The top 101 funniest screenplays, according to the WGA (1 Viewer)

[Tony J Case]

The Full List


The top 10:


1 )Annie Hall

2) Some Like It Hot

3) Groundhog Day

4) Airplane!

5) Tootsie

6) Young Frankenstein

7) Dr Strangelove

8) Blazing Saddles

9) Monty Python and the Holy Grail

10) National Lampoon’s Animal House


Annie Fucking Hall? How in the hell did someone choose that un-funny punch to the nutsack as the funniest movie ever? And the fact that Ghostbusters didn't make the top 10 brings their film acumen into suspicion.

 

[MatthewA]

What kind of list puts Wedding Crashers over It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Back to the Future, Being There, Coming to America, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Election, Mean Girls, Fargo, some more of the actually funny Woody Allen movies, and especially All About Eve? Granted, I liked the film when I saw it in its original theatrical run, but 59th funniest film ever? Come on! If that doesn't prove comedy is subjective, nothing will.


Nice to see Galaxy Quest get some love, though.

 

[TravisR]

I always try to ignore the numerical ranking with these kinds of lists (because it never matches my own preference) but one movie that seems really out of place and I'm stunned that it's even on the list is the awful Wedding Crashers. I could name movies that I feel should be on there over others but overall, the list is pretty solid and while it skews more modern, it doesn't ignore the past either.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

This seems more like a list of the 101 Greatest Comedy Films than the funniest screenplays. It's not really clear that they're even talking about screenplays (which are not the same thing as finished movies. . .and it would be weird, as it's a WGA list).

 

[Colin Jacobson]

The Full List


The top 10:


1 )Annie Hall

2) Some Like It Hot

3) Groundhog Day

4) Airplane!

5) Tootsie

6) Young Frankenstein

7) Dr Strangelove

8) Blazing Saddles

9) Monty Python and the Holy Grail

10) National Lampoon’s Animal House


Annie Fucking Hall? How in the hell did someone choose that un-funny punch to the nutsack as the funniest movie ever? And the fact that Ghostbusters didn't make the top 10 brings their film acumen into suspicion.

One issue with :"Ghostbusters" on a list of funniest screenplays comes from the fact that so much of the best comedy wasn't in the script. I remember the old Criterion LD I got in 1991 had the screenplay, and I was stunned to see how much of Murray's material wasn't in the script...

 

[sleroi]

Im not saying this belongs near the top of the list by any means, but bad teacher seems to fit the bill. It reads quite funny. Unfortunaty it didnt quite translate to the screen, but its there on the page. And as much as i love airplane, i think top secret is an even more hysterical example of that style of humor.

 

[Vic Pardo]

The Full List


The top 10:


1 )Annie Hall

2) Some Like It Hot

3) Groundhog Day

4) Airplane!

5) Tootsie

6) Young Frankenstein

7) Dr Strangelove

8) Blazing Saddles

9) Monty Python and the Holy Grail

10) National Lampoon’s Animal House


Annie Fucking Hall? How in the hell did someone choose that un-funny punch to the nutsack as the funniest movie ever? And the fact that Ghostbusters didn't make the top 10 brings their film acumen into suspicion.

While they may be comedies, many of the screenplays on that list were not laugh-out-loud funny. ELECTION? THE GRADUATE? Amusing, caustic, clever, but not specifically designed to get laughs. Why is BORAT there? How much of that was scripted? Where's a W.C. Fields movie? (THE BANK DICK? YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN?) Where's the Marx Brothers' better movies, HORSEFEATHERS and MONKEY BUSINESS? Neil Simon's best is THE CHEAP DETECTIVE. And one of Bob Hope's best is CASANOVA'S BIG NIGHT. Is there even one Bob Hope comedy on that list? Not even one "Road" movie? No, not one Bob Hope movie. Blasphemy!

 

[David Weicker]

How soon until The Martian gets added to this list?

Oh wait, that's the Golden Globe list.


But seriously, no The Court Jester or The In-Laws?

 

[Worth]

Why is BORAT there? How much of that was scripted?

The same goes for Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, And the Python films, Bridesmaids, Caddyshack, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Anchorman and Beverly Hills Cop all featured extensive improvisation.

 

[Joel Fontenot]

Kind of hard to judge a movie's screenplay, unless you've actually seen (or read) the flippin' screenplay.


Maybe the screenplay for Wedding Crashers was actually funny - and then they filmed it...


But then, as noted, other films on the list were just blocked out story guides with heavy improvisation.