My Favorite Films: Comedy Edition

I’m in the middle of a biography of the great actor Spencer Tracy, who really was ahead of his time in terms of the naturalism he brought to each role and the sheer versatility of his talent.  Tracy could play anything:  thug, priest, sexist sports writer, heroic fisherman, noble judge…

Reading about Tracy (who of course was famously coupled for a quarter of a century with the late, great Kate…as in Hepburn) made me think a lot about movies I’ve loved through the years.  Today I will share a short hit list of a few comedy favorites…movies that made me weep with laughter or double over in pain because of a laughing assault to my midsection.

Here goes:

1.     Some Like It Hot.  Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe and a surprisingly funny Tony Curtis.  Men in drag and Monroe at her sexiest.  Enough said.

2.     Tootsie.  Dustin Hoffmann as an out-of-work actor turned hit “soap opera star in drag” and a very young, lovely Jessica Lange.   A very funny movie.

3.     Annie Hall.  The first Woody Allen comedy on my list because it really is a comedy.  (I’d love to put Manhattan and a few other Woody films on the list, but I consider them dramas – and among the best dramas of the last 40 years).  But Annie Hall is the whole package:  Funny, full of heart, with just a touch of that fabulous bitterness that makes Allen so distinctive.  And on my Top 10 list of best movies ever (which at some point I’m sure I’ll write about).

4.      Sleeper.  My 2^nd Woody Allen film and classic early Woody, before he became the Ingmar Bergman of comedy. 

5.     Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.  An amazing cast and a sublime Peter Sellers at the height of his comic genius as a former Nazi rocket scientist with a disturbing “Zeig Heil” tic.  A hoot.

6.     The Producers.  Gene Wilder.  Springtime for Hitler.  Thank you, Mel Brooks!

7.      Young Frankenstein.  Gene Wilder.  Cloris Leachman as Frau Blucher.  Peter Boyle as a dancing and singing Frankenstein who is “Putting on the Ritz.”  Sidesplitting.

8.      A Fish Called Wanda.  This one is a laugh out loud caper movie with John Cleese surprisingly sexy, Kevin Kline over-the-top funny, and Jamie Lee Curtis holding it all together with her surprisingly sane take on the madness.  It even up with repeat viewings as a great comedy should.

9.     Groundhog Day.  Bill Murray has a problem with time and “I’ve Got You Babe.”  One of the best comedies of all time and one I can see over and over and over and…

10.  Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  Why not?  Matthew Broderick at his most winsome, Jennifer Grey as the snarling older sister, and Charlie Sheen in a cameo as a sexy, rebellious teen under arrest. Funny and very 80s.  Check out the big shoulders and big hair.

Note there are no 21^st century comedies on this list, despite the heroic efforts of Judd Apatow and others to revive the genre.  (I guess I don’t find potty humor all that compelling, but that’s just me; I’m getting old).  Give me story, story, story every time – and funny, funny, funny characters to bring it all to life.

I’ve left lots of much loved comedies off this list…movies like Broadcast News, Victor/Victoria, Mrs. Doubtfire, Mr. Roberts, Adam’s Rib, Philadelphia Story, The Pink Panther, When Harry Met Sally, Big and so many, many more.  But now, I’d love to hear about a few of your favorites so I can start checking ‘em out on Netflix!

Time for some popcorn!