SOXTALK'S TOP 50 FUNNIEST MOVIES

[Chisoxfn]

Kingpin is way under-ranked, imo. What a total classic. And note to Knight, I know you didn't come up with the final rankings, just stating that in my mind it is a top 30 comedy.

[knightni]

Kingpin is way under-ranked, imo. What a total classic. And note to Knight, I know you didn't come up with the final rankings, just stating that in my mind it is a top 30 comedy.

The list votes caused the ranking.

 

So, if it is #42, it is because you all voted it low on your lists.

[BigEdWalsh]

I luv Kingpin...can't remember if I forgot to put it on my list...

 

I've never seen Kingpin. One cool aspect of this listing is just that...to make aware of something ya didn't know about. I'm gonna have to rent Kingpin.

Edited April 21, 2008 by BigEdWalsh

[vandy125]

The list votes caused the ranking.

 

So, if it is #42, it is because you all voted it low on your lists.

Or completely forgot about it like myself...

Edited April 21, 2008 by vandy125

[BigSqwert]

Napoleon Dynamite isn't funny.

Your Soxtalk membership should be revoked.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Or completely forgot about it like myself...

 

Agreed. Only on #42 and im mad i forgot about Kingpin and History of the World...

[knightni]

YOU'RE excited? Feel these nipples!

 

42. (tie) BASEketball (1998)

 

 

(3 of 23 lists - 35 points - highest ranking #8 3E8, Milkman delivers)

 

BASEketball is a 1998 David Zucker comedy feature film starring South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Dian Bachar, Robert Vaughn, Yasmine Bleeth, and Jenny McCarthy. The movie follows the history of the sport (created by Zucker years earlier) of the same name, from its invention by the lead characters as a game they could win against more athletic types, to its development as a nationwide league sport and a target of corporate sponsorship. This is the only one of Parker and Stone's works that wasn't written, directed, and/or produced by them.

 

Prologue

 

The film begins with historic footage of Reggie Jackson's third home run in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. A young boy in the outfield bleachers, Joe "Coop" Cooper, catches the ball and proclaims to his best friend, Doug Remer, that "one day, I'm gonna be a big sports star."

 

A narrator then explains how in the two decades since that historic moment, sports has become nothing more than a vehicle for corporate advertising and greedy players, and that the desire for profits has begun to outweigh the merits of sportsmanship. The narrative lampoons real sports issues such as teams that move to new cities but keep their old nicknames even though they no longer apply (such as"The Jazz moved to Salt Lake City, where they don't allow music"), corporate stadium sponsorships, free agency, and choreographed touchdown celebrations. It also explains fictitious sports issues, including how "inter-sports play" (such as mixing the rules of American football and baseball) failed to improve lagging attendance at sporting events.

 

Inventing the game

 

The film jumps ahead to the present day, when Coop and Remer arrive uninvited at a party hosted by Brittany Kaiser, a high school classmate of theirs. After finding out that their classmates have grown-up and moved on with their lives, Coop and Remer get kicked out of the house and find themselves outside on the driveway basketball court. There, they are dared by two other party-goers to a game for $20. Coop raises the stakes to $50. When Remer protests that they "don't have 50 bucks", Coop remarks "we don't have 20". Instead of playing "that pussy-ass two-on-two they play in the suburbs," they play a new game they picked up "in the hood". Clearly making this new game up as they go, Coop originally proposes Horse, but changes it to basketball with baseball rules:

 

* A single is at the free-throw line

* A double is at the top of the key

* A triple is from behind the key

* A home run is further back ("behind the meatballs" in the driveway)

* You can't shoot from the same place twice

* If you miss you get an out

 

Other rules are revealed during the film.

 

During the newcomer's first throw, Coop "psyches" him out to make him miss — a rule not explained previously. A "psyche out" can be anything said or done that makes the offense lose their concentration and miss their shot (such as Remer telling one of the other players he "f***ed their sister"). Physical contact with the shooter is assumed to be disallowed, although this was never explained in the rules. However, throughout the course of the film, defenders usually keep a few feet of distance between themselves and the shooters. Although, on one occasion during a later professional BASEketball game, Remer fails to psyche out a shooter and resorts to beating the man to the ground with a board of wood. Though officials attempt to restrain him, he is not disqualified (nor is Coop, who also kicks the opponent while he is down).

 

After Coop and Remer win the game — perhaps because they were the ones who made up the rules as the game progressed — they realize they need to "stop playing games" so they can get jobs, then they can get khakis, then they can get chicks. Having stated this plan, they then proceed to continue playing their new game (which they now call "BASEketball") in their own driveway, which eventually gathers a large crowd. During this time, their friend Kenny Scolari (cruelly nicknamed "Squeak", though he soon begins to refer to himself only by this name) joins the team and moves into their house.

 

The National BASEketball League

 

Six months after creation of the game, Ted Denslow shows up to propose creation of the National BASEketball League (NBL). Five years after creation of the game, the NBL is in full swing with stadiums, teams, fans, and a major championship (the Denslow Cup) with Bob Costas and Al Michaels as game announcers.

 

During the championship, Denslow chokes on a hot dog and dies. After the game, Jenna Reed (director of the Dream Come True Foundation — a charity which helps to grant wishes to terminally ill children) introduces herself and a van full of kids to Coop and Remer as they leave the stadium to ask for autographs. The Will reading of Denslow reveals that Coop becomes owner of the Milwaukee Beers if he wins the next Denslow Cup, otherwise ownership goes to Yvette Denslow.

 

BASEketball Teams

 

All of the teams represent stereotypes and include references to their respective areas:

 

Milwaukee Beers

Reference to the numerous local beer breweries and the Milwaukee Brewers; the fans wear beer mug "foam heads" and perform "the chug" (similar to the "tomahawk chop" used by the Florida State Seminoles and Atlanta Braves). Their mascot is a walking keg of beer (who can use his "tap" to urinate).

Miami Dealers

The players appear to be Cuban drug dealers. Note the chainsaw wielding man on the back of their jersey reminiscent of Scarface.

New Jersey Informants

The players are Italian-American stereotypes (one of their failed psych-outs was "Your mother's a terrible cook"); their cheerleaders all have perms and also perform some Italian hand gestures.

San Francisco Ferries

The players wear white and pastel pink uniforms, and have the only all-male cheerleader squad. Quite possibly, the word "Ferries" is meant to be a play on "fairies," a slang term sometimes used to refer to "homosexuals".

Roswell Aliens

Reference to the location where a UFO supposedly crashed and the surrounding conspiracies; the team has an alien mascot, an arena shaped to look like a flying saucer, an "Anal Probe Night" promotion.

L.A. Riots

Reference to the 1992 Los Angeles/Rodney King riots (and possibly Watts riots); the players appear to be angry Latinos. Their cheerleaders have the skimpiest uniforms and perform on stripper poles, a possible reference Los Angeles being the home of the adult entertainment industry.

Dallas Felons

Huge muscle types who are probably ex-convicts (a reference to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, a team on which numerous players had legal problems in the mid-1990s).

San Antonio Defenders

Rednecks who chant slogans like "1,2,3, f*** THE MEXICANS!" Their home field includes a giant recreation of the Alamo Mission.

Detroit Lemons

Reference to the home of American auto makers (to which "lemon" is a reference)

 

When the league began to spin out of control, it was supposedly inundated with expansion teams. The college football's BCS system seems to be referenced in this scene. During the scene describing the extremely complex playoff system (complete with "a blind-choice round robin" and "the two-man sack race held on consecutive Sundays"), references were made to teams in Boston, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Oakland, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Denver. No nicknames or mascots were given for these.

