On today’s episode, Variety’s chief film critics Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge detail the how and the why behind their selections for Variety’s 100 Greatest Comedy Movies of All Time list.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I have to ask, did either of you ever dress
up for a rocky horror screening?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I did.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
I've been to those, but I never participated.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Dressed up, brought toast to throw at the screen whole
nine yards, begged my parents to let me go to
a midnight screening. Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose
of news and analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Tuesday,
(00:29):
November twenty fifth, twenty twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton.
I am co editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda.
I'm in LA He's in New York, and Bridy has
reporters around the world covering the business of entertainment. In
today's episode, We Yuck It Up, we talk with Variety's
chief film critics Owen Gleiberman and Peter de Bruges. The
two have just assembled the one hundred Best Comedy Movies
(00:52):
of All Time list that published on Variety dot com
and is in Variety's November twenty sixth print edition. Owen
in Peter dive into the how and why of their
great selections in a very animated conversation. But before we
get to that, here are a few headlines just in
this morning that you need to know. Scarlett Johansson is
following in Linda Blair's footsteps. She'll star in a new
(01:15):
Exorcist movie from Universal and Blumhouse. Mike Flanagan is writing
and directing. India's Reliance Animation is producing a scripted series
about Argentine soccer great Diego Maridona. The company is working
with the Late Stars Family. My colleague Nomen Ramachandron has
the scoop. Speaking of the Global Village, Disney Entertainment co
chair Dana Walden received the Founder's Award on Monday night
(01:38):
at the International Emmy Awards. Ryan Murphy presented her the honor.
Walden told the crowd in New York that she believes
in the strong bond that quote exists between the creator
who dreams the dream and the team that believes in
it enough to clear the path. All of these stories
ends so much more can be found on Variety dot
com Right now and now it's time for conversations with
(02:04):
Friday journalists about news and trends and show business. By now,
most Daily Variety listeners probably know that Variety chose police
squad from the files of the Naked Gun as our
number one comedy movie of all time. It's an unconventional choice.
I love it. It's not predictable. The nineteen eighty eight release
came from the zany, raunchy trio of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrams,
(02:28):
and David Zucker or Zaz or Zazz as they're sometimes known.
The Naked Gun had its origins in the Zazz produced
ABC TV series Police Squad that was a relentless spoof
of TV cop shows. Lease Squad introduced Leslie Nielsen as
the Lieutenant Frank Dreben character. It ran for all of
six episodes in nineteen eighty two, but it was the
(02:50):
velvet underground of TV series because it inspired a generation
of comedy writers to get weird and bend the form,
and six years after Police Squad, the concept was adapted
into a feature film starring Nielsen and Priscilla Presley. Here's
a clip from the Police Squad series that captures the
fast paced, gag filled style that marked Police Squad and
(03:11):
later The Naked Gun. It's a spoof of the stereotypical
police interview of the victim. Here's Leslie Nielsen, he's co
star Alex North and an actress. I can't quite identify.
I'm Captain Frank Grevin.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
I understand you had a pretty red time.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yeah, it was pretty bad.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
When was the first time you noticed something was wrong?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Well, when I first heard the shot, and as I turned,
Jim felt.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
He's a teller, Frank, Jim Fell's a teller.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
No, Jim Johnson Who.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Jim Fell, He's the auditor, Frank.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
He had the flu. So Jim filled in.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Philip filled in.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
He's a night watcher, Frank, police fill it. Be here
and wait a minute, let me get this straight. Twice
came in and shot the teller and Jim Fell.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
No, he only shot a teller, Jim Johnson Fell is ill?
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Okay? Then after he shot the teller, you shot twice?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
No?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
I only shot once?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Twice? Is the hold up man?
