Fans of physical comedy will be happy to hear that slapstick humor is returning with the forthcoming Netflix series Man Vs. Bee. Recently, there hasn’t been much available. The tale of a man’s struggle with a very bothersome bug, as told by one of its masters, Rowan Atkinson, is sure to satiate anyone’s need for silly humor.
There’s still plenty of time to watch some fantastic comedy films that have hilariously used physical humor till it comes out. These are the findings of thousands of moviegoers using Ranker to vote on which of these comedy films should be regarded as the greatest of all time.
The 1980 film Caddyshack
With stars like Bill Murray and Chevy Chase, Harold Ramis is one of the few filmmakers who can lay claim to having directed so many comedy masterpieces. Caddyshack is no exception. Given that Caddyshack demonstrated more than 40 years ago that sports humor could produce some very hilarious physical gags, sports comedy may be an underappreciated subgenre nowadays.
Set at a weird golf club full of eccentric individuals, the film opens with Bill Murray’s menacing groundskeeper searching for a dancing gopher that runs circles around him. Michael O’Keefe plays the caddy in this scenario. Caddyshack’s comedy endures because things at a golf club full of buffoons only grow stranger from there.
Gilmore, Happy (1996)
Happy Gilmore, one of the greatest comedies starring Adam Sandler, centers on the actor as the titular character, a prickly ice hockey player who has discovered a passion for golf but has a wild contempt for golf etiquette. Happy Gilmore, the first film that director Dennis Dugan and actor Adam Sandler worked on together, is rife with classic slapstick sequences.
While the protagonist’s battle with Bob Barker remains one of the best confrontations in any sports comedy, Happy Gilmore does eventually descend into absurdity, as is to be expected from Sandler. But it walks the tightrope without going too far to the point where it loses its appeal as a tale.
Hot Shots! (1991)
When compared to modern movies, spoofs flourished throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Though Top Gun: Maverick, a highly publicized sequel to the original film, was released this year, it is less likely that this fantastic parody will earn a sequel. Hot Shots! is a film that ruthlessly parodies the lighter aspects of Top Gun, with Charlie Sheen’s character Topper Harley at its center.
It should come as no surprise that the film is filled of belly-laugh inducing visual puns, with Jim Abrahams from Airplane! directing and scripting both. One such comedy has Admiral Benson pulling his hat off of frame to wave at a throng, only to put it back on only to have it ripped to bits by an off-screen chopper propeller. Hot Shots! has to be brought back, even if spoofs aren’t as popular as they once were.
In 1994, Dumb & Dumber
After the likes of Laurel and Hardy, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels quickly spring to mind when discussing iconic slapstick comic duos. The two portray Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne in the first Dumb & Dumber film. They are kind but dimwitted buddies who often find themselves in ridiculous situations.
Jokes like Harry having his tongue hooked to a very chilly pole, frantically attempting to explain that he reserved a seat for Mary, and then being violently wrenched free are amusing for any audience, which is why Dumb & Dumber is a timeless comedy. It’s not only jam-packed with that type of humor, but it also centers on two really likeable characters.
Spaceballs (1987)
Mel Brooks is a treasure to the physical comedy community, and the availability of Spaceballs on Amazon Prime is the strongest argument for using the streaming service. Spaceballs is a ridiculous space opera with a very Star Wars vibe, even if it parodies enough other sci-fi elements to satisfy any enthusiast.
Spaceballs’ satire is spot-on, with a narrative that finds the protagonists marooned on a barren moon and meets an eccentric elderly extraterrestrial who informs them about a mysterious force known as “the Schwartz”. But there are also plenty of classic comedic moments when Rick Moranis’s extremely serious Vader-esque character, Dark Helmet, is somehow beaten up by the whole landscape.
Christmas Vacation from National Lampoon’s (1989)
Not only is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation the finest film in the National Lampoon’s Vacation series, but it’s also an incredible Christmas film. Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, is a guy obsessed with having the ideal Christmas who goes so far as to install 25,000 lights and turn off the town’s electricity in order to achieve it.
This is only one of many things that go wrong in a film that follows the Vacation formula, with accidents spiraling out of control until they reach uncontrollable proportions. Despite a few uncomfortable comic moments, the film has a lovely festive spirit that makes it ideal for a fun family outing.
The Holy Grail and Monty Python (1975)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the first original film by the absurdist comedy group. It follows the king of legend and his inept knights on an expedition across Arthurian Britain. Physical humor are the core of a brilliantly bizarre film, which opens with the monarch riding an imaginary horse as his attendant knocks coconut shells together to simulate hoofbeats.
There are several classic comedic moments in Monty Python and the Holy Grail that are still cited today, such as the bleeding, armless knight saying, “It’s just a scratch,” and the deadly tiny bunny that can only be killed with the customary “Holy Hand Grenade.” There hasn’t been a film exactly like it since; it had the ideal balance of strange and intelligent.
In 1974, Blazing Saddles
Even today, the talent and cast list from Blazing Saddles in 1974 reads like a who’s who of comedy. Mel Brooks is the director of this parody of a Western, in which a cunning attorney general sends goons to fight against the new sheriff and the whole town.
The movie’s central theme is on the friendship of Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, but the ridiculous details are what really elevate the comedy classic. Several of the absurd jokes the film pulls off are summed up in a climactic battle that breaches the fourth wall and enters the set of a nearby film.
The Franchise of Naked Guns (1988–1994)
Even though the Naked Gun franchise started off as a television series, it became a permanent fixture in comedy history when it shifted its focus to the big screen with three police-based parodies. The series, which revolves on Leslie Nielsen’s renowned clumsy police officer Frank Drebin, is almost unrivaled in terms of its fast-paced slapstick humor.
The Naked Gun movies even include title sequences where Drebin’s automobile drives past a family house and a roller coaster, providing a chance for visual comedy. The slapstick comedy in the Naked Gun films never seems cheap, and each joke is so masterfully crafted and delivered that it’s hard not to find admiration for it.
Airplane (1980)
Airplane! used excellent script, visual comedy, and a deadpan delivery to produce a humorous film that was appropriate for audiences of all ages, despite its initial goal of mocking classic catastrophe films. A classic comedy, Airplane! is fast-paced and so packed of humor that it’s easy to miss some on the first watch.
Even the silliest moments of slapstick comedy are given weight by Leslie Nielsen, who, up until Airplane!, was known as a serious actor. No movie has done it better since, despite the fact that its influence on comedy has led to countless attempts at emulating its style.
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