 

Change of ownership

 

At the will reading, it is revealed by Baxter Cain that Denslow created league rules that prohibit player transfers, teams moving to other cities, and corporate sponsorships (the film's opening monologue explained that all professional sports were reduced to players constantly changing teams, teams constantly changing cities, and that cross-sport play was necessary in attempt to keep fans interested). Changing of league rules requires unanimous consent by all team owners; Denslow was the only owner to resist changes that would have reduced BASEketball to that of other sports. Cain then plots with Yvette to ensure that the Beers lose the next Denslow Cup, so that Yvette gains ownership and unanimous agreement can be attained to change the rules. He initially tries to talk with Coop to get him to agree to the changes, but Coop refuses to accept any of the rule changes.

 

Under new ownership

 

During the next season, Coop and Remer get involved with the Dream Come True Foundation (although their involvement probably has more to do with the charity's director — the beautiful Jenna Reed — than it does with granting wishes to terminally ill children). Coop and Remer meet Joey Thomas, a young boy who needs a liver transplant. Joey reveals that his dream is to hang out with the Beers. After drinking heavily in a local bar with Remer and Joey, Coop promises Joey (who, although he is underage and needs a liver transplant, has also been drinking heavily) that he will hit three home runs in that night's game (this was in reference to Reggie Jackson's famous three-homer performance in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, at which a young Coop was present to catch the third home run ball).

 

In a private conversation at Cain's office, Cain tells Remer that Coop has said no to Cain's rule-change plans without talking to the other members of the Beers. Remer then goes to the Beers behind Coop's back and tells the team what he learned from Cain. After Remer and the other members of the Beers confront him, Coop agrees to split ownership with Remer and the team. The team continues, however, to agree that the rules shouldn't be changed (a possibility being that the team didn't disagree with the decision itself, more that Coop made it without their input).

 

Cain then gets the funding cut for the Dream Come True Foundation, which leads to Remer — now part owner — to agree with Cain that the Beers needs to start a clothing line (BEERSWEAR) of which the profits will go to the foundation. This income is clearly not all going to the foundation as Remer starts wearing gold jewelry and signing movie contracts. Cain's plan all-along was to have the clothing line created in a sweatshop in Calcutta in order to get pictures to blackmail Coop and Remer to lose the Denslow Cup.

 

Coop attempts to remedy the situation by flying to Calcutta. He then hires adult workers and gives them medical care, decent wages, and in-house child-care, and still manages to fly back in time to play in the Denslow Cup.

 

Denslow Cup V

 

The Beers start with an abysmal performance, failing to make one hit in six innings. Due to Coop's flight to Calcutta, he had no time to practice, and spent the majority of the game "jetlagged and s***ting curry." Remer, annoyed by the team's strong loyalty to Coop, put very little effort into the game, even filing his nails on defense, instead of attempting a psyche-out.

 

At the seventh-inning stretch, the Beers are down 16-0. Thanks to a tirade by Squeak — sick of Coop and Remer fighting — during the seventh-inning stretch show, Coop and Remer become friends again and they finally get back into the game and start scoring.

 

In the top-half of the 9th inning, Coop uses a Cartman voice to psyche the offense out. In the bottom-half, Remer is on second and Coop is up when his custom-made BASEketball (La-Z-Boy) pops. Joey brings his custom-made BASEketball for Coop to use (Barcalounger). Coop misses but successfully completes the conversion for the win and the Denslow Cup (in a series of events strikingly similar to the first ever World Championship of BASEketball, held in Coop and Remer's driveway).

 

Special game nights

 

Baseball games have been known to hand out free stuff to the first X number of people to show up. BASEketball continues this but hands out absurd stuff:

 

* Milwaukee Beers vs. Dallas Felons — Dozen egg night

* Milwaukee Beers vs. Miami Dealers — Free-range chicken night

* Milwaukee Beers vs. Roswell Aliens — Anal probe night

 

 

 

. . .

 

David Zucker invented BASEketball years before the movie as a game that everyone could play and held games in his driveway. It became so popular a small league was created. By the fifth season championship game, the event was so big that the city shut down the street and two local Los Angeles TV stations came to report on it.

 

Trey Parker shows off his South Park voice in the film, speaking once in the tongue of Mr. Garrison (in the naked locker room scene), once as the voice of Mr. Hankey, and once in the voice of Eric Cartman, the latter being the most obvious of the three characterizations (while trying to psych a player he refers to his weight problem by doing a Cartman impression). Several minor South Park characters are also heard when Parker uses an Australian voice during a psych-out that sounds much like his voice used for a character based on Steve Irwin in the episode "Prehistoric Ice Man" and his Canadian accent whenever he says 'buddy'. Additionally, his normal "soft" speech patterns illustrate that he also provides the voice of Randy Marsh. If you listen closely to when the fans are throwing eggs at Trey's character Coop, the distorted voice of him yelling sounds familiar to his Satan character.

[greasywheels121]

My friends and I shoot around at the gym on weekend mornings. We'll sometimes play BASEketball.

[knightni]

I'm looking for Ray Finkle...[A shotgun cocks and is pointed at his head.]...and a clean pair of shorts.

40. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

 

 

(3 of 23 lists - 37 points - highest ranking #3 knightni)

 

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is a 1994 wacky comedy movie, directed by Tom Shadyac. It stars Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Tone Loc, Sean Young, among others. Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino also portrays himself in a major role.

 

The story follows the adventures of Ace Ventura, an eccentric gumshoe who specializes in cases involving pet animals, in his search for "Snowflake", the missing mascot of the Miami Dolphins. Ace is easily identified by not only his loud Hawaiian shirts but also his beat-up blue Chevy which he drives maniacally and his hairdo and sunglasses.

 

Ace, disguised as a delivery man, steals a kidnapped dog from its brusque, unhygenic, violent captor and restores it to its owner, a gorgeous woman who proceeds to seduce Ace in lieu of monetary payment.

 

Ace himself lives in an apartment, which he retains by deceiving his landlord Mr. Shikadance. Many animals of several species live with Ace, who shares an affinity with them. Because Shikadance forbids pets, Ace conceals them, going to great lengths to do so.

 

At Dolphin Stadium, the mascot of the Miami Dolphins, Snowflake, is kidnapped in the middle of the night, a week before the team is due to play the Super Bowl. Mr. Riddle, the team's owner, knows how superstitious football players can be, and believes they will lose the Super Bowl unless Snowflake is returned. He gives his Head of Operations, Roger Podacter, and Chief Publicist, Melissa Robinson, until Super Bowl Sunday to find Snowflake, or they will both be fired. On the recommendation of the team secretary, Melissa contacts Ace, seeking help. Ace meets Melissa, who explains that Snowflake is a rare bottlenose dolphin who is trained to perform football-themed tricks. After meeting Podacter, Ace enters the dolphin tank in search of clues. Shortly afterward reporters show up for coverage of Snowflakes new tricks. Ace gets out of the tank and acts as an unusually crazy trainer "Heinz Getwellvet" to shoo them away to the press confrence going on (This part of the scene was unusually removed in the new Ace Ventura DVD combo release, even though it was in the original VHS. Warner Bros. claims it was simply the difference between the "Original" and "Theatrical" versions of the movie. Surprisingly they did not even add it, as well as other scenes, in as Extra deleted scenes, and no "Theatrical" DVD release is planned. It is thought by many to be one of the funniest parts of the movie.) Ace then searches the filter and finds his first clue: a rare cut orange amber.

 

At the police station, Ace learns from his friend in the police force, Emilio, that Sergeant Aguado is working on the Snowflake case. The fearsome Lt. Lois Einhorn (Sean Young) storms in, warning Ace to avoid the Snowflake case altogether.

 

Ace visits his ecologist friend Woodstock, who's lair is a locked chamber under a concert stage (where there is a Cannibal Corpse concert going on), to find out who would have enough money to purchase equipment used to capture and hold a dolphin. The prime suspect is a billionaire Ronald Camp, who is throwing a lavish party. Ace, accompanied by Melissa, attends the party.

