SOXTALK'S TOP 50 FUNNIEST MOVIES

[knightni]

Oh, this your wife, huh? A lovely lady. Hey baby, you must've been something before electricity.

 

8. Caddyshack (1980)

 

 

(10 of 23 lists - 116 points - highest ranking #1 mr_genius)

 

Caddyshack is a 1980 U.S. comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe and Bill Murray. Doyle-Murray also has a supporting role.

 

The film's story centers on Danny Noonan (O'Keefe), one of many children in a Roman Catholic family of modest means. Danny aspires to attend college in Nebraska, but his parents can't afford it and his grades are less than exceptional, making obtaining a scholarship difficult, at best. Danny works as a caddy at the upscale Bushwood Country Club, where he earns tips to add to his meager college fund.

 

Bushwood's membership includes: Judge Smails (Knight), a by-the-book, no-nonsense jurist and the country club's co-founder; Doctor Beeper, a stereotypical doctor who's more concerned about his golf game than his patients; Bishop Pickering, a Lutheran minister; and Ty Webb (Chase), the son of Bushwood's other co-founder and a free spirit, very unlike the other members. Danny often caddies for Ty, who teaches Danny about the finer points in life, usually while showing off a random trick shot.

 

Judge Smails spies the handiwork of a gopher on his way to the course. Smails confronts Bushwood's greenskeeper, who then entrusts the task of removing the gopher to Carl Spackler (Murray), his unkempt, unhinged assistant, whose attempts to rid the course of the gopher become a running sub-plot of the main story. Later that day, real estate tycoon Al Czervik (Dangerfield) arrives, along with his Asian business partner Mr. Wang, as a guest of another member. Al first meets Judge Smails in the pro shop as Czervik comments on a hat he sees for sale, which he discovers is also being worn by Smails.

 

Danny's boss informs the caddies that the country club's caddy scholarship has become available after its previous winner, Carl Lippbaum, died of an anxiety attack while at school. Danny then decides to caddy for Judge Smails in hopes of earning his favor when Smails awards the next scholarship. Judge Smails' foursome, which includes Dr. Beeper, Bishop Pickering and Smails' grandson, Spaulding, begins their round, and is joined by Smails' voluptuous niece, Lacey Underall. While he waits to start his game, Czervik wastes no time in needling Smails as he tees off, which forces Smails to slice his ball into the rough. Czervik's group continues its rowdy behavior, which is of no help to Danny, as he is trying to butter up the increasingly agitated members of Smails' foursome. He is granted a brief respite when the party completes the front nine of the course, and he enjoys lunch with his girlfriend, Maggie, who is working the snack bar. Danny finally enters Judge Smails' good graces when Smails attempts to putt on the final hole. Al loudly wagers $1000 that Smails will miss his relatively short putt, which draws a crowd of onlookers. Smails does miss the putt, causing him to fling his putter into the air in a blind rage. The putter crashes onto a deck at the clubhouse, striking a woman. Danny takes responsibility for the incident, claiming the grips on the club were worn and that the club was therefore thrown accidentally.

 

That evening, the country club hosts a fancy dinner for the Fourth of July. Danny and Maggie are working as servers when Danny becomes enamored of Lacey. Maggie attempts to dissuade Danny by informing him of Lacey's promiscuous reputation. Al Czervik, dining with his friends, begins to create his unique form of fun-loving chaos during the otherwise stodgy party by tipping all of the staff, making insulting comments about Smails and his family, and paying the band playing at the party to play more upbeat dance music. Later Ty Webb arrives, and he manages to catch the eye of Lacey, who attempts to seduce him outside.

 

Danny all but seals the deal on the scholarship by winning the Caddy Day golf tournament, sinking a clutch putt and earning the praise of the Judge, along with an invitation to mow his lawn and drop by a party at the Judge's yacht club that Sunday. Danny and Maggie enjoy a romantic interlude before going to the country club pool. Lacey makes another appearance, this time getting a massage from Danny's chief rival, Tony D'Annunzio. That evening, Lacey visits Ty Webb at his home, where the two enjoy tequila shots and a naked moonlight swim.

 

At the yacht club, Danny again encounters Lacey, who suggests that she and Danny slip away for some private time at the Judge's house. Once again, Al Czervik crashes the party, destroying Smails' tiny wooden sloop with his enormous yacht by dropping the anchor into the cargo hold. The judge and his wife return home and discover Lacey and Danny naked in his bed. Danny grabs his clothes and flees, steps ahead of a club-wielding Judge.

