The 100 Greatest Comedies of All Time – 2018 Edition
Can we really take a list of the Best Comedies seriously if it includes 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Goodfellas'?
In 2016, we covered TimeOut.com's list of the 100 Greatest Comedies of All Time. This list was unique compared to others of the sort as they compiled their list by polling comedians, actors, directors, and critics. This kind of list is the closest you can get to scientific peer-reviewed work for this genre. While gathering information for a recent podcast, I went to check the 2016 list and found that it had just been updated the previous week, with new movies making the list. As a matter of fact, 26% of the list contains movies that weren't on the 2016 list. Of the movies that were on the 2016 list, 37 moved up in their ranking, 31 dropped, and 6 held on to their 2016 spot.
Like the 2016 list, the 2018 list was compiled by polling those involved in movie-making and comedy, such as Dan Aykroyd, Edgar Wright, Bill Burr, Jodie Whitaker, Peter Capaldi, and John Boyega, just to name a few.
As mentioned above, the list does contain some interesting additions and movies not normally considered comedies, with 'Pulp Fiction' and 'GoodFellas' being ranked #98 and #64, respectively. In fact,'GoodFellas' was #10 on Dan Akyroyd's personal list.
Below is the 2018 ranking and were the movie was on the 2016 list:
2018 | 2016 Rank | |
100. | Meet the Parents (2000) | Not Listed |
99. | Mean Girls (2004) | 90 |
98. | Pulp Fiction (1994) | Not Listed |
97. | Hot Fuzz (2007) | 62 |
96. | Safety Last! (1923) | Not Listed |
95. | The Graduate (1967) | Not Listed |
94. | Local Hero (1983) | Not Listed |
93. | The Philadelphia Story (1940) | Not Listed |
92. | Harold and Maude (1971) | 46 |
91. | There's Something About Mary (1998) | 27 |
90. | Superbad (2007) | Not Listed |
89. | The Gold Rush (1925) | Not Listed |
88. | The Mask (1994) | Not Listed |
87. | Broadcast News (1987) | Not Listed |
86. | School of Rock (2003) | Not Listed |
85. | Waiting for Guffman (1996) | 39 |
84. | Love and Death (1975) | 49 |
83. | Sullivan's Travels (1941) | 83 |
82. | Old School (2003) | 76 |
81. | Slap Shot (1977) | Not Listed |
80. | The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) | Not Listed |
79. | Office Space (1999) | 45 |
78. | The Great Dictator (1940) | 89 |
77. | As Good As It Gets (1997) | Not Listed |
76. | Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994) | 55 |
75. | The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) | 61 |
74. | Kingpin (1996) | 63 |
73. | Best In Show (2000) | 26 |
72. | Way Out West (1936) | 53 |
71. | Mr Hulot's Holiday (1953) | 86 |
70. | The Cable Guy (1996) | Not Listed |
69. | Top Secret! (1984) | 37 |
68. | The Party (1968) | 73 |
67. | Take the Money and Run (1969) | Not Listed |
66. | Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985) | Not Listed |
65. | Heaven Can Wait (1943) | Not Listed |
64. | GoodFellas (1990) | Not Listed |
63. | Bananas! (1971) | 75 |
62. | Wayne's World (1992) | 28 |
61. | A Fish Called Wanda (1988) | 87 |
60. | Midnight Run (1988) | 94 |
59. | Clueless (1995) | Not Listed |
58. | Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) | 93 |
57. | Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) | Not Listed |
56. | It Happened One Night (1934) | Not Listed |
55. | Toy Story (1995) | Not Listed |
54. | The Man With Two Brains (1983) | 32 |
53. | Bedazzled (1967) | 72 |
52. | The Odd Couple (1968) | 41 |
51. | Sons of the Desert (1933) | Not Listed |
50. | Raising Arizona (1987) | Not Listed |
49. | In The Loop (2009) | 33 |
48. | The King of Comedy (1982) | Not Listed |
47. | Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) | 34 |
46. | The Producers (1967) | 30 |
45. | Rushmore (1998) | 29 |
44. | Broadway Danny Rose (1984) | 71 |
43. | The Blues Brothers (1980) | 54 |
42. | His Girl Friday (1940) | 67 |
41. | Napoleon Dynamite (2004) | 38 |
40. | The Pink Panther (1963) | 82 |
39. | Coming to America (1988) | 64 |
38. | Nuts in May (1976) | 92 |
37. | Elf (2003) | 65 |
36. | The General (1926) | 70 |
35. | National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) | 66 |
34. | When Harry Met Sally... (1989) | 50 |
33. | A Night at the Opera (1935) | 56 |
32. | Shaun of the Dead (2004) | 16 |
31. | ¡Three Amigos! (1986) | 40 |
30. | South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) | 19 |
29. | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) | 51 |
28. | Zoolander (2001) | 35 |
27. | Blazing Saddles (1974) | 15 |
26. | The Castle (1997) | 25 |
25. | Bridesmaids (2011) | 79 |
24. | Play it Again, Sam (1972) | 48 |
23. | Tootsie (1982) | 43 |
22. | Ghostbusters (1984) | 23 |
21. | Young Frankentein (1974) | 52 |
20. | Four Lions (2010) | 24 |
19. | Duck Soup (1933) | 17 |
18. | Dr Strangelove (1964) | 14 |
17. | Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) | 21 |
16. | Trading Places (1983) | 20 |
15. | Some Like It Hot (1959) | 9 |
14. | Dumb & Dumber (1994) | 22 |
13. | The Naked Gun (1988) | 18 |
12. | The Big Lebowski (1998) | 13 |
11. | Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) | 6 |
10. | Borat: Cultural Learnings of America... (2006) | 12 |
9. | Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) | 5 |
8. | Team America: World Police (2004) | 11 |
7. | Withnail & I (1987) | 7 |
6. | The Jerk (1979) | 10 |
5. | Groundhog Day (1993) | 8 |
4. | Annie Hall (1977) | 4 |
3. | Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) | 3 |
2. | Airplane! (1980) | 2 |
1. | This Is Spinal Tap (1984) | 1 |
Just like 2016, the 1980s dominated the list, but had an overall drop in number compared to two years ago, with the 20s, 30s, and 40s, picking up the dropped numbers:
2016 | 2018 | |
1920s: | 1% | 3% |
1930s: | 3% | 5% |
1940s: | 5% | 6% |
1950s: | 3% | 2% |
1960s: | 8% | 8% |
1970s: | 14% | 14% |
1980s: | 28% | 23% |
1990s: | 20% | 21% |
2000s: | 16% | 16% |
2010s: | 2% | 2% |
What movies are you surprised didn't make it to the top 100? What movies do you think shouldn't have made the list? Let us know in the comments below!