 

Ace, searching, finds a large tank full of water, but discovers that it contains a great white shark. On his way out of the party (after falling in the tank), he eyes a ring on Camp's finger and discovers it has stones in it similar to the one he found in the tank. The stone, a rare trianglar-shaped amber piece, had fallen from a 1984 AFC Championship Ring. Camp wore an identical ring that night, but it was not missing a stone. Ace, trying to find whose ring is missing a stone, he finds ways of making the players show him their rings. The first time Ace was teasing a player by almost ramming his car into the player's so the player would give him the middle finger, and Ace saw that the player's ring wasn't missing a stone. He would keep track of which player he had seen with a picture of the 1984 Dolphins roster, and he would X out any player he had seen.

 

Melissa and Ace learn that Roger Podacter is dead. The police believe it to be a case of suicide. Ace disproves this by taking the information that Podacter's neighbor heard a scream (supposedly from Podacter's fall from his balcony) and the fact that the sliding door leading to the balcony was closed when the apartment manager entered; because the door is made from double-paned, soundproof glass, Podacter's neighbor could not have heard the scream if Podacter had committed suicide and closed the door himself. Instead, he was thrown off the balcony, whereas the killer closed the door on the way out. Ace humiliates Einhorn with this revelation and is driven away as a result.

 

While trying to figure out how Podacter's death is connected to Snowflake, Ace learns of a Dolphins' player named Ray Finkle, whom Ace has not investigated. Melissa explains that Ray Finkle was a star kicker who was added to the team after the photograph was taken that Ace has used as a reference. Finkle had missed the potential game-winning field goal kick at the end of the Super Bowl game that year, losing to the San Francisco 49ers. After the season, Finkle received an AFC Championship ring; however his contract was not renewed.

 

Ace drives down to Finkle's hometown to meet the football player's parents at their home, which is defaced with anti-Finkle graffiti. Finkle's mother is senile, and his father is a suspicious, shotgun-wielding old man who confides to Ace that his son was put into a mental institution after his career ended. Finkle's room contains a hate shrine to player Dan Marino, consisting of cardboard stand-ins and photos of the football star, the words "DIE DAN DIE" scrawled in red, and knives sticking out of Marino's face. A film projector in the middle of the room plays recorded footage of the field goal that Finkle missed. Finkle blames Marino for the incident, believing he was holding the football inaccurately when Finkle kicked it. Ace realizes that Dan Marino is probably about to be kidnapped and alerts Melissa to send help, but is unable to prevent the kidnapping.

 

Ace returns to Miami and lays out Finkle's motive to Lt. Einhorn. The hypothesis is that Finkle kidnapped Snowflake because the dolphin was assigned Finkle's jersey number 5 and taught how to kick a field goal, which Finkle took as an insult. In light of this evidence, Einhorn suddenly starts attempting to seduce Ace; Ace turns her down after feeling something "digging into" his hip. He assumes it to be Einhorn's gun.

 

Searching for Ray Finkle, Ace enters Shady Acres, the mental hospital in Tampa from which Finkle escaped. Ace searches the storage room and finds a box of Finkle's belongings. Looking through it, he finds a newspaper article stating that Lois Einhorn was a missing hiker whose body was never recovered. Ace immediately calls Emilio, who looks through Einhorn's desk, finding a love letter to Einhorn from Potecter. While trying to determine how Finkle and Einhorn were connected, Ace's dog puts his head down on a picture of Finkle, whereupon the dog's hair alters the image of Finkle's head, so that he looks like a woman. Looking at it, Ace realizes that Einhorn is actually Ray Finkle posing as the deceased Lois Einhorn. Now knowing that he was seduced by a man, Ace is shellshocked; vomiting, cleaning his mouth via exaggerated methods, burning the clothes he wore during the homosexual encounter, and continues to purge himself until he is exhausted.

 

Ace follows Einhorn to a warehouse by the docks. After knocking out Einhorn's henchmen, he finds Dan Marino tied up, but is himself caught by Einhorn. When the cops arrive to arrest Ace (on Einhorn's orders), Melissa and Emilio stop them. Ace explains Finkle's motive and that Einhorn is actually Finkle. No one believes him; therefore Ace attempts to find proof by attempting to remove the lieutenant's hair thinking it was a wig, then ripping off her blouse and skirt to show that she has breasts and apparently no penis, failing to prove either. On a cue from Marino, Ace turns Einhorn around and reveals that Einhorn/Finkle had tucked his genitals between his legs. It also comes to the conclusion that Einhorn/Finkle killed Podecter because Podecter discovered who Einhorn is. The assembled squad are disgusted. Einhorn makes one last attempt to kill Ace, but is thwarted and exposed as the owner of the incomplete ring.

 

Marino is returned to the team in time for the Super Bowl, as is Snowflake. While sharing a tender moment with Melissa at the game, Ace sees an albino pigeon, whom he had been chartered to find, and tries to catch it. The Philadelphia Eagles' mascot, Polly scares the bird away, enraging Ace. The audience takes notice and the announcer displays Ace on the JumboTron, reading aloud Ace's dedication and love for "all animals" while Ace is punching the headpiece of the Eagles' mascot. Ace, seeing the camera, strikes a pose.

 

. . .

 

A scene in the movie where Spike is jumping around Ace's apartment was used as the original Rally Monkey for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2000.

 

The movie incorrectly referred to the 1984 Super Bowl as "Super Bowl XVII" instead of the correct "Super Bowl XIX". Coincidently, the Dolphins also played in Super Bowl XVII, but lost to the Washington Redskins, 27-17.

 

Miami Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich plays the role of Einhorn/Finkle's "kicking" double and does the scene (in a dress, wearing flat dress shoes instead of high heels) where Einhorn/Finkle kicks the football through the hole in the roof.

 

Ace Ventura's detective character is a parody of Clint Eastwood's character Dirty Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry movies. Carrey, who has appeared in two of Clint Eastwood's movies, spoofed some of Dirty Harry's traits such as his wavy hairdo, sporty sunglasses, large 1970's sedan, and occasional tough-guy attitude.

 

The name of the mental institution in the film "Shady Acres" is a play on director Tom Shadyac's surname.

[knightni]

Oh, it's me, Dr. Rosenpenis. I'm just here to check out Alan Stanwyk's file.

 

39. (tie) Fletch (1985)

 

 

(4 of 23 lists - 40 points - highest ranking #4 CanOfCorn)

 

Fletch is a 1985 comedy film about a wisecracking investigative newspaper reporter, Irwin Fletcher (Chevy Chase), who writes under the name of Jane Doe. The film was based on the popular Gregory Mcdonald novels and the screenplay was written by Andrew Bergman. The film was directed by Michael Ritchie and released by Universal Pictures.

 

The film opens with one of Fletch's many, often humorous, monologues. The drug trade is Fletch's latest story, and while investigating undercover as a beach wanderer one day he is approached by a well-groomed man, Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson). Stanwyk says he wants Fletch to murder him because he has inoperable cancer; this way his family will receive his life insurance. Unaware that Fletch is actually an undercover reporter, Stanwyk thinks he would be the perfect man for the job, as he is a recluse and can just disappear after the shooting. Fletch agrees to kill Stanwyk when offered a considerable sum of money, but is suspicious of Stanwyk's motives. Fletch starts to dig and uncovers a story much greater than his exposé of small-time drug dealers. As he uncovers the lurid truth about Stanwyk, he also discovers that a sinister police chief (Joe Don Baker) is behind the drug trafficking on Los Angeles' beaches.

 

. . .

 

In the animated film Hoodwinked!, Wolf W. Wolf is based directly on Fletch, according to the directors. Wolf's theme music, disguises, pseudonyms and verbal patois all resemble Chase's interpretation of Fletch. He also wears Fletch's favorite Magic Johnson #32 Los Angeles Lakers jersey.

 

The film has since developed a cult following and was followed by a 1989 sequel, Fletch Lives. A prequel, Fletch Won, is currently in pre-production.

 

 

[knightni]

Sorry folks, park's closed. Moose out front shoulda told ya.

