I'm sitting at home watching 'Army of Darkness' and thought this might be a fun topic. I like silly movies and 'Army of Darkness' is definately one.
Some other favorite sillies:
O Brother Where Art Thou
Bottle Rocket
Bedazzled
Multiplicity
Hot Shots: Part Deux
Noises Off
George of the Jungle
Mystery Men
Evil Dead 2
What Planet are you From?
The Princess Bride
Bringing up Baby

I still laugh at a number of things in Dumb and Dumber.

Harry: "Boy, the Rocky Mountains don't look so rocky. That John Denver is full of it."

Airplane! is one of the stupidest, silliest comedies ever made.

And, in my opinion, it's also the funniest.

Anything from Monty Python - quintessential silliness.

Let's not forget the Three Stooges! :silly:

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Bedazzled

Yes, but I only recognize the 1967 Peter Cook/Dudley Moore version

And for a complete contrast, (does this also belong in the "Chick Flicks" thread? :wink: )-- Earth Girls Are Easy

O, Brother a silly movie? No Way! There is so much about the film that transcends any others mentioned

My favorite bit in Dumb and Dumber still is coming around the turn into the outskirts of Aspen. The boys are tying down the entirety of inbound and thru traffic. Oh, and "Pretty bird, pretty bird."

Why don't we stipulate just about all of the Farrely bro.s and Zucker Abrams Zucker including Young Doctors In Love with the wonderful Hector Elizondo as a goomba in hiding (in drag) lamenting not taking a position with the "Philadelphia F*****g Philharmonic".

In addition:
The Wheelerdealers
Blazing Saddles
Robin Hood, Men In Tights
Undercover Brother
Easy Money
Back To School
All Pink Panthers except the last two.

My choice for utter silliness would be any of a handful of the British Carry on... comedies of the '50s, '60s and '70s. If you are not acquainted with the series, I recommend Spying, Camping, up the Khyber, at Your Convenience and Behind. (I must warn that Carry on films are not everyone's cup of tea!)

Hey!

Don't forget to add the Marx brothers to the list! (And some of Chaplin's work). Buster Keaton, too!!!

And Disney's Silly Symphonies if you're including shorter work.

For me, there is one dumb film that reigns supreme and that, at one time, I could quote in its entirety. The thing has never been beat as the best sight-gag film ever... Top Secret!

Best recent silly movie: "Dumb and Dumber"
Favorite silly movie from my younger days: "Airplane!"

Both have so many hilarious moments and memorable quotes. I also thought "Rocketman" was an endearing dumb film with a lot of funny moments (suitable for all ages, to boot). "Three Amigos" would also fit the bill, IIRC.

When Pee Wee's Big Adventure first came out a group of us went to see it every Sunday night after church for about a month. A very silly movie.

Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch for sheer fun and entertainment, though they're actually quite accomplished bits of filmmaking.

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My favorite bit in Dumb and Dumber still is coming around the turn into the outskirts of Aspen. The boys are tying down the entirety of inbound and thru traffic. Oh, and \"Pretty bird, pretty bird.\"

My personal favorite Dumb and Dumber moment: "We got no food... we got no jobs... our pets' HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!"

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For me, there is one dumb film that reigns supreme and that, at one time, I could quote in its entirety. The thing has never been beat as the best sight-gag film ever... Top Secret!

I hardly think of it as the best sight-gag film ever, but I, too, love Top Secret! It's one of the few films that have tried to recapture the maniacal wit of Airplane! that actually works pretty well.

"I know a little German... he's standing over there!"

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When Pee Wee's Big Adventure first came out a group of us went to see it every Sunday night after church for about a month.  A very silly movie.

Oh, I agree--one of my favorite "silly" films.

"A lot of people I know have big 'buts,' but yours is the biggest 'but' of all..."
"There's no basement at the Alamo!!"

I also added Buster Keaton and Chaplin to my mention of the Marx Brothers, above.

Another silly film:

The Hudsucker Proxy

Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, one of the most quoteable films ever made. "What hump?"

Speaking of Mel Brooks, I always crack up at this line from Blazing Saddles:

[To two members of the KKK]
Jim: Oh Boys, Lookee what I got heyuh.
Sheriff Bart: Hey, where all the white women at?

