Favorite smart comedies?

[The Borgified Corpse]

It doesn't take a genius to appreciate slapstick or broad humiliation. But of the "smart" comedies out there, what are your favorites? As for me...

Rushmore
Wes Anderson is the king of quirky comedies but none of the rest are as good as this 1998 film about an overachieving high school student and a middle aged sad sack industrialist (Bill Murray before it got tiresome seeing him in this role) who both fall in love with a widowed Kindergarten teacher (the beautiful Olivia Williams). The characters are sharply defined and have very real human failings but somewhat exaggerated ways of expressing them.

Hot Fuzz
In some ways, it works as broader humor. However, this comedy cannot be distilled into a few clips for a trailer. The genius is in its careful construction and split-second timing. Simon Pegg & Nick Frost show the potential to be the Laurel & Hardy of our time. I simply must see more movies with these 2 together!

What do you folks think?

 

[Canadave]

I'll second Hot Fuzz, along with Shaun of the Dead. And I'll also add a few...

Doctor Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
One of the most brilliant black comedies ever made, it's a highly quotable lampoon of the Cold War.

Any Monty Python movie
Even Monty Python's Meaning of Life, easily their most "low-ball" work, is quite clever, a cleverness which can be found in pretty much everything they've done.

The Truman Show
Okay, so it's halfway between a drama and a comedy, really, but it's still very well done. Did a great job of predicting the reality TV craze before everything took off, too.

This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind
I include all four of these movies together since the cast and creative teams are shared between so many of them, the latter three especially. It takes talent to pull of a mockumentary well, and its done in spades in all four of these movies.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Midnight Run The characters are not looking for a laugh particularly.

 

[Velocity]

I like the movie Roxanne. It's a good entertaining movie; unlike the CRAP Steve Martin is showing up in these days.

 

[Mick of Time]

Tootsie. This is one I'll never get tired of. Every scene between Sidney Pollack and Dustin Hoffman is dynamite, and you'll never convince me there's been a more lovely leading lady than Jessica Lange. And it never goes for the cheap gag, despite the many opportunities. Hmm...wonder what I'm watching tonight?

 

[JNG]

Rushmore
Wes Anderson is the king of quirky comedies but none of the rest are as good as this 1998 film about an overachieving high school student and a middle aged sad sack industrialist (Bill Murray before it got tiresome seeing him in this role) who both fall in love with a widowed Kindergarten teacher (the beautiful Olivia Williams). The characters are sharply defined and have very real human failings but somewhat exaggerated ways of expressing them.

I can't agree more and think this is an amazing film. To see it on a list of smart comedies seems right...to see it next to said list next to "Hot Fuzz" is a little bit harder for me to understand, but okay. In particular, this film has a really remarkable soundtrack.

Tootsie. This is one I'll never get tired of. Every scene between Sidney Pollack and Dustin Hoffman is dynamite, and you'll never convince me there's been a more lovely leading lady than Jessica Lange. And it never goes for the cheap gag, despite the many opportunities. Hmm...wonder what I'm watching tonight?

If only they'd stop playing that theme song over and over and over!

 

[ancientone51]

To switch genres...Frasier is always at the top of my list. Even its bad episodes are better than a lot of other stuff out there.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

The Dish - An Australian take on the Apollo moonlanding. The live TV pictures that the world saw had to be relayed through a satellite dish at Parkes, and for a brief moment the world's eyes were on a small town in Australia. And small town Australia meeting big city NASA makes for a charming culture clash.

Local Hero - Another small town, this time in Scotland, becomes the target of a major Oil Company who wants to buy it and build a refinery there. They send a guy to complete the negotiations who winds up falling in love with the place, but the residents see a get rich quick scheme and are happy to sell. The once stickler is a recalcitrant beachcomber who actually owns the beach he lives on.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Rushmore and Election.

 

[Small White Car]

The Impostors

It includes its fair share of slapstick, to be sure, but there's so much more there. It's really fantastic.

 

[Barbados Slim]

Rushmore is great.

Go
Amelie
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
The Court Jester
Sideways
Annie Hall

 

[Canadave]

The Dish - An Australian take on the Apollo moonlanding. The live TV pictures that the world saw had to be relayed through a satellite dish at Parkes, and for a brief moment the world's eyes were on a small town in Australia. And small town Australia meeting big city NASA makes for a charming culture clash.

Great movie.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The Philadelphia Story
Bringing Up Baby
It Happened One Night
Election
After Hours
Ed Wood
Prizzi's Honor
Flirting with Disaster
Stranger than Fiction
Doctor Strangelove
Fargo
Raising Arizona
Groundhog Day
Tootsie
O Brother Where Art Thou?
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Bowfinger
Clockwatchers
Primary Colors
Thank You for Smoking
Saved!
Little Miss Sunshine
Being There
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
SLC Punk
Wag the Dog
Best in Show