 

39. (tie) National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

 

(6 of 23 lists - 40 points - highest ranking #10 daa84)

 

National Lampoon's Vacation is a 1983 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, and Anthony Michael Hall. The film features numerous others, such as comedic powerhouses John Candy and Imogene Coca, supermodel Christie Brinkley and future Ally McBeal regular Jane Krakowski, in smaller roles.

 

The screenplay was written by John Hughes, based on his short-story in National Lampoon magazine, "Vacation '58" (the screenplay changes the year to 1983). The original story is (reportedly) a fictionalized account of his own family's ill-fated trip to Disneyland (changed to "Wally World" for the film) when Hughes was a boy. The success of the movie helped launch his screenwriting career.

 

Food additives researcher Clark Griswold (Chase) wants to spend more time with wife Ellen (D'Angelo), as well as children Russ and Audrey (Hall and Dana Barron). So, he decides to lead the family on a cross-country expedition from the suburbs of Chicago all the way to wonderful "Wally World" — billed as "America's Favorite Family Fun Park" — in Los Angeles. However, the Griswolds' vacation begins to go comically awry before it even starts.

 

Arriving to pick up a new car, Clark finds the dealership has "made an error", and had the wrong car delivered. As Clark tries to complain to the salesman, his old car is flattened in a car crusher. Insistent on leaving for California the next morning, Clark reluctantly agrees to take the car on hand: a Wagon Queen Family Truckster - a hideous metallic pea-green station wagon (modeled after a Ford LTD), clad in faux wood paneling and bearing eight headlights.

 

Typically, Clark convinces himself this car is just what the family needed, anyway. When he brings the car home, the engine continues to run after being switched off, and the air bag deploys quite inappropriately. But Clark brushes off Ellen's last-ditch attempt to persuade him to fly to California instead, and the next morning they depart.

 

Lost in St. Louis, the Griswolds ask for directions in a very suspect neighborhood, only to have their car tagged. They stay overnight in St. Louis, where Ellen tries to enjoy a hot (and revealing) shower before being scared by, Clark (in a homage to the infamous shower scene from 'Psycho').

 

Meanwhile, Clark has periodic encounters with a voluptuous young woman (Brinkley) as she drives her flashy red Ferrari; he casually flirts with her while Ellen dozes in the passenger seat, and nearly wrecks the car

 

An overnight stop in Coolidge, Kansas, to visit Ellen's cousins Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and Eddie (Quaid) gets much more complicated for everyone: Eddie hits Clark up for money and then foists crotchety Aunt Edna (Coca) and her vicious dog "Dinky" on the Griswold family, so they can drive her to her son Normy's home in Phoenix, Arizona, which is "on the way".

 

Cousin Eddie's son Dale (John P. Navin Jr.) introduces Rusty to pornography and masturbation, while his sister Vicki (Jane Krakowski) shows Audrey a shoebox full of pot. At a picnic area, they discover that Dinky has urinated on the picnic basket. Later, leaving the smelly "Kamp Komfort", in South Fork, Colorado, they remember far too late that they've also left poor Dinky tied to the back of the car.

 

Lost in the desert, Clark inadvertently drives off the end of a closed road, wrecking the car, breaking Rusty's nose, and causing Audrey's first period. Stranded, Clark goes looking for help, only to become hopelessly lost, but eventually the Griswolds reunite at a gas station just a few miles away. There, Clark spends the last of his money repairing the car, thanks to the shoddy mechanics who repaired his car.

 

The Griswolds are only a few hours from Phoenix when they discover Aunt Edna has died in her sleep. Increasingly frustrated and on-edge, Clark decides to cover the old woman with a tarp and tie her to the roof of the car, as his wife protests this shabby treatment in the driving rain. In Phoenix, the Griswolds find Normie is out of town, so Aunt Edna's body is left sitting unceremoniously in a lawn chair in his backyard. with a note pinned to her sleeve explaining what has happened.

 

Disillusioned by the disastrous turn of events, Ellen and the kids beg to go back to Chicago before anything else can go wrong. Clark, however, is now grimly determined to see his vacation through, and insists they press on. The next day, the Griswolds finally arrive at Wally World and find the parking lots strangely silent and empty.

 

At first congratulating themselves for arriving early, they soon encounter a giant statue of Marty Moose, whose goofy cartoon voice tells them, "Sorry folks! We're closed for two weeks to clean and repair America's favorite family fun park!" Clark angrily punches the statue in the nose, caving it in and causing a slurred repeat of the message.

 

Incredulous and now completely bonkers because nothing on this vacation has gone right, Clark buys a realistic-looking BB gun and returns to the park, where he holds security guard Russ Lasky (John Candy) at gunpoint, and demands to be allowed into the park. The Griswolds ride several rides with Lasky in tow, but eventually the SWAT team arrives.

 

Clark and his family are about to be arrested when owner Roy Walley (Eddie Bracken) himself intervenes and opts not to press charges after hearing Clark's impassioned epitome of the American Vacation and about the two weeks of living hell that the family spent trying to drive to Walley World from Chicago. At last, the Griswolds can enjoy their vacation.

 

. . .

 

The film's location for Walley World was set at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, north of Los Angeles. Two of the film's major roller coasters, known as Revolution (renamed to the "Whipper Snapper" in the film) and Colossus still operate at the Six Flags park today, over a quarter-century after being built.

 

National Lampoon's Vacation spawned a number of sequels:

 

* National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)

* National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

* Vegas Vacation (1997)

* National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (2003)

 

With the exception of the last film, each sequel saw Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo reprise their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold, enduring their unique and unenviable brand of vacation misadventure in various locales. However, the children Rusty and Audrey are played by a different set of actors in each film (except for Audrey in the last sequel). This fact is joked about early in Vegas Vacation: when we first see the kids again, Clark tells them that he "hardly recognizes" them anymore. The various actors were Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron in Vacation, Jason Lively and Dana Hill in European Vacation, Johnny Galecki and Juliette Lewis in Christmas Vacation, and Ethan Embry and Marisol Nichols in Vegas Vacation. Dana Barron again plays Audrey in Christmas Vacation 2, but Rusty, like his parents, could not make it for "Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure", an NBC TV movie. However, Miriam Flynn and Randy Quaid reprise their roles as cousins Catherine and Eddie, as they did in each film aside from European Vacation.

 

Each sequel also manages to reference "Wally World" in some way.

[knightni]

What's up with it, Vanilla face? Me and my homie Azamat just parked our slab outside. We're looking for somewhere to post up our Black asses for the night. So, uh, bang bang, skeet skeet, n****. Just a couple of pimps, no hos.

 

37. Borat:Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

 

(3 of 23 lists - 42 points - highest ranking #5 3E8, shipps)

 

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (also known simply as Borat), is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was written, produced by, and stars the British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in the title role of a fictitious Kazakh journalist, journeying through the United States recording real-life interactions with Americans. It is the second film built around one of Cohen's characters from Da Ali G Show, following Ali G Indahouse, which also featured a cameo by Borat.

 

Borat Sagdiyev (played by Sacha Baron Cohen), a popular Kazakh television personality, leaves his homeland for the "Greatest Country in the World," the "US and A" to make a documentary film at the behest of the fictitious Kazakh Ministry of Information. He leaves behind his mother, his wife Oxana, and the town rapist, and brings along his producer Azamat Bagatov (played by Ken Davitian). Much of the movie features unscripted vignettes of Borat interviewing and interacting with Americans who believe he is a foreigner with no understanding of American customs.[4]

 

While in New York, he sees an episode of Baywatch on television and immediately falls in love with Pamela Anderson. While interviewing a panel of feminists, he learns her name and that she lives in California. He receives a telegram and learns, much to his delight, that his violent wife has been violated and killed by a bear, so he resolves to go to California to make Anderson his new wife. Borat and Azamat were supposed to remain in New York, but Borat justifies the trip by telling the skeptical producer that "Pearl Harbor is there. So is Texas". As Azamat is afraid to fly there for fear of a repetition of the September 11, 2001 attacks, which he believes were the work of the Jews, Borat takes driving lessons and buys a dilapidated ice cream truck for the journey.