 

Danny spends the night in the caddyshack, where he is awakened by a scared Maggie, who informs him she may be pregnant. Danny proposes marriage, but is turned down. Making matters worse, he is called into the Judge's office. Danny believes that he's blown his chances at the scholarship at best and expects to be fired at worst. However, the Judge surprises him by offering him the scholarship in gratitude after Danny promises never to mention the embarrassing incident with his niece to anybody. That evening, Maggie reveals that she isn't pregnant and apologizes to Danny. Elsewhere, Smails and Czervik encounter each other in the club's private bar one last time, where the enemies agree on a winner-take-all $20,000 golf match pitting Smails and Dr. Beeper against Al and Ty Webb.

 

Later that evening, Ty is practicing for the match and hits an errant ball into Carl's ramshackle home. Carl and Ty discuss their respective problems (Ty's match against Smails and Carl's credit trouble). Ty's visit ends with sharing a very large joint made of grass (said to be a hybrid of "Kentucky bluegrass, featherbed bent, and northern California sinsemilla"), which Carl has invented that also doubles as golf turf.

 

The match begins, with Judge Smails selecting Danny to be his caddy. As the foursome plays, word spreads of the stakes involved, and other course employees start placing side-bets on the event. At the end of the first nine holes, Smails' team is winning. He taunts Czervik, who then doubles the stakes to $40,000, which the Judge gleefully accepts. Later, Al is hit by a ricocheting ball and pretends to be hurt, hoping to have the contest declared a draw. The match umpire says Al would forfeit, unless they were to choose a substitute. The Judge picks Spaulding, but Ty insists that they should name their own substitute, choosing Danny instead. The Judge threatens to revoke Danny's scholarship if he plays. Danny smirks and takes Al's place (after Al offers to make it "worth his while.")

 

While the match is underway, Carl has moved into the endgame of his battle with the course's gopher. He has been dropping decoy animals sculpted from plastic explosives into every gopher hole he finds, tying all of the detonators to a single master switch. By the final hole, the score is tied and a large crowd has gathered to watch. On this hole, Judge Smails pulls out a putter from his bag while telling Spaulding it's time for "the old Billy Baroo" and he makes his putt. Ultimately, it's up to Danny to sink his putt and win the game for himself and Ty Webb. Again, Czervik raises the stakes to a whopping $80,000, which Smails accepts. Danny's putt reaches the edge of the cup, meaning that Smails would win the hole and the match. At that moment, Carl detonates the explosives, rocking the course. The force of the explosions is enough to cause the ball to drop, scoring a birdie and winning the match. Judge Smails attempts to renege on his end of the bet but Al's thugs are summoned to convince him otherwise. While Smails is busy with Al's goons, Czervik turns to the people at the house and proclaims "Hey, everybody! We're all gonna get laid!", earning him cheers from all of the people. The movie concludes with the gopher emerging, largely unharmed despite the explosives, from his hole, and dancing to the music playing during the end credits.

 

. . .

 

In 2000, Caddyshack was placed at number 71 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 funniest American films. In 2005, a line from the movie was chosen by AFI for their list of the top 100 movie quotes from U.S. films. This film is also second on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".

 

The film was Ramis' first feature and was a major boost to Rodney Dangerfield's film career; he was previously known mostly for his stand-up comedy.

 

A sequel, Caddyshack II, followed in 1988, although it wasn't nearly as successful or as well-received.

 

The film was shot over 11 weeks during the autumn of 1979. Golf scenes were filmed at the Rolling Hills Golf & Tennis resort in Davie, Florida. The explosions that take place during the climax of the film were reported at the nearby Fort Lauderdale airport by an incoming pilot, who suspected a plane had crashed.

 

Bill Murray's famous "Cinderella story" scene was improvised based on two lines of stage direction. Ramis basically gave him direction to act as a kid announcing his own imaginary golf moment. Murray just took it from there. The flowers were his idea.

 

 

[knightni]

I'll have to do a few more later tonight.

[vandy125]

Nice job knight!

[knightni]

Nice job knight!

Thanks!

 

More tonight!

[CanOfCorn]

Thanks!

 

More tonight!

 

Hey, if you have time to accept praise, you have time to post more movies.......

 

[knightni]

Hey, if you have time to accept praise, you have time to post more movies.......

 

If I was at home with my lists, I would.