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Then I guess I did shoo twice? Wasn't how you're
changing a story? The absurdity goes on forever, and now
here's our conversation about the hundred best comedy movies of
all time. Peter de Bruges and Owen Gleiberman Varieties, Intrepid
Chief film Critics. Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Thanks Santa, good to be here.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Cynthia, Well, you two have definitely been busy've done some
heavy lifting on a big list. It's a list designed
to spark debate, discussion social media means you too, put
your minds to assembling the one hundred best comedy films
of all time. That's a big assignment. It shot right
to the top of our most read stories. Was there
(04:42):
something about this year? Was there an anniversary or something
that made you want to focus on comedy right now?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
This was more than a year in the making, and
it comes out of a series of these greatest Movies lists,
starting with the one hundred Greatest Films of All Time
that we did a few years back. Giving ourselves this
long run way really allowed us to brush up on
films we hadn't watched in years, to incorporate the opinion
of our colleagues, and so we really had the luxury
(05:09):
of time to get this list right.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Owen, what did you find most challenging about winnowing it
to one hundred titles?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
The thing about comedy is that you've really got to
look at it with fresh eyes, because there are comedies
that stand the test of time, and then a lot
of comedy doesn't because comedy is always about raising the
bar on what is shocking and what has an edge
to it. Our agenda in this list, to the extent
that we had one, was to just go back to
the drawing board and see all these movies with fresh eyes,
(05:40):
and also really kind of obliterate any sense of demarcation
between highbrow and lowbrow, because comedy is really the ultimate
form where it's one or the other. And there's plenty
of lowbrow comedies that are just completely hilarious and deserve
to place on this list.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Like country music comedy is three jokes and the truth
it is you've got to hit a truth. And when
you look at the indelible titles on this list, it
all put a light on some hilarious, funny aspects of
the human condition. The relationship comedy that is featured in
The Philadelphia Story, which is one of my all time
favorite movies. I'm so glad you included it. That is timeless,
(06:21):
that is boy Meets Girl for all time. I'm just
gonna run down the top ten listeners. Run to Variety
dot com, where you can find the list. You won't
be able to miss it on our website. It's also
in our Precious November twenty fifth print edition. It's a
beautiful layout. The top ten in order, starting with number one,
The Naked Gun from the Files of Police Squad, the
(06:41):
nineteen eighty eight film. That's a bold choice, followed by
some like It, Hot Annie Hall, The Great Dictator, Waiting
for Guffman, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Duck Soup Fargo,
Young Frankenstein, and Groundhog Day.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
It makes me realize, listening to that top ten, there's
no assignment actually more fun than making a list like this,
a comedy list. But I think the most fun thing
about it is to see the way that certain titles
jump forward into your top ten or even to your
number one, that people aren't expecting. And we didn't do
it for that reason. It's because we realize these are
(07:18):
great comedies that now people have a certain feeling about,
and they've become classics. I think The Naked Gun is
like that. I mean, if this wore back in nineteen
eighty eight and you ask someone do you think comedies
by the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin are great works
of art? They would go yeah, of course. And then
if you asked that same person, well, all right, what
(07:39):
about the Naked Gun? They would probably say, well, that's
a very silly movie, but it's got some great laughs
in it. But our feeling about The Naked Gun and
the whole Airplane School, Pucker, Abraham's and Zucker is that
these guys were working on this absolutely insane and inspired
level that was very much like the contemporary equivalent of
the Marx Brothers, and now movie like The Naked Gun
(08:01):
can take its place alongside the Marx Brothers as being
the media age equivalent of that.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
In that top ten, I think you really see to
reflected just the power of certain voices who really shaped
what we think of is comedy. You know the Zaz
school there with Naked Gun and of course Airplane, and
we have the Christopher Guest innovation with mockumentaries represented by
Waiting for Guffman. Monty Python was a huge force really
on TV, but starting with Monty Python, the Holy Grail
(08:29):
began this wave into film. If their tagline was now
for something completely different, the challenge and the movies became
finding some sort of cohesive lunacy to tie everything together.
Of course, chaplain the Marx Brothers and let's not leave
off Mel Brooks, and.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
It's interesting that we're doing this right now because comedies,
I know from talking to Rebecca Rubin every week about
the box office, traditional adult comedies are really struggling. And
it strikes me that there's nothing on the top ten
that was produced later than the late nineties.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
We've got movies like Bride'smaids, Everything everywhere, all at once.
