Movies that make you grin, smile or laugh out loud...

[cthulhu]

We have this wonderful thread here of thrillers and horror movies and i love that stuff so much..i do love movies so much and another big passion of mine, as a collector, is also comedy, satire, grotesque funny stupid movies and storys that make me laugh. But with everything thing in life, different beings different tastes..So feel free to post some stuff that makes you laugh or smile or grin, there are lots of different tastes out there...

I start this with the most recent experience...yesterday i watched the first episode of



I know the books and i have seen another series about Dirk Gently, with Elijah Wood, i think it's fromm BBC America, whatever that means, saw that some years ago and it's also worth a look, found it very good.


Douglas Adams with the Hitchikers Guide (42..and 7 Times Video;-) has made one of the funniest novels i've ever read and of course we have to feature the old BBC series here and the movie, very funny stuff, so my expectations were high on how the series is dealing with that king of special humor.

After 20mins, sitting alone on my couch watching with interest, i had to laugh out loud..very good first episode, looking forward to see more the next days.

The next one is a classic, one of the most insane movies or comedys i know (well, there are maany more..), i watched it recently again with a person who didn't know it and i noticed again, how insane, overacted, overproduced and through all that, how overwhelming this one can be, but i love and can laugh at it every time i see it.

If you haven't seen it yet and want to have your brain overworked by so much going on on the screen, go and watch

[Guillaume]

"Top secret" (ZAZ)
"The naked gun" (ZAZ)
"The man with two brains' (Carl Reiner)
"Dirty rotten scoundrels" (Frank Oz)
'A fish called Wanda" (Charles Crichton) 
"Les compères" (Francis Veber)
"Les fugitifs" (Francis Veber)
"La chèvre" (Francis Veber)
"Game night" (Daley/Goldstein)

are funny films for me! I like some of Steve Martin's comedies, the ZAZ movies, the french comic actors Pierre Richard and Eric (Judor) & Ramzy (Bédia).

[cthulhu]

Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker..fanfaboloustastic! Top Secret!..the scene shot in reverse acting, in the book store is a masterpiece!

The Naked Gun series is a must watch if you like the movies. There are so much more mindbloggling funny scenes there. Which brings me to Leslie Nielsen. His acting alone is just funny and i also love most of Mel Brooks movies and there is this one Dracula film by Mel starring Leslie which i also like very much.

When you mention Carl Reiner, he also did a very cool, funny one with Steve Martin: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid..and i think you will know it.
It's in b/w and it's combining old movie scenes with new ones. A must see for film noir fans..and stupid comedy..

I must google your french ones..Is Game Night that one with Will Farrell?

I also love Pierre Richard and Louis Defunes and i think i will remember some more funny good french productions. And of course the britisch have a good taste in humor and history of satire movies.

[Guillaume]

Top Secret!..the scene shot in reverse acting, in the book store is a masterpiece!

Yes! So many crazy scenes in this film, unbelievable! It's the ZAZ masterpiece!

The Naked Gun series is a must watch if you like the movies. There are so much more mindbloggling funny scenes there. Which brings me to Leslie Nielsen. His acting alone is just funny and i also love most of Mel Brooks movies and there is this one Dracula film by Mel starring Leslie which i also like very much.

I've heard good things about the TV series "Naked Gun," I really should watch it; I think it's available in a french DVD box set. As for the films, the first one stands out for me, even though there were some funny moments in the two sequels and also the recent remake/reboot with Liam Neeson replacing Leslie Nielsen. I'd like to see Mel Brooks' "Dracula"; he's directed some good comedies, like "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles." I almost forgot "Amazon Women on the Moon" and "Kentucky Fried Movie" by John Landis/ZAZ...very funny!

When you mention Carl Reiner, he also did a very cool, funny one with Steve Martin: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid..and i think you will know it.
It's in b/w and it's combining old movie scenes with new ones. A must see for film noir fans..and stupid comedy..