How could I have missed Gremlins2? Tony Randal's voice of the genius Gremlin is one long silly gag. The most intellectual silly gag I can remember.

"Mongo only pawn in game of life."

Hedly Lamarr: What's that you have in your mouth?
Bad Guy: Just chewing gum.
Hedly: Well, did you bring some for everybody?
Bad Guy: Well, uh, no I didn't.

Hedly shoots bad guy dead on the spot.

Jim: Boy! Is he strict!

Talk about your films once remembered by heart. This came out early in my college days. Mel Brooks immediately became the idol of all the jewish guys that I knew in school. Must have seen it 10 times on the big screen back then.

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Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, one of the most quoteable films ever made. \"What hump?\"

"Putt, de kendle beck."
"You can button your bodice now."
"BLUCHER!!"

Of course! Any film by Mel Brooks is pretty silly (think: The Producers, Spaceballs)

Also Blake Edwards! Not much is sillier than the Pink Panther films.

Kevin Smith's work is slightly silly.

Terry Gilliam's Adventures of Baron Munchausen is as extremely silly as it is poetic.

Also extremely silly: Buckaroo Banzai, The Blues Brothers, Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown, It Happened One Night, most (not all) Danny Kaye films, Spinal Tap, all Christopher Guest (directed) movies, most comedies-of-error, the Woody Allen screwball comedies (esp. Sleeper, Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Love and Death, What's Up, Tiger Lilly)

And the Ealing Studios comedies (particularly The Ladykillers, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Man in the White Suit, and especially the extremely silly Kind Hearts and Coronets), The Princess Bride, Shreck, A Fish Called Wanda, all Abbot & Costello films, all Laurel & Hardy films...

This really is an endless list...most SNL-cast movies, the Bill and Ted movies, the Austin Powers movies, Little Shop of Horrors, all Muppet movies, The Jerk, etc., etc.

Since all "silly" movies are probably comedies, some might be found on this list, such as Dr. Strangelove (extremely silly), Amelie (slightly silly)...

And I can't believe we forgot Ingmar Bergman! The Silence, Through A Glass Darkly, The Seventh Seal, or even Cries And Whispers.

Y'know Ron I was gonna do a joke like that, but then I though that people would say I was just being... well... silly.

WEll I was going to throw in Austin Powers and Laurel and Hardy, but Alan beat me to it. The Naked Gun films also amused me, as did both Wayne's Worlds, plus of course the Python films.

Matt

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Speaking of Mel Brooks, I always crack up at this line from Blazing Saddles: [To two members of the KKK]   Jim: Oh Boys, Lookee what I got heyuh.   Sheriff Bart: Hey, where all the white women at?

Jim: "Uh oh, you forgot to scrub up after the weekly cross burning." [Rubs Bart's hands in attempt to "wash" it off] "See, it's coming off."
[Suddenly the hood is pulled off, everyone gasps.]
Bart: "And now, for my next impression, Jesse Owens!" [Runs off quickly]

And who could forget "The William J. LePetome (sp?) Toll Bridge? "Anyone got any dimes?"

I just remembered 'Undercover Blues,' a very silly spy flick with Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner as husband and wife, plus Stanley Tucci as the hapless Muerte.

Airplane!
Animal Crackers
Blazing Saddles
Bugsy Malone
Happy Gilmore
Johnny Dangerously
Kung Pow
The Meaning of Life
Monty Python & the Holy Grail
Room Service

Yeah, I know, Kung Pow. May God have mercy on my soul, but I unraveled when I saw that, cursing myself for being so quickly laid low…

[quote="MattPage"]The Naked Gun films also amused me, as did both Wayne's Worlds, plus of course the Python films.

I can't beleive it took this long for someone to mention Naked Gun! Maybe it was just my pre-adolescent sense of humour but I can remember laughing my way through every one of those films!

"Surely, you can't be serious!"
"I am serious. And stop calling me Shirley."

Yes, when you're 13 it is funny! (and still sometimes when you're 25)

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\"Surely, you can't be serious!\"   \"I am serious. And stop calling me Shirley.\"

That's from Airplane!, not The Naked Gun.

I keep trying to tell you people about Evil Roy Slade. This is the cowboy film that Blazing Saddles wished it could be as silly as.

I would add National Lampoon's Vacation to the list. You've got to love that Marty Moose!

And The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, a very funny send-up of the cheap Ed Wood-type sci-fi/horror films from the '50s and '60s.

Crow wrote:
: And The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, a very funny send-up of the cheap Ed
: Wood-type sci-fi/horror films from the '50s and '60s.

Link to that film's thread. It's still making the rounds at theatres -- it opened in Vancouver last week, though I think it may be gone already.

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I keep trying to tell you people about Evil Roy Slade.  This is the cowboy film that Blazing Saddles wished it could be as silly as.

John Astin and Dick Shawn are a lot to commend a movie, but ain't nowhere near Blazing Saddles. No fart jokes, no doo-wop Cole Porter. We can quote great Mel Brooks lines all day. Any great Bing Bell comebacks?

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Crow wrote: : And The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, a very funny send-up of the cheap Ed : Wood-type sci-fi/horror films from the '50s and '60s. Link to that film's thread.  It's still making the rounds at theatres -- it opened in Vancouver last week, though I think it may be gone already.

Yeah, we had it here in Louisville last week. Didn't have a chance to go see it though.

Reviving this thread to point out that the brilliant 1967 BEDAZZLED, dir. Stanley Donen, starring Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, is finally available on DVD!!!

Next time the A&F Top 100 comes round, there will be no excuse if this film doesn't make the list.

Hmmm. While I agree that it deserves consideration for the list, I'm not sure it has aged as well as I wish it had.

It didn't even make the 2005 Top200, after all. It fared SO poorly in 2005, that it it wasn't even eligible for 2006, so it wasn't even nominated last year! It will be eligible for renomination when we revisit the Top100 in 2008.

This topic has been moved to the better-suited "Film Awards, Festivals, and Lists" forum...

That's because almost no one has seen it, or they haven't seen it for a long, long time, not because it's not worthwhile. It's rarely shown on TV, and up until this year was only available on VHS (used). But I won't argue about it now.

In any case, by the time 2008 comes around, we'll probably only be considering German, Russian, or Japanese films that are at least three hours long, and require extensive training in the history of cinematography to truly appreciate.

Does Raising Arizona count as a silly movie? How about all of the Christopher Guest improvised movies? Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show, A Mighty Wind, etc.

Raising Arizona, certainly.

And, of course, the kings of silliness: Monty Python (Grail/Brian/MoL), mentioned a few times above--but not Brian--and you might as well throw Erik the Viking[i] and [i]Time Bandits on that pile. And Baron Munchausen.

What's Up, Doc? is probably my all-time favorite silly movie - it's far funnier/sillier than most of the screwball comedies that Bogdonavich was saluting. I also think most of Robert Altman's Prairie Home Companion movie qualifies as wonderfully silly. My favorite moment: the dialogue about the sister who stole the jelly donut. (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin played it to perfection.) The scene where Keillor and the mysterious woman talk about why his penguin joke is funny (or not) is another good one.

You shouldn't forget those several Swedish and Polish films that always make their way on. Goodness; your limited cultural vision is appalling, Beth!


Anyhow, I'd have to add Labyrinth as a favorite silly film; whether it was intended to be silly or not, one just cannot take it seriously...and it's wonderful!

And then there's always Clue...."I am your singing telegram..."

Which brings me to seconding the Young Frankenstein vote...."Abby someone...Abby, Abby...Abby Normal!"

"Shallow Hal" is a personal favourite. I find it curiously moving. Before my newfound aversion to bosoms, I used to really like "Frankenhooker".

I have to add 1992's Brain Donors to this list. Caught it late one night on HBO, looking for something that would put me to sleep, and ended up laughing through the entire thing. Sure, it's a Marx Bothers wannabe, but John Turturro and his cohorts do them great justice by having a lot of fun with their roles. Turturro's entrance, as ambulance-chasing attorney Roland T. Flakfizer, is a classic.