My favorite comedy movies [#5 to #1]

As promised, here's part three of three--the final installment of my personal favorite comedies. Note that there's a big difference between my favorite comedies and the best comedies ever made. I would never pretend that my list represents the best of the best in the art of comedic cinema. Instead, these are the movies that have made me laugh the most consistently over the years. Yes, it's true, I have a sick and twisted mind. Anyway, on with the list...

5. Zoolander: [IMDB.com link] By far the best comedy about male modeling...OK, so it's the only comedy about male modeling. Ben Stiller plays Derek Zoolander, an aging male model. He's got something of a rivalry with Hansel (Owen Wilson), the up and coming star. The plot is weak, and full of holes large enough to drive an Escalade through. But none of that matters, really, because the overall level of hilarity is so high. Everything that can be spoofed is spoofed, in particular the overblown lifestyle of the world's (female) supermodels. But along the way, everything from cell phones to personal computers are also targeted.

   There are many cameos in this movie, including Donald Trump, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tommy Hilfiger, Natalie Portman, Lenny Kravitz, Gwen Stefani, Heidi Klum, Gary Shandling, and Claudia Shiffer, and that's not even close to all of them. If you like Stiller, Wilson, et. al. and slapstick comedy (which obviously I do, if you've read the rest of the list), then you'll find this movie very funny. Otherwise, you probably won't.

4. This is Spinal Tap: [IMDB.com link] Like the other Rob Reiner film on the list (The Princess Bride), I disliked Spinal Tap the first time I saw it. At the time, it was my first exposure to a mockumentary, and I remember not really knowing what to make of it. Then I saw it again, and my feelings changed, so much so that I've now seen it many, many times, and yet I still seem to find something that I've not noticed before.

   Spinal Tap is an over-the-hill heavy metal band, suffering all the indignities of such bands: playing small venues to crowds of unenthusiastic fans, battling their record label over the next album, and arguing with everyone else in the band and management. The band is attempting an American comeback, and their journey is filmed by a fan and commercial producer. The film perfectly parodies huge ego rock stars, groupies, record label management, and many other things by the time it's all over. There are many classic scenes, including my favorite, a discussion between Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and the filmmaker (Rob Reiner) about why a certain amplifier is louder than another.

   There are also malfunctions of the band's stage gear, and a funny bit where they get lost in the bowels of a stadium. Until I decided to write up my favorite comedies, I wasn't aware that this movie was Rob Reiner's directorial debut. As with other Christopher Guest movies, most of the dialog is improvised, and given that, the end result is pretty amazing. Even if you don't like Christopher Guest movies, you might like this one, especially if you're a fan of any over the hill rock and roll bands!

3. The Blues Brothers: [IMDB.com link] Along with Caddyshack, this is the other reason I chose 1980 as my cutoff year. The Blues Brothers is an all-time favorite, and it clearly could've been number one--my top three are pretty much interchangeable in my book. What started as a Saturday Night Live sketch by Dan Akroyd and John Belushi grew into something bigger, and this movie is the end result. The plot is laughable--the brothers need to get the band back together to raise money for an overdue tax bill at the Catholic home where they were raised. The first half of the movie deals with the process of getting the band back together (they drifted apart while Jake Blues (Belushi) was in prison). Given how they left the band (unpaid), this isn't the simplest of tasks, and there are funny scenes at each stop--the brothers' dinner at a fancy restaurant, where a bandmate is the maître d', is absolutely hilarious (and look for a very young Pee Wee Herman as a waiter).

   Once the band is back together, there's a little problem with the authorities, which turns into one of the most drawn-out, large-scale car chase scenes you'll ever see. I seem to remember reading that they wrecked something in excess of 100 cars to shoot the scene, and this was in the "good old days" before you could use CGI to do the tough stuff.

   There's an incredible cast of musicians in this movie--James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles to name a few--and the music is first rate. Carrie Fisher has a role as a psychotic ex-girlfriend, and you'll probably recognize a number at least some other now-famous faces (take a good look at the Cook County Assessor's office clerk, for instance).

   The movie is too ridiculous to believe, but it's an amazingly fun ride, packed with really good music performed by some very talented musicians. The fact that it's also quite funny is like the icing on the cake.