 

During the cross-country trip, Borat acquires a Baywatch television show booklet at a yard sale, and continues gathering footage for his documentary. He meets gay pride parade participants, politicians (including Alan Keyes and Bob Barr) and African American youths playing cee-lo. He is also interviewed on live television and proceeds to disrupt the weather report. Visiting a rodeo, the reporter, after first exciting the crowd with jingoistic pro-U.S. remarks, sings a fictional Kazakhstan national anthem to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner", which receives a strong negative reaction. Staying at a bed and breakfast, Borat and his producer are stunned to learn that their hosts are Jewish. Fearful of death (or worse) at the hands of their hosts, the two "escape" after throwing money toward cockroaches which they believe are their Jewish hosts self-transformed. While Azamat advises a return to New York (where at least, he believes, "there are no Jews"), Borat attempts to purchase a handgun to defend himself against Jews. When told he cannot buy a gun because he is not an American citizen, Borat purchases a bear, which he names after his late wife, for protection.

 

Borat later attends a private dinner at an eating club in the South, at which he (unintentionally) insults or otherwise offends the other guests, and visits an antique shop with a display of Confederate heritage items, breaking glass and crockery.

 

The journey is interrupted when Borat, just out of the bathtub, exits the bathroom of his hotel room and sees Azamat masturbating over a picture of Pamela Anderson in the Baywatch book. Borat becomes enraged and reveals that to get Pamela Anderson was his real motive for travelling to California. Azamat becomes livid at Borat's deception, and the situation escalates into a fully nude brawl, with what have been described as homoerotic undertones,[5] which spills out into the hallway, a crowded elevator, and ultimately into a packed ballroom filled with mortgage brokers at a convention. The two are finally separated by security guards.

 

As a result, Azamat abandons Borat, taking his passport, all of their money, and their bear, whose head is later seen inside Azamat's motel refrigerator. Borat begins to hitchhike to California, but is soon picked up by Anthony, Justin and David, drunken University of South Carolina fraternity brothers. On learning the reason for his trip, they show him the Pam and Tommy sex video, revealing that she is not the virgin he thought she was. After leaving the three students, Borat becomes despondent, burning the Baywatch booklet and, by mistake, his return ticket to Kazakhstan. He regains his faith after attending a United Pentecostal camp meeting, at which Republican U.S. Representative Chip Pickering and Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Smith, Jr. are present. He learns to forgive Azamat and Pamela. He accompanies church members on a bus to Los Angeles and disembarks to find Azamat dressed as Oliver Hardy (though Borat thinks that he is dressed as Adolf Hitler). The two reconcile and Azamat tells Borat where to find Pamela Anderson.

 

Borat finally comes face-to-face with Anderson at a book signing at a Virgin Megastore. After showing Anderson his "traditional marriage sack," Borat pursues her throughout the store in an attempt to abduct her until he is tackled and handcuffed by security guards. Afterwards, Borat seeks out and marries a prostitute named Luenell, whom he had befriended earlier in the film, and returns to Kazakhstan with her. The final scene shows the changes that Borat's observations in America have brought to his village, including the apparent conversion of the people to Christianity (the Kazakh version of which includes crucifixion of Jews) and the introduction of computer-based technology, such as iPods, laptop computers and a high-definition, LCD television.

 

. . .

 

Controversy surrounded the film even before its release. It has been objected to for having a protagonist who is sexist and antisemitic (although the director, and both producers, including Cohen are Jewish), and some of those who appeared in the film later spoke against, and even sued, its creators. All Arab countries, except for Lebanon, banned it,[2] and the Russian government discouraged cinemas there from showing it

 

No Kazakh language is heard in the film. Borat's neighbors in Kazakhstan were portrayed by Romanians who were unaware of the film's subject. The Cyrillic alphabet used in the film is the Russian form, not the Kazakh one, although most of the words written in it (especially the geographical names) are either misspelled, or make no sense at all. The lettering on the aircraft in the beginning of the film is in fact merely the result of English characters on a reversed image, while promotional materials spell "BORДT" with a Cyrillic letter for D substituted for the "A" in Faux Cyrillic style typically used to give a "Russian" appearance. Sacha Baron Cohen speaks Hebrew in the film,[18] while Ken Davitian, who plays Azamat, speaks the Eastern dialect of Armenian .[15] They also use several common phrases from Slavic languages: Borat's trademark expressions "jagshemash" (jak się masz) and "chenquieh" (dziękuję) come apparently from Polish (or other related languages) for "How are you?" and "thank you".[19] While presenting his house, Borat says "tishe" to his house-cow; "tiše/тише" is Russian (similar words exist in other Slavic languages) for "quiet(er)" or "be quiet".

 

The film's official debut was in Toronto on September 7, 2006, at the Ryerson University Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival. Sacha Baron Cohen arrived in character as Borat in a cart pulled by women dressed as peasants. Twenty minutes into the showing, however, the projector broke. Cohen performed an impromptu act to keep the audience amused, but ultimately all attempts to fix the equipment, including one by Michael Moore, failed. The film was successfully screened the following night, with Dustin Hoffman in attendance.

[CrimsonWeltall]

Your Soxtalk membership should be revoked.

 

Wrong. It's awful.

[knightni]

Did Doogie Houser just steal my f***ing car?

 

36. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

 

 

(4 of 23 lists - 43 points - highest ranking #6 TheBlackSox8)

 

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (released in some countries as Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies) is a comedy film released in 2004. The plot revolves around the two title characters, who decide to go to the fast food restaurant White Castle after smoking marijuana, only to find themselves on a series of comical misadventures instead.

 

The film was written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, and directed by Danny Leiner. Starring Kal Penn and John Cho, it also features appearances by Paula Garcés, Anthony Anderson, Dan Bochart, Ethan Embry, Jamie Kennedy, Bobby Lee, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Reynolds, Shaun Majumder, David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Neil Patrick Harris.

 

While smoking some marijuana in their Jersey City apartment one evening, they see a TV ad for White Castle and decide to make a trip for some hamburgers. Finding a White Castle ends up being more difficult than they imagined, and they find themselves on a chaotic road trip full of drug-fueled, politically incorrect philosophy.[3]

 

During their quest for a 24-hour White Castle their trip becomes more and more bizarre. Buying drugs from a college hippie ends up being a mistake. It turns out he is a self proclaimed "business hippie" who grossly overcharges them.[3]

 

They blow off what they think will be a boring, highbrow gathering with Princeton's East Asian Students Club for "some fun" with two promiscuous college girls. The pair discovers, though, that their hot dates are gross and their intellectual friends really know how to party.[3]They eventually are attacked by a raccoon and attempt to pass themselves off as surgeons (in the hopes of finding access to medical marijuana).[3]

 

A hideous but helpful tow truck driver later proves to have an unbelievably attractive wife. Their excitement when she propositions them, however, is short-lived; when it turns out the husband will join in.[3]

 

They also run into Neil Patrick Harris (playing an alternative-reality version of himself),[3] who is strung out on ecstasy[4] and hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere. Harris plans to use his child star status to get laid. Harold and Kumar later see Harris flying down the road in the car he stole from them while snorting coke off the buttocks of a partially naked stripper.[3]

 

 

Happening across Harold’s unrequited crush, they discover that she shares his love of John Hughes’ 1980s Americana films.[3]

 

After being arrested by a cop for looking different, the two encounter an African-American man, arrested, of course, for being black. The pair break out of jail and steal the "business hippie"'s huge bag of marijuana, which had been confiscated by the police, before returning to their on-going quest for fast food nirvana.[3]

 

Stealing a truck from a stupid, macho jock allows them to uncover the jock’s secret love of cheesy ballads. They ditch the car after being spotted by the police and use a hang glider to get to the White Castle nearby.[3]

 

In the end, the duo gets their "Sticks and Sliders", find a small measure of revenge against Harold’s co-workers and have their car returned by a repentant Harris. As they dine on their burgers, Kumar observes that there are many kinds of “burgers” in America, and all he really wants is the right to enjoy them all.[3] After this, the duo heads back to their apartments, there Harold finds the girl of his dreams in the elevator and ends up making out with her. Unfortunately, she is leaving for ten days in Amsterdam.