[daa84]

anchorman is nowhere near as funny as half the movies underneath it

 

most underrated part of caddyshack is the judges poem..."its easy to grin, when your ship comes in, and youve got the stock market beat....but the man worthwhile, is the man who can smile, when his pants are too tight in his seat"

Edited April 25, 2008 by daa84

[knightni]

anchorman is nowhere near as funny as half the movies underneath it

 

I'm gonna stab you with a trident.

[daa84]

I'm gonna stab you with a trident.

 

I've been meaning to talk to you about that. You should find yourself a safehouse or a relative close by. Lay low for a while, because you're probably wanted for murder.

 

haha not saying i didnt like it...just certainly wouldnt put it in my top 10....

 

[daa84]

was just flipping through the channels and saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest On....not sure if thats considered a comedy, but I feel like if the graduate is, it should be...i didnt consider it for my list, but it woulda been high if considered a comedy.....if its not a comedy it certainly has its moments

[knightni]

was just flipping through the channels and saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest On....not sure if thats considered a comedy, but I feel like if the graduate is, it should be...i didnt consider it for my list, but it woulda been high if considered a comedy.....if its not a comedy it certainly has its moments

It got a mention on one list.

 

 

[FlaSoxxJim]

was just flipping through the channels and saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest On....not sure if thats considered a comedy, but I feel like if the graduate is, it should be...i didnt consider it for my list, but it woulda been high if considered a comedy.....if its not a comedy it certainly has its moments

 

Cuckoo's Nest is a top 10 all-time film for me, and it does have its comedic moments. But I never think of it as a comedy even though I certainly consider Graduate to be one. I don't know if that's a fair assessment or not.

[ChWRoCk2]

I thought I put Caddyshack as number one.

 

Hey knight what did I put as #1?

[knightni]

I thought I put Caddyshack as number one.

 

Hey knight what did I put as #1?

A certain movie not posted yet.

[Jack Parkman]

Caddyshack is not that funny. I watched it last summer, and was hoping to laugh my ass off. I laughed one time the whole movie, during the scene when it looks like Bill Murray getting off on the old lady, but it turns out he was washing balls.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

Cuckoo's Nest is a top 10 all-time film for me, and it does have its comedic moments.

 

Top 5 for me...

 

And I had a crush on Nurse Pilbow for some reason.

[knightni]

Fat guuuuuy in a little cooooooaaaaat.

 

7. Tommy Boy (1995)

 

(11 of 23 lists - 129 points - highest ranking #3 ChWRoCk2, 3E8)

 

Tommy Boy is a 1995 comedy movie starring Chris Farley and David Spade.

 

After seven years at Marquette University, hard-partying D-student Thomas R. " Tommy" Callahan III (Chris Farley) returns to his hometown, Sandusky, Ohio. There, his proud father, industrialist Tom Callahan Sr. (Brian Dennehy), gives him an executive job at the family's auto parts plant.

 

In addition to a job and an office, Tom Sr. reveals other surprises for his son: he is engaged to a woman he met at a fat farm, Beverly Barish-Burns (Bo Derek), and that Tommy will soon have a step-brother, Beverly's son Paul (Rob Lowe).

 

The first major plot complication arrives when Tom Sr. suffers a heart attack during the wedding reception and dies. At a board meeting after the funeral, the bank reneges on loans Tom Sr. had negotiated to pay for a new brake pad division, which he thought to be the future of the company.

 

Fearing the death of his family's company, Tommy comes up with an idea: Give the bank his inheritance as collateral and then go on a cross-nation sales trip with his father's former assistant, Richard Hayden (David Spade). Tommy and Hayden, a childhood friend long envious of Tommy's ability to be lazy and yet be rewarded, hit the road in a last-ditch effort to save the company.

 

Meanwhile, during a quiet moment, a kiss reveals that Paul and Beverly are not son and mother. They are con artists whose plan to steal from Tom Sr. has paid off early. Instead of eventually suing for divorce and taking half of Tom Sr.'s estate, Beverly has inherited the company and now seeks a quick sale to self-described "auto parts king" Ray Zalinsky (Dan Aykroyd).

 

On the road, Tommy's comical social awkwardness, hyperactivity and inexperience alienate a series of potential buyers. However, after using his innate persuasive powers to convince a surly waitress to serve him after the kitchen is closed, Richard notices Tommy's potential. The pair make sales and mend their fraying friendship.

 

The final plot complication comes as Paul sabotages the company's computers so that in the ensuing chaos the sale to Zalinsky will go through despite Tommy's recent success. The climax comes in the Zalinsky boardroom in Chicago the following day.