2. So I Married an Axe Murderer: [IMDB.com link] So I Married an Axe Murderer is, by far, my favorite Mike Myers movie. It didn't do well in the theaters, I don't think, as it's definitely not a mainstream style comedy. Mike plays not one but two roles. The primary character, Charlie Mackenzie, is a San Francisco beat poet with a commitment problem: whenever he meets the perfect woman, he always manages to find one little thing to end the relationship over. That is, until he meets Harriet (Nancy Travis), who seems to be absolutely perfect. However, there does turn out to be this one little flaw, which is sort of hinted at right there in the title of the movie.

   Mike also plays Stuart Mackenzie, Charlie's dad, and does so absolutely perfectly. Stuart is old-world Irish, and has an amazing conspiracy theory about everything, and has the manners of a complete jerk. There are a few other characters that really stick out, including Charles Grodin, who nearly steals the movie as the unwilling driver of a vehicle commandeered by the police. Alan Arkin as a too-nice police captain is also amazingly good. There's also a great (if too brief) performance turned in by Steven Wright, one of my favorite comedians ("If you can't hear me, it's because I'm in parentheses."). Steven plays a completely out-of-it charter pilot, flying a small plane through some of the worst storms you're likely to see, and doing nothing with his speech or behavior to sooth the nerves of his passenger.

   In the end, this is a somewhat corny love story. Between start and finish, though, is one of my favorite comedies. If your only experience with Mike Myers is Wayne's World and Austin Powers, check out Axe Murderer--I really think it's one of his best movies ever. It's also got a good 1990s soundtrack, including two different versions of the theme song, each by a different artist.

1. Raising Arizona: [IMDB.com link] Quick, name any two comedic actors or actresses. I bet you didn't have Nicholas Cage or Holly Hunter on your lists, did you? Well, back in 1987, they starred in Raising Arizona, a frenetic somewhat-dark comedy about a childless couple who decide that if they can't conceive, they'll just liberate a baby from a recently-born set of quintuplets (to a family named Arizona, hence the title). Nicholas Cage is H.I. (Hi) McDunnough, a many-time arrestee for theft. Holly Hunter is Edwina (Ed), who falls in love with Hi as he comes through her booking line at the police station time after time. Eventually they wind up married and childless, and decide that kidnapping is the natural solution to their problems.

   From there, things start moving quickly, as nearly everything goes wrong that can go wrong. This film was written by Joel and Ethan Coen, who also wrote Fargo. If you've seen Fargo, the humor in Raising Arizona is similar, though not nearly as bloody, of course. The story follows Ed and Hi as they attempt to keep their baby for themselves. There's lots of hilarious dialog, and some amazingly well-done physical comedy as well. The camera work is also unique enough to keep your interest--the way the camera follows Hi up into the quints' bedroom, for instance, was really well done. Hi's loser friends are hilarious, especially John Goodman. And there's this recurring bit with the Lone Biker of the Apocalypse that really can't be explained all that well. Suffice it to say that the biker brings a whole new definition to the word "mean." From start to finish, Raising Arizona is a wonderful romp, with great performances from two people who you wouldn't really associate with this type of comedy.

   It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since this movie was released, but it still stands up well today. (I just watched it again over the weekend to make sure it deserved this spot on my list.)

   So there's the list. As noted, it's my list of favorites, and even at 15, I had to leave off a number of really funny movies. Here, in no particular order, are some of the movies that didn't make the cut: Fast Times at Ridgemont High; Meet the Parents; the Austin Powers series; Fargo; Groundhog Day; Grosse Point Blank; High Fidelity; Being John Malkovich; Better Off Dead; Best in Show; Mighty Wind; Waiting for Guffman; A Fish Called Wanda; Ghostbusters; Arthur; Beverly Hills Cop; Broadcast News; Bull Durham; Good Morning Vietnam; LA Story; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Forrest Gump; The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension; Four Weddings and a Funeral; My Big Fat Greek Wedding...

   Even if nobody else agrees with my taste, I'm glad I went through this exercise. I found some gems I'd forgotten about, and added some additional movies to the list of titles I'd like to see again. Maybe next time I'll take a shot at my "Top 10 pre-1980 comedies."

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