From the list. You've got things up right there at
the turn of the century, like Being John Malkovich that
are still reverberating today. Some of it, though, is that
there's a disposability maybe to a lot of the comedy
that's coming out of studios. Quite recently, I think that
television has really stepped up.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The movie that I'm very proud is in the Top
ten is Waiting for Guffman, because it's a movie I
feel very close to and I just watch again and again.
And it's interesting because it goes out of the same
school as Spinal Tap. You can say that Spinal Tap
in spirit, even though it was directed by Rob Reiner,
was the first Christopher Guest movie. It's the invention of
(09:38):
that mockumentary form. And Spinal Tap is a hilarious movie
that is on our list, but we thought Waiting for Guffman. Ultimately,
this one of a kind movie about a small town
theater troop with just this amazing performance by Christopher guests
quirky Saint Clair, the closeted head of the theater troop,
and there is just something magical about it, and it
(09:59):
just touches the bone of reality, almost like reality TV
before its time. And so that's a movie that we found.
There is quite an enraptured cult for it, and we're
part of the cult. I noticed as I was going
through the final list. Naked Gunn was released in nineteen
eighty eight, and as I was going through, teen eighty
eight was a hell of a year for comedies. Titles
that made the list include Hairspray, A fish called Wanda,
(10:23):
Big Coming to America. There's probably a few more in there.
It goes to tell you that the volume was a
lot bigger, but also just the playing field was bigger
because there just was less competition for movies. I hadn't
really thought about that till you mentioned it, but now
that I think about it, the East was really a
big period for comedy. It often seemed as if Hollywood
(10:43):
would have been taken over by common and it seems
like as the decade went on, a lot of film
artists figured out how to do it. John Waters had
been playing with his post Pink Flamingo's career throughout the eighties,
and then he makes this great movie where he actually
moves into the main stream and it remains just enchanting.
Is really a high concept movie, and there were a
(11:04):
lot of dope high concept movies in the eighties, but
Penny Marshall figured out how to do it artfully. So
some of those movies from eighty eight building on things
that had been done in the years before and now
just doing them better.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
We were reminded this year on the fiftieth anniversary of
two Titanic movies of comedy genius. One is Money, Python
in the Holy Grail celebrating its mid century anniversary, and
also The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Those are two just
iconic cult comedies that arrived at a time when it
seemed like maybe audiences were really receptive to things that
(11:38):
were major counterprogramming. The Academy debuted The four K Restoration
earlier this year, and it was so cool. It felt
like the lunatics had taken over the asylum to see
rocky horror play at the museum on their kind of
hallowed screen.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
You have a couple of key international filmmakers represented, including
the great Jacques Tati, who delivers slapstick entertainment with a
French twist. But how did you balance those considerations when
comedy is a so American.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
You know, sometimes it just works differently across borders. Tati,
of course, is partly because his is a silent form
of comedy, like chaplain, he became this just beloved international figure.
But I think we were very selective about the international films.
We did choose Adovars, while this film Women on the
Verge of a nervous breakdown? Is there the really anarchic
(12:27):
Bertromplier movie going places. The one that I think really
stands in for a major phenomenon is The Tall Blonde
Man with One Black Shoe, because that is representative of
this thing that happened in France where these high concept
farces were ripe for remake, and that movie was a
huge hit with Pierrie shar in its original form. And
(12:49):
I also think The Tall Blonde Man with One Black
Shoe is a very special movie. It just came out
of this time in the early seventies when that kind
of French farce had become much crazier than it had
ever been before.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
And I said in the capsule right up that to me,
that movie was funnier than all the Pink Panther movies.
But together, that was my little dig at the Pink
Panther movies because I'm not so crazy about them.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Are there any other movies and maybe even some lesser
known titles on the list that are really important to you?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Well, I have two of them that I was just
particularly interested in having on the list. One of them
is Richard Pryor Live in Concert, because I think it's
a movie that a lot of people today probably haven't seen.
And stand up comedy is bigger than ever, but when
it comes to stand up comedy, Richard Pryor was I think,
unquestionably the greatest artist in that form who ever lived.
(13:36):
So if you want to see the best stand up
comedy performance that ever exist, watch Richard Pryor Live in Concert.