 

. . .

 

The sequel, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, is due for release in the USA on April 25th 2008.

 

 

 

 

[knightni]

I'll be like the Iron Chef of pounding Vag.

 

35. Superbad (2007)

 

(4 of 23 lists - 46 points - highest ranking #3 shipps)

 

Superbad is a 2007 comedy film written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who began writing the script when they were both 13 years old. They completed a draft by age 15.[2] The film's main characters have the same given names as Rogen and Goldberg. The film is directed by former television director Greg Mottola and is produced by Judd Apatow.

 

Evan (Michael Cera) and Seth (Jonah Hill) are friends in their final year of school about to leave for college. Jules (Emma Stone) asks Seth to bring alcohol to a party she is hosting and he agrees, as their mutual friend, Fogell, (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has recently acquired a fake ID and Evan invites his long time crush Becca (Martha MacIsaac) to the party.

 

While purchasing the alcohol, Fogell is assaulted by a hooded robber and the police are called. The two officers, Michaels (Seth Rogen) and Slater (Bill Hader), who appear to be fooled by the fake ID, offer Fogell a lift to the party, but make numerous stops first. The officers display many instances of incompetence, including drinking on the job, unnecessary use of police lights, and improper use of a firearm. They quickly become friends, referring to Fogell by his one-word pseudonym, McLovin.

 

While the police officers are talking to Fogell at the liquor store, Seth is hit by a car and as compensation, the driver (Joe Lo Truglio) agrees to take them to a party, where they reason they can steal the alcohol they need. However, the driver is not welcome at the party and Seth and Evan are forced to leave, but not before smuggling out laundry detergent containers that have been filled with beer. They get into an argument about their friendship when Fogell, Slater, and Michaels happen to hit Seth with their police cruiser. As officer Slater prepares to bust the teens to cover up his own blunder, the boys flee into the night. The three finally arrive at Jules's party with the alcohol, still upset from their fight.

 

At the party, a drunken Becca nearly seduces Evan, but ends up vomiting. A drunken Seth attempts to explain his feelings for Jules, but ends up head-butting her when he passes out on her, resulting in a black eye. Fogell successfully seduces Nicola (Aviva Farber) and gets her into bed, only to have officers Slater and Michaels break up the party. Seth, realizing Evan is passed out on a couch, carries his friend away and back to Evan’s house. They reconcile, realizing everything they've been through as they've grown up. Officers Slater and Michaels reveal to Fogell that they were aware of his forgery all along, but they wanted to show him they were normal guys too. They pretend to haul him off to jail in front of the entire party to boost his popularity. In return, Fogell signs an affidavit to a concocted story to explain the condition of the wrecked police car.

 

The following morning, Evan and Seth run into Becca and Jules at the mall. Seth takes Jules to get cover up for her eye, while Evan takes Becca off to look for a replacement comforter for Jules. The two guys take a long, private look at each other before they part ways with their new friends.

 

. . .

 

[knightni]

Lieutenant Daniel Taylor: Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?

Forrest Gump: I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir.

 

34. Forrest Gump (1994)

 

 

(4 of 23 lists - 47 points - highest ranking #4 rangercal, FlashTizzle)

 

Forrest Gump is a 1994 drama film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and the name of the title character of both. The film was a huge commercial success, earning US$677 million worldwide during its theatrical run making it the top grossing film in North America released that year. The film garnered a total of 13 Academy Award nominations, of which it won six, including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).

 

The film tells the story of a man with an IQ of 75 and his epic journey through life, meeting historical figures, influencing popular culture and experiencing first-hand historic events while largely unaware of their significance, due to his lower than average intelligence. The film differs substantially from the book on which it was based.

 

The movie begins with a feather falling to the feet of Forrest Gump who is sitting at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia. Forrest picks up the feather and puts it in the book Curious George, then tells the story of his life to a woman seated next to him. The listeners at the bus stop change regularly throughout his narration, each showing a different attitude ranging from disbelief and indifference to rapt veneration.

 

On his first day of school, he meets a girl named Jenny, whose life we follow in parallel to Forrest's at times. Having discarded his leg braces, his ability to run at lightning speed gets him into college on a football scholarship. At graduation, he enlists in the army and is sent to Vietnam, where he makes fast friends with a black man named Bubba, who convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him when the war is over. Though Forrest ends up saving much of his platoon, Bubba is killed in action. Forrest is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism.

 

While Forrest is in recovery for a bullet shot to his "butt-tox", he discovers his uncanny ability for ping-pong, eventually gaining popularity and rising to celebrity status, later playing ping-pong competitively against Chinese teams. At an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C. Forrest reunites with Jenny, who has been living a hippie counterculture lifestyle.

 

Returning home, Forrest endorses a company that makes ping-pong paddles, earning himself $25,000, which he uses to buy a shrimping boat, fulfilling his promise to Bubba. His commanding officer from Vietnam, Lieutenant Dan, joins him. Though initially Forrest has little success, after finding his boat the only surviving boat in the area after a hurricane, he begins to pull in huge amounts of shrimp and uses it to buy an entire fleet of shrimp boats. Lieutenant Dan invests the money and Forrest is financially secure for the rest of his life. He returns home to see his mother's last days.

 

One day, Jenny returns to visit Forrest and he proposes marriage to her. She declines, though feels obliged to prove her love to him by sleeping with him. She leaves early the next morning. On a whim, Forrest elects to go for a run. Seemingly capriciously, he decides to keep running across the country several times, over some three and a half years, becoming famous.

 

In present-day, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny who, having seen him run on television, asks him to visit her. Once he is reunited with Jenny, Forrest discovers she has a young son, of whom Forrest is the father. Jenny tells Forrest she is suffering from a virus (probably Hepatitis C, though this is never definitively stated).[1][2][3] Together the three move back to Greenbow, Alabama. Jenny and Forrest finally marry. Jenny dies soon afterward.

 

The film ends with father and son waiting for the school bus on little Forrest's first day of school. Opening the book his son is taking to school, the white feather from the beginning of the movie is seen to fall from within the pages. As the bus pulls away, the white feather is caught on a breeze and drifts skyward.

 

. . .

 

Ken Ralston and his team were responsible for the film's visual effects. Using CGI-techniques it was possible for Tom Hanks to meet dead presidents and even shake their hands.

 

Archival footage was used and with the help of techniques like chroma key, warping, morphing and rotoscoping, Tom Hanks was integrated into it. This feat was honored with an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

 

The CGI removal of actor Gary Sinise's legs, after his character had them amputated, was achieved by wrapping his legs with a blue fabric, which later facilitated the work of the "roto-paint"-team to paint out his legs from every single frame. At one point, while hoisting himself into his wheelchair, his "missing" legs are used for support.

 

Dick Cavett played himself in the 1970s with make-up applied to make it appear that he was much younger than the actor was during the filming. Consequently, Cavett is the only well-known figure in the film to actually play himself for the feature, rather than via archive footage.

[Milkman delivers]

You're doing this very quickly, nice.

[knightni]

You look like a cholo dressed up for Easter.

 

33. (tie) Knocked Up (2007)

 

 

(4 of 23 lists - 49 points - highest ranking #6 FlashTizzle)

 

Knocked Up is an American romantic comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Judd Apatow was released in 2007. It stars Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann. It is rated R for crude sexual content, frequent language and drug use. The movie follows the repercussions of a drunken one night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just promoted media personality that results in an unintended pregnancy ("knocked up" is a chiefly American slang expression for being pregnant).

