100 best comedy movies: the full list


Here's the 100 best comedy movies as chosen by over 200 people whose job it is to make you laugh. We spoke to  dozens of comedy writers, comedy directors, comic actors and stand-up comedians and asked them to share with us their favourite comedy films of all time.

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By Tom Huddleston, David Jenkins, Adam Lee Davies, Derek Adams, Edward Lawrenson, Wally Hammond, Ben Walters, Gabriel Tate and Phil Harrison

100

Sister Act (1992)

Dir Emile Ardolino (Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith)

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99

Carry on Screaming (1966)

Dir Gerald Thomas (Kenneth Williams, Harry H Corbett)

98
Jonathan Pryce in 'Brazil'

Brazil (1985)

Dir Terry Gilliam (Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Michael Palin)

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97

Swingers (1996)

Dir Doug Liman (Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, Jon Favreau)

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96

BASEketball (1998)

Dir David Zucker (Trey Parker, Matt Stone)

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95

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

Dir Blake Edwards (Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk)

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94
Midnight Run

Midnight Run (1988)

Dir Martin Brest (Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin)

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93

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Dir Frank Capra (Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane)

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92

Nuts In May (1976)

Dir Mike Leigh (Roger Sloman, Alison Steadman)

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91

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Dir Rawson Marshall Thurber (Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn)

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90

Mean Girls (2004)

Dir Mark Waters (Lindsay Lohan, Jonathan Bennett, Rachel McAdams)

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89
BLITZKRIEG BOP Chaplin parodies a certain German figure.

The Great Dictator (1940)

Dir Charles Chaplin (Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard)

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88

Arthur (1981)

Dir Steve Gordon (Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud)

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87

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Dir Charles Crichton (John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin)

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86

Mr Hulot's Holiday (1953)

Dir Jacques Tati (Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Micheline Rolla)

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85

Caddyshack (1980)

Dir Harold Ramis (Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray)

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84

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Dir Dean Parisot (Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman)

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83

Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Dir Preston Sturges (Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Robert Warwick)

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82

The Pink Panther (1963)

Dir Blake Edwards (David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner)

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81

Raising Arizona (1987)

Dirs Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, John Goodman)

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80

Clockwise (1986)

Dir Christopher Morahan (John Cleese, Sharon Maiden, Penelope Wilton)

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79

Bridesmaids (2011)

Dir Paul Feig (Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne)

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78
FABLE MANNERS The Hoovers endure nuclear fission.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

FDir Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris (Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear)

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77

Stir Crazy (1980)

Dir Sidney Poitier (Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor)

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76

Old School (2003)

Dir Todd Phillips (Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn)

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75

Bananas!* (1971)

Dir Todd Phillips (Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn)

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74

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

Dir Mike Newell (Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas)

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73

The Party (1968)

Dir Blake Edwards (Peter Sellers, Claudine Longet)

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72

Bedazzled (1967)

Dir Stanley Donen (Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Eleanor Bron)

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71

Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

Dir Woody Allen (Morty Gunty, Jackie Gayle, Corbett Monica)

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70

The General (1926)

Dir Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton (Buster Keaton, Marion Mack)

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69

Clerks (1994)

Dir Kevin Smith (Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti)

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68

The King of Comedy (1982)

Dir Martin Scorsese (Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard)

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67

His Girl Friday (1940)

Dir Howard Hawks (Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy)

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66

National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

Dir John Landis (John Belushi, Peter Riegert)

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65

Elf (2003)

Dir Howard Hawks (Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy)

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64

Coming to America (1988)

Dir John Landis (Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones)

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63

Kingpin (1996)

Dir Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly (Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Bill Murray)

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62
LOST ACTION HEROES Pegg, left, and Frost blaze up.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Dir Edgar Wright (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman)

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61

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Dir Wes Anderson (Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Luke Wilson)

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60

Sleeper (1973)

Dir Woody Allen (Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck)

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59

Happy Gilmore (1996)

Dir Dennis Dugan (Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen)

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58

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

Dir Terry Jones (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin)

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57

The Hangover (2009)

Dir Todd Phillips (Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms)

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56

A Night at the Opera (1935)

Dir Sam Wood (Groucho Marx, Chico Marx and Harpo Marx)

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55

Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994)

Dir Tom Shadyac (Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young)

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54

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Dir John Landis (Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, Frank Oz)

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53

Way Out West (1937)

Dir James W Horne (Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson)

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52

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Dir Mel Brooks (Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle)

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51

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

Dir Frank Oz (Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly)

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50

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Dir Rob Reiner (Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher)

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49

Love and Death (1975)

Dir Woody Allen (Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Georges Adet)

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48

Play It Again, Sam (1972)

Dir Herbert Ross (Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts)

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47

The Apartment (1960)

Dir Billy Wilder (Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray)

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46

Harold and Maude (1971)

Dir Hal Ashby (Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon)

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45

Office Space (1999)

Dir Mike Judge (Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman)

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44

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

Dir Harold Ramis (Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid)

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43

Tootsie (1982)