It really is just a great movie. The other one
for me is My best Friend's Wedding because we are
also in a rom com centric universe. I think it's
my Best Friend's Wedding was actually the greatest romantic comedy
(13:58):
of its time. I remember the second time especially I
saw that movie. I just got blown away by how
incredible it is. It is so moving, it is so funny.
I think it's Julia Roberts's greatest role as an actor,
and I think it's a movie that still does not
have the reputation that it deserves. So I was very
happy to see it on this list and have people
(14:19):
hopefully go and check it out and see how it
really is a classic.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
There is a director who appears on this list more
than many people might expect. That's Rob Reiner, who I
think is the Billy Wilder of our time, the Ernst
Lubitch of our time. Those three movies are This is
Spinal Tap, of course, Garnie de Berghee exactly When Harry
Met Sally, which is the movie that relaunched the rom
com and my Desert Island favorite The Princess Bride, which
(14:46):
just is like the ultimate remix of all those funny
movies from the classic era.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
This gives people a lot to look for during the downtime.
Thank you both so much for taking the time, because again,
at this time in the world. We all need some
good laughs, really appreciate it. All of this talk about
great comedies made me want to share some clips from
my most recent Strictly Business podcast interview. I spoke with
(15:14):
UTA partners Blair Cohen and Jason Hayman about the business
of comedy, from stand up to showrunners to directors and writers.
They address the challenges that the genre faces, and they
pointed to where they see a lot of growth. Here
are some excerpts from that conversation, published last week on
our companion long form interview podcast, Strictly Business.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Can Modern Family exist again? Can Everybody Loves Raymond exist?
It's a really good question. The good side of it
is that schedule, that routine that we all grew up
with of you know, pilot season and upfronts and fall
schedule and all of that, right, that's all gone. So
you have a little more flexibility and the talent can
(15:55):
go off to do other things, come back when they
feel creatively inspired. And and there's something great about that
that you're not just churning it out based on you know,
existential things that you actually the creative ambition and what
the creator is feeling they want to put out there
they can do it on their urn.
Speaker 5 (16:15):
I think people want to laugh in community. I think
what's driving this live experience is being together in a
room and laughing together. And that was what when we
talk about all these great movies, these great comedies of
the last twenty five to fifty However many years it
was going to the theater and laughing in community. And
(16:37):
I think we are missing that in the old days,
where the holy grail was the half hour network show
or a movie. Now so many of our clients they
had twenty different things. They can do a podcast, they
can write book, they have so many things to explore
their passion that isn't the holy grail. And we just
(16:58):
want to provide them with every possible opportunity, even things
they're not thinking about.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
As we close out today's episode, here's a few things
we're watching for today, we unveiled that Elton John is
Variety's Philanthropist of the Year. He's raised more than six
hundred and fifty million dollars for the Elton John Aids
Foundation over the past few decades, and he does a
whole lot more. We have a great interview with Elton
by our own Chris Willman in case you hadn't heard,
(17:25):
the first hunk of Stranger Things final season episodes drop
tomorrow on Netflix. We have everything you need to know
about this at Variety dot com, and tomorrow on Daily
Variety we'll hear from Ike Baronholtz. He's helping the Motion
Picture and Television Fund raise money for its second act
capital campaign. Baron Holtz explains his personal connection to the MPTF,
(17:48):
and of course he answers the question, what would sal
Sapristin do to support this great industry institution? Jeene Herschelt
would be so proud. Once again, we'd love to hear
from our listeners on Variety's Core podcasts, Daily Variety, Strictly Business,
Aword Circuit and Variety Confidential, So please send feedback to
podcasts at Variety dot com. That's podcasts at Variety dot
(18:11):
com before we go. Congrats to Moirahgan. She's been appointed
Executive VP of Sales for the Asia Pacific region of
ITV Studios. She'll lead sales teams out of Singapore and Sydney.