 

Ben Stone (Rogen) is a lazy, dimwitted and immature 23-year-old Jewish- Canadian slacker and alleged illegal immigrant from British Columbia, living off funds received in compensation for an injury and sporadically working on a Mr. Skin-like website with his roommates. Allison Scott (Heigl) is a career-minded woman who has just been given an on-air role with her employer, E! Entertainment Television, and is living with her sister Debbie's (Mann) family. While celebrating her promotion, Allison meets Ben at a local night club. After a night of drinking, they end up having sex. Due to a misunderstanding, they do not use contraception: Alison uses the phrase "just do it" to encourage Ben to put the condom on faster, which he misinterprets as "a condom is not needed." The following morning, they quickly learn over breakfast that they have little in common.

 

Eight weeks later, Allison experiences morning sickness at work, and several home pregnancy tests later, discovers she is pregnant. She contacts Ben for the first time since their one-night stand to tell him the news. Although taken aback, Ben says he will be there to support Alison having the baby. While he is still unsure about being a parent, his father (played by Harold Ramis) tells him that he was the best thing that ever happened to him. Allison's mother tries to convince her daughter to have an abortion, but Allison decides to keep the child. Later, Allison and Ben decide to give their relationship a chance. The odd couple's efforts include Ben making an awkward marriage proposal with a ring box without a ring, promising to get her one someday. Allison thinks it is too early to think about marriage, because she is more concerned with hiding the pregnancy from her boss, who asked her when she first got the on-air job to be "firm" and "tight" for the cameras.

 

After a somewhat promising beginning, tensions surface in the relationship. Allison is increasingly anxious over Ben's lack of responsibility and is fearful that he will leave her a single mother. These thoughts race through her mind due to her sister's unhappy marriage. Debbie's husband Pete (played by Rudd) works as a talent scout, but he leaves at odd hours in the night which makes her suspect he is having an affair. Upon investigating, she learns that he is actually part of a fantasy baseball draft, which he explains that he needs to have some time free from Debbie's controlling manner. Similarly, Ben feels that Allison is overly controlling. As a result of Pete's confession to his wife, they decide to split up because Pete feels he cannot connect with Debbie and vice-versa. Allison is further convinced Ben will not be supportive after seeing he has not read books on child birth he had bought and promised to read earlier. While driving to the doctor's office, they erupt into a furious argument, resulting in Ben getting out of the car and walking the remaining three miles. Upon finally arriving, he blames her hormones for making her this way, and in response, she tells him that it would be better if they stopped seeing each other.

 

After the break up, Ben decides to go with Pete on a road trip to Las Vegas. Under the heavy influence of psychedelic mushrooms, they realize their loss and decide to return and take responsibility. Eventually, Pete and Debbie reconcile at their daughter's birthday party. When Ben tries to work things out with Allison, she is still reluctant to get back together with him, since she feels they are different and have little in common. At the same time, her boss finds out about her pregnancy, but this has increased ratings among female viewers. After an unsuccessful talk with his father, Ben decides to take responsibility and starts reading the birth books. He goes to great effort to change his ways, including moving out of his friends' house, getting a real job as a web designer and an apartment with a baby's room. Subsequently, Allison goes into labor and is not able to contact her doctor, forcing her to contact Ben again due to Debbie and Pete's out-of-town trip. Ben also tries to contact her gynecologist, but finds out through his secretary that he is out-of-town, violating a promise to deliver the baby in person.

 

During labor, Allison apologizes for doubting Ben's commitment and admits that she never thought the man who got her pregnant would be the right one for her. A while later, Debbie and Pete arrive, but Ben, still angry over Debbie's influence on Allison, makes them wait outside, as he wishes to take care of Allison. When Debbie protests, Ben threatens to have her arrested if she does not comply. The couple welcomes the birth of a baby girl (a boy in the alternate ending) and settle down happily together.

 

. . .

 

The film made the top ten list of the jury for the 2007 AFI Awards as well as the top ten lists of several well-known critics, with the AFI jury calling it the "funniest, freshest comedy of our this or any other generation." and a film that "stretches the boundaries of romantic comedies." John Newman, respected film critic for the Boston Bubble called the film "a better, raunchy, modern version of Some Like it Hot."

 

On December 16, 2007, the film was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the ten best movies of the year, It was one of the two pregnancy comedies on the list (Juno being the other). E! News praised the film's generally unacknowledged success, saying that, "The unplanned pregnancy comedy, shut out of the Golden Globes and passed over by the L.A. and New York critics, was one of 10 films selected Sunday for the American Film Institute's year-end honors."

 

 

[southsider2k5]

I didn't even think of Gump as a comedy. I wouldn't have included it at all, dispite how much I liked it.

[knightni]

I didn't even think of Gump as a comedy. I wouldn't have included it at all, dispite how much I liked it.

 

I am a list zombie.

 

I do what the lists tell me.

[Felix]

Gump as a comedy? Wow, that's pretty shocking.

 

Also, Ferris Bueller was robbed. The fact that Borat is above it is terrible (but then again, I found Borat stupid, as opposed to funny).

[knightni]

Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!

 

33. (tie) Ghostbusters (1984)

 

 

(6 of 23 lists - 49 points - highest ranking #6 southsidehawkweye)

 

Ghostbusters (titled on-screen as Ghost Busters) is a 1984 Sci-fi-comedy film about three eccentric New York City parapsychologists-turned-ghost exterminators. The film was released in the United States on June 8, 1984. It was produced and directed by Ivan Reitman and stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson.

 

Three misfit parapsychology professors are booted out of their paranormal studies research jobs at New York City's Columbia University.[5] Despite their relative lack of funding, they start an enterprise called Ghostbusters, a spectral investigation and removal service. One of the men has a plan to catch and contain supernatural entities, though it has never been properly tested. Undeterred, they obtain a former fire station as a base and a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance dubbed Ecto-1, and begin advertising on local television.

 

At first, their clients are few and far between, and the Ghostbusters have to depend on their individual talents to keep the business alive: Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) is a scientific genius, Dr. Raymond "Ray" Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) is an expert on paranormal history and metallurgy, and Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) has charm and business savvy, although he is in some ways a charlatan. Although he initially comes off as a bit of a wise guy, Venkman eventually finds a subtly heroic side to himself when he learns that a creature called "Zuul" is haunting the apartment of Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), a client who has become the object of his lustful (and possibly deeper) intentions.

 

The business is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy until one night, when Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts), the Ghostbusters' personal secretary, answers a desperate call from the Sedgewick Hotel about a ghost that needs to be removed quickly and quietly. Although the Ghostbusters have no practical experience and their equipment has never been tested -- each man uses a nuclear accelerator (also referred to as a proton pack) which produces a powerful and destructive energy stream -- they successfully catch the ghost after a destructively clumsy hunt. It is also during this first real test for the team, that Egon makes mention that crossing the energy streams would be, in his words, "bad" (he further explained that doing so would cause the instant annihilation of anything in the vicinity by changing the proton streams to antiprotons). Peter thanks him for this "important safety tip".

 

Business soon picks up dramatically and the company becomes a household name, partially due to an unexplained increase in supernatural activity. Peter meets Dana and informs her that Zuul refers to a demigod worshiped around 6000 BC by the Hittites, Mesopotamians and Sumerians. Dana reads out loud from Peter's notes that "Zuul was the minion of Gozer", after which her additional questions are turned into a date-proposal by Peter.

 

The Ghostbusters add a fourth member to their team, the blue-collar Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), to deal with the rapidly increasing workload. The company captures so many ghosts that the scientists become concerned about the capacity of their ghost-containment facility. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent to the Ghostbusters that the spike in paranormal events means they are headed toward a climactic confrontation with an entity called Gozer (Slavitza Jovan), whose presence was implied by bizarre occurrences such as the demonic Zuul appearing in Dana Barrett's apartment.

