Funny Movies

Funny movies have long been a hit in the children's movie market, but comedy films made for an adult audience have always had to compete with a wider variety of genres. Despite the challenges, there have been many commercially successful funny movies produced over the years – and by funny movies, I mean the kind the make you laugh out loud, not the ones that are so strange they leave you scratching your head (although there are plenty of those, too!).

Different organizations have compiled top five, top ten, and top 100 lists of funny movies. Many of these lists are available online, but if you take a look at the rankings, the same movies are higher or lower on the list depending on who has compiled it. Despite the differences in opinion, however, there seems to be a number of funny movies that appear on almost every all-time funniest movies list. Some of the titles included in this elite list are: Airplane! (1980), Dr. Strangelove (1964), The Graduate (1967), Young Frankenstein (1974), and Blazing Saddle (1974).

All of these films are more than a quarter century old. For those of you favour more contemporary work, here are some of the more recent, although not universally acknowledged, funny movies: There's Something About Mary (1998), Meet the Parents (2000), Happy Gilmore (1996), Dumb & Dumber (1994), and Fargo (1996).

So what makes funny movies so funny? Witty dialogue, with quick comebacks and keen delivery are common themes in funny movies, but every viewer has his or her own view of what's funny and what makes a funny movie. While some viewers prefer the ‘pie in the face' silliness of classic slapstick comedy, others will react to dry humor, satire or romantic comedy. With so many funny movies available today, it's not surprising that everyone has their own opinion about what will make an audience laugh.