Dave Tompkins :: DVD Library :: AFI Series :: 100 Laughs


(text-only version)

1.  Some Like It Hot (1959)

When two musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

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2.  Tootsie (1982)

An unemployed actor with a reputation for being difficult disguises himself as a woman to get a role in a soap opera.

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3.  Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

An insane general starts a process to nuclear holocaust that a war room of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.

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4.  Annie Hall (1977)

Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.

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5.  Duck Soup (1933)

Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.

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6.  Blazing Saddles (1974)

To ruin a western town, a corrupt political boss appoints a black sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.

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7.  M*A*S*H (1970)

The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and hijinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.

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8.  It Happened One Night (1934)

A spoiled heiress, running away from her family, is helped by a man who's actually a reporter looking for a story. But then he falls for her...

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9.  The Graduate (1967)

Recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock is trapped into an affair with Mrs. Robinson, who happens to be the wife of his father's business partner and then finds himself falling in love with her teenage daughter, Elaine.

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10.  Airplane! (1980)

An airplane crew takes ill. Surely the only person capable of landing the plane is an ex-pilot afraid to fly. But don't call him Shirley.

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11.  The Producers (1968)

Producers Max Bialystock (Mostel) and Leo Bloom (Wilder) make money by producing a sure-fire flop.

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12.  A Night at the Opera (1935)

A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.

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13.  Young Frankenstein (1974)

Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad's castle and repeats the experiments.

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14.  Bringing Up Baby (1938)

David Huxley is waiting to get a bone he needs for his museum collection. Through a series of strange circumstances...

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15.  The Philadelphia Story (1940)

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

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16.  Singin' in the Rain (1952)

A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

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17.  The Odd Couple (1968)

Two friends try sharing an apartment, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.

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18.  The General (1926)

When Union spies steal an engineer's beloved locomotive, he pursues it single handedly and straight through enemy lines.

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19.  His Girl Friday (1940)

A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.

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20.  The Apartment (1960)

A man tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.

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21.  A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to doublecross each other for the loot.

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22.  Adam's Rib (1949)

Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.

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23.  When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.

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24.  Born Yesterday (1950)

A million dollar Tycoon hires a tutor to teach his lover proper etiquette.

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25.  The Gold Rush (1925)

The Tramp goes the Klondike in search of gold and finds it and more.

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26.  Being There (1979)

Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies. His simple TV-informed utterances are mistaken for profundity.

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27.  There's Something About Mary (1998)

A man gets a chance to meet up with his dream girl from highschool, even though his date with her back then was a complete disaster.

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28.  Ghostbusters (1984)

Three unemployed parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.

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29.  This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Spinal Tap, the world's loudest band, is chronicled by hack documentarian Marti DeBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.

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30.  Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family.

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31.  Raising Arizona (1987)

When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintupelets, their lives get more complicated than they anticipated.

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32.  The Thin Man (1934)

Comedy-mystery featuring Nick and Nora Charles: a former detective and his rich, playful wife. They solve a murder case mostly for the fun of it.

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33.  Modern Times (1936)

The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.

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34.  Groundhog Day (1993)

A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.

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35.  Harvey (1950)

Elwood P. Dowd is a mild-mannered, pleasant man, who just happens (he says) to have an invisible friend resembling a 6-foot rabbit.

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36.  National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the Delta House Fraternity, but those roughhousers have other plans for him.

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37.  The Great Dictator (1940)

In Chaplin's satire on Nazi Germany, dictator Adenoid Hynkel has a double... a poor Jewish barber... who one day is mistaken for Hynkel.

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38.  City Lights (1931)

The Tramp struggles to help a blind flower girl he has fallen in love with.

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39.  Sullivan's Travels (1941)

A director of escapist films goes on the road as a hobo to learn about Life...which gives him a rude awakening.

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40.  It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)

The dying words of a thief spark a madcap cross-country rush to find some treasure.

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41.  Moonstruck (1987)

A widowed Brooklyn book-keeper is torn between her fiancé and his brother.

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42.  Big (1988)

When a boy wishes to be big at a magic wish machine, he wakes up the next morning and finds himself in an adult body literally overnight.

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43.  American Graffiti (1973)

A couple of high school grads spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

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44.  My Man Godfrey (1936)

A scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler...but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.

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45.  Harold and Maude (1971)

Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.

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46.  Manhattan (1979)

A divorced New Yorker currently dating a high-schooler brings himself to look for love in the mistress of his best friend instead.

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47.  Shampoo (1975)

Lovers undo a hairdresser from Beverly Hills around Election Eve in 1968.

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48.  A Shot in the Dark (1964)

As murder follows murder, beautiful Maria is the obvious suspect; bumbling Inspector Clouseau drives his boss mad by seeing her as plainly innocent.

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49.  To Be or Not to Be (1942)

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

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50.  Cat Ballou (1965)

A woman seeking revenge for her murdered father hires a famous gunman, but he's very different from what she expects.

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51.  The Seven Year Itch (1955)

When his family goes away for the summer, a so far faithful husband is tempted by a beautiful neighbor (Marilyn Monroe).

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52.  Ninotchka (1939)

A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.

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53.  Arthur (1981)

Arthur is a happy drunk with no pretensions at any ambition. He is also the heir to a vast fortune which he is told will only be his if he marries Susan...