Yes, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" is very good, both a great Steve Martin film and a beautiful homage to film noir. Other Steve Martin films I can recommend are "Roxanne," "Bowfinger," "L.A. Story," "The Jerk," "Looney Tunes: Back in Action," and, though not a comedy this one: "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk." I'd also like to see "Pennies from Heaven" (starring Steve Martin but also Jessica Harper and Christopher Walken) and "All of Me." (in fact i've seen it in the 80's but i have too vague memories )

I must google your french ones..Is Game Night that one with Will Farrell?

I'm not sure "Game night" is the original title but it's the french (!!) title. It's a comedy starring the excellent Rachel McAdams.

[cthulhu]

Bowfinger is really funny and for me it's the best role Eddy Murphy has ever done.This movie is hilarious. So this shady producer is trying to make a sci-fi movie and is using the paranoia of a Hollywood star and using a lookalike (both roles played by Eddy) to tell the story. So they confront the Star in public while filming him secretly, using costumes and strange encounters..

Pennys from Heaven is on my wannahave list, i just love musicals and i remember it as a very good movie. But i watched it decades ago...I only find a dvd release, but i want this in better quality. There is a dance scene, well there are many dance secenes, it's a musical;-) done by Christopher Walken and it stuck in my head, so that's the main reason for me to get this movie and see it again.
Remember him dancing in this video..was it moby? He can dance very well..

Young Frankenstein, Blazzing Saddles, High Anxiety, The Producers, Silent Movie are classics and i love them all.

Another great director with classic comedic movies is John Landis. Think his most famous one would be An American Werewolf in London..masterpiece. Dark and ugly humor, a must see.

He also did a very fine movie called: Into the Night with Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer..don't know how to call it, a romantic comedy? But it's more than that..
And let's not forget: Schlock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4ADsQs1hjU

When i wrote that 1941 is the most insane picture, that was a lie!
It's: Hellzapoppin'
This is from 1941 and it's a movie within a movie doing a theater show..or something like that. It has so many visual jokes, fantastic set pieces, musical scenes, almost every second is filled with madness. A must see if you like ZAZ movies...

Talking about madness and weirdnes..i recommend:
P.Tintos Miracle

[Winterwulf]

With Rob Reiner's tragic demise at the end of last year, I'll throw two of his into the pool - firstly, "This is Spinal Tap", magnificently skewering the stupidity and pretension of so much rock music, and a good one to play "guess which band this actually happened to" when watching.
Secondly, "The Princess Bride", not a laugh-out loud film but full of great witty lines. Oh, and for a tenuous NMA link, the scene where Buttercup pushes the Dread Pirate Roberts down the steep slope and discovers he's actually Wesley was filmed round the back of Peak Cavern in Cavedale.
That then brings to mind another film Cary Elwes starred in, namely "Men in Tights" - a bit patchy but with some good moments, and my favourite line from him "Unlike some Robin Hoods I could mention, I have an English accent!"
Linking on from that of course, there's Alan Rickman's magnificently OTT pantomime villan performance as the Sherrif of Nottingham - I've heard rumours of the existence of a director's cut of "Robin Hood" where he stole the show even more, but after Costner threw a tantrum we ended up with the release version...

[cthulhu]

Very good additions here Winterwolf! This is Spinal Tab..essential! I'll just quote "11" 

And a very cool information about The Princess Bride. Love that movie, it's fantastic. I'm glad that i have read the novel when i was really young. It blew my mind, because it's a novel within a novel and some parts were displayed in red letters, it was almost a cinematic reading. And i must say it is, just due to the nature of the different medium, much more suspensful and there are so many plot-twists in there and things you just don't expect to happen.

Wanna throw in here some kung-fu comedy masterpieces:



This movie is ridiculously funny. I saw that for the first time at a festival and literally fell from my seat, while gasping for air while laughing. Steve Oedekerk bought the rights to an old movie and overdubbed it and also filled it with scenes. You have to see to believe...




