The Funniest Films Ever Written

Short Takes—

Nov 12, 2015

The Writers Guild of America has just assembled a list of the “101 Funniest Screenplays” of all time, which pays tribute to comedy classics ranging from Buster Keaton's The General to James L. Brooks’s Broadcast News. The honorees were announced by director Rob Reiner at a ceremony held last night at Hollywood's ArcLight Cinerama Dome. Woody Allen’s 1977 Oscar-winning sensation Annie Hall took the top spot, with Some Like It Hot, Groundhog Day, Airplane!, and Tootsierounding out the top five. Farther down the list, Charlie Chaplin received three nods, for his silent classics Modern Times, City Lights, and The Gold Rush. Several Preston Sturges features—including The Lady Eve and Sullivan’s Travels—were heralded as well, and Wes Anderson’s films Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums also both made the cut. Take a look at the top fifty-one titles below and check out the full list here.

Annie Hall
Some Like It Hot
Groundhog Day
Airplane!
Tootsie
Young Frankenstein
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Blazing Saddles
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
National Lampoon's Animal House
This Is Spinal Tap

The Producers
The Big Lebowski
Ghostbusters
When Harry Met Sally . . .
Bridesmaids
Duck Soup
There's Something About Mary
The Jerk
A Fish Called Wanda
His Girl Friday
The Princess Bride

Raising Arizona
Bringing Up Baby
Caddyshack
Monty Python's Life of Brian
The Graduate
The Apartment
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Hangover
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The Lady Eve
Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Trading Places
Sullivan's Travels
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
The Philadelphia Story
A Night at the Opera
Rushmore
Waiting for Guffman
The Odd Couple
Office Space