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54.  The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)

After an all-night send-off party for the troops, a small-town girl wakes up to find herself married and pregnant, but with no memory of her husband's identity.

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55.  The Lady Eve (1941)

Returning from a year up the Amazon studying snakes, the rich but unsophisticated Charles Pike meets con-artist Jean Harrington on a ship...

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56.  Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Two hapless frieght handlers find themselves encountering Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man.

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57.  Diner (1982)

A group of college-age buddies struggle with their imminent passage into adulthood in 1959 Baltimore.

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58.  It's a Gift (1934)

A henpecked New Jersey grocer makes plans to move to California to grow oranges, despite the resistance of his overbearing wife.

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59.  A Day at the Races (1937)

A vet posing as a doctor, a race horse owner and his friends struggle to help keep a sanitarium open with the help of a misfit racehorse.

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60.  Topper (1937)

A fun-loving couple, finding that they died and are now ghosts, decide to shake up the stuffy lifestyle of a friend of theirs.

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61.  What's up Doc? (1972)

Two researchers have come to San Francisco to compete for a research grant in Music. One seems a bit distracted...

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62.  Sherlock Jr. (1924)

A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.

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63.  Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.

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64.  Broadcast News (1987)

Take two rival TV reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one producer, female. Mix well and watch the sparks fly.

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65.  Horse Feathers (1932)

Quincy Adams Wagstaff, the new president of Huxley U, hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against rival Darwin U.

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66.  Take the Money and Run (1969)

The life and times of Virgil Starkwell, inept bank robber.

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67.  Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

After a bitter divorce, an actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend secret time with his children held in custody by his Ex.

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68.  The Awful Truth (1937)

Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance.

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69.Bananas (1971)
70.  Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

Longfellow Deeds, a simple-hearted Vermont tuba player, inherits a fortune and has to contend with opportunist city slickers.

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71.  Caddyshack (1980)

An exclusive golf course has to deal with a brash new member and a destructive dancing gopher.

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72.  Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

A man and his wife decide they can afford to have a house in the country built to their specifications. It's a lot more trouble than they think.

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73.  Monkey Business (1931)

On a transatlantic crossing, the Marx brothers get up to their usual antics and manage to annoy just about everyone on board the ship.

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74.  Nine to Five (1980)

Three female employees of a ''sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot'' find a way to turn the tables on him.

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75.  She Done Him Wrong (1933)

New York singer and nightclub owner Lady Lou has more men friends than you can imagine. Unfortunately one of them is a vicious criminal who's escaped and is on the way to see ''his'' girl...

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76.  Victor, Victoria (1982)

A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.

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77.  The Palm Beach Story (1942)

An inventor needs cash to develop his big idea. His wife, who loves him, decides to raise it for him by divorcing him and marrying a millionaire.

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78.  Road to Morocco (1942)

Two carefree castaways on a desert shore find an Arabian Nights city, where they compete for the luscious Princess Shalmar.

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79.  The Freshman (1925)

Nerdy college student will do anything to become popular on campus.

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80.  Sleeper (1973)

A nerdish store owner is revived out of cryostasis into a future world to fight an oppressive government.

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81.  The Navigator (1924)

Two spoiled rich people find themselves trapped on an empty passenger ship.

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82.  Private Benjamin (1980)

A sheltered young high society woman joins the army on a whim and finds herself in a more difficult situation than she ever expected.

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83.  Father of the Bride (1950)

A father of a young woman deals with the emotional pain of her getting married, and the financial and organizational pain of arranging her wedding.

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84.  Lost in America (1985)

A husband and wife in their 30s decide to quit their jobs, live as free spirits and cruise America in a Winnebago.

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85.  Dinner at Eight (1933)

Social climbing Millicent and Oliver Jordan throw a dinner for a bunch of New York society types, each of whom has much to reveal.

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86.  City Slickers (1991)

A mid-life crisis plagued man and his friends find renewal and purpose on a cattle driving vacation.

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87.  Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

A story of a group of California teenagers who enjoy malls, sex and rock n' roll.

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88.  Beetlejuice (1988)

A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a ''bio-exorcist'' in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house.

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89.  The Jerk (1979)

A complete imbecile struggles to make it through life on his own, until a strange invention makes him unbelievably wealthy.

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90.  Woman of the Year (1942)

Rival reporters Sam and Tess fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.

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91.The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
92.  Ball of Fire (1941)

A group of ivory-tower lexicographers realize they need to hear how real people talk, and end up helping a beautiful singer escape from the Mob.

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93.  Fargo (1996)

Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of pregnant Marge Gunderson.

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94.  Auntie Mame (1958)

An orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt. Conflict ensues when the executor of his father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle.

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95.  Silver Streak (1976)

On a long-distance train trip, a man finds romance but also finds himself in danger of being killed, or at least pushed off the train.

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96.Sons of the Desert (1933)
97.  Bull Durham (1988)

A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.

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98.  The Court Jester (1955)

A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against an evil ruler who has overthrown the rightful king.

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99.  The Nutty Professor (1963)

To improve his social life, a nerdish professor drinks a potion that temporarily turns him into the handsome, but obnoxious, Buddy Love.

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100.  Good Morning Vietnam (1987)

An unorthodox and irreverent DJ begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam.

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Count: 97 / 100