Expert: Barbara L. Baker - 11/10/2004

Question
can u send me the list of best 20 comedy movies in the last decade
regards
madhav

Answer
Dear Madhav:  Unfortunately, this question is too broad for me to answer as it is. First off, there is a huge number of films that can be considered as comedies in the last 20 years.  There are multiple types of comedies as well, including slapstick, farce, satire, romantic comedies,etc.  The term encompasses a lot, including comedies that might not be considered as comedies (e.g. black comedy, which deals with taboo subjects).

Next, what is "best"?  My criteria may be different from yours--comedy depends a lot on personal taste. Is "best" the stupid comedy filled with lots of slapstick and gross humor?  Or is it more complex satires of social events? Or something else altogether?

Finally, my expertise is more on comedies of the 60s and 70s than of the 80s and 90s.  But even there I'd be hard pressed to come up with a list of the 20 "best" ones to see.

I refer you to the American Film Institute (AFI) website, to see what they call their Top 100 comedy films.  Although many are older than 1984, there are some more recent ones included.  Also there are some lists on the internet from fans, such as those found at Epinions.com or Listmania! (Amazon.com). Perhaps you can get an answer there.

But keep in mind that any list is limited to what a particular person finds funny (or a particular group, in the case of the AFI).  I happen to know that many flms what I think are very funny are not seen that way by many people (but that is because I happen to really like satires and black comedy, as opposed to other types--although I can also appreciate crude slapstick).  So even if I were to tell you my favorite comedies of the last twenty years, there is no guarantee you'd enjoy them, or agree with me.