Top 12 Political Comedy Movies

[lame54]

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/fahrenheit911/tp/aatpfilms.htm

According to About.com

Top 12 Political Comedy Movies
By Daniel Kurtzman, About.com

1. 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. But of course, "there's no fighting in the war room." One of the 100 best movies of all time, starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott.

2. Wag the Dog (1997)



A spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a presidential sex scandal. A film for the Clinton era if ever there was one, starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. Nominated for an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

3. Election (1999)



An obnoxious overachiever running for student body president is opposed by an unlikely candidate egged on by a vindictive teacher. Mathew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon star in this brilliant satirical comedy, which was nominated for an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

4. Thank You For Smoking (2006)



Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, spins on behalf of the embattled tobacco industry while trying to remain a role model for his 12-year-old son. A biting political satire and one of the best political films in recent years.

5. SiCKO (2007)



Academy Award-winning director Michael Moore sets out to investigate the U.S. healthcare system in this brilliant documentary film that is at turns hilarious, infuriating, and heartbreaking.

6. The American President (1995)



A widowed, Clintonesque president and a lobbyist fall in love -- to the unrelenting delight of the media and his right-wing detractors. A romantic comedy starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, and Martin Sheen, and written by "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin, reportedly while he was high on crack.

7. Primary Colors (1998)



Based on the controversial best-selling novel by Anonymous (Joe Klein), this fictionalization of Bill Clinton's first bid for the Democratic presidential nomination provides an illuminating, insightful, and frequently hilarious look at the harsh realities of presidential politics. John Travolta, starring as click southern governor Jack Stanton, pulls off a dead-on Clinton impersonation.

8. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)



Michael Moore examines what happened in the United States after Sept. 11, the Bush administration's financial ties to Saudi Arabia and the bin Laden family, and why the United States has become a target for hatred and terrorism. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

9. Bulworth (1998)



A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician organizes his own assassination and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters. Warren Beatty stars in this wickedly funny and thought-provoking comedy.

10. Bob Roberts (1992)



A corrupt rightwing folksinger runs a crooked election campaign while only one independent muckraking reporter is trying to stop him. Tim Robbins, in his directorial debut, stars as the consummate politician of the 1990s: lots of fluff and not much substance.

11. Dave (1993)



A presidential look-alike finds himself in the Oval Office "filling in" for the president who has fallen ill. Lacking the political savvy of the real president, "Dave" proceeds to govern the country with a refreshingly straight-forward approach. Starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver.

12. Dick (1999)



Two girls wander away from their tour group while visiting the White House and stumble upon one of President Nixon's infamous top-secret document shredding sessions. It's not long before the ditzy duo become entangled in Nixon's dirty tricks. A very funny "Wag the Dog"-meets-"Clueless" political send-up, starring Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams.

[annabanana]

1. War, Inc.?. . .I like that better than "Dick"

or "Dave"

[lame54]

2. Catch 22 should be in there somewhere

[EFerrari]

3. 9 to 5, Executive Action, Slaughterhouse Five.

:)

[ColbertWatcher]

4. GOP propaganda. Only in a GOPer's "mind" are 2 docs considered comedies.

What about "The Distinguished Gentlemen" ?

[EFerrari]

5. Gentleman's Agreement.

Black Like Me

The Color Purple

Eta: Oops -- I forgot it was a comedy selection.

[malaise]

6. The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)

A Florida con man uses the passing of the long time Congressman from his district who he just happens to share a name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists. But soon he learns the nature of the game and decides to fight back the only way he knows how, with a con.

Hilarious movie although the ending was unrealistic.

[flvegan]

22. That was the first one I thought of.

Back when Murphy was very funny.

[malaise]

31. I firmly believe that all first year Pol Sci. students

should see The Distinguished Gentleman before they open a textbook.
While it's fall down funny, it's a realistic presentation of the real wheeling and dealing that takes place in Congress. It's a nice easy way to shatter all the 'of the people, by the people, for the people' bullspit.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. Manchurian Candidate is in the top 3.