Dir Sidney Pollack (Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Bill Murray)

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42

The Ladykillers (1955)

Dir Alexander Mackendrick (Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Katie Johnson)

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41

The Odd Couple (1968)

Dir Gene Saks (Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Herb Edelman)

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40

¡Three Amigos! (1986)

Dir John Landis (Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short)

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39

Waiting for Guffman (1997)

Dir Christopher Guest (Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara)

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38

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Dir Jared Hess (Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez)

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37

Top Secret! (1984)

Dirs Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker (Val Kilmer, Omar Sharif, Billy J Mitchell)

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36

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Dir Robert Hamer (Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood)

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35
Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller in 'Zoolander'

Zoolander (2001)

Dir Ben Stiller (Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell)

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34

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Dir Jay Roach (Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley and Michael York)

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33

In the Loop (2009)

Dir Armando Iannucci (Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini)

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32

The Man With Two Brains (1983)

Dir Carl Reiner (Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner, David Warner)

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31

The Princess Bride (1987)

Dir Rob Reiner (Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin)

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30

The Producers (1968)

Dir Mel Brooks (Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn)

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29

Rushmore (1998)

Dir Wes Anderson (Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams)

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28
Wayne's World

Wayne's World (1992)

Dir Penelope Spheeris (Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Tia Carrere)

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27

There's Something About Mary

Dir Christopher Guest (Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey)

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26
Best In Show

Best in Show (2000)

Dir Christopher Guest (Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey)

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25

The Castle (1997)

Dir Rob Stich (Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Eric Bana)

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24

Four Lions (2010)

Dir Chris Morris (Riz Ahmed, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak)

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23

Ghostbusters (1984)

Dir Ivan Reitman (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver)

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22

Dumb & Dumber (1994)

Dirs Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly (Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels)

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21

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

Dir John Hughes (Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean)

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20

Trading Places (1983)

Dir John Landis (Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis)

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19

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

Dir Trey Parker (Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Isaac Hayes)

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18

The Naked Gun (1988)

Dir David Zucker (Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, OJ Simpson)

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17

Duck Soup (1933)

Dir Edgar Wright (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield)

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16

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Dir Edgar Wright (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield)

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15
Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder in 'Blazing Saddles'

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Dir Mel Brooks (Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Slim Pickens)

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14

Dr Strangelove (1964)

Dir Stanley Kubrick (Peter Sellers, George C Scott, Sterling Hayden)

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13

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Dirs Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore)

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12

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

Dir Larry Charles (Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian)

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11

Team America: World Police (2004)

Dirs Trey Parker, Matt Stone (Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Kristen Miller)

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10

The Jerk (1979)

Dir Carl Reiner (Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Carl Gottlieb)

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9

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Dir Billy Wilder (Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon)

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8

Groundhog Day (1993)

Dir Harold Ramis (Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Stephen Tobolowsky)

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7

Withnail & I (1987)

Dir Bruce Robinson (Richard E Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths)

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6

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Dir Adam McKay (Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell)

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5

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Dir Terry Jones (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle et al)

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4
Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in Annie Hall

Annie Hall (1977)

Dir Woody Allen (Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts)

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3

Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

Dir Terry Jones (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle et al)

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2

Airplane! (1980)

Dirs Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker (Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen)

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1

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Dir Rob Reiner (Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Kimberly Stringer)

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Read our contributors' top tens

The 100 best British films

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Comments & ratings

Rated as: 2/5 (6 ratings)

  • I am absolutely stunned that there is not "The mad, mad, mad, mad world" in this list. I think this is the best comedy film ever created. Can watch it every day, just couple minutes of it simply to improve my mood, if it needs it. Same thing with "The shot in the dark" with Peter Sellers.

    gashek Yesterday
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  • I couldn't understand why this list was so bad..then I saw it was a UK publication.

    Jerz About 7 days ago
    Rated as: 1/5
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  • yess! spinal tap finally given the credit it is due. best list of all time. and how can anyone seriously suggest harold and kumar, jesus christ

    ben About 12 days ago
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  • wtf where is harold and kumar!? and number 1 is This is the spinal tap? ive never even heard of that film before, what happened to the 'Friday' series? wow this is probably the worst top 100 list ive seen

    this page is bullshit About 13 days ago
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  • Seriously what's wrong with colours?

    Jack Daniels Mon May 6
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  • I don't know how the voting is conducted, nor from what limited source the pool is drawn, but I can assure you this: 'Stripes,' 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' and 'M*A*S*H' all belong on this list.

    John Tue Apr 30
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  • Why did you list Simon Pegg as being in 1930's Duck Soup? Are you retarded?

    Chris Mon Apr 22
    Rated as: 3/5
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  • Did anyone else notice that Duck soup was credited to Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost?

    Ben Margolis Mon Apr 15
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  • Really? Caddyshack is #85? You should kill yourself...

    Fred Sun Apr 7
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  • The fact that Napoleon Dynamite is higher on your scale than Office Space discredits you completely...

    Fred Sun Apr 7
    Rated as: 1/5
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