She was most recently part of the team that launched
Brittbox Australia. Thanks for listening. This episode was written and
reported by me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Peter Debruges
(18:33):
and Owen Gleiberman. Stick Snick's hick picks. Please leave us
a review at the podcast platform of your choice, and
please tune in tomorrow for another episode of Daily Variety,
And don't forget to tell us what you think at
podcasts at variety dot com
I have to ask, did either of you ever dress
up for a rocky horror screening?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I did.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
I've been to those, but I never participated.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Dressed up, brought toast to throw at the screen whole
nine yards, begged my parents to let me go to
a midnight screening. Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose
of news and analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Tuesday,
(00:29):
November twenty fifth, twenty twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton.
I am co editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda.
I'm in LA He's in New York, and Bridy has
reporters around the world covering the business of entertainment. In
today's episode, We Yuck It Up, we talk with Variety's
chief film critics Owen Gleiberman and Peter de Bruges. The
two have just assembled the one hundred Best Comedy Movies
(00:52):
of All Time list that published on Variety dot com
and is in Variety's November twenty sixth print edition. Owen
in Peter dive into the how and why of their
great selections in a very animated conversation. But before we
get to that, here are a few headlines just in
this morning that you need to know. Scarlett Johansson is
following in Linda Blair's footsteps. She'll star in a new
(01:15):
Exorcist movie from Universal and Blumhouse. Mike Flanagan is writing
and directing. India's Reliance Animation is producing a scripted series
about Argentine soccer great Diego Maridona. The company is working
with the Late Stars Family. My colleague Nomen Ramachandron has
the scoop. Speaking of the Global Village, Disney Entertainment co
chair Dana Walden received the Founder's Award on Monday night
(01:38):
at the International Emmy Awards. Ryan Murphy presented her the honor.
Walden told the crowd in New York that she believes
in the strong bond that quote exists between the creator
who dreams the dream and the team that believes in
it enough to clear the path. All of these stories
ends so much more can be found on Variety dot
com Right now and now it's time for conversations with
(02:04):
Friday journalists about news and trends and show business. By now,
most Daily Variety listeners probably know that Variety chose police
squad from the files of the Naked Gun as our
number one comedy movie of all time. It's an unconventional choice.
I love it. It's not predictable. The nineteen eighty eight release
came from the zany, raunchy trio of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrams,
(02:28):
and David Zucker or Zaz or Zazz as they're sometimes known.
The Naked Gun had its origins in the Zazz produced
ABC TV series Police Squad that was a relentless spoof
of TV cop shows. Lease Squad introduced Leslie Nielsen as
the Lieutenant Frank Dreben character. It ran for all of
six episodes in nineteen eighty two, but it was the
(02:50):
velvet underground of TV series because it inspired a generation
of comedy writers to get weird and bend the form,
and six years after Police Squad, the concept was adapted
into a feature film starring Nielsen and Priscilla Presley. Here's
a clip from the Police Squad series that captures the
fast paced, gag filled style that marked Police Squad and
(03:11):
later The Naked Gun. It's a spoof of the stereotypical
police interview of the victim. Here's Leslie Nielsen, he's co
star Alex North and an actress. I can't quite identify.
I'm Captain Frank Grevin.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
I understand you had a pretty red time.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yeah, it was pretty bad.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
When was the first time you noticed something was wrong?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Well, when I first heard the shot, and as I turned,
Jim felt.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
He's a teller, Frank, Jim Fell's a teller.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
No, Jim Johnson Who.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Jim Fell, He's the auditor, Frank.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
He had the flu. So Jim filled in.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Philip filled in.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
He's a night watcher, Frank, police fill it. Be here
and wait a minute, let me get this straight. Twice
came in and shot the teller and Jim Fell.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
No, he only shot a teller, Jim Johnson Fell is ill?
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Okay? Then after he shot the teller, you shot twice?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
No?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
I only shot once?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Twice? Is the hold up man?
