On the Awards Circuit Power Hour this week, one of our esteemed readers asked why David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook was not being considered the one to beat in the Oscar race? Was it the comedy genre factor or the likes of Argo, Lincoln, and Les Miserables trumping its parade? It seemed unanimous that comedy struggles with true recognition from Oscar especially in the technical categories like Film Editing and that’s what will ultimately shoot Russell’s film in the foot.
Many people can name several films they would nominate in a Best Picture lineup, but is there a true comedy you would consider the very best of the year and award the coveted Best Motion Picture Oscar to? That is our question today, name at least one film you would award Best Picture of the Year at the Academy Awards, either this year or any year.
I struggled with the question initially, struggling to dig through the genre and respective years. I then realized, the answer was right in my face. From my top ten films of all-time article, Gene Saks’ The Odd Couple (1968) is one of, if not, the best instance of comedic brilliance captured on screen. What makes the choice even more delightful and appropriate, is the film only netted two Academy Award nominations in 1969; Best Adapted Screenplay, which shouldn’t surprise anyone since Screenplay is the category to reward comedies these days. The film was also able to muster up a Film Editing nomination along Best Picture nominees, Funny Girl and Oliver!, both comedies as well. In many ways, the 1969 Oscar ceremony was the year of the comedy. Barbara Streisand tied with Katharine Hepburn in Best Actress while Carol Reed and Oliver! went home with Best Director and Picture respectively.
What comedy pictures would you reward?
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Tags: Argo, Carol Reed, David O. Russell, Editor, Films, Funny Girl, Gene Saks, Katharine Hepburn, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Oliver!, Oscar, Oscar Question of the day, The Odd Couple
18 Comments
Easy one. 1960 – Some LIke It Hot. Still making people laugh more than a half century later.
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)
Why not still be in 1968 and go for The Producers? Mel Brooks won for screenplay that year if memory serves me right.
Ronnie(Quote) (Reply)
I like It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World better than all of the 1964 nominees.
Back to the Future is an absolute classic and perfectly worthy of Oscar’s attention, in my mind. It would have gotten my vote in 1986.
There’s no way, even hypothetically, that Groundhog Day could win best picture at the 1994 awards, but I don’t think it would be too radical to say it should have been nominated (it was a pretty solid line-up that year, but I’ve never cared for In the Name of the Father).
The Truman Show got best director and original screenplay nominations in 1999, how about a best picture nom over Elizabeth?
People may through tomatoes, since 1994 was such a holy year at the Oscars, but I would have liked to have seen Ed Wood get a nomination (I have no need for Four Weddings and a Funeral).
Pretty much any Wes Anderson movie gets a vote from me. The Royal Tenenbaums in 2002 doesn’t sound too far fetched.
In Bruges is my third favorite movie of all time, so of course I wouldn’t mind seeing it nominated and winning in some crazy alternate universe. Of course, I could see some people saying that it’s not even a comedy.
I don’t think it would be too much to ask for a 1941 nomination for the Shop Around the Corner. It was a year of ten, after all. (The Great Dictator and Philadelphia Story were nominated that year).
The more I look into it, the more I think Oscar hasn’t been too unfriendly to comedies in the past. You Can’t Take it with You won best picture in 1939, and that’s one of my favorite comedies (maybe Grand Illusion or The Adventures of Robin Hood should have beat it, but I won’t complain). Ninotchka, Juno, The Apartment, American Graffiti, His Girl Friday, Dr. Strangelove, and an awful lot of Woody Allan movies have gotten Oscar attention in the past. I think that it’s just been in the last ten to twenty years that comedy has been shoved aside in favor of more ‘serious’ fare.
Steve Glansberg(Quote) (Reply)
Defending your Life (1991) – Both Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep should have received Acting nominations
Scrooged (1988) – Bill Murray in Lead and Carol Kane in Supporting
Also, Tootsie should have cleaned up across the board in 1982
Joe Gouveia(Quote) (Reply)
Seems a bit more in that “dramedy” area, but “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” would be the most recent film for me. “Fargo” is probably the last straight comedy that should have won Best Picture. And I also fully agree with “Tootsie”.
