critical mass top five comedy films of

THE CRITICAL MASS TOP FIVE COMEDY FILMS OF ALL TIME!

Comedy comes in many forms. Farce, parody, screwball, black, satire,

it is an extremely difficult genre to get right. But when delivered

well, comedy can be the greatest of cinema experiences. After all, who

doesn't love to laugh?

So here, in chronological order, are the Critical Mass Top 5 Comedy

Films.

1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the

Bomb (1964) - Stanley Kubrick.

Set in three locations, the Presidential War Room, the cramped

interior of a B-52 Bomber, and the office of US Air Force Brigadier

General Jack D. Ripper, Strangelove opens with Ripper, a commie

fearing lunatic, ordering an all out nuclear strike on the Soviet

Union. Arriving too late to stop Ripper is Group Captain Lionel

Mandrake, a British officer who must witness first hand, Ripper's

lunacy and mad theories.

Meanwhile, in the US Government War Room, President Merkin Muffley

must try to diffuse the situation with the Russians, gain control of

his own military, fend off gung-ho General Turgidson and deal with

mad-cap ex Nazi Dr. Strangelove. And on a sole B-52 bomber, Major T.J.

'King' Kong is determined to deliver his payload to the 'Ruskies' at

any cost.

Kubrick's comedy is first and foremost a satire, a comedic warning of

the folly of attacking an enemy without provocation and the

consequences of such drastic decisions. The film is such a well

written and precise piece of work that it still holds up today as an

anti-war film. But along with the message comes some of the finest

performances from the ensemble cast, led by Peter Sellers is at his

career best. Sellers largely improvises three distinct roles- Group

Captain Lionel Mandrake, President Muffley and the mad-cap Dr.

Strangelove. Dr. Strangelove comes as close as a film comes to being a

perfect comedy. The script, written by Kubrick and Terry Southern is

laugh out loud hilarious while still retaining a caustic edge as a

response to the nuclear fears of the sixties.

2. Young Frankenstein (1974) - Mel Brooks.

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein is the grandson of the famous scientist

Victor Von Frankenstein. He tries to distance himself from the legacy

of his famous relative, to the point of changing the pronunciation of

his surname (now pronounced Fronk-en-shteen). When a solicitor finds

Dr. Frankenstein, he informs the doctor that he has inherited his

family's estate. Frankenstein travels to the estate and finds his

grandfather's journal. He then sets about completing his grandfather's

great experiment.

Mel Brooks has created some fantastic spoof films. After the brilliant

Blazing Saddles, he teamed up once again with Gene Wilder for Young

Frankenstein. The film faithfully parodies the classic Frankenstein

movies while injecting the script (written largely by Wilder) with the

usual Brooks zany humour. The ensemble cast are all fantastic,

particularly Marty Feldman as Frankenstein's freaky-looking

hunch-backed assistant, Igor and Peter Boyle's Monster, who is

hilarious in the 'Puttin' On The Ritz' routine. Add to that one of

cinema's great cameos from Gene Hackman, and you've a film that still

remains hilarous 33 years after it's initial release.

3. Annie Hall (1977) - Woody Allen.

Alvy Singer is a neurotic, death-obsessed New York stand-up comedian.

The film opens with Alvy telling the viewer he has broken up with his

girlfriend, Annie and then chronicles the various relationships Alvy

has been a part of, including his relationship with Annie. After she

leaves New York for a singing career in Hollywood, Alvy resigns

himself to the fact that Annie is the love of his life and tries to

get her back.

Woody Allen is possibly the only true auteur working in the film

industry. In his forty-two years writing and directing movies, Allen

has created some classics. But Annie Hall stands out as his greatest

work. The film employs a variety of techniques. Alvy often breaks the

forth wall and addresses the audience directly, Allen employs

split-screen technique and uses subtitles to express characters' real

thoughts while in conversation. But it is Allen's script that is the

real star of the film. It is immensely autobiographical and honest.

And as such, it is full of moments of awkwardness and calamity, but

for every awkward moment, there are ten brilliantly-phrased and

impeccably timed one-liners. Woody Allen is an institution himself;

this is his quintessential work. And the greatest, and most

unconventional romantic comedy every made.

4. This Is Spinal Tap (1984) - Rob Reiner.

Marti DiBurghi, a documentarian, chronicles the career of the world's

loudest rock band, Spinal Tap. The band, which is led by Nigel Tufnel

and David St. Hubbins on guitars and vocals, and Derek Smalls on bass

guitar, embark on the US leg of their 'Smell the Glove' tour. Along

the way, the band experiences disasters both internal and external,

but soldier on, proving the lasting power of heavy metal music.

There's not much that can be said about This Is Spinal Tap that hasn't

been said before. But the fact remains, This Is Spinal Tap is the

funniest film ever made. Director Rob Reiner and stars, Christopher

Guest (Nigel Tufnel), Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins) and Harry

Shearer (Derek Smalls) got a hold of band footage and, taking

inspiration, improvised most of the scenes in the film. And the

resulting film hit pretty close to the bone, with many professional

musicians failing to see the humour. But then, that just proves the

genius of the film. The ineptitude and stupidity of all the characters

make for some of the funniest moments and most quotable lines in any

film ever. After This Is Spinal Tap, Christopher Guest went on to

write and direct some fantastic mockumentaries himself (Waiting For

Guffman, Best In Show, etc). 'It's such a fine line between stupid,

and clever,' David St. Hubbins once said. This Is Spinal Tap resides

safely on the clever side of the line!

5. The Big Lebowski (1998) - Joel Coen.

Jeffery 'The Dude' Lebowski, a bowling-loving stoner, arrives home to

find two goons waiting for him. One of them pees on his rug. The Dude

soon finds out the goons were looking for another Jeffrey Lebowski and

he sets out to get a replacement for the rug from his millionaire

namesake. After stealing one of Lebowski's rugs for himself, The Dude

becomes embroiled in a plot involving Lebowski's kidnapped trophy

wife, Bunny, Lebowski's artist daughter, and a bunch of German

ex-musician nihilists.

The Coen brothers created in The Big Lebowski, a film that is much

more than a comedy. It is a homage to the Raymond Chandler style noirs

of the forties. The Dude is faced with a plot involving all manner of

shady characters and must put the pieces of a puzzle together in order

to get what he wants. However, The Dude, and almost every character he

is surrounded by are in fact, morons. And it's in this that the film

finds it's comedy. Performed by a brilliant cast, including Jeff

Bridges as the Dude, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour

Hoffman and John Turturro, every character is both quirky and unique.

But it's John Goodman's gun-toting, Vietnam-vet loon, Walter Sobchak

who steals the show. The second most quotable film of all time (see

entry #4 for the most quotable film), The Big Lebowski isn't perfect.

But it is hilarious, and that's all that really matters.