Best Comedy Tournament: Round 1 - Group N

[mae]

For the Round 1 polls, please vote for up to six titles to move on to the next round. You can vote for less, but please make sure you are not voting for more before clicking that Vote button. The poll will be open for one week. The top six titles will be moving on to Round 2.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c8/Four_rooms_ver2.jpg/220px-Four_rooms_ver2.jpg
Four Rooms (1995) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Rooms)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_Pd2pGkq54

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7a/MASHfilmposter.jpg/220px-MASHfilmposter.jpg
MASH (1970) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MASH_%28film%29)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoRFyr6cOWU

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/60/BruceAlmighty_poster.jpg
Bruce Almighty (2003) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Almighty)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe-luzrqWSk

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/82/Time_bandits.jpg/220px-Time_bandits.jpg
Time Bandits (1981) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Bandits)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwnjENpIyq0

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Bluesbrothersmovieposter.jpg/215px-Bluesbrothersmovieposter.jpg
The Blues Brothers (1980) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blues_Brothers_%28film%29)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asM2-YAMWxg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3d/About_a_boy_movie_poster.jpg/220px-About_a_boy_movie_poster.jpg
About a Boy (2002) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/About_a_Boy)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-apwoGTpi7E

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Meet_the_parents_ver2.jpg/220px-Meet_the_parents_ver2.jpg
Meet the Parents (2000) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_the_Parents)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXqxP-bUC7I

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d7/Austin_Powers_International_Man_of_Mystery_theatri cal_poster.jpg/220px-Austin_Powers_International_Man_of_Mystery_theatri cal_poster.jpg
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Powers:_International_Man_of_Mystery)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vsANcS4Ml8

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bb/Apartment_60.jpg
The Apartment (1960) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apartment)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oU5PUTnClE

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0e/RealLifeposter.jpg/220px-RealLifeposter.jpg
Real Life (1979) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Life_%281979_film%29)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ReqVoSZOM

[mae]

Six again: Four Rooms (Tim Roth is astonishingly funny here), MASH, Time Bandits, Meet the Parents, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, and the super classic The Apartment.

[pathoftheturtle]

In case you didn't know Albert Brooks is a genius, he was the first to parody reality television... 15-20 years before it existed.

[Ben Staad]

MASH is one of my favorite all time films. Just thought I would share that.

[mae]

Bruce Almighty is in second place? :orely:

Four Rooms needs more attention!

[Still Servant]

I love Tarantino and Rodriguez, but I didn't like Four Rooms very much.

[mae]

There are lots of great scenes in Four Rooms (the last part of course is the best), but my favorite part of the film is Tim Roth's manic performance throughout. Amazingly funny:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lllLnc58CoI

[fernandito]

I love all the potshots Austin Powers takes at the James Bond franchise;

"Begin the unnecessarily slow dipping mechanism."

[mae]

I love all the potshots Austin Powers takes at the James Bond franchise;

"Begin the unnecessarily slow dipping mechanism."

While it's certainly making fun of the Bond films, clearly, I always thought Austin Powers was a standalone enough creation, not a true spoof or parody.

[skyofcrack]

I seriously don't get how no one here has seen Real Life.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o3otH6jo84

[Mattrick]

Four Rooms was hilarious when I was a kid. Outside the final skit, I find it very unfunny now.

Voted: About A Boy (TWO VOTES WTF PEOPLE? A GREAT FILM HERE!), Meet the Parents, Austin Powers and The Apartment.

[mae]

Four Rooms was hilarious when I was a kid. Outside the final skit, I find it very unfunny now.

Really? You don't think Tim Roth is absolutely hilarious? Check out that clip above. I also loved his performance in Gridlock'd which I nominated but it wasn't seconded. He was very funny is that, too.

[Mattrick]

Not the way it used to be funny. His constant panick gets old after while. That's probably why I enjoy the last skit still since he's a lot more toned down.

[mae]

I realize Austin Powers is very popular and I voted for it as well, but actually I believe Mike Myers is best in this movie:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3TgDBN7wk4

Can't believe we didn't nominate it.

[Ben Staad]

I'm surprised as well. Great movie and very funny.

[Theli]

Time Bandit's absolutely rocks, but I don't specifically think of it as a comedy, so I ain't voting it in. Blues Brothers and Austin Powers get my votes.

[Theli]

I realize Austin Powers is very popular and I voted for it as well, but actually I believe Mike Myers is best in this movie:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3TgDBN7wk4

Can't believe we didn't nominate it.

It's a good one, but I'm partial to Wayne's World.

[pathoftheturtle]

You know when Robin Hood gave to the poor, Marion really did punch them -- no joke!
:lol:

[divemaster]

Time Bandit's absolutely rocks, but I don't specifically think of it as a comedy, so I ain't voting it in. Blues Brothers and Austin Powers get my votes.

That's why I didn't vote for Time Bandits! A movie I did enjoy.

[Ben Staad]

Same here. I like Time Bandits but never considered it a comedy.

[pathoftheturtle]

That's hilarious! If other people also take Time Bandits seriously, then that has to be the most genius thing about it yet! How funny. :lol:

[mae]

This is closing tomorrow, so please get your votes in!

Time Bandits and The Apartment are tied for the last spot. As much as I like Gilliam and Time Bandits, The Apartment needs to move on. Let's break that tie!