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Then I guess I did shoo twice? Wasn't how you're
changing a story? The absurdity goes on forever, and now
here's our conversation about the hundred best comedy movies of
all time. Peter de Bruges and Owen Gleiberman Varieties, Intrepid
Chief film Critics. Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Thanks Santa, good to be here.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Cynthia, Well, you two have definitely been busy've done some
heavy lifting on a big list. It's a list designed
to spark debate, discussion social media means you too, put
your minds to assembling the one hundred best comedy films
of all time. That's a big assignment. It shot right
to the top of our most read stories. Was there
(04:42):
something about this year? Was there an anniversary or something
that made you want to focus on comedy right now?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
This was more than a year in the making, and
it comes out of a series of these greatest Movies lists,
starting with the one hundred Greatest Films of All Time
that we did a few years back. Giving ourselves this
long run way really allowed us to brush up on
films we hadn't watched in years, to incorporate the opinion
of our colleagues, and so we really had the luxury
(05:09):
of time to get this list right.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Owen, what did you find most challenging about winnowing it
to one hundred titles?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
The thing about comedy is that you've really got to
look at it with fresh eyes, because there are comedies
that stand the test of time, and then a lot
of comedy doesn't because comedy is always about raising the
bar on what is shocking and what has an edge
to it. Our agenda in this list, to the extent
that we had one, was to just go back to
the drawing board and see all these movies with fresh eyes,
(05:40):
and also really kind of obliterate any sense of demarcation
between highbrow and lowbrow, because comedy is really the ultimate
form where it's one or the other. And there's plenty
of lowbrow comedies that are just completely hilarious and deserve
to place on this list.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Like country music comedy is three jokes and the truth
it is you've got to hit a truth. And when
you look at the indelible titles on this list, it
all put a light on some hilarious, funny aspects of
the human condition. The relationship comedy that is featured in
The Philadelphia Story, which is one of my all time
favorite movies. I'm so glad you included it. That is timeless,
(06:21):
that is boy Meets Girl for all time. I'm just
gonna run down the top ten listeners. Run to Variety
dot com, where you can find the list. You won't
be able to miss it on our website. It's also
in our Precious November twenty fifth print edition. It's a
beautiful layout. The top ten in order, starting with number one,
The Naked Gun from the Files of Police Squad, the
(06:41):
nineteen eighty eight film. That's a bold choice, followed by
some like It, Hot Annie Hall, The Great Dictator, Waiting
for Guffman, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Duck Soup Fargo,
Young Frankenstein, and Groundhog Day.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
It makes me realize, listening to that top ten, there's
no assignment actually more fun than making a list like this,
a comedy list. But I think the most fun thing
about it is to see the way that certain titles
jump forward into your top ten or even to your
number one, that people aren't expecting. And we didn't do
it for that reason. It's because we realize these are
(07:18):
great comedies that now people have a certain feeling about,
and they've become classics. I think The Naked Gun is
like that. I mean, if this wore back in nineteen
eighty eight and you ask someone do you think comedies
by the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin are great works
of art? They would go yeah, of course. And then
if you asked that same person, well, all right, what
(07:39):
about the Naked Gun? They would probably say, well, that's
a very silly movie, but it's got some great laughs
in it. But our feeling about The Naked Gun and
the whole Airplane School, Pucker, Abraham's and Zucker is that
these guys were working on this absolutely insane and inspired
level that was very much like the contemporary equivalent of
the Marx Brothers, and now movie like The Naked Gun
(08:01):
can take its place alongside the Marx Brothers as being
the media age equivalent of that.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
In that top ten, I think you really see to
reflected just the power of certain voices who really shaped
what we think of is comedy. You know the Zaz
school there with Naked Gun and of course Airplane, and
we have the Christopher Guest innovation with mockumentaries represented by
Waiting for Guffman. Monty Python was a huge force really
on TV, but starting with Monty Python, the Holy Grail
(08:29):
began this wave into film. If their tagline was now
for something completely different, the challenge and the movies became
finding some sort of cohesive lunacy to tie everything together.
Of course, chaplain the Marx Brothers and let's not leave
off Mel Brooks, and.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
It's interesting that we're doing this right now because comedies,
I know from talking to Rebecca Rubin every week about
the box office, traditional adult comedies are really struggling. And
it strikes me that there's nothing on the top ten
that was produced later than the late nineties.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
We've got movies like Bride'smaids, Everything everywhere, all at once.
From the list. You've got things up right there at
the turn of the century, like Being John Malkovich that
are still reverberating today. Some of it, though, is that
there's a disposability maybe to a lot of the comedy
that's coming out of studios. Quite recently, I think that
television has really stepped up.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The movie that I'm very proud is in the Top
ten is Waiting for Guffman, because it's a movie I
feel very close to and I just watch again and again.