 

At first, they are kicked out of the board room because Tommy has given his shares to the bank. But, just as Tommy and Hayden wallow on the curb in self-pity, a taxi pulls up with a breathless Michelle Brock (Julie Warner). The Callahan Auto shipping clerk has proof that Paul and Beverly are married con artists.

 

Tommy then devises a plan. Using some handy road flares, he dresses himself as a bogus suicide bomber and forces his way back into the Zalinsky building. In the board room, with a TV camera crew watching, Tommy coerces Zalinsky into signing a purchase order for a half-million brake pads. There are cheers in Sandusky, where workers are watching the scene in Chicago unfold on a conveniently-placed television.

 

After the TV crew leaves, Tommy admits his deception. Zalinsky says that the purchase order is meaningless because he will soon own the company. However, Michelle shows documents detailing Paul and Beverly's marriage and their criminal record. The group around the table works through the logic together: Beverly was never legally married to Tom Sr. because she was still married to Paul. Since the marriage wasn't valid, she can't inherit, so her shares really belong to Tommy. Tommy doesn't want to sell, so therefore the deal with Zalinsky is off.

 

Tommy still holds Zalinsky's purchase order, meaning that he has saved the company which he now controls. The film ends with Paul on his way to jail, Beverly on her way to lunch with Zalinsky and Tommy introduced as the new president of Callahan Auto Inc. In a denouement, Tommy returns to his favorite spot - a small dinghy on a lake - where he plaintively asks his late father for enough wind to blow him to shore to meet a dinner date with Michelle.

 

. . .

 

Tommy graduates Marquette University, which was Chris Farley's real-life alma mater.

 

The auto shop garages in one of the Zalinsky TV ads are actually Canadian Tire Corporation auto service centre garages.

 

[knightni]

'Scuse me, while I whip this out.

 

6. Blazing Saddles (1974)

 

 

(7 of 23 lists - 135 points - highest ranking #1 CanOfCorn, southsider2k5, Milkman delivers, RibbieRhubarb)

 

Blazing Saddles (1974) is a satiric Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, it was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie is widely considered one of the great comedies of all time, coming in at number six in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs list.

 

Brooks appears in multiple supporting roles, including Governor Le Petomane and a Yiddish-speaking Indian Chief. Slim Pickens, Alex Karras, David Huddleston, and Brooks regulars Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn and Harvey Korman are also featured. Musician Count Basie has a cameo as himself.

 

The story is set in the American Old West of 1874 (though it is filled with anachronistic references). Construction on a new railroad runs into quicksand; the route has to be changed, which will require it to go through Rock Ridge, a frontier town where everyone has the last name of "Johnson" (including a "Howard Johnson", a "Van Johnson" and an "Olson Johnson".) The conniving State Attorney General Hedley Lamarr — not to be confused, as he often is in the film, with actress Hedy Lamarr — wants to buy the land along the new railroad route cheaply by driving the townspeople out. He sends a gang of thugs, led by his flunky Taggart, to scare them away, prompting the townsfolk to demand that the Governor appoint a new sheriff. The Attorney General convinces his dim-witted boss to select Bart, a black railroad worker as the new sheriff. Because Bart is black, Lamarr believes that this will so offend the townspeople they will either abandon the town or lynch the new sheriff.

 

With his quick wits and the assistance of alcoholic gunslinger Jim, also known as "The Waco Kid" ("I must have killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille!"), Bart works to overcome the townsfolk's hostile reception. He defeats and befriends Mongo, an immensely strong (but only marginally sapient) henchman sent by Taggart, and bests German seductress-for-hire Lili von Shtupp at her own game, before inspiring the town to lure Lamarr's newly-recruited and incredibly diverse army of thugs (rustlers, cutthroats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperadoes, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswagglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass kickers, s*** kickers and Methodists in addition to nearly every other kind of stock movie villain) into an ambush.

 

The resulting fight between the townsfolk and the gunfighters is such that it literally breaks the fourth wall; the fight spills out from the film lot in the Warner Bros. Studios into a neighboring musical set, then the studio commissary where a pie fight ensues, and finally pouring out into the surrounding streets.

 

The film ends with the sheriff and the Waco Kid defeating the bad guy, saving the town, catching the end of the movie, persuading people of all colors and creeds to live in harmony and, finally, riding (in a limousine) off into the sunset.

 

. . .

 

Brooks wanted Richard Pryor to play the sheriff's role, but the studio objected.

