I'm gonna go with the ORIGINAL version of The Producers, with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. Written and directed by Mel Brooks. Absurdity taken to high art: Leo Bloom: Actors are not animals! They're human beings! Max Bialystock: They are? Have you ever eaten with one? Max Bialystock: Shut up, I'm having a rhetorical conversation. Roger De Bris: Will the dancing Hitlers please wait in the wings? We are only seeing singing Hitlers. Max Bialystock: I'm condemned by a society that demands success when all I can offer is failure! I'd also go with Mel's History Of The World, Part 1, from where we get the phrase "Its good to be the king" and these nuggets: Madame DeFarge: We are so poor, we do not even have a language! Just this stupid accent! Fellow Revolutionist: She's right, she's right! We all talk like Maurice Chevalier! Count de Monet: It is said that the people are revolting. King Louis XVI: You said it! They stink on ice! Dole Office Clerk: Occupation? Gladiator - The Roman Empire: Gladiator. Dole Office Clerk: Did you kill last week? Gladiator - The Roman Empire: No. Dole Office Clerk: Did you try to kill last week? Gladiator - The Roman Empire: Yeah. Dole Office Clerk: Now, listen, this is your last week of unemployment insurance. Either you kill somebody next week or we're going to have to change your status, got it? And finally, if you know the movie, "wait for the shake!"
+1. When I saw Planes, Trains and Automobiles at the theater back in the day. I was laughing so hard at the scene where Steve Martin wakes up as the car passes between the two tractor and trailers, I almost passed out.
It's too hard to choose. Anything from the 80s with John Candy, Richard Prior, Dan Akroyd, or Chevy Chase are all pretty funny. The Great Outdoors was a classic I haven't seen mentioned yet.
Yep, I agree with PT&A. I laughed so hard my face hurt for a week after; I had tears in my eyes, almost wet my pants... so on and so forth. They don't make'm like that anymore.
I can get it down to my two favorites with too many that almost make it to mention. Here are the two: -Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail -Best in Show I really crack up at the Christopher Guest movies. The other mockumenteries he's directed are all nearly as good as these IMHO. Plus, the bonus scene for Best in Show about the beach ball collection is as good as any scenes that made it in the movie.
The funniest movie I've ever seen has to be "Borat." I rarely go to the movies, but this is one I really looked forward to ... when it finally made it to the theater, I was there on opening day. The theater was packed for a mid-day matinee. From start to finish, it was a non-stop, literal ROTFLMAO. The entire audience was laughing so hard we were almost in tears ... the kind of laughing that makes you need to catch your breath and hold your sides. Yes, it was offensive to some people. It was as politically incorrect as anything I've ever seen. But it was cleverly done, and it had elements that appealed to everyone in the theater, cutting across the spectrum from the low-brow crude humor to the highly-educated intelligensia. Although I doubt that Cohen could top himself after "Borat," I'm anxious to go see "Bruno."
Big +1, very funny and an overall excellent film, Peter O'Toole is brilliant in it. I am surprised that This is Spinal Tap hasn't been mentioned. Cheers, David