And it's interesting because it goes out of the same
school as Spinal Tap. You can say that Spinal Tap
in spirit, even though it was directed by Rob Reiner,
was the first Christopher Guest movie. It's the invention of
(09:38):
that mockumentary form. And Spinal Tap is a hilarious movie
that is on our list, but we thought Waiting for Guffman. Ultimately,
this one of a kind movie about a small town
theater troop with just this amazing performance by Christopher guests
quirky Saint Clair, the closeted head of the theater troop,
and there is just something magical about it, and it
(09:59):
just touches the bone of reality, almost like reality TV
before its time. And so that's a movie that we found.
There is quite an enraptured cult for it, and we're
part of the cult. I noticed as I was going
through the final list. Naked Gunn was released in nineteen
eighty eight, and as I was going through, teen eighty
eight was a hell of a year for comedies. Titles
that made the list include Hairspray, A fish called Wanda,
(10:23):
Big Coming to America. There's probably a few more in there.
It goes to tell you that the volume was a
lot bigger, but also just the playing field was bigger
because there just was less competition for movies. I hadn't
really thought about that till you mentioned it, but now
that I think about it, the East was really a
big period for comedy. It often seemed as if Hollywood
(10:43):
would have been taken over by common and it seems
like as the decade went on, a lot of film
artists figured out how to do it. John Waters had
been playing with his post Pink Flamingo's career throughout the eighties,
and then he makes this great movie where he actually
moves into the main stream and it remains just enchanting.
Is really a high concept movie, and there were a
(11:04):
lot of dope high concept movies in the eighties, but
Penny Marshall figured out how to do it artfully. So
some of those movies from eighty eight building on things
that had been done in the years before and now
just doing them better.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
We were reminded this year on the fiftieth anniversary of
two Titanic movies of comedy genius. One is Money, Python
in the Holy Grail celebrating its mid century anniversary, and
also The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Those are two just
iconic cult comedies that arrived at a time when it
seemed like maybe audiences were really receptive to things that
(11:38):
were major counterprogramming. The Academy debuted The four K Restoration
earlier this year, and it was so cool. It felt
like the lunatics had taken over the asylum to see
rocky horror play at the museum on their kind of
hallowed screen.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
You have a couple of key international filmmakers represented, including
the great Jacques Tati, who delivers slapstick entertainment with a
French twist. But how did you balance those considerations when
comedy is a so American.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
You know, sometimes it just works differently across borders. Tati,
of course, is partly because his is a silent form
of comedy, like chaplain, he became this just beloved international figure.
But I think we were very selective about the international films.
We did choose Adovars, while this film Women on the
Verge of a nervous breakdown? Is there the really anarchic
(12:27):
Bertromplier movie going places. The one that I think really
stands in for a major phenomenon is The Tall Blonde
Man with One Black Shoe, because that is representative of
this thing that happened in France where these high concept
farces were ripe for remake, and that movie was a
huge hit with Pierrie shar in its original form. And
(12:49):
I also think The Tall Blonde Man with One Black
Shoe is a very special movie. It just came out
of this time in the early seventies when that kind
of French farce had become much crazier than it had
ever been before.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
And I said in the capsule right up that to me,
that movie was funnier than all the Pink Panther movies.
But together, that was my little dig at the Pink
Panther movies because I'm not so crazy about them.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Are there any other movies and maybe even some lesser
known titles on the list that are really important to you?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Well, I have two of them that I was just
particularly interested in having on the list. One of them
is Richard Pryor Live in Concert, because I think it's
a movie that a lot of people today probably haven't seen.
And stand up comedy is bigger than ever, but when
it comes to stand up comedy, Richard Pryor was I think,
unquestionably the greatest artist in that form who ever lived.
(13:36):
So if you want to see the best stand up
comedy performance that ever exist, watch Richard Pryor Live in Concert.