Josh P.(Quote) (Reply)
Fargo ain’t no comedy. Oh wait, it’s a “dark comedy”, I forgot. That means it just ain’t funny… (I realize I’m in the minority in not finding Fargo amazing)
I ADORE the Coen brothers when they make psychologically interesting and dark gritty films (Barton Fink, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Blood Simple). I also really, really liked True Grit. But I can’t stand them when they show absolutely no apathy for their characters. It’s like they don’t care about what they’re writing and are just trying to get to 90 pages as fast as they can (such as Fargo and No Country… ironically, their two most acclaimed films…)
moviewatcher(Quote) (Reply)
To each his own. “Fargo” and “A Serious Man” are probably of my favorite Coen Brothers films, and what I like about them is using interesting characters that have an offbeat sense of humor about them while also finding some simple truth about the world to be explored. I understand comedy is subjective, and the criticism that the Coens have a tendency to disrespect their characters is something that I’ve heard before. And I’m that type of person who isn’t that invested in the films you named liking, especially “The Man Who Wasn’t There”, so I understand where you’re coming from.
But hey, we can at least agree about “True Grit”. Very entertaining indeed.
Josh P.(Quote) (Reply)
In Bruges hands down. It’s a crime that wasn’t even nominated.
Kevin(Quote) (Reply)
I’d say The Graduate. I don’t know if it’s considered a comedy but I think it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Other than that the closest I came to another pick was The 40 Year Old Virgin but I just can’t give it best picture over Brokeback Mountain.
Jeremy DC(Quote) (Reply)
I’ve got a few broad comedies:
1968: The Producers – Apologies to 2001 fans, but this film means a hell of a lot more to me. The movie that put Mel Brooks’ genius on the map, plus hilarious performances from Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, and the recently late Ken Mars. And let’s face it, who doesn’t know the lyrics to Springtime to Hitler by heart?
1978: Animal House – I feel completely justified giving this one Best Picture. The Deer Hunter has not aged well outside of the performances and Days of Heaven was probably Malick’s weakest film. This was the first raunchy comedy so to speak, and no raunchy comedy has ever been able to top it. Believe it or not, Belushi isn’t even my favorite part of the movie (though he’s still great), it’s John Vernon’s asshole Dean Wormer. No man could spit profanities as venomously as Vernon.
1983: A Christmas Story – My 6th favorite film of all time, it’s episodic exploration of old fashioned nostalgia is both side splitting and heartwarming. Oh yeah, Darren McGavin gave the Best Supporting perormance of the 80′s all together, hands down.
1985: Back to the Future – Is there any question that this is one of the most well-cast action comedies ever? Those actors were perfect for those roles, ranging from Fox’s endlessly likable Marty to the normally annoying Crispin Glover’s neurotic George, it works so well.
1998: The Big Lebowski – Oh yeah, I went there. “Blah blah Saving Private Ryan, blah blah too strong of a year, blah blah acquired taste”, spare me. This movie gets funnier everytime I watch it, and yes, I realize there was no real point to it. As Roger Ebert said in his Great Movies essay on it, it’s not about a plot so much as an attitude. Just lay back and enjoy the show. I sure as hell did.
koook160 (Robert MacFarlane)(Quote) (Reply)
Clayton… I am almost literally in love with you right now. I’ve just looked through your top 10 list of all time. Even though I would disagree with almost all of those films with regards to “best of all time”, I must recognize that Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting and The Truman Show are all GREAT, AMAZING movies. I have not forgotten them, ever.
But here’s where you’re right on the money… two choices of your list which I shall always love you for…
The Lord of the Rings… and Forrest Gump…
Those 2 movies are part of my top 3 of all time!!! (Apocalypse Now at number 2, Gump at 1). These three movies have left marks on me that shall last forever. So have Inception and Magnolia.
