100 Best Comedy Movies - Contributors Lists - H-J

The contributors to our list of the 100 best comedy movies, featuring comedians Russell Howard, Dom Joly and Richard Herring

As chosen by...

Linked title denotes top 100 placing

Julian Hall

Julian Hall is a freelance comedy writer and comedy critic for The Independent. His book ‘The Rough Guide to British Cult Comedy’ was published in October 2006.

1. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)
2. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (John Hughes, 1987)
3. The Man With Two Brains (Carl Reiner, 1983)
4. Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974)
5. Beverley Hills Cop (Martin Brest, 1984)
6. Four Weddings and a Funeral (Mike Newell, 1994)
7. Strictly Ballroom (Baz Luhrmann, 1992)
8. Pretty In Pink (Howard Deutch (1986)
9. Crimes and Misdemeanours (Woody Allen, 1989)
10. Carry On Cleo (Gerald Thomas, 1964)

I can watch ‘Groundhog Day’ over and over again, funnily enough. I especially like the scene where Phil backtracks on his dismissive attitude towards French poetry. I think he got it right first time myself, but I now grudgingly admit that there are lovely Ritas out there worth ‘selling out’ and getting happy for. In the spirit of hedging one’s bets I was also interested to hear that Nancy makes chipmunk noises when she gets real excited.

Phil Harrison

TV Writer, Time Out.

Nick Helm

Nick Helm is a furiously energetic, gravel-voiced stand-up, named one of Dave’s Top 10 Stand-Ups to Catch in 2011. He was nominated for the Chortle Award for Best Breakthrough Act the same year and has guested on ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’.

I was 12 when I saw ‘Army of Darkness’ and over the subsequent years I must have got my mum to rent it out for me over 30 times before I bought it. After that, I wore out three VHS copies before it came out on DVD. I now own three different versions of it but they still haven’t released the original UK theatrical cut, which in my opinion is the best. Bruce Campbell has never been better than in this film.

Richard Herring

Stand-up Richard Herring is most famous for his programmes with Stewart Lee, ‘Fist of Fun’ and ‘This Morning with Richard Not Judy’. An Edinburgh veteran, he has performed 32 shows at the Scottish arts festival. See Richard Herring live.

Simon Hickson

Simon Hickson is one half of comedy duo Trevor & Simon, along with Trevor Neal. They’re best known for their contributions to ‘Going Live!’ and ‘Live & Kicking’ throughout the ’80s and ’90s. They produce a regular podcast.

Wil Hodgson

Wil Hodgson is a Chippenham-based storytelling comedian. In 2004 he won the Perrier Best Newcomer award. He is a collector of My Little Pony figurettes.

1. The Burbs (Joe Dante, 1989)
2. Happy Gilmore (Dennis Dugan, 1996)
3. Carry on Doctor (Gerald Thomas, 1967)
4. Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life (Terry Jones, 1983)
5. National Lampoon’s Vacation (Harold Ramis, 1983)
6. BASEketball (David Zucker, 1998)
7. Slap Shot (George Roy Hill, 1977)
8. Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask (Woody Allen, 1972)
9. Johnny Dangerously (Amy Heckerling, 1984)
10. Our Relations (Harry Lackman, 1936)

‘The Burbs’ is a lesser known film in which Tom Hanks and his mates in the titular suburbs are convinced their new neighbours are murderous Satanists and go to hilarious lengths to prove it. Bruce Dern steals the show as a crazed ’Nam veteran. Oddly enough, I always wish I lived on their street when I watch it.

Amy Hoggart

Amy Hoggart is one half of the ‘Christmas for Two’ double act, along with Sarah Campbell. The pair performed their sketch show ‘Friends With You’ at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe.

1. Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson, 1987)
2. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
3. Monty Python's Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979)
4. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, 1986)
5. Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995)
6. 2GE+HER (Nigel Dick, 2000)
7. In The Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009)
8. The Parole Officer (John Duigan, 2001)
9. A Cock and Bull Story (Michael Winterbottom, 2005)
10. Wayne's World (Penelope Spheeris, 1992)

Colin Hoult

Colin Hoult has performed three critically acclaimed, deliciously dark character comedy shows, ‘Carnival of Monsters’, ‘Enemy of the World’ and ‘Inferno’. He’s also a Writers’ Guild Award winner and has had guest parts on ‘This is Jinsy’ and ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’.

People may tell you that ‘Barton Fink’ isn’t a funny film (my brother Steve for example). They are wrong. It is easily one of my biggest inspirations in comedy. Just look at the amazing comic performances from the detectives, the movie mogul, the producer, the writer and even John Goodman, who strides the line of being hilarious and utterly terrifying at once. A masterclass in character comedy and beautiful, dark comic dialogue.

Russell Howard

Russell Howard is one of the most successful stand-ups in the UK. His BBC3 series ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’ pulls in an average audience of three million per episode and he has performed multiple sell-out arena tours. Not bad for a boy from Bristol…

Josh Howie

Josh Howie is a stand-up comedian, regular contributor to The Guardian and reviewer for Sky Movies magazine. He has taken three solo shows to the Edinburgh Fringe. See Josh Howie live.

Tom Huddleston

Tom Huddleston is a film writer at Time Out.