2, 6, 7, 9, 11, and 12 don't even belong on the list.

Eta: And the rest are up for debate.

[TahitiNut]

8. 'Manchurian Candidate' is hardly a comedy. Not even close.

:shrug:

[Blue_Tires]

47. i would argue that it has some dark comedic/satirical subtleties

but would stop short of calling it a 'comedy'

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

54. Brain fart.

Didn't see "comedy." Sadly, something that I'm told often. :cry:

[Toucano]

9. "Head of State" (2003) with Chris Rock has its moments.

[muffin1]

10. Ahh..Bob Roberts is one of my favorites.

I used to work at a video store, and whenever someone would ask what our scariest movie was, a co-worker of mine always recommended that one. :D

[malletgirl02]

36. Bob Roberts

Bob Roberts seems like a remake of Face in the Crowd.

[muffin1]

53. Ooh, really?

I didn't know that. I just received A Face in the Crowd from Netflix.

[lame54]

55. great great movie - Andy Griffith rocks

[Echo In Light]

66. Bob Roberts is one of the very few that offers truth and really packs a punch!

[Ready4Change]

11. Sorry, I would have added "Welcome to Mooseport"

Good example of how even the people involved can have little control over it all.

Life changing movie? No. Underated goodness? Yes.

[lame54]

15. speaking of under-rated...

[melm00se]

12. interesting

the bulk of the movies you picked are from the last 20 years.

Mr Smith Goes to Washington
All The President's Men
The Candidate
Failsafe
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Great Dictator
Welcome to Mooseport

[dsc]

16. To Kill a Mockingbird is a comedy?

[malletgirl02]

27. It's not a comedy

The Candidate .and failsafe aren't either.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. The Candidate

[stanwyck]

41. Absolutely. Why isn't The Candidate on this list?

What an oversight.

[The Gunslinger]

14. Idiocracy should be up there.

[underpants]

17. Comes on on Comedy Central at 6 tonight

TiVoing it. Only saw the last 45 minutes last night.

[ColbertWatcher]

18. I came here to add it. I see I didn't have to!

Good job DU.

[havocmom]

61. yep

And does anyone remember Americathon? Not candidate for the list, but in the running for prescient musings on culture, economy, politics, and mass marketing.

[Horse with no Name]

19. They consider documentaries "comedies"

I guess about.com is a bunch of morons.

[Toucano]

43. Reality isn't ever humorous?

A documentary can be amusing. Especially a documentary about clowns.

[canetoad]

20. You may very well say that.

Although not a movie, one must never discount FU.

[ashling]

21. My Fellow Americans

This holds a special place for me because it was the last movie I watched with my dad before he died.

[Fumesucker]

23. James Garner and Jack Lemmon as two ex presidents who hate each other's guts..

And yet they team up to upset a crooked current POTUS..

That is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

The gay Secret Service sniper is cool, and Garner and Lemmon riding with the lesbian motorcycle gang is hilarious.

[Morning Dew]

65. You beat me to it. I really enjoyed that movie. nm

[Mike 03]

24. I'd like to see "W." on that list, and maybe "Body of Lies." "Dave" and "Dick"? Really? NT

[JackRiddler]

26. "Body of Lies" is a comedy?

You mean, besides the Russell Crowe character being such a magnificent asshole?

[Mike 03]

28. I know it sounds odd, but I do think "Body of Lies" is a black comedy.

I know it sounds absurd, but step back and really look at that film, from beginning to end.

Crowe is the comedian, and DiCaprio is the straightman.

It is like a two-hour Abbot and Costello sketch in which nothing goes right, and the motivation for doing every single thing that they do is pretentious joke.

I'm sure this is not a widely held opinion on my part, but I've watched that film five times now and it really is funny once you get over the first viewing. It perfectly illustrates why our intelligence agencies fail in nearly every endeavor in the Middle East.

[JackRiddler]

29. I could stand to watch it again.

It had me fairly gripped, as I remember. Thanks.

