Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness

I'm still surprised that Strangelove got through the second round over Modern Problems. Chevy's out-of-control nosebleed antics rank in the pantheon of classic comedic moments. Right up there with Ritter's glowing jimmy hat in "Skin Deep".

We like them black and dead.

I bitched about the process and the selections the whole way through, and now my original picks from your first MSNBC-inspired post way back in 1998 or whenever the hell it was have been selected by your readership, democratic-like. And the consensus is, we hate democracy. Any conservative-leaning fellow who stumbled upon this would immediately note a certain lack of... confidence in the electoral process and repsect for our leaders, at least based on our favorite funny movies. We best pray that the rubes remain on The Corner.

I vote Duck Soup.

I've got a good mind to join the club and beat you over the head with it.

Don't forget Mr. Earl Jones.

i don't know what they were thinking, but strangelove was the first movie my parents took us to the drive-in. after that, born free.

This one's not even going to be close.

This has restored my faith in that portion of humanity which agrees with me.

Anyone who tells you Duck Soup is funnier than Caddyshack is either lying to you or so filled with self-importance that their sense of humor was drowned in a sea of pompous know-it-all-ism years ago.

And don't even get him started on Back to School or Easy Money. As Thorton Mellon would say, if he were forced to recite Dylan Thomas in front of an academic committe: "Rage! Rage against the dying of the light! Wow! These guys are loaded! They've got more bread than a prison meatloaf!"

Now, I'm pretty sure I haven't been living under a rock for the past twenty years, but I haven't seen either of these movies. Queueing them up in Netflix now.

Like I said over at NTodd's place,

While Duck Soup is undoubtedly funnier, Dr. Strangelove is a better comedy, at least for me, because it's actually scary. Both succeed as comedies in the classical sense of a comedy as social commentary (going back to the likes of Aristophanes)--but which is better? Both look at the insanity of politics and government; both came about during the most trying of times (Duck Soup in 1933; Dr. Strangelove in 1964) of the twentieth century.

But which is the better comedy? I'd still go with Strangelove--for while Duck Soup is a farce, Strangelove goes beyond even that and is a laugh at the void.

So now our comedies have to be scary? This isn't a horror movie contest, sweetheart! (I kid)

I voted Duck Soup because it is the best. I would have voted for Strangelove if it was the best. I think perhaps the ballot is confusing to the elderly, because they were old enough to see Duck Soup in theaters and therefore would have voted for it as well.

Oh, I don't think comedies have to be scary. But I think some of the best comedies are also the blackest. They have that edge, that fear, upon which real comedy--and not just humor--is made. Comedy, in the classical sense, isn't just funny, but has its roots in the same personal and cultural anxieties which are manifested in horror--both exaggerate for effect, but ultimately both have a basis in the "dark night of the soul."

But don't misunderstand, I think Duck Soup is fantastic. I just like Strangelove that little bit better.

How the hell is Dr. Strangelove winning?

To anyone thinking that Tlachtga is just me writing under a psuedonym to make my point, it's not.

Notice that in four paragraphs dissecting which comedy is better, the word 'laugh' is never used in any of its forms. I've watched both movies. I enjoyed both movies. If I want to impress people in coffee shops and talk loudly at small plates restaurants, I'll rewatch Strangelove, but if I want to fill my pants with chuckle-induced fecal matter, give me Blazing Saddles or Strange Brew.

Does this make me an uninteresting simpleton who thinks monkeys flinging their own poo at the zoo is funnier than the collective works of Georges Feydeau? I sure hope so.

Drew, are you implying that I'm a pompous know-it-all? Sorry, my mistake for being a lit major. I'll do better in the next life and stick to waitressing.

Blazing Saddles is funnier than Dr. Strangelove--though shitting myself has never been a criteria for rating which comedy is better (besides, I always thought peeing my pants was a better indicator). But Strangelove is the better comedy. Duck Soup is funnier, gets more laughs, than Strangelove. But I think Strangelove is the better comedy.

I mean, look, it's only my opinion, but don't insult me.

Just two words: Major Batguanno (if that really is his name.)

Chris: That's Keenan Wynn, also the heavy in many Disney comedies.

Hey, I just re-watched Dr Strangelove last night, and you know what? I did laugh - at the "Col. Batguano" line, at what Strangelove's name was before he became a citizen, at the classic "You can't fight in here - this is the War Room!", and at George C. Scott, who I think is the most underappreciated part of that whole movie.

So Drew, there are people who watch Strangelove because it's funny (though the fact that it impresses people at coffee shops is a nice perk). Not to detract from Blazing Saddles, which is also great.

Any conservative-leaning fellow who stumbled upon this would immediately note a certain lack of... confidence in the electoral process and repsect for our leaders, at least based on our favorite funny movies.

That's cuz respect and confidence ain't funny.

These are both worthy movies. A Fun historical fact: Duck Soup was made before the Hayes code was enacted. There's humor and inuendo in there that would have prevented the film from ever being made if it hadn't been made then. It's history, it's comedy, it's frickin genius.

I for one had a hard time deciding as I love both films to an unnatural degree.

Sorry Tiach. I didn't mean to single you out. My problem was with a type of person and not you personally. The fact that you like Strangelove and Blazing saddles at all means you're automatically 99% better off than the rest of the idiots lining up to see 'Meet the Fockers' again, so my apologies.

I also didn't know that being a lit major prohibits you from a career in waitressing. In fact, I always thought the two went hand in hand (tee hee) :)

Drew--

Actually, yeah, they do. Now, you want the fries, or the coleslaw? ;-)

I'm just glad they're both (in the words of Sophie Crumb) black and white and old.

Erm... I actually laugh more watching either of these movies than any Mel Brooks movie. I mean, the funny bits ain't exactly rocket science. Is it a pretentious put-on to laugh at Harpo setting a guy's hat on fire? And Strangelove and Blazing Saddles both feature Slim Pickens, after all, doing more or less the same bit.

Okay, Dr. Strangelove vs. Da Bears.

Da Bears by tree, mebbe four touchdowns. Ed, pass da kielbasa.

ok, when Sterling Hayden goes, "...but I deny them my essence", and then one of the Peter Sellers characters absorbs that, then says "if I could just have the codes now" (that would enable him to call off the a-bomb attack), and instead you hear the gunshot (meaning the only one who can stop Armageddon has just killed himself)... that's teh funny.

Alas, alack, and fuck my luck.

I pick Strangelove. I think it's a generational thing...