100 best comedy movies – contributors W

Linked title denotes top 100 placing

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‘I know a little German... he's sitting over there’.

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Every time I watch ‘Airplane!’ there’s a new joke. Hilarious from first minute to last. Well written slapstick comedy at its best. A style I couldn’t write or perform in but love to watch. Would love them to make a third film with people like Harry Hill and Tim Vine in it.

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I think ‘There's Something About Mary’ is massively underrated. Just because it has a few dollops of (hilarious!) gross-out slapstick, people ignore the fact that it's a brilliantly structured comedy (e.g. the two balancing scenes with Magda's dog on two different drugs) with a surprising amount to say about the nature of love.

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I chose ‘Not Another Teen Movie’ because it combines my love of teen movies and ridiculous ‘Airplane!’-style humour. The performances and writing are top notch and it's full of subtle bits you can discover over and over upon several watchings.

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If ‘Groundhog Day’ has cracked your annual Christmas must-watch list then you really need to add ‘Elf’. Mandatory annual watching in the Whitehead household. Will Ferrell is at his best and this is one of the most imaginative feelgood comedies of the decade.

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‘The Hudsucker Proxy’ is my favourite Coen brothers film: fantastic story about a man who starts from nothing then has it all but gets tricked, chewed up and spat out – but finds true love. My favourite scene is his induction to the mail room: excellent satire of how training in all my previous jobs has felt.

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‘I feel some explanation is needed. Firstly, ‘Best in Show’ appears higher in the list than ‘Spinal Tap’ for one reason: it features more Fred Willard. ‘Mean Girls’ is an overlooked comedy gem with a super-sharp script by Tina Fey. And ‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’ certainly isn't the best film ever made (it isn't even Mel Brooks’ best) but, when I first saw it aged five, it introduced me to Brooks and I'm certain I still quote at least one line from it every single day.

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Like most of the films on my list, I used to watch ‘Groundhog Day’ pretty much on a loop as a kid. It’s a film that beautifully fuses together two of my favourite things: namely, Bill Murray and time travel. The result is a science fiction comedy that’s easy on the sci-fi and big on heart. Even Andie MacDowell can't ruin this perfect film.

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To my mind ‘Till Death Us Do Part’ was the only sitcom that ever transferred to the big screen successfully and had a reason for being. The back story of Alf Garnett actually portrayed him as a three dimensional character and explained why he ended up the way he did. Not only was it well acted and written (by Johnny Speight) but the whole cast showed they were actors of calibre.

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Hmm. Tricky. The order is arbitrary to some degree as I’m sure it is with everyone, especially from number two down. ‘The Princess Bride’ made it to number one because I am never not in the mood to watch it. Although the same probably applies to ‘Airplane!’... and ‘Ghostbusters’… oh dear.

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There is more visual and verbal wit in the opening 15 minutes of ‘Raising Arizona’ than some comedy writers or directors manage in their entire career. And even better than that, the rest of the film lives up to it. Hugely influential, highly enjoyable. A film I can watch again and again and again.

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