Then we have two more from a gifted director and actor Stephen Chow:



This one has a also great story and the fighting scenes and action sequences are superb. And it's really funny.

An older one by him, also highly recommended:



(Maybe i should work on the picture sizes..)

[Guillaume]

Remember him dancing in this video..was it moby? He can dance very well.

Christopher Walken is a great actor (fabulous in "The Dead Zone" and "At Close Range," among others). I remember him doing some dance moves in the excellent "King of New York." And Walken also dances very well to the lovely song "Jesse" by Larkin Poe!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmEpGkxNKKM&list=RDdmEpGkxNKKM&start_radio=1

Bowfinger is really funny and for me it's the best role Eddy Murphy has ever done.This movie is hilarious.

It makes me want to watch it again! I haven't seen it in years, but I remember quite a few very funny scenes between Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy (who is indeed hilarious in this film), and Heather Graham. The scene where they ask Eddie Murphy to cross the highway because it's safe—stuntmen are driving!—the scene in the parking lot (I think), or the prestigious premiere of the sci-fi film "Chubby Rain"!...lots of funny moments, an underrated film. John Landis's films with Eddie Murphy are good too, "Trading Places" and "Coming to America."

Another great director with classic comedic movies is John Landis. Think his most famous one would be An American Werewolf in London..masterpiece. Dark and ugly humor, a must see.

He also did a very fine movie called: Into the Night with Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer..don't know how to call it, a romantic comedy? But it's more than that.

I generally like what Landis does, but I was a bit put off by "Into the Night" back then. I should rewatch it, especially since I like this director, as well as Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer... For something with a similar sleepwalking atmosphere, I preferred Scorsese's "After Hours" at the time. Of Landis's work, I like his most recent film to date, "Burke and Hare," and also "Amazon Women on the Moon," "Schlock," and "The Kentucky Fried Movie"... all funny films. I also recommend the little-known "Innocent Blood," a successful blend of gangster film and horror, starring our very own Anne "Nikita" Parillaud as a charming vampire! But for me, Landis' masterpiece will forever remain "An American Werewolf in London," simply one of my favorite films, a perfect balance between horror, terror, (bitter) laughter, and drama (the ending is very beautiful and very sad)...a masterpiece!

With Rob Reiner's tragic demise at the end of last year, I'll throw two of his into the pool - firstly, "This is Spinal Tap", magnificently skewering the stupidity and pretension of so much rock music, and a good one to play "guess which band this actually happened to" when watching.

I haven't seen it in years, but I remember it as a very funny film. As an aside, when I showed it to a friend in the early 2000s who was a heavy metal and rock fan, he initially thought it was a real documentary about a real band! Haha. That just goes to show how accurately Reiner captured the stupidity of quite a few bands (but not NMA, thank goodness!). Have you seen the sequel to SPINAL TAP that came out last year? It's Rob Reiner's latest film... I also have fond memories of THE SURE THING by him, and MISERY is a very effective thriller, with masterful performances from Kathy Bates and James Caan.

[cthulhu]

Remember him dancing in this video..was it moby? He can dance very well.

Christopher Walken is a great actor (fabulous in "The Dead Zone" and "At Close Range," among others). I remember him doing some dance moves in the excellent "King of New York." And Walken also dances very well to the lovely song "Jesse" by Larkin Poe!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmEpGkxNKKM&list=RDdmEpGkxNKKM&start_radio=1

Ha, ha, what the heck is this?? I know that you love Larkin Poe, but this video you posted is a ..don't know what to say. They used the footage from the video i was referring to, it is was not Moby but Fatboy Slim:

Fatboy Slim ft. Bootsy Collins - Weapon Of Choice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCDIYvFmgW8&list=RDwCDIYvFmgW8&start_radio=1


I don't like the video you posted (only the video, not your post). It makes the dancing out of sync, no rhythm and by that it looses its power and meaning and also by that, the song also looses its power, imho.
But a nice try, i would say..don't get the idea though.

