![]() ![]() Good satire can be powerful, and this film was: Released while the United States was still formally at peace with Germany, it stirred greater public attention and condemnation of the Nazis and Mussolini, anti-Semitism and fascism. Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald GardinerĬharlie Chaplin’s first “talkie” was a biting satire that he wrote, directed, produced, scored, and starred in-as both of the lead roles, a fascist despot who bears a rather marked resemblance to Adolf Hitler and a persecuted Jewish barber. Outside of Anchorman 2, nothing else in recent years has tapped into that level of reality-bending, plot-snapping absurdism.- Jim Vorel One thing that genuinely wouldn’t be done in a film today is its madcap, zany ending, as the cowboys spill out of their own movie and into the other Warner Bros. From its little diversions to do Loony Tunes parodies, to the genre satire of every person in town seemingly being named “Johnson,” it’s a surprisingly sweet film for one that’s also throwing around heavy themes of racism and discrimination. Brooks regulars such as Madeline Kahn contribute great bits, and there’s the wonderfully understated Gene Wilder, but the reason the film remains such a classic today is that the surface-level gags are largely harmless and timeless. The film is a product of its time, a decency-stretching Wild West farce about a black sheriff trying to win over the white settlers of his frontier town and foil the plot of comically nebbish villain Harvey Korman in an all-time great comedy performance. Mel Brooks’ greatest and most racially charged comedy has recently been mentioned in debates of political correctness, in the tone of “Nobody would be able to make Blazing Saddles today,” and for better or worse, it’s hard to refute. Stars: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks ![]() It’s a symphony of creation from a troupe of performers at their peak. ![]() The improvisation and dead-pan delivery from Jane Lynch, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, Michael McKean and especially Fred Willard as the sports announcer who knows nothing about the subject he’s paid to talk about, elevate the medium by giving surprising dimension to their characters. Finding the ridiculousness in something like the world of dog shows might not be difficult, but there’s no mocking tone to the subject, just to the quirks of human nature. The more inane his rambling gets, the harder it is to keep from laughing. The director himself plays Harlan Pepper, a Southern gentleman with no self-awareness and an ability to name all kinds of nuts. Eugene Levy’s Gerry Fleck is outrageously outmatched by his wife Cookie, played by Catherine O’Hara-the secret weapon of most Guest films. Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock as Meg and Hamilton Swan project their own neuroses on their poor Weimaraner. The genius of Christopher Guest’s particular style of mockumentary is in his cast’s complete commitment to character, and none of his films are inhabited by a more hilarious ensemble than Best in Show. Stars: Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Christopher Guest, Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Michael Hitchcock, John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Fred Willard Here are the funniest movies on HBO Max today. With that out of the way, let’s get to it. Acting, storytelling, and technique are all apart of the equation, but the most important single facet is how much it makes me laugh. That’s a good thing.Īlso, my standard disclaimer for these comedy lists: I’m not judging these exclusively on their cinematic qualities. HBO Max today feels like Netflix did a decade ago, before the streaming world splintered into a dozen different walled off rivals. Good luck finding this many classics or pre-’90s comedies on the other services. You can find those results below.Īs far as comedy movies goes, HBO Max has the best, deepest, and most varied selection of any streamer at the moment. But after poring over the hundreds of movies currently available through HBO Max, I was able to strip them down to the absolutely funniest, and have been regularly updating it every month since the service first launched. Warner’s streamer has an overwhelming variety of movies, cartoons and TV shows from the last century of entertainment, and although I love that as a customer, it’s beyond daunting as a guy whose job involves making lists of the stuff you can stream on services like this. Probably not, but HBO Max is determined to find out. Can a streaming service have too much content? ![]()
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