Top 10 Funniest Movies Ever (As Measured In Laughs Per Minute)

Forbes ^ | September 21, 2021 | Andrew Bender

[DoodleBob]

Admit it, you’ve done this: sat around with friends for hours, trying to come up with the definitive list of the funniest movies ever. Well, now here’s an – almost, sort of – statistical solution: the Laugh a Minute rating.

It comes from Lovefilm, the London-based video streaming and DVD subscription service. Lovefilm polled its members for the 10 movies that made them laugh most. Then, says spokesperson Helen Cowley, the company convened a panel to watch the movies and note "how many times [each film] made us giggle." Divide the number of laughs by the film’s length in minutes, and voilà: the Laugh a Minute score.

Even if the results aren't universal - the panel members were affiliated with the company - the methods are certainly more scientifically rigorous than sitting around chatting with your buds over beers at 11:30 at night.

Without further ado, the envelope, please.

Topping the list at three laughs a minute: the 1980 airline disaster spoof Airplane!, followed by the original Hangover and Naked Gun movies at 2.4 and 2.3 laughs per minute respectively.

Here's the full Top 10:

1. Airplane! - 3 laughs/minute

2. The Hangover - 2.4 laughs/minute

3. Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - 2.3 laughs/minute

4. Superbad - 1.9 laughs/minute

5. Borat - 1.7 laughs/minute

6. Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy - 1.6 laughs/minute

7. American Pie - 1.5 laughs/minute

8. Bridesmaids - 1.4 laughs/minute

9. Shaun of the Dead - 1.3 laughs/minute

10. Life of Brian - 1.2 laughs/minute

"Interestingly," Cowley said, "while Lovefilm members voted Life of Brian as the funniest film, our research shows that for Laughs a Minute...Airplane! beats the Monty Python epic hands-down."

[jocon307]

My Cousin Vinny is great too! That’s one of the movies that if we come across it we always just watch it again!

[bagster]

[eldoradude]

[bagster]

That was indeed a hilarious movie.

#ElsinoresEh

[Eleutheria5]

Night in Casablanca
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (WC Fields and Charlie McCormick)
Fatal Glass of Beer short
Trading Places
Modern Times
Great Dictator
Gold Rush
The Circus
Some of The Kid
Three Stooges shorts
The Producer (original, not the remake [yuck!])
A Funny Thing Happened to me on my Way to the Forum
Abbott & Costello Join the Army
Lewis & Martin At War with the Army

[Eleutheria5]

I’ve never seen Caddyshack, but hear it was great.

[PROCON]

I don’t know if this one was mentioned but I just finished watching ‘Clue’, hilarious movie.

[Track9]

Reading your description made me laugh to tears. I know all that stuff. Funny!!!

[Blue Collar Christian]

Our beloved “Blazing Saddles” is far too cerebral to fit the laughs so closely.

[Drew68]

Oh, and “Something About Mary” almost killed half the audience from laughter.

Twenty three years later, "Something About Mary" remains the funniest movie I've ever seen.

I will wake up in the middle of the night and start laughing over this scene.

Matt Dillon, never a comedic actor, absolutely stole this film.

[oldvirginian]

Funny indeed!
I wonder if Damon Wayans would be allowed to make that movie today?
Probably not, someone would surely be offended.

[llevrok]

I'm dating myself, but “It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” is still hilarious.

I knew a transgender person who dated himself. But I digress

Mad Mad Mad... cast every comedic radio, film and character actor who was still alive at the time of production.

If for no other reason than that, it's tops in my book as the funniest (I still ROFL at Buster Keaton's cameo)

[dfwgator]

Ruthless People has to be one of the funniest movies ever.

"Then we're off to Haiti!"
"That's Tahiti!"
"I knew that."

[llevrok]

Seriously Sasha Cohen is so overrated at everything.

Comically, I totally agree. But I was so surprised by his lead dramatic role in "The Spy". When I looked at the credits and saw who was the lead actor, I was gob smacked!!

[dfwgator]

I wonder if Damon Wayans would be allowed to make that movie today? Probably not, someone would surely be offended.

They couldn't get away with most stuff they did on "In Living Color"......LOL, I loved Damon's "This Ol Box!" and his "Oswald Bates" characters.

[dfwgator]

Although he’s a jerk, Woody Allen’s Bananas was great

Just for the Howard Cosell cameos.

It's over. lt's all over for El presidente!

This reporter is going to get to him, if he can, through this mob for one last word before he expires.

As you can see, this crowd is not to be trifled with. They're in a frenzy. They're trying to get over to El presidente even as l am trying to do now.

Would you people let me through? This is American television. American television. Please let me through. We're getting through now.

Here we are. Here we are. Sir. Sir, you've been shot.

When did you know it was all over?

Fascist... dictator.

You're upset. That's understandable under the circumstances.

l guess now you'll have to announce your retirement.

Well, good luck to you, sir.

[dfwgator]

Tyrone : He’s supposed to take the money.

Speed : Right.

Tyrone : Take the ho. Take the ho! You know that.

Speed : Right.

Tyrone : And take the car and get the ____ outta there.

Speed : I can’t believe it. Because, he would have been dead a long time ago. Talkin’ that ___, “Make my day.”

Tyrone : Right, right! ‘Cause as soon as he said, “Make my day,” boom. Do 50 bullets in your ass make your day?

[oldvirginian]

I never saw In Living Color. Something about my work schedule. My kids did love it though. I’ll have to visit YouTube and get acquainted with the show.

[dfwgator]

Slapshot!

[BradyLS]

There are a ton of lines, but this another classic from Eyegor:

“Did your hump move from your right shoulder to your left?”

“What hump???”