[Mike 03]

30. Thank you. It is a good Ridley Scott film. Not his best, not his worst, and made very quickly.

But, like DePalma's "Redacted," it speaks to the moment.

[JackRiddler]

25. 1, 2, 4 and 10 are not (that) embarrassing to the list-maker. Rest is degrees of crap...

Except for the documentaries, which don't belong at all. (Well, "Sicko" sort of takes a comedian's approach.)

Never mind that the list-maker has a liberal bent. He's a patsy for Hollywood crap, and he apparently knows about nothing prior to 1990 except for "Dr. Strangelove," which would be hard to miss.

No. 6 in particular is the ultimate in political puke movies. While he's at it, I'm surprised he didn't throw in "Forrest Gump."

One title missing that obviously makes any list of top English-language, Hollywood political comedies of the last, oh 50 years:

NETWORK.

Now add a couple of films of George Carlin talking. Just talking.

And if we were honest, although I found it partly reprehensible, as a work of undoubtedly political COMEDY, "Borat" belongs on this list. At any rate, in a list like this one focused on wide-distribution crap from the last 20 years.

[Mike 03]

33. Great Post! I agree, and you are right to include NETWORK as a political

masterpiece.

OMG, I wish I thought of that.

It certainly is.

That list, for the most part, sucks.

[Blue_Tires]

48. Network is one of my favs...

but can we pigeonhole it as just 'political' when it mercilessly attacks every major aspect of American society? TV culture, big media, commercialism, consumerism, corporatism, militarism, etc?

[JackRiddler]

51. Well, I wouldn't pigeonhole "political" just to cover politicians...

TV culture, big media, commercialism, consumerism, corporatism, militarism... if these aren't politics, what is?

[LeftishBrit]

32. Not all of these are comedies

If one is talking about American political films, I like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Farmer's Daughter and The Best Man. And for the UK, Left, Right and Centre, and I'm All Right Jack.

[malletgirl02]

34. Ruling Class

What do you think of Ruling Class? I would consuder it a political comedy.

[JackRiddler]

35. "A Foreign Affair"

[JackRiddler]

37. "Being There"

[ThoughtCriminal]

38. They Live

Less science fiction than it seemed.

[JackRiddler]

50. Yes!

[Echo In Light]

58. " I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum"

~ Nada

[NoPasaran]

39. No "Duck Soup"?

Hail Freedonia!

[gmudem]

40. Darling all I can offer you is a Rufus over your head.

Great movie. And I noticed somebody mention Idiocracy, that would be a good choice. Some of the chosen films definitely aren't comedies.

[surrealAmerican]

42. "I'd like to take up the tax."

"I'd rather take up the carpet."
"The Tax!"
"You're right we can't take up the carpet until we take up the tacks."

[JPZenger]

57. Margaret Dumont is great, but what are the other guys doing?

Gilbert Gottfried was talking about Jean Domenion (spelling?), who took over Saturday Night Live in 1980. He said that if she watched the Marx Brothers, she would say that she really liked Margaret Dumont, but what are those other guys supposed to be doing?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

75. The exit strategy for the invasion of Sylvania

looks eerily similar to the Bush Plan for Iraq

[NoPasaran]

76. "Remember, we're fighting for this woman's honor"

"Which is more than she has ever done!"

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

85. or this one...

"You're a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you're out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in be in here thinking what a sucker you are."

Particularly appropriate considered Bush and Cheney's combined military experience is equal to Groucho's...

[BlooInBloo]

44. #1: Dr.Stranglelove, followed distantly by Who The Fuck Cares.

[malletgirl02]

73. I agree

None of the other films ont the list deserve to be on the list with Dr. Strangelove.

[Toucano]

45. "The Great Dictator" belongs on this list.

Nix "Dick" and "Wag the Dog" which are totally forgettable.

[t0dd]

46. Mein Führer! I can walk! nt

[Blue_Tires]

49. where is "Brazil?"

