alocispepraluger102 Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 LINK "Airplane - which features classic one liners such as 'I am serious and don't call me Shirley' - came out top in research conducted by a panel of members of movie subscription service Lovefilm. They calculated the precise number of 'laughs a minute' for the top 10 comedies chosen by Lovefilm members. The panel recorded the total number of times each film generated a laugh, before dividing it by the films' total length in minutes to calculate the precise 'laugh a minute' rating for each movie." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Cigarette? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 (edited) not even close - if I had to pick one, I would say the original Producers; laugh for laugh the funniest movie ever made. After that, various Marx Brothers. Edited September 8, 2012 by AllenLowe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 (edited) not even close - if I had to pick one, I would say the original Producers; laugh for laugh the funniest movie ever made. After that, various Marx Brothers. Did you say that on the funniest films thread? Edited September 8, 2012 by Pete C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cih Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 They calculated the precise number of 'laughs a minute' for the top 10 comedies chosen by Lovefilm members. The panel recorded the total number of times each film generated a laugh, before dividing it by the films' total length in minutes to calculate the precise 'laugh a minute' rating for each movie. That's a questionable way of determining the 'funniest' film IMHO - the quality of the laugh (volume, duration, sincerity) should be taken into account. Not to mention the fact that a laugh is not the only way of displaying amusement - I rarely laugh in a cinema and prefer to just smirk, and then maybe laugh later when I'm walking home (which raises another problem - how do they know that people are laughing at the film playing, and not at the memory of another, funnier film) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 I wonder what criteria they're going to use to determine the hottest porn film ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crisp Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 I'm with Allen Lowe on this one. I recently re-watched Airplane and barely laughed. Two-dimensional characters enacting corny puns in a shallow genre spoof doesn't cut it for me. Laurel and Hardy films make me laugh the most. Then W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton and Jerry Lewis. Movies with characters and situations you can identify with, however exaggerated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 In my opinion, at least on first viewing, Airplane is indeed the funniest movie ever. There's no way to isolate it from the slew of imitations that followed, none of which came near (it's a 'funny once' joke), but caught by it unexpectedly, it was absolutely hilarious. They calculated the precise number of 'laughs a minute' for the top 10 comedies chosen by Lovefilm members. The panel recorded the total number of times each film generated a laugh, before dividing it by the films' total length in minutes to calculate the precise 'laugh a minute' rating for each movie. That's a questionable way of determining the 'funniest' film IMHO - the quality of the laugh (volume, duration, sincerity) should be taken into account. Not to mention the fact that a laugh is not the only way of displaying amusement - I rarely laugh in a cinema and prefer to just smirk, and then maybe laugh later when I'm walking home (which raises another problem - how do they know that people are laughing at the film playing, and not at the memory of another, funnier film) We're not talking amusement here, we're talking laugh-out-loud funny. Completely different animal. As far as amusement, just watching the scenes of Casablanca with Claude Rains is more amusing, but for funny, I'll take Airplane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 "Airplane - which features classic one liners such as 'I am serious and don't call me Shirley' - came out top in research conducted by a panel of members of movie subscription service Lovefilm. Classic Leslie Nielsen and a seriously funny movie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Train Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 (edited) A funny film but a literally laugh-out-loud film for me it isn't. Has anyone tried watching "Zero Hour!" before watching it? In it's own way....it's unintentionally funny. Edited September 9, 2012 by Blue Train Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 (edited) I grew up watching Zero Hour on late night TV. It was one of those films in regular rotation. I think it's that one and another film that were the main inspirations for Airplane. I'd say Airplane is very much in the Mel Brooks mode. Edited September 9, 2012 by Pete C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 (edited) Makes me wonder how Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety or Blazing Saddles didn't crack the top ten. Though I did notice Naked Gun, another Leslie Nielsen comedy, was ranked #3. Edited September 10, 2012 by GoodSpeak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 I think I can count the times I laughed during Borat on one hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Train Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 I think I can count the times I laughed during Borat on one hand. Never liked the Borat character. Have you seen his Ali G character? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Train Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 I grew up watching Zero Hour on late night TV. It was one of those films in regular rotation. I think it's that one and another film that were the main inspirations for Airplane. I'd say Airplane is very much in the Mel Brooks mode. I'd say a great deal is from the Mel Brooks "mode", but none of them have made me lol. Having said that, I will put on the best of Mel Brooks on before Airplane. What really works for Airplane is all the things you can quote from it which have become part of mainstream "Pop culture" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 Have you seen his Ali G character? Yes, but if there was a film I didn't see it. Anyway, I don't care for Baron Cohen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 What really works for Airplane is all the things you can quote from it which have become part of mainstream "Pop culture" I think that's true of Life of Brian - but maybe over here, not so much over there perhaps. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relyles Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 The movie I remember laughing most while watching in the theater was "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with Michael Cain and Steve Martin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david weiss Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 This is a poll for 20 somethings...most of the films are pretty recent except for Airplane and Life of Brian (instead of the Holy Grail?). Airplane is OK, some good gags and punchlines but a good movie? Well, I don't know about that...... I think most people polled probably did not see most of the movies we consider the funniest of all time because there is nothing on this list that would even crack the top 20 on my list. Actually the film in recent memory that I went to that got the most laughs in the theatre was the South Park movie, everyone was laughing hysterically throughout the movie and we missed a lot of dialogue because we were still laughing so hard from the previous joke. I don't recall seeing people that consistently breaking up throughout a whole movie like that before...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonnymax Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 They calculated the precise number of 'laughs a minute' for the top 10 comedies chosen by Lovefilm members. The panel recorded the total number of times each film generated a laugh, before dividing it by the films' total length in minutes to calculate the precise 'laugh a minute' rating for each movie. That's a questionable way of determining the 'funniest' film IMHO - the quality of the laugh (volume, duration, sincerity) should be taken into account. Not to mention the fact that a laugh is not the only way of displaying amusement - I rarely laugh in a cinema and prefer to just smirk, and then maybe laugh later when I'm walking home (which raises another problem - how do they know that people are laughing at the film playing, and not at the memory of another, funnier film) You raise some good points. Also remember that you're quoting the reporter's summary of this "research". The quote we get from Lovefilm's editor is this, "we asked our members to vote for the 10 movies that make them laugh the most, and then conducted our own research into how many times those included in this list made us giggle." There's no real "research" being done here, and to say that an imprecise observation of "giggling" can offer anything resembling a conclusion is, in itself, laughable. Although one may argue that "funny" is synonymous with "humorous", "laughter", although capable of being observed and quantified, isn't necessarily connected to or bound by humor. Sorry for the professorial tone, but that's what happens when you actually do conduct research into humor and laughter. To quote Mark Twain, "Studying humor is like dissecting a frog; you may know a lot but you end up with a dead frog." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 Heh heh...dead frogs...COOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 I thought everyone knew Airplane was the funniest film ever made, who needed research to tell us that fact? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 Life of Brian (instead of the Holy Grail?). I was thinking the same thing. Monty Python and The Holy Grail is far funnier, IMHO. I thought everyone knew Airplane was the funniest film ever made, who needed research to tell us that fact? I'm with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted September 12, 2012 Report Share Posted September 12, 2012 Life of Brian (instead of the Holy Grail?). I was thinking the same thing. Monty Python and The Holy Grail is far funnier, IMHO. I guess I'm out of step again. For me, the funniest thing about Holy Grail was the opening credits. Life of Brian, on the other hand, I consider a classic from start to finish. This is a poll for 20 somethings...most of the films are pretty recent except for Airplane and Life of Brian (instead of the Holy Grail?). Airplane is OK, some good gags and punchlines but a good movie? Well, I don't know about that...... Interesting. I can't see a 20 something rating Airplane that high. I mean, it's hard to "look back" at Airplane through the veil of Top Secret and other such garbage without blaming Airplane, whereas fresh and standing on it's own it's freekin' hilarious. Actually the film in recent memory that I went to that got the most laughs in the theatre was the South Park movie, everyone was laughing hysterically throughout the movie and we missed a lot of dialogue because we were still laughing so hard from the previous joke. I don't recall seeing people that consistently breaking up throughout a whole movie like that before...... I had the same experience watching Beavis and Butthead Do America; a theater full of people staggering out, still laughing, barely able to walk. On the other hand, it's definitely a 'theater movie'; doesn't do much on it's own at home in the DVD player... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david weiss Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Life of Brian (instead of the Holy Grail?). I was thinking the same thing. Monty Python and The Holy Grail is far funnier, IMHO. I guess I'm out of step again. For me, the funniest thing about Holy Grail was the opening credits. Life of Brian, on the other hand, I consider a classic from start to finish. This is a poll for 20 somethings...most of the films are pretty recent except for Airplane and Life of Brian (instead of the Holy Grail?). Airplane is OK, some good gags and punchlines but a good movie? Well, I don't know about that...... Interesting. I can't see a 20 something rating Airplane that high. I mean, it's hard to "look back" at Airplane through the veil of Top Secret and other such garbage without blaming Airplane, whereas fresh and standing on it's own it's freekin' hilarious. Actually the film in recent memory that I went to that got the most laughs in the theatre was the South Park movie, everyone was laughing hysterically throughout the movie and we missed a lot of dialogue because we were still laughing so hard from the previous joke. I don't recall seeing people that consistently breaking up throughout a whole movie like that before...... I had the same experience watching Beavis and Butthead Do America; a theater full of people staggering out, still laughing, barely able to walk. On the other hand, it's definitely a 'theater movie'; doesn't do much on it's own at home in the DVD player... I'd have to revisit Life of Brian again, I'm going on childhood memories here...... As for the list, I was referring to the rest of the Top 10....7 out of the 10 are from the last 10 years and some are as recent a year or two ago.... Bridesmaids? Shaun of the Dead? this is what makes me think most polled were kids. I guess Airplane is a classic to them...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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