 

Gene Wilder was the second choice to play the character of the Waco Kid. He was quickly brought in to replace Gig Young after the first day of filming because Young was suffering from delirium tremens on the set due to his alcoholism.

 

When asked in a television interview if anything was so offensive it had to be cut from the movie, however, Mel Brooks confided that one bit between Madeline Kahn and Cleavon Little had to be edited. In the darkened dressing room when Lili asks Bart if it's "twue" what they say about black men and then she says, "It's twue, it's twue!", he cut Bart's punchline of "I'm sorry to disappoint you, miss, but you're sucking on my arm."

 

Brooks related how he managed to convince John Wayne to read the script after meeting him in the Warner Brothers studio commissary. Wayne was impressed with the script, but politely declined a cameo appearance, fearing it was "too dirty" for his family image. He is also said to have told Brooks that he "would be first in line to see the film, though."

 

It is #9 on Bravo's list of the 100 Funniest Movies.

 

Premiere voted it as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006.

 

In 2006, Blazing Saddles was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The American film critic Dave Kehr queried if the historical significance of Blazing Saddles lay in the fact that it was the first film from a major studio to have a fart joke.

 

Former Chicago Bears DE Steve McMichael got his nickname "Mongo" from Alex Karras' character in this movie.

 

 

[knightni]

Top 5 starts tomorrow afternoon!

[kjshoe04]

Top 5 starts tomorrow afternoon!

Can't wait. Great Job on this by the way Knightni.

[southsider2k5]

I also remember seeing on the Bravo pop up video version of Blazing Saddles that originally Mel Brooks tried to get John Wayne to be in the movie. Wayne said there was no way he would be in the movie, but he would be first in line to see it.

[SoxFan562004]

Great job Knight, real intersting idea and awesome execution.

 

Since there's a lull in the list here and we were discussing bad movies a few pages back, let me throw a question at you guys. What do you think is the worst "legitimate" movie you have seen? What I mean is this, OK, it's easy to rip apart Manos and Orgy of the Dead, God knows I have spent countless 'bad movie nights' with my friends doing the same, but Hollywood has made some legitimate busts too.

 

This is a no brainer for me, it is "Fallen" with Denzel and Goodman.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119099/

 

My God did I think this was horrible. Only reason I didn't walk out was when I worked at a movie theater we would run everything that came in as a midnight show for the staff. My friend and I just busted on it and were in slap happy moods. God did this movie suck. It is just horrible. It smacked of someone having an "awesome" idea, that being the devil transfers from body to body through touch and you can tell it is him by the person singing a specific song, and deciding to write a movie around it.

 

any of you have a film that falls in this category?

[Soxy]

Great job Knight, real intersting idea and awesome execution.

 

Since there's a lull in the list here and we were discussing bad movies a few pages back, let me throw a question at you guys. What do you think is the worst "legitimate" movie you have seen? What I mean is this, OK, it's easy to rip apart Manos and Orgy of the Dead, God knows I have spent countless 'bad movie nights' with my friends doing the same, but Hollywood has made some legitimate busts too.

 

This is a no brainer for me, it is "Fallen" with Denzel and Goodman.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119099/

 

My God did I think this was horrible. Only reason I didn't walk out was when I worked at a movie theater we would run everything that came in as a midnight show for the staff. My friend and I just busted on it and were in slap happy moods. God did this movie suck. It is just horrible. It smacked of someone having an "awesome" idea, that being the devil transfers from body to body through touch and you can tell it is him by the person singing a specific song, and deciding to write a movie around it.

 

any of you have a film that falls in this category?

Two pop to mind: Forces of Nature and Georgia Rule. Awful. Really awful.

 

[Felix]

Caddyshack is not that funny. I watched it last summer, and was hoping to laugh my ass off. I laughed one time the whole movie, during the scene when it looks like Bill Murray getting off on the old lady, but it turns out he was washing balls.

If you don't think Caddyshack is funny, something is seriously wrong with your sense of humor.

 

 

Also, Blazing Saddles is a fantastic choice, hilariously great movie. It was on 7 lists, and 4 of which it was listed #1. That's a really telling fact (although it definitely should have been on all 23 )

Edited April 25, 2008 by Felix

[SoxFan562004]

Two pop to mind: Forces of Nature and Georgia Rule. Awful. Really awful.

 

good call, that movie is awful, although I have an unexplainable crush on Maura Tierney, so that lifts it up a half point in my book!!