Gump was my first love.
LOTR my first awe.
Inception the movie that began my passion for cinema.
Apocalypse now the one that opened my mind and sent me on a journey to the darkness and depths of the human hearts..
And Magnolia… what else can I say? I fall to the ground whenever I think of it, it has changed my mind about what’s possible to do with cinema.
But gump was always number 1… the first love is always the strongest… It’s a perfect screenplay. a perfect performance and such a perfect, unconventional. bold story.
Tom Hanks is my favorite actor mostly because of this one performance. I fell in love with what he did. Like someone said, there are no directions to play that part. He wasn’t playing dumb… he was playing the essence of humanity: So struck by everything around us, and by the strangeness of the world we live in. Hanks’s career in the 90s has always wowed me. But he didn’t make many great movies in the 2000s. I loved Catch Me if you can and Charlie Wilson’s War and also really really liked Extremely Loud. But for a decade Catch me if you can (a great, great movie in its own right) has been his finest achievement… until now…
Cloud Atlas.
It is hanks’s best movie since a long time ago. It totally wowed me and only The master this year stands above it. I won’t comment on it now, but let me just say that for me: hanks’s career has just resurrected.
I love that Forrest Gump is a movie that is so divisive. That makes it even more special… I’ve never seen anything like it. To me, Forrest Gump is the representation of life, it’s ups and downs, in 2h and 14 minutes. It’s about the adventure of life. The unchartered territory of life.
Wow… such a great movie…
Thanks Clayton, I knew you loved forrest gump but only now did I look through your top 10 lists. Thank you…
moviewatcher(Quote) (Reply)
Annie Hall, which also happened to actually win…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Allen’s Manhattan. Not strictly a comedy I know but it would certainly be placed in that category before being considered as a drama.
Jim Bob(Quote) (Reply)
I would second Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, although most would probably toss it in a drama category. It is, indeed, the greatest movie of all time. I also feel Juno should have won best picture, but that’s also an arguable drama. This year, Seven Psychopaths is currently the best film, and the fact that it won’t get nominated for any of the major categories is very upsetting. And one more underdog I’d like to throw in, With the possiblility of 10 nods, I wouldn’t mind 21 Jump Street getting a nod too
Phill(Quote) (Reply)
I still love Little Miss Sunshine, which actually got a nomination………
taylor(Quote) (Reply)
I realized in answering this question, that the farther back I go in history the more comedies I would award with Best Picture, but I would give the top prize to a comedy as recently as last year.
Here are the broad comedies that I would award Best Picture, going back to before the Oscars actually existed if that’s allowed:
The Navigator (1924)
The Gold Rush (1925)
The General (1927)
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
City Lights (1931)
Duck Soup (1933)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Modern Times (1936)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Man Who Came To Dinner (1942)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Back to the Future (1985)
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)
Midnight in Paris (2011)
And here are some others that I consider comedies, but others might not:
The Graduate (1967)
The Sting (1973)
Toy Story (1995)
Fargo (1996)
American Beauty (1999)
Robbie M.(Quote) (Reply)
My personal favorite film is 2000′s Snatch, which blows most of that year’s Oscar contenders totally out of the water (Gladiator’s script was more nomination-worthy? Give me a break).
2009′s In the Loop is one of the funniest, most incisive films I’ve ever seen, and it got only an Adapted Screenplay Jim, losing to…Precious? Good Lord. While I’m not sure if I would give it Best Picture over my beloved Inglourious Basterds, it’s a VERY close #2.
This year, Seven Psychopaths is the year’s best film so far (well, Holy Motors might overtake it on a second viewing, but even it is a pretty absurd film). You know a film has something when people are laughing so hard they drown out the dialogue.
JamDenTel(Quote) (Reply)
Juno.
Eric M.(Quote) (Reply)