20 Comedies You Should Watch Before You Die

1.

National Lampoon’s: Vacation (1983) - This movie brings an all-star cast together including Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron, Anthony Michael Hall and John Candy. The Griswold’s travel across the country to Walley World on their annual family vacation. However the trip is plagued by accidents and misunderstandings that take the family to the brink of insanity.

2.

Waiting for Guffman (1997) - This was the first of many amazing mockumentary films directed by Christopher Guest. The film revolves around Corky St. Clair (Guest) a flamboyant theater director who is charged with putting on a play for the 150th year anniversary of the town of Blaine, Missouri. With little to no budget, St. Clair hires a group of locals to be in a production he hopes to one day take to “broad-way”. The improv from the supporting cast including Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara and Bob Balaban will have you rolling on the floor laughing.

3.

Trading Places (1983) - Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) is a wealthy young man living in a swanky part of Philadelphia. Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) is a street hustling young man living on the other side of town. When their lives are switched due to a bet between two greedy brothers that employ Withrope, only naturally will things turn hilarious.

4.

Tootsie (1982) - Dustin Hoffman plays Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor that can’t find a job in the New York theater scene. Out of work and luck, Dorsey decides to adopt a new identity as Dorothy Michaels, a sweet but strong woman who lands a role on the popular soap opera Southwest General. This film won several awards and the screenplay is regarded as one of the best comedy screenplays ever written.

5.

The Jerk (1979) - The movie that started Steve Martin’s career still stands the test of time. The film centers around Navin R. Johnson (Martin) who leaves his small town in Mississippi to become “Somebody” in the world. After seeing this movie you’ll never look at oil cans at gas stations again without smiling.

6.

Stripes (1981) - Starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and John Candy, the story revolves around two deadbeat friends (Murray and Ramis) who decide to join the U.S. Army so that they can have some direction in life. What ensues is a hilarious bootcamp and secret mission that will leave you holding your sides.

7.

Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) - This political-satire is from legendary director Stanley Kubrick and was shot at the height of the “Red Scare”. It uses politics, foreign policy and public fear to paint a hilarious portrait of the American obsession with communism at the time. It was ranked number three on AFI’s 100 years . . . 100 laughs list.

8.

Shaun of the Dead (2004) - Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a middle-aged electronic store sales associate trying to hold on to his job, girlfriend and sanity. Ed (Nick Frost) is Shaun’s deadbeat, weed selling friend who lives on the couch and gets mostly in the way of things. When a zombie outbreak hits London, Shaun and Ed have to team up to save Shaun’s girlfriend, his mother and their friends. This horror/comedy has so many great jokes and tips of the hat to classic zombie films, it’s amazing it isn’t more well regarded.

9.

Scrooged (1988) - Bringing the old Dickens tale of A Christmas Carol to 1980s New York City, Frank Cross (Bill Murray) goes on a hilarious time traveling adventure to learn the true meaning of the holidays. The film was released four years after Ghostbuster with the tagline, "Bill Murray is back among the ghosts, only this time, it's three against one."

10.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) - Just trying to get home in time for Thanksgiving, Neal Page (Steve Martin) runs into Del Griffith (John Candy) a loud mouth shower ring salesman on the road. The movie centers around the two trying to help each other get across the country and running into every problem you could imagine.

11.

Midnight Run (1988) - Jack Walsh (Robert DeNiro) is a bounty hunter looking for Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin). After locating Mardukas, Walsh begins to escort him back to Los Angeles only to find out the man he was paid to grab might be innocent. This is one of the best action/comedies and also a great buddy/traveling film.

12.

Groundhog Day (1993) - Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is an overly arrogant weatherman from Pittsburg who is sent to the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover the annual groundhog day celebration. When awakening the next day, Connors finds himself in an endless loop of the same day over and over, every day trying to improve himself a little more. There are many interesting fan theories of how many days he was stuck in the loop.

13.

Ghostbusters (1984) - Three parapsychology professors team up to form a first of it’s kind poltergeist removal service only to get in a little over their heads. Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Dan Aykroyd are the perfect quartet of nerdy, funny, smart-ass and brilliant.

14.

Blazing Saddles (1974) - Written by Richard Pyror and Mel Brooks, this first of it’s kind comedy/western stars Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks and Madeline Kahn. It brilliantly satirizes hollywood, the American Western and racism. This film had a generation of people yelling, “Where the white women at?”

15.

Arthur (1981) - Arthur Bach (Dudley Moore) is a drunken New York City millionaire that falls in love with a working-class girl from Queens. Some of the absolute funniest scenes involve Arthur’s butler, Hobson, who was played by Shakespearian actor Sir John Gielgud. This comedy landed Gielgud with an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

16.

Duck Soup (1933) - This film by the Marx brothers brings all the quick-quip, slapstick and fantastic writing together for one of the greatest comedies of all time. In 1990 the United States Library of Congress praised Duck Soup as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and entered it into the National Film Registry.

17.

Clerks (1994) - Rarely does a movie perfectly capture the time and place in which it was shot, Clerks is one of those films. Filmed in Leonardo, New Jersey in the mid 1990s, it deals with the time in like when you have to sh*t or get off the pot. It follows a day in the life of two convenience store clerks as they contemplate spinning their wheels in life, relationships and Star Wars. The film was made for only $27,575 dollars and it was the vehicle that launched writer/director Kevin Smith’s career.

18.

Annie Hall (1977) - Rank as 31st on the AFI’s top feature films of all time, Annie Hall is a wonderful comedy about love, relationships and loss by writer and director Woody Allen. Diane Keaton plays the original “manic pixie dream girl” in this film.

19.

40 Year Old Virgin (2005) - Steve Carrell plays Andy Stitzer, a 40 year old stock clerk that has never had sex. Although happy with his life (collecting comic books and action figures) Andy’s friends try to get him laid with a serious of devastating dates and attempted one night stands. This is the film that really started the juggernaut known as Judd Apatow.

20.

Young Frankenstein (1974) - Another great Mel Brooks film, Young Frankenstein brings together Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle and Richard Hayden in this first of it’s kind horror spoof. Wilder’s over the top Dr. Frankenstein pronounced (Frank-en-steen!) really makes the film.