The original CAPE FEAR is vastly better than the Scorsese remake. Robert Mitchum could kill de Niro with one dirty look.
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Iâm a big fan of a lot of movies that predate even my time. Casablanca is my all time favorite along with North by Northwest and To Catch a Thief, many of the old movies with Jimmy Stewart or Humphrey Bogart, The Bridge over the River Kwai is a must watch for me when I can see it, and anything that had Grace Kelly in it.
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If youâre not finding contemporary film comedies to your liking, why not watch some brilliant comedies from the past? Off the top of my head:
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Adamâs Rib (1949)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Producers (1968)
MAS*H (1970)
Harold and Maude (1971)
Animal House (1978)
Being There (1979)
The Jerk (1979)
Caddyshack (1980)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Two personal favorites from Europe:
Local Hero (1983)
Withnail & I (1987)
Hollywood does not produce as many comedies nowadays for a lot of reasons, a major one being that the studio execsâ âconventional wisdomâ is comedy does not âtravelâ well in international markets. The idea being that what is funny in one culture may not be funny in another.
My response: Someone slipping on a banana peel and falling on their ass is funny worldwide.
The good news is there are many more comedies in production the last year or two, so youâll be seeing more in theaters over the next 12-24 months.
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I grew up watching movie reruns on Comedy Central and I was obsessed with Corky Romano. The horror on my face when I got to the age of self-actualization to actually search Corky Romano on Rotten Tomatoes and see it at 7%⌠still a classic to me.
edit: now Iâm nostalgia tripping. Rat Race. Little Nicky. Bubble Boy. Man I cant believe Blockbuster was a thing
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Some really great movies listed there. The Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant or Spencer Tracy comedies were really good. Spencer Tracy is another of my favorite actors. His rendition of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was masterful.
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Youâll get no argument from me, but I still enjoyed the DeNiro/Nolte remake. I particularly enjoyed DeNiroâs Max Cady delivering the line âGrandmama drank strychnine and Granddaddy handled snakes in church. Iâd say that gives me a leg up, genetically speaking.â
Haha thanks for that. Forgot about Corky Romano (âYou guys want some coookiesâ)
I used to rent âThe Pestâ. Just looked it upâŚ4% rotten tomatoes.
Dude whereâs my car, Freddie Got Fingered and Road Trip in that tier below but still entertaining. American Pie series was all about seeing bare breasts and laughing your ass off.
Grandmas Boy and Forgetting Sarah Marshall are top tier for me.
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I saw all of these as a teenager, and theyâve pretty much defined my comic sensibilities ever since. My wife and I both grew up loving The Jerk. We watched it together a couple years ago and were amazed at how well itâs held up.
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I absolutely agree with this list. All are in my top 10 all time favorites. We must be kindred spirits 
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Let me add Dudley Mooreâs Arthur to the discussion.
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Funniest movie I ever saw was Blazing Saddles.
Watch the Producers with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. Dick Shawn playing Hitler is all-time.
Watch the Leone spaghetti westerns.
Then go into the westerns from there - the Searchers, Stagecoach, She wore a Yellow Ribbon, the list is expansive.
Then move to modern westerns of Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven, Cry Macho.
Throw in a personal favorite - Jeremiah Johnson.
Last of the Mohicans, Braveheart, Gladiatior (or the holy trinity as they are referred to in my house).
BTW, has it really been 27 years since Saving Private Rayan came out? Wow.
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I can never flip past Jeremiah Johnson, ever.
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Jojo Rabbit
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That should have won Best Picture, imo.
I love The Jerk AND was surprised to read this. From a pure runtime perspective, youâre probably right that 95%+ of it is still socially acceptable and hilarious.
But that other <5% is really tough to defend today.
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There was an industry screening in L.A. tonight of The Naked Gun. Initial buzz: Itâs hysterical, a worthy sequel to the original. Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson are great together. Theatrical release date: August 1st.
I wonder if this bit with Ricky Gervais might have sparked Neeson taking on the role of Frank Drebin Jr.
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The Jerk is an all time amazing movie. The opening line would get the movie canceled today.
Look beyond that and you have an extremely funny and well thought out movie.
Blazing Saddles falls into a similar category. Extremely smart
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That bit is an all time hilarious one
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Thatâs right where I am on both of those movies. Thereâs no getting around the offensiveness of Navinâs origin story in the Jerk and the overt racism in Blazing Saddles. But I think (hope?) thatâs kind of the point of it . And the fact that the black actors in both casts seem to be in on the joke is what redeems that humor for me (and the fact that Richard Pryor co-wrote the Blazing Saddles script with Mel Brooks). I kind of look at those specific parts of Blazing Saddles and The Jerk as being in harmony with the work of Robert Townsend in Hollywood Shuffle and Keenan Ivory Wayans in Iâm Gonna Git You Sucka (two more hilarious films, by the way). Kind of skewering racism with racism, if that makes any sense.
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No doubt. See my reply to @BDragon above for my attempt to reconcile that part of The Jerk with my love for the movie as a whole.
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