Friday, February 12, 2016

THE FUNNIEST MOVIES OF THE PAST 20 YEARS


A couple of weeks ago a longtime friend was bemoaning the sad state of movie comedies these days. In college, we wore out our VHS tapes of Airplane, Animal House, History of the World, Caddyshack, Stripes, Fletch, Vacation, and Meatballs. But where were those comedy classics of today, demanded my frustrated friend. "What are the funniest movies since 2000?" I quickly listed a few titles off the top of my head, but insisted I needed time to conduct a thorough investigation.

In researching a response to the question I discovered a fact I had not considered before -- the late 1990's are a treasure trove of comedy gems. Thus, I had to expand the parameters to include this goldmine of guffaws. Comedy has changed considerably since the halcyon days of the 70's and 80's. In some ways it has grown darker and more sophisticated. In other ways it has dispensed with the notion of telling a complete story in favor of