[JackRiddler]

52. A fine choice!

[lame54]

56. overrated

[t0dd]

62. no way. nt

[Echo In Light]

59. Network - although not a comedy, per se

[marmar]

60. Where is "Bullworth"?

..... And why are "Sicko" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" listed as comedies? They were documentaries with hearty doses of humor, but I don't think of them as "comedy movies."

[lame54]

68. Bulworth is # 9

[FailureToCommunicate]

63. Add "Man of the Year" Robin Williams! Funny, but also some scarily familiar parts like

voter machine fraud, and cover ups! Laura Linney and Chris Walken are great in it also!

[Echo In Light]

64. The problem with most American political "comedies" is that they reinforce many un-truths

...aside from a few, say, Bob Roberts, comes to mind immediately, they play it safe w/the "moderate" approach because those making such movies realize the mindset of the demographic they're selling their product to.

[PufPuf23]

67. The President's Analyst

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062153/

Being There

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078841/

Moon Over Parador

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095654/

[Lydia Leftcoast]

69. Doctor Strangelove, Bob Robers, and Election and two from the Brits

Yes, those are great and truthful comedies.

From the Brits, we have two wonderful TV series, "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister," a comedy about an government minister (who eventually makes prime minister) who means well but is constantly thwarted by his civil servant assistant, who knows how the system REALLY works. It's one of those comedies that gives you the uneasy feeling that governments really operate this way.

[LeftishBrit]

70. I agree on these - hadn't mentioned 'Yes Minister' as it's a TV series rather than film..

but agree it's excellent.

[aikoaiko]

71. MASH?

:shrug:

[rucky]

72. Was there anybody over 25 in the room when they made those picks?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

74. Obviously not, or they would have included

State of the Union, The Farmer's Daughter, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and The Mouse That Roared.

[aikoaiko]

77. Are those comedies? or comedic?

:shrug:

[aikoaiko]

78. I inadvertently responded to myself and was thrilled to see a reply in "My DU"

feeling pathetic.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

80. Yes, to different degrees

State of the Union has Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn as a presidential candidate and his wife, who although billed as Republicans, are far more liberal than any of today's Democrats

The Farmer's Daughter is about a Swedish maid who runs for Congress

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is the least comic, although it has its moments.

The Mouse That Roared is about a small European country that declares war on the U.S.--and wins.

[aikoaiko]

79. I don't know why American President or Dave is on the list.

Both were kind of schlocky if you ask me.

[Canuckistanian]

81. Why do reviewers insist that M. Moore's films are "comedies"?

They're dead serious documentaries with sometimes amusing commentary by Moore.

I saw a blurb on the back of "Roger & Me" that proclaim "This film is a knee-slapper, it'll have you rolling on the floor!" (paraphrasing). I never laughed one bit at that movie. In fact, it depressed the hell out of me.

The only comedy his films use is dark, black humor.

[lame54]

83. his movies make me laugh...

while taking in all the serious commentary

Roger & Me was hilarious

[Bucky]

82. "Dick" is MUCH better than "The American President"

"Dick" is the awesomest movie ever. Ever!

"The American President"? Blah, no one really sleeps over on the first date and then winds up happily ever after.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

84. Oldie but great.... The Mouse That Roared.

Plot summary for
The Mouse That Roared (1959) More at IMDbPro »
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053084/plotsummary

The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force to New York (armed with longbows) which arrives during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets. Wandering about to find someone to surrender to, they discover a scientist with a special ultimate weapon that can destroy the Earth. When they capture him and his bomb they are faced with a new possibility: What do you do when you win a war? Written by John Vogel {[e-mail]}

The best laid plans of mice and men ... A cold war satire emphasising the new emerged American Superpower's use of foreign aid to buy friends and keep then away from the USSR's influence. Peter Sellers, as the scheming Prime Minister of Grand Fenwick, plots with Peter Sellers, as the scheming Grand Duchess, to declare war on the USA, lose and get that foreign aid. Unfortunately, they forget to tell Peter Sellers, as Tully Bascombe, commander of their mediaeval army. This honourable man does his best for his country and through a series of unbelievable circumstances (well, this is a comedy) to win. Now, who has to give aid to whom?