Every one of these scores 9.4 or higher, and at least two are comedies on a technicality. Laughing is optional. Greatness isn't.
Number one is from 1964 and still lands harder than anything since.
- 8
Even the chimp gets a backstory. That's commitment.
John Cusack plays a street puppeteer, Cameron Diaz plays his pet-crazed wife, and their chimp gets his own tragic flashback. 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.7 on IMDb.
- 7
The funniest movie about jet lag ever made.
Bill Murray on a Tokyo commercial shoot, getting long directions translated into one short sentence, is deadpan perfection. 102 minutes, Metacritic 91, and audiences rank it above 94% of notable movies.
- 6
The opening bird argument is funnier than most whole comedies.
King Arthur's quest stalls on whether a swallow can carry a coconut, then a peasant lectures him about politics. Metacritic 91, 8.1 on IMDb from 609,171 votes.
- 5
The jokes hit harder because the grief is real.
Frances McDormand rents three billboards to call out a stalled police case, and her deadpan fury drives every scene. $162.7 million worldwide on a $12 to $15 million budget.
- 4
Wes Anderson's funniest movie, and the lobby boy is the reason.
Tony Revolori's deadpan lobby boy plays straight man to Ralph Fiennes's chaos, and the jailbreak runs on pastries. Audiences rank it above 98% of notable movies, 8.1 on IMDb.
- 3
Filed under comedy, which is the funniest thing about it.
Richard Linklater shot the same family for years, so the haircuts double as a calendar. Critics rank it above 98% of notable movies, and 165 minutes somehow fly.
- 2
Zero villains, and the biggest threat is a gust of wind.
Dad laughs loudly in the bath to scare off the spooks, Mei stomps around like a tiny general, and nobody is ever mean for real. Critics rank it above 96% of notable movies.
- 1
Still the sharpest satire ever put on film.
A general convinced fluoride is a communist plot starts a nuclear crisis, and he explains it with a completely straight face. Audiences rank it above 99% of notable movies, critics 98%.
Change my mind. Which of these is secretly not a comedy? Make your case.
$5,127 says you try the Totoro bath laugh the next time the house makes a weird noise.
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Current mood: ready to fight about it