"Wedding Crashers I just think is absolutely hilarious. Old School was like the funniest movie I’d seen in a long time, before this. Vince and Owen, at that point in their careers, there was nothing better. I just thought that movie was so, so funny. And Christopher Walken, and Rachel McAdams, and Bradley Cooper — that was like the first time people really saw him. It had so many lines in it. Vince Vaughn was on fire back then."

"Dr. Strangelove, I got to revisit recently. My daughters, obviously, said, “Well, Pop, what film should we watch?” It’s been an eye opener. You name one of your favorite films, and then you sit down and watch it with them and, “It’s no good! It’s really dated and slow.” Oh, my God. Like, I pushed Airplane on them. I said, “Funniest movie ever made.” Well, there’s funny bits in it, but it’s hard to sit through now."

"I fell upon this documentary and it is an absolute gem. What makes it so is the five people’s homes that we are invited into. Their homes are — of course — insane, but it’s their happiness and comfort with them that is really the thrill. Again, it’s funny and tender and the filmmakers don’t try to try to be shady with their subjects at all. They just let them speak and their enthusiasm and joy floods over us."

"The Life of Brian. Put that up there. I can watch Monty Python any time of the day or night, anywhere, particularly the series. That film is just so kind of brazen and smart and silly. It’s outrageously funny and epic as well. People don’t make comedies on that kind of scale anymore. Epic is usually associated with something very earnest and serious. I just love how they sort of blew that out of the water."

"Buñuel films have had a huge influence on me, this one perhaps most of all. There was a time when I carried the book of the script around, opening it at random to absorb its perverse, funny tone and stare at the old black-and-white stills. Catherine Deneuve acts like she’s sleepwalking, but her character, Séverine, is wonderfully cool and disdainful as she gives free rein to her erotic fantasies, in dreams and in life."

"Bill Forsyth, come back! It’s hard enough to create a movie this deeply funny, so odd and so memorable… but to have a score like Mark Knopfler’s, too? Come on. This is the holy grail of personal filmmaking with a distinctive directorial touch. Also check out Forsyth’s other films like Comfort and Joy and Gregory’s Girl for his trademark touch: the random moment that has no reason to be in the movie, except it’s everything you think about later."

"A film of perfectly realized proportions about broken marriages and failed utopian ideals. Slyly understated and very funny, this portrait of a Swedish commune in the mid 1970s is filled with vivid, affectionately-drawn characters, incredibly sympathetic children, and, in the end, a profoundly moving final scene. When I have lost hope in humanity (which sadly occurs more frequently than I would like) I re-watch this stirringly beautiful film and feel my faith in the world restored."

"I think Princess Bride is my very favorite all time movie. It’s gotta be number one. There is no way that movie comes on without me watching it. It’s funny. It’s sweet. It’s adventurous. I can watch it with my kids. It’s just a delight. I just feel great watching the movie and afterwards. It might be the one movie I’ve seen more than any other movie. I don’t know if that kills my tough guy image."

"This film is so damn smart and funny, such a great combination of humor and pathos. I wish Mike Leigh did more comedies. The performances are incredible and the dialogue is solid gold. Some all-time great portrayals of sloppy drunk shenanigans. I could watch a dozen sequels with Timothy Spall’s character. In an alternate (and more just) universe, instead of Mr. Bean movies we would have an endless number of Life Is Sweet sequels starring Timothy Spall."

"For most of the movie, you’re laughing and wondering, How could Preston Sturges not be as famous a funny filmmaker as Billy Wilder or Woody Allen? And then a turn in the third act seriously raises the stakes and the movie becomes a harrowing drama. If you haven’t seen it, I won’t ruin the end, but if you’ve ever tried to make anyone laugh, or found laughing your favorite sound in life, this is your movie."