Ten American movies, disgracefully, with no room for ‘Whisky Galore’, ‘A Fish Called Wanda’, ‘The Ladykillers’, ‘Life of Brian’, ‘Smiles of a Summer Night’, ‘Zero de Conduite’ or ‘Withnail & I’, or indeed many more US classics – ‘Down By Law’, ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’, ‘The Jerk’, ‘To Be or Not To Be’, ‘Midnight Run’, ‘The Philadelphia Story’, ‘There's Something About Mary’, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’, ‘The Hard Way’, ‘Evil Dead 2’, ‘A Night at the Opera’, ‘The General’, ‘The Kid’, ‘Ghostbusters’, ‘Team America’, ‘Porky's 2’ (trust me!) and loads of movies I couldn't quite decide were comedies: ‘The Last Detail’, ‘Sweet Smell of Success’, ‘Crash’, ‘The Player’, ‘Bulworth’, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Be Kind Rewind’, ‘Brazil’... Sad, really.

Sean Hughes

A stand-up comedian for 25 years and 1990 Perrier Award winner, Sean Hughes is best known for his Channel 4 sitcom ‘Sean’s Show’ and as a former team captain on ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’. His plan to convince others to vote for ‘Midnight Run’ hasn’t quite worked.

1. Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988)
2. The Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998)
3. Elf (Jon Favreau, 2003)
4. Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, 2006)
5. Broadway Danny Rose (Woody Allen, 1984)
6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Milos Forman, 1975)
7. True Romance (Tony Scott, 1993)
8. Meet The Parents (Jay Roach, 2000)
9. K-9 (Rod Daniel, 1989)
10. The Jerk (Carl Reiner, 1979)

Robin Ince

Robin Ince - © Rob Greig

Robin Ince is a stand-up comic and science populariser. He’s the co-presenter of Radio 4’s ‘Infinite Monkey Cage’ with Professor Brian Cox and the creator of science-comedy hybrid shows ‘Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People’ and ‘Uncaged Monkeys’. He’s also a regular on Radio 4 and author of ‘Robin Ince’s Bad Book Club’. See Robin Ince live.

1. Arsenic And Old Lace (Frank Capra, 1944)
2. Anchorman (Adam McKay, 2004)
3. This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984)
4. Sons of the Desert (William A. Seiter, 1933)
5. The Music Box (James Parrott, 1932)
6. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)
7. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
8. Pink Flamingos (John Waters, 1972)
9. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
10. The Happiest Days of Your Life (Frank Launder, 1950)

Jeff Innocent

Jeff Innocent is a successful circuit stand-up, headlining clubs across the country. He also has several writing and acting credits to his name. See Jeff Innocent live.

Eri Jackson

Eri Jackson is half of deadpan musical comedy duo Ginger & Black. She has acted in Johnny Vegas-starring sitcom ‘Ideal’ and BBC3 sketch show ‘The Wrong Door’.

1. The Naked Gun 2 1/2 (David Zucker, 1991)
2. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (John Hughes, 1987)
3. Sister Act (Emile Ardolino, 1992)
4. Addams Family Values (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1993)
5. Ghostbusters 2 (Ivan Reitman, 1989)
6. Problem Child 2 (Brian Levant, 1991)
7. Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
8. Monty Python's Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979)
9. Trading Places (John Landis, 1983)
10. The Man With Two Brains (Carl Reiner, 1983)

My number one choice is just for the moment the villain gets backed into a corner, falls out of the hotel window, bounces off a parasol, lands safely on his feet, but then gets eaten by a random lion. That moment is so funny, it makes me feel genuinely ill.

David Jenkins

David Jenkins is a film writer (and list monkey) at Time Out.

1. Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)
2. Way Out West (James W. Horne, 1937)
3. To Be or Not to Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
4. The Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998)
5. A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, 1935)
6. Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana (Aki Kaurismaki, 1994)
7. Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1996)
8. OC & Stiggs (Robert Altman, 1985)
9. The Carriers are Waiting (Benoît Mariage, 1999)
10. Barcelona (Whit Stillman, 1994)

And bubbling under: ‘Bowfinger’, ‘Aprile’, ‘This Is Spinal Tap’, ‘Nuts in May’, ‘Holiday’, ‘Silk Stockings’, ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, ‘Zazie Dans le Métro’, ‘Wild Grass’, ‘Mr Baseball’.

Dom Joly

Dom Joly is the creator of hidden camera show ‘Trigger Happy TV’, a regular columnist for The Independent and author of travel book ‘The Dark Tourist’. He most recently took to the stage in his debut tour ‘Welcome to Wherever I Am’.

‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ is an almost perfect, old fashioned caper in the south of France with Steve Martin and Michael Caine as two con men. It just makes me laugh so much. My favourite scene (of many) was Steve Martin nonchalantly pushing an old lady into the sea – and it was only in the trailer, it wasn't even in the film.

Alice Jones

Alice Jones is the deputy arts editor of The Independent.

The opening hour of ‘Anchorman’ is one of the most blissfully funny in any comedy fiIm. The macho newsroom is spot on, the writing brilliantly dense and, of course, endlessly, enjoyably quotable. Will Ferrell has never been more unhinged or hilarious and the supporting cast (Rudd, Carell, Stiller...) are at their team-playing best. I could watch it over and over again – and have done so. You may agree to disagree.

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Comments

By Andrew Bruce - Sep 16 2011

The fact you had to put Ice Cube in your short list doesn't really give weight to your argument.

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By Imdad Hussain - Sep 15 2011

Nice to white comics picking mostly white xomedy films, it seems, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Ice Cube, The Wayons, etc ever existed!!! Come one TimeOut which city do you exist in???