{"id":47840,"date":"2025-08-05T20:41:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T20:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/47840\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T20:41:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T20:41:14","slug":"ten-of-the-funniest-classic-comedies-to-watch-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/47840\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten of the funniest classic comedies to watch now"},"content":{"rendered":"

With The Naked Gun and Freakier Friday in cinemas, Happy Gilmore 2 leading the Netflix rankings and releases slated for Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, Spaceballs 2, a new Meet the Parents instalment, Focker In-Law, and a Pink Panther reboot starring Eddie Murphy, it seems Hollywood has learnt to laugh again. Or at least it has learnt that remaking old comedy hits may be a way to bring in the big bucks from a cinema-going public tired of superheroes. And besides, we could all do with a laugh as the world burns. As Liam Neeson said of The Naked Gun, \u201cThe film is a giggle and we need that.\u201d Here are ten more simple pleasures to enjoy, picked by our experts.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Naked Gun review \u2014 Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson are irresistible<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Marx Brothers \u2014 A Night at the Opera (1935)\"Harpo,<\/p>\n

Groucho Marx, Chico Marx and Harpo Marx on the set of A Night at the Opera, 1935<\/p>\n

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

There\u2019d be no screwball comedy without the Marx Brothers. Arguably Duck Soup, the one about Groucho ruling the fictional country of Freedonia, is the Brothers\u2019 lodestone, but their canvas was wider in this, a romp that never pauses for breath, featuring a breathtaking physical skit set in a cabin on a cruise liner (\u201cand two-hard boiled eggs\u201d), the immortal gag \u201cthere ain\u2019t no such thing as a sanity clause\u201d and a climactic lampoon of Verdi\u2019s baffling Il trovatore. It\u2019s bliss. Buy\/rent<\/p>\n

2. Some Mothers Do Ave \u2019Em (1973-78)\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Few characters are as infantile as Frank Spencer, for all his good intentions, and as he accidentally creates mayhem wherever he goes, he also creates timelessly funny farce. His DIY skills will end in systematic destruction of the room, reversing a car will somehow result in it hanging off a cliff edge (\u201cYou promise you won\u2019t be angry with me?\u201d he asks his wife, Betty, nervously) \u2014 the man is a walking catastrophe in a tank top and proof that dumbness never ages. iPlayer<\/p>\n

3. Blazing Saddles (1974) \"Still<\/p>\n

Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles<\/p>\n

ALAMY<\/p>\n

Who could watch a western \u2014 or eat baked beans \u2014 in the same way after seeing Mel Brooks\u2019s fantastically silly postmodern takedown of the genre? Packed with surreal gags and clever anachronisms, it featured a sublime central performance from Gene Wilder but it\u2019s the campfire scene that many people remember: it was believed to have set a record for the number of on-screen farts in a film.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Read more film reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Airplane! (1980) <\/p>\n

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker would become kings of the spoof with Hot Shots!, Top Secret! and the Naked Gun franchise but this airline disaster comedy, arguably their daftest moment, was their breakthrough. A blitzkrieg of sight gags and awful puns, it included this immortal exchange between Robert Hays\u2019s Ted Striker and Leslie Nielsen\u2019s Dr Rumack: \u201cCan you fly this plane and land it?\u201d Rumack says. \u201cSurely you can\u2019t be serious,\u201d Striker says. \u201cI am serious \u2026 and don\u2019t call me Shirley.\u201d Buy\/rent <\/p>\n

5. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)\"Promotional<\/p>\n

Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean in This Is Spinal Tap<\/p>\n

ALAMY<\/p>\n

So many expressions from this semi-improvised mock-rockumentary have entered the culture \u2014 \u201cThese go to 11\u201d; \u201cThere\u2019s a thin line between clever and stupid\u201d \u2014 that it can be hard to remember just how flaming funny it is. It\u2019s played beautifully straight, studded with great set pieces \u2014 Stonehenge almost being crushed by a dwarf; the band failing to find the stage at showtime \u2014 and has long been endorsed as ludicrously lifelike by the people it satirises. Buy\/rent <\/p>\n