Thinking about funny movies is great i notice...little therapy in there right now...so i want to post some more maybe darker stuff..

Kevin Smith - DOGMA
This has many known actors in it: Salma Hayek, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Florentino, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock...but it tested the taste of the mainstream in those days and it managed to produce some scandal..blasphemous! Saw it again some montha ago, after looking for a release for years and had to get an old dvd. But it is still great and works well and i hope that the time passed will give green light for a new release, it's totally worth it. Funny as hell;-)

Anders Thomas Jensen - Adams æbler (Adams Apples)

This is a very funny and very dark danish movie and he made at least two more dark, very very funny depressing good movies, also starring Mads Mikkelsen
Dänische Delikatessen (i think its "The Green Butchers" in english) and  Men & Chicken

[Winterwulf]

Just thought of another two for the list, from Peter Jackson in his pre-"Lord of the Rings" days. Firstly, there's "Bad Taste" his low budget horror comedy about aliens landing on Earth and killing people for meat for the interstellar fast food franchise, classic line is "I'm a Derek - Dereks don't run away", classic shot  is where a bazooka gets fired at the house the aliens are holed up but they open the front and back doors so the rocket instead hits an unfortunate sheep grazing out the back.

Then there's "Meet the Feebles" - imagine the Muppet  Show redone with buckets full of sex, drugs and violence, need I say any more?

[cthulhu]

Oh dear, both of those are infamous and i've been looking for a proper release since VHS times. I love those movies, but they are really not for the fainted and Bad Taste is program for both. I've got both Soundtracks and got a Meet the Feebles T-Shirt with Heidi and a huuuge Machine Gun on it...

I was really impressed by Bad Taste and i think it's an outstanding work. Kind of like The Evil Dead, one of my alltime favourite movies. Peter Jackson and his friends worked on Bad Taste for more than 4 years, while having normal jobs and doing it for fun.

Meet the Feebles is even better, the Muppets are amazing and the humor is just sick;-) I saw a movie, maybe a year ago, a new one, also with muppets and bad taste hunor, but it just didn't feel right. It felt like they wanted to offend so hard whereas Meet the Feebles is just Meet the Feebles...know what i mean? But i think in that newer one there was also Frank Oz involved but anyway..

[cthulhu]

The Magic Christian

I wouldn't say this is a good or very funny movie, but it is definately an oddity. Ringo Starr is a very bad actor and the whole movie feels a bit pretentious.

Freaked

This one i haven't seen in ages, but i remember it as a blast for me. A massive intro with soundtrack by Henry Rollins..oh no, just read that it was done by Blind Idiot God with Henry Rollins!!
Listen here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P2swKzaS8Y

And i just found finally a bluray release and i hope it will arrive the next days..

Idiocracy

If you haven't watched it yet, go watch it. It's hilarious..but it sadly has become a documentary...

[Winterwulf]

Mention of dodgy Peter Sellers films has reminded me of another one that is rather frowned on these days, "The Party". He browned up to play a hapless Indian actor who causes chaos at the post-filming party, hence why it's a bit problematic  but it does have a classic visual gag  - at one point, in the toilet he tries to pull some toilet paper off one of those big rolls, and the whole thing slowly unravels onto the floor while he stands and watches.

[cthulhu]

I love The Party. The first scene on the Set of that big Movie Production with him playing the trumpet and the need to tie his shoe lace...great! The slowly escalation at the party and the total chaos that erupts, the running gags..i can watch this endlessly laughing.

That brings me to another masterpiece and also an escalating story, a wonderful masterpiece of movie making, a timless classic, one of my all time favourites:

Playtime - by Jaques Tati from 1967

[Ghosttrain]

I love Jacques TATI the man was a genius (imho)my favourite TATI films in order are..

Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot

Mon Oncle

Playtime

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Have been watching these films for years ......love them...