It really is just a great movie. The other one
for me is My best Friend's Wedding because we are
also in a rom com centric universe. I think it's
my Best Friend's Wedding was actually the greatest romantic comedy
(13:58):
of its time. I remember the second time especially I
saw that movie. I just got blown away by how
incredible it is. It is so moving, it is so funny.
I think it's Julia Roberts's greatest role as an actor,
and I think it's a movie that still does not
have the reputation that it deserves. So I was very
happy to see it on this list and have people
(14:19):
hopefully go and check it out and see how it
really is a classic.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
There is a director who appears on this list more
than many people might expect. That's Rob Reiner, who I
think is the Billy Wilder of our time, the Ernst
Lubitch of our time. Those three movies are This is
Spinal Tap, of course, Garnie de Berghee exactly When Harry
Met Sally, which is the movie that relaunched the rom
com and my Desert Island favorite The Princess Bride, which
(14:46):
just is like the ultimate remix of all those funny
movies from the classic era.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
This gives people a lot to look for during the downtime.
Thank you both so much for taking the time, because again,
at this time in the world. We all need some
good laughs, really appreciate it. All of this talk about
great comedies made me want to share some clips from
my most recent Strictly Business podcast interview. I spoke with
(15:14):
UTA partners Blair Cohen and Jason Hayman about the business
of comedy, from stand up to showrunners to directors and writers.
They address the challenges that the genre faces, and they
pointed to where they see a lot of growth. Here
are some excerpts from that conversation, published last week on
our companion long form interview podcast, Strictly Business.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Can Modern Family exist again? Can Everybody Loves Raymond exist?
It's a really good question. The good side of it
is that schedule, that routine that we all grew up
with of you know, pilot season and upfronts and fall
schedule and all of that, right, that's all gone. So
you have a little more flexibility and the talent can
(15:55):
go off to do other things, come back when they
feel creatively inspired. And and there's something great about that
that you're not just churning it out based on you know,
existential things that you actually the creative ambition and what
the creator is feeling they want to put out there
they can do it on their urn.
Speaker 5 (16:15):
I think people want to laugh in community. I think
what's driving this live experience is being together in a
room and laughing together. And that was what when we
talk about all these great movies, these great comedies of
the last twenty five to fifty However many years it
was going to the theater and laughing in community. And
(16:37):
I think we are missing that in the old days,
where the holy grail was the half hour network show
or a movie. Now so many of our clients they
had twenty different things. They can do a podcast, they
can write book, they have so many things to explore
their passion that isn't the holy grail. And we just
(16:58):
want to provide them with every possible opportunity, even things
they're not thinking about.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
As we close out today's episode, here's a few things
we're watching for today, we unveiled that Elton John is
Variety's Philanthropist of the Year. He's raised more than six
hundred and fifty million dollars for the Elton John Aids
Foundation over the past few decades, and he does a
whole lot more. We have a great interview with Elton
by our own Chris Willman in case you hadn't heard,
(17:25):
the first hunk of Stranger Things final season episodes drop
tomorrow on Netflix. We have everything you need to know
about this at Variety dot com, and tomorrow on Daily
Variety we'll hear from Ike Baronholtz. He's helping the Motion
Picture and Television Fund raise money for its second act
capital campaign. Baron Holtz explains his personal connection to the MPTF,
(17:48):
and of course he answers the question, what would sal
Sapristin do to support this great industry institution? Jeene Herschelt
would be so proud. Once again, we'd love to hear
from our listeners on Variety's Core podcasts, Daily Variety, Strictly Business,
Aword Circuit and Variety Confidential, So please send feedback to
podcasts at Variety dot com. That's podcasts at Variety dot
(18:11):
com before we go. Congrats to Moirahgan. She's been appointed
Executive VP of Sales for the Asia Pacific region of
ITV Studios. She'll lead sales teams out of Singapore and Sydney.
She was most recently part of the team that launched
Brittbox Australia. Thanks for listening. This episode was written and
reported by me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Peter Debruges
(18:33):
and Owen Gleiberman. Stick Snick's hick picks. Please leave us
a review at the podcast platform of your choice, and
please tune in tomorrow for another episode of Daily Variety,
And don't forget to tell us what you think at
podcasts at variety dot com
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