British Comedy Films- Top 5

If there is one export that the British Isles can rely on for return investment, it’s their sense of humour. From sentimental and quirky to downright surreal and daft, the creativity of UK script writers and comedians has often led them to outshine their international counterparts… on a tiny budget.

With this in mind, I present my take on the cream of the crop, the films that tickle that bit harder and cause more popcorn-choking than the rest. Plus, some Brit comedies that really aren’t as good as anyone says they are.

 5. THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES (1965)

Out of the glut of comic features produced in Britian during the 50s and 60s, this holds up the best. An epic of pure slapstick with no other pretnensions, it contains the archetypal caddish performance by Terry Thomas and a ridiculous gallery of foreign stereotypes, including Gert Frobe of Goldfinger (1964) fame as a mad Kraut colonel. It may not have the satirical bent of I’m All Right Jack (1959), and it may just be a knock off of It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)… but it’s bloody funny.

4. A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988)

Lead John Cleese is outdone by the entire supportng cast in this riotous farce, starring a slinky Jamie Lee Curtis and a brilliantly unnerved Michael Palin. Of course, Kevin Kline overshadows everyone as the deranged Otto, a man for which the allure of money truly breaks all limits. The plot and humour owe a lot to the black and white Ealing pictures, and the film has some of the best sight gags of all time. 

3. LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS (1998)

Dumb as hell and ‘facking’ loving it, this crime thriller from Guy Ritchie is still at the top of the pile when it comes to fake geezer flicks. That’s half the appeal here, as every cliche and dodgy ‘Landan’ accent is chucked into a blender; the other half is definitely intentional, with plenty of lippy dialogue and loony antics. As usual with a Ritchie film, visuals are the sum total of the experience, and we’re never really sure if he actually believes any of the tripe he puts on screen. The joy is it doesn’t matter. Beautiful. 

2. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)

The best comedies are the ones that require the least attention but manage to keep you in a vice-grip of laughter, watch after watch. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s greatest creation concerns a zombie apocalypse in London; of course, gore and humour had already been combined for Romero’s Day of the Dead back in 1985. The trick here is that all this carnage is married to a satire of the banality of lower-middle class existence in the UK. The result is both bloodthirsty and unpredictably subtle, a comedy with multiple layers that rewards and encourages the geek inside as well as entertaining. In other words: a perfect cult movie.

1. MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975)

Tut all you want, but there is no way I’m putting Life of Brian (1979) at the top of this Christmas tree. Grail is so immensely, face-achingly funny that its worshippers will soon outnumber those of God Himself. The debate over which is the better Python film will rage on across centuries and countless generations… but I know I’m right. So there.

Advertisement