Long form laughing

As a follow up to the stand-up list, here are my top ten comedy films. As usual, no order, purely personal.

1. Young Frankenstein - Maybe my funniest ever. The ensemble - Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Khan, Peter Bolye, Teri Garr - might be the all-time greatest. Then it also has Kenneth Mars as "Inspector Kemp" and a fantastic cameo by Gene Hackman as "Blindman". I start chuckling before the "Putting on the Ritz" scene even starts and am a puddle by the time it ends. A leader in the family quoting category: "Could be worse . . . could be raining."

2. Airplane! - Spawned an entire genre, changed Leslie Nielsen's career and boldly went where no one else had gone. I think an argument can be made for it changing what could be funny and many a modern comedy filmmaker owe their career to the Zucker brothers. And don't call me Shirley.

3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail - I have heard it said that you either get it or you don't, but if you don't get it I feel bad for you. The Pythons were special and more needs to be said about them than would work here, but Grail was a great step onto the world stage for Brit Wit and was a no-brainer for this list. Cut to the prisoner clapping in the dungeon at Camelot.

4. Caddyshack - Crude, yes, and broad, but to put Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield and the underrated Ted Knight in the same movie is to make a funny movie. Even the gopher is funny. It is only disappointing in that "Carl" and "Ty" didn't get more than one scene together. "Cannonball coming!"

5. Princess Bride - Its ensemble rivals Young Frankenstein but is more a collection of lesser known or under appreciated geniuses. Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Guest (the moment where he runs from Inigo wipes me out), Chris Sarandon and Wallace Shawn are all great and Andre the Giant is inspired. It, too, has a fantastic cameo in Billy Crystal and contributes heavily to the family quote library.

6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Probably the crown jewel of writer/director John Hughes' phenomenal teen canon. Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles are up there too but Ferris has a broader appeal and isn't quite as over the top. People quote this movie and don't even know it. Alan Ruck's "Cameron" is a personal favorite. You know he's also in Speed? Random.

7. Raising Arizona - It can be hard to reconcile this hysterical little offbeat classic with No Country for Old Men, but if you use Fargo as a bridge you can see how the Coen brothers got there. It is one of my favorite examples of great actors being great comedic actors. Nic Cage (stop hating and think Leaving Las Vegas and Adaptation instead of ConAir and Ghost Rider), Holly Hunter and John Goodman are awesome. And how can you go wrong with "The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse"?

8. Blazing Saddles - I questioned including two Mel Brooks films, but funny is funny. This showcases Gene Wilder's flawless timing, and letting Harvey Korman and Cleavon Little loose in such a send-up is brilliant. And it lets some wonderful character actors - Slim Pickens, David Huddleston, John Hillerman - show off their comedic chops. And not one but two great cameos - Dom Deluise as "Buddy Bizarre" and the big screen debut of All-Pro defensive tackle Alex Karras as "Mongo". (Just found out Karras died last year, may he rest in peace. Sad.) Richard Pryor worked on the screenplay. Amazing fact: Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein both came out in 1974. Thanks, Mel!

9. Sleeper - Lots of folk prefer Woody Allen's more so-called intellectual humor, but this movie wipes me out. It gives play to Woody's gifts as a physical comic and gets to have a good time with futuristic themes. Favorite line: "I haven't seen my analyst in 200 years. He was a strict Freudian. If I had been going all this time I'd almost be cured by now."

10. A Fish Called Wanda - Letting Kevin Kline loose with two Pythons not only worked out well for Kline - best supporting actor Oscar - but made for a remarkably funny movie. And it has the world's greatest apology. Yay!