is a true tribute to just how great a show SNL is when you see so many former cast members showing up on this top 100 list of funny movies. While on SNL Sandler was beloved for his signature characters like Cajun Man, Opera Man and Canteen Boy. He also showed his musical talent with several songs like Red Hooded Sweatshirt and The Hanukkah Song. As his popularity grew it was only a matter of time until Sandler would make the leap to the big screen. After a less than auspicious start with Airheads, Billy Madisson Sandler finally hit the big time with a little movie about a hockey player who becomes a golf pro in order to save his grandmother’s house. Sandler’s character may have been named Happy but he definitely had some anger management issues, and he manages to channel that pent up rage into monstrous drives off the tee. Unfortunately Happy’s short game needs a little work, but former pro golfer Chubbs (Apollo Creed) comes to his rescue, and helps him overcome nemesis Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) the reigning champ determined to squash Happy’s dream. Happy Gilmore is rife with dumb humor and silly one liners, but the formula just works. Plenty of great comedy quotes in this one, and the cameo by Price is Right’s Bob Barker is priceless.

81 – City Slickers


- From the title you might expect this film to show up on a list of the best western movies of all time. Who knows, it might crack that list too. However, this movie about three big city guys who are having a mid life crisis and decide to spend a few weeks driving cattle from New Mexico to Colorado is humor through and through. Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby and Daniel Stern star as the three “city slickers” and each one provides plenty of humor throughout. However, it is the late great Jack Palance who real steals the show. Palance, who starred in well over a 100 films before his death in 2006, saved his best work for the twilight of his career, and his turn as the hard-bitten ranch hand Curly earned him an Oscar for best supporting actor. Palance had twice before been nominated in the category for Shane and for Sudden Fear, but had walked away empty handed both times. The best part of the movie is the ongoing friction between Curly and Billy Crystal’s character Mitch, and the wordplay between the two makes for some truly classic scenes. City Slickers did so well at the box office that it spawned a sequel subtitled The Legend of Curly’s Gold, however it could not recapture the magic of the first movie, and they thankfully let the series die without attempting a trilogy.

 

 
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