 

Gozer's minion entities—monstrous, dog-like demons called Zuul (the Gatekeeper) and Vinz Clortho (the Keymaster) — soon begin seeking human hosts. Zuul is easily able to possess Dana Barrett in her apartment by trapping her in her chair with three hideous arms and then pulling her into the fiery chamber that was once her kitchen. Vinz Clortho at first goes unnoticed as he waits in the bedroom of Louis Tully's (Rick Moranis) apartment where a party is being held to celebrate Louis's fourth year as an accountant; but then the minion becomes impatient and crashes the party. Louis flees into Central Park, but the beast corners him near the Tavern on the Green and possesses him. Dana/Zuul gets a visit from Venkman, and she/it tries to seduce him. He realizes something is up (after Dana starts levitating over her bed) and sedates Zuul with a large dose of thorazine. The possessed accountant Tully is found roaming Manhattan and is eventually brought to Ghostbusters HQ by the police and examined by Egon. He claims to be Keymaster to Gozer and appears as a horned entity on Egon's infrared scanner. It is determined that Dana and Louis must never meet, as the "Keymaster" and "Gatekeeper" would literally open the gates of Hell. Vinz remains rather passive, waiting for a "sign" that Gozer will come.

 

However, an overzealous EPA inspector, Walter Peck (William Atherton), arrives and starts asking questions, concerned about the alleged use of toxic chemicals in the Ghostbusters' business. Initially brushed off by Venkman, Peck angrily returns with a court order to shut down the ghost containment facility, although he is warned that it will bring dire consequences. An ConEd electrician reluctantly shuts the grid down, and all the captured ghosts immediately burst forth in a fantastic explosion. A massive number of supernatural events spark chaos throughout the city as long-dead spirits run wild terrorizing the populace. Peck accuses the Ghostbusters of causing the explosion due to their own negligence and has them arrested. Meanwhile, Louis Tully/Vinz Clortho wanders off during the mayhem, mumbling to himself that the eruption of the containment grid was the omen he was waiting for.

 

While the Ghostbusters are in jail, they examine the blueprints of Dana Barrett's apartment building. Ray explains that the structure is "a huge, super-conductive antenna designed and built expressly for the purpose of pulling in and concentrating spiritual turbulence." Egon elaborates further by telling them how an insane surgeon, Ivo Shandor, having deemed society "too sick to survive" after World War I, created a secret society worshipping the Sumerian god Gozer. The rituals performed were designed to bring about the end of the world.

 

Eventually, the mayor of New York (David Margulies) summons the Ghostbusters from jail in hopes that they can explain the various supernatural phenomena. Walter Peck makes a series of baseless accusations that the Ghostbusters are con artists; however, none of the department heads at the meeting are able to support Peck's claims, and with Venkman persuading the politicians, the Ghostbusters convince the mayor to let them deal with the crisis.

 

The Ghostbusters, along with representatives of the New York Police and local Army units, arrive at Dana's apartment building to a waiting crowd. The Ghostbusters collect their equipment and observe the building from street level, watching as the skies darken and the earth shakes beneath their feet. They wave at the adoring crowd before disappearing into the darkened apartment building.

 

The Gatekeeper and Keymaster finally meet and share a lustful kiss atop the art deco–style apartment building. The Ghostbusters climb wearily to the top of the tall building and find the two just as they transform into their true, demonic forms. The demon-dogs then use their combined powers to open a crystalline inter-dimensional gateway. The Ghostbusters watch in awe as the gate doors slide open and Gozer materializes before them in the form of a red-eyed woman with a flattop. Upon finding that the Ghostbusters are mere mortals, Gozer attacks them at once, hurling bolts of lightning from her fingertips. The Ghostbusters retaliate, but the entity is far too elusive, soaring 20 feet through the air and landing behind her attackers. The Ghostbusters try a second time, but the energy currents of their proton streams merely pass right through Gozer. She finally disappears altogether.

 

Believing Gozer to be destroyed, the Ghostbusters begin to celebrate, but Egon's readings suggest otherwise. A huge earthquake rocks the building as Gozer's disembodied voice echoes down from the dark clouds above. Gozer gives them the opportunity to choose the form of their doom (and the city's, presumably). While the other Ghostbusters deliberately clear their minds and think of nothing, Ray reflexively chooses a seemingly innocuous corporate mascot, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. A giant sailor-hatted marshmallow man instantly appears, trampling everything in his path. The Ghostbusters attack Mister Stay Puft with their particle accelerators, but this only makes the creature angry and it begins climbing the building.

 

Egon suddenly realizes that "the door swings both ways" and suggests that the Ghostbusters cross their proton pack streams within the world on the other side of the portal, as Egon himself had informed them earlier that such an action would likely be cataclysmic. The plan succeeds in causing "total protonic reversal", destroying the world inside the gate and annihilating Gozer. The explosion generated by the event incinerates Mister Stay Puft, raining molten marshmallow down onto the roof of the skyscraper and the street below and Peck. The dark sky becomes sunny again and all the ghosts (seemingly) disappear.

 

As the city settles moments after the explosion, the Ghostbusters pull themselves from the wreckage. Peter is notably quiet, faced with the likely implication that Dana (in Terror Dog form) was killed during the explosion. However, this fear is put to rest when the team sees signs of life and frees both Dana and Louis from the petrified shells of what were once the Terror Dogs. The Ghostbusters and the no-longer-possessed apartment dwellers exit the building to massive applause from the crowd, who cheer them on as Peter shares a passionate kiss with Dana, and Janine runs towards Egon and hugs him. The team loads their equipment up into Ecto-1 and everyone, excluding Louis, departs in the car, followed closely by a running and cheering crowd. The theme song plays while the credits roll. The scene fades on a newly released Slimer screaming as he flies up to the camera (which was actual footage of him flying towards Peter).

 

. . .

 

The concept was inspired by Aykroyd's own fascination with the paranormal, and it was conceived by Aykroyd as a vehicle for himself and friend and fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus John Belushi.

 

Louis Tully was originally to be a conservative man in a business suit played by comedian John Candy, but Candy was unable to commit to the role. The role was taken by Rick Moranis, portraying Louis as a geek.

 

Winston Zeddemore was written with Eddie Murphy in mind, but he had to decline the role as he was filming Beverly Hills Cop at the same time. If Murphy had been cast, Zeddemore would have been hired much earlier in the film, and would've accompanied the trio on their hunt for Slimer at the hotel and be slimed in place of Peter Venkman. When Ernie Hudson took over, it was decided that he be brought in later to indicate how the Ghostbusters were struggling to keep up with the outbreak of ghosts.

 

Huey Lewis successfully sued Ray Parker, Jr. for plagiarism, citing that Parker stole the melody from his 1983 song "I Want A New Drug". Ironically, Lewis was approached to compose the main theme song for the movie, but he declined due to his work on the soundtrack for Back to the Future.

 

In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Ghostbusters the 44th greatest comedy film of all time. The American Film Institute ranked it 28th in its list of the top 100 comedies of all time (in their "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs" list).

 

In 2005, IGN voted Ghostbusters the greatest comedy ever. In 2006, Bravo ranked Ghostbusters 76 on their "100 Funniest Movies" list.

[knightni]

Gump as a comedy? Wow, that's pretty shocking.

 

Also, Ferris Bueller was robbed. The fact that Borat is above it is terrible (but then again, I found Borat stupid, as opposed to funny).

Hmmm.

 

I don't recall a list being sent to be by a Soxtalk member named "Felix".

[Felix]

Hmmm.

 

I don't recall a list being sent to be my a Soxtalk member named "Felix".

I'm a critic, nothing more

 

(I also don't believe its possible to have a top 50 list with things like movies and music, too subjective)

 

I do think its pretty cool that you guys did this though, even if I didn't take a part in sending in my own list.

Edited April 21, 2008 by Felix

[3E8]

I guess I'm really throwing off the curve, so far three movies were highest ranked by me