[mae]

Now The Apartment is behind :(

[mae]

The poll has closed. The following six titles are moving on to the next round:


Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) 67.86%
Bruce Almighty (2003) 50.00%
The Blues Brothers (1980) 50.00%
Meet the Parents (2000) 46.43%
MASH (1970) 42.86%
Time Bandits (1981) 35.71%


And the following four titles have been eliminated:


The Apartment (1960) 28.57%
Four Rooms (1995) 21.43%
About a Boy (2002) 10.71%
Real Life (1979) 7.14%

[Mattrick]

The Apartment got eliminated? And About A Boy? This is a sad day for Canada, and therefore, a sad day for the rest of the world. Yet Bruce Almighty moves on. What fresh hell is this?

[Tommy]

This is a sad day for Canada, and therefore, a sad day for the rest of the world.

I wish The Apartment had made in through too but why is it a sad day for Canada when Jim Carey (Bruce Almighty), Dan Akyroyd (The Blues Brothers), Donald Sutherland (MASH) and Mike Myers (Austin Powers) are all Canadians going through to the next round?

[Mattrick]

I was just quoting South Park haha. The timing is rather ironic now that you bring that up!

[mae]

The Apartment definitely should have made it.

[Merlin1958]

The Apartment definitely should have made it.

Ahh, sorry, but "Nope"!!

[mae]

Why not?

[Mattrick]

Probably because it's a good film.

[Merlin1958]

Why not?


Probably because it's a good film.


Sorry, but I just did not find it worthy of this competition. Not a bad film, just not up to what I consider the standards for a "Best Comedy" competition. To each his own, right? Sorry to disappoint, Matts.

[pathoftheturtle]

To each his own, right?You're entitled to your own opinion even if its reasons aren't spelled out in words. Of course; I believe that everybody is. I think they were just hoping you could give more information because you commented like you did. It's like, why even have this contest if there is no way to understand? Just to find friends who by chance share some of your tastes? If the goal is to find which comedies are most popular, only the most insensitive mind would then never wonder what makes them so popular. Personally, I'm just sorry it came down to a faceoff with Time Bandits. Usually, the hard choices come later, and it's not so tough in the first round to pick a few to get rid off. Like Four Rooms; even though I gave it a kind of sympathy vote, (everyone who likes dark comedy should watch it at least once) I'm not as perplexed to see it fail this early as with The Apartment. Why not? Because Four Rooms is basically four jokes. Some comedy is like that: first time you hear it, it is funny; second time, you're just like "I already heard it." Sure I could watch FR again just for the sardonically dark atmosphere, for Roth's antics, and QT's hustling monologue, but that still doesn't add up to best comedy material. I'm not sure what else here should have been out instead. Bruce Almighty, I guess. It's a pretty strong group. That, too, does have a lot going on in it that makes it unique, though. A bit run-of-the-mill nonetheless, but far better than the sequel Evan Almighty. I kind of wish that there was some better way of arranging initial groupings without the obvious risk of making things even more unfair.

Time Bandits deserves every vote it got -- it's a fantasy adventure on one level, but also brilliant satire. That form of comedy has roots with the bards of ancient Celtic culture. Those people so prized their honor and reputation that there was a whole profession in writing songs about how great a king or warrior was and writing songs about everything that was wrong with his enemies. So comedy can have a point, and that is still fine comedy; long ago having fun was joined by making fun. I suppose you all realize that the very title "time bandits" is a big pun. Efficiency experts use that term for any habit or activity that doesn't contribute to productivity. I imagine the whole film was inspired by the rather silly thought of literal bandits traveling time after some business meeting. But it is quite appropriate to the film's overall message. It's about a boy in a typical British suburb of the early 1980s who is not allowed to imagine fantastic adventures. His parents spend all their time after work talking about the neighbors and the new junk they have bought and watching television game shows. It turns out that the modern technology is the obsession of the devil himself in this movie, and when he offers the same game show prize to the time bandits, they show that their shortsighted greed is exactly like that of the materialistic British suburbanites. All of that social criticism was a splendid evolution towards Gilliam's next film, Brazil, and meanwhile, very funny!

[Mattrick]

Sorry, but I just did not find it worthy of this competition. Not a bad film, just not up to what I consider the standards for a "Best Comedy" competition. To each his own, right? Sorry to disappoint, Matts.

I don't see how being one of the very few comedies to win Best Picture means it's not up to the standards of Best Comedy. If Bruce Almighty is up the standards, then The Apartment is definitely up to the standards, as is Annie Hall, All About Eve, American Beauty, Shakespeare In Love and Driving Miss Daisy.

[skyofcrack]

What's crazy about The Apartment is that Billy Wilder won an Oscar for directing, beating out Alfred Hitchcock for Psycho!

[Merlin1958]

Sorry, but I just did not find it worthy of this competition. Not a bad film, just not up to what I consider the standards for a "Best Comedy" competition. To each his own, right? Sorry to disappoint, Matts.

I don't see how being one of the very few comedies to win Best Picture means it's not up to the standards of Best Comedy. If Bruce Almighty is up the standards, then The Apartment is definitely up to the standards, as is Annie Hall, All About Eve, American Beauty, Shakespeare In Love and Driving Miss Daisy.

My apologies, but I did not particularly like it. Is my opinion not enough for you folks?

I'm sure a lot of folks disagreed with "No Country for old men" winning an Oscar, though I enjoyed the movie.

[Still Servant]

What's crazy about The Apartment is that Billy Wilder won an Oscar for directing, beating out Alfred Hitchcock for Psycho!

Yes, that is indeed crazy.