6. Mr Bean (1990-95)\"Rowan<\/p>\n

Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean<\/p>\n

ITV\/SHUTTERSTOCK<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re talking daft comedy, there is no one dafter than Mr Bean. Like a British Jacques Tati, Rowan Atkinson is a silent clown, the entire series and its films a vehicle for his gormless, rubber-faced facial expressions as he creates chaos. Where? Everywhere: in the dentist\u2019s chair, watching a scary film at the cinema (putting popcorn in his ears), meeting the Queen in a line-up with a broken trouser zip. Admit it, you were laughing. ITVX\/Netflix\/Prime Video<\/p>\n

7. Bottom (1991-1995)\"Photo<\/p>\n

Rik Mayall as Richie and Adrian Edmondson as Eddie in Bottom<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Nihilistic, violent and at times chaotic, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson\u2019s sublime comedy of the absurd gave us big laughs in the Nineties across three brilliant series. Taking their Young Ones characters Richie Richard and Eddie Hitler and dropping them into a filthy flat in Hammersmith, the show is driven by the duo\u2019s ridiculous plots to make money and impress women, their perverted fantasies and an overfamiliarity that has long ago turned to contempt. iPlayer<\/p>\n

8. Bowfinger (1999)\"Steve<\/p>\n

Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy in Bowfinger<\/p>\n

ALAMY<\/p>\n

Perhaps the last gasp of out-and-out silliness from its writer and star, Steve Martin, and a reminder that Eddie Murphy is a performer of genius. Martin plays the never-say-die film-maker Bobby Bowfinger and Murphy plays both the paranoid superstar Kit Ramsey \u2014 whom Bowfinger films secretly on the streets of Hollywood after he refuses to star in his no-budget sci-fi thriller \u201cChubby Rain\u201d \u2014 and his shy, hopeless twin-cum-body double, Jiff. Oh, and Heather Graham is their ruthlessly ambitious co-star. Ridiculous. Glorious. Buy\/rent <\/p>\n

9. Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999-2024)\"Larry<\/p>\n

Larry David as a version of himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm<\/p>\n

ALAMY<\/p>\n

Larry David, the brilliant Seinfeld co-creator and producer, was not a man for boundaries in the more than two decades in which he played a hyper-real version of himself. Every episode had him offending someone, whether wearing a Maga hat to ward off unwelcome members of the public or dating a woman in a wheelchair to earn social kudos. Perhaps the silliest \u201cI want to die\u201d moment came when he placed an obituary tribute to his \u201cbeloved aunt\u201d. Only, of course, the \u201cA\u201d was accidentally switched for a \u201cC\u201d. Now <\/p>\n

10. They Came Together (2014)\"Paul<\/p>\n

Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler in They Came Together<\/p>\n

ALAMY<\/p>\n

Is it too much to hope for, one really funny film comedy a year? Well, how can Hollywood commit to out-and-out grown-up laughs when a masterpiece like this spoof, the Airplane! of rom-coms, bellyflopped on release? Yet David Wain\u2019s film is constantly inventive: Paul Rudd is the corporate candy exec \u2014 \u201chandsome but in a non-threatening way \u2026 vaguely but not overtly Jewish\u201d \u2014 who meets the single mother Amy Poehler, who runs a small, not-for-profit candy store (yeah, one of those) in New York. Every detail is smartly observed but, as with the best spoofs, somehow you care what happens to these goons too. Buy\/rent<\/p>\n

Love TV? Discover the best shows on Netflix<\/a>, the best Prime Video TV shows<\/a>, the best Disney+ shows<\/a> , the best Apple TV+ shows<\/a>, the best shows on BBC iPlayer<\/a> , the best shows on Sky and Now<\/a>, the best shows on ITVX<\/a>, the best shows on Channel 4<\/a> streaming, the best shows on Paramount+<\/a> and our favourite hidden gem TV shows<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check our comprehensive TV guide<\/a> for the latest listings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With The Naked Gun and Freakier Friday in cinemas, Happy Gilmore 2 leading the Netflix rankings and releases…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[49,48,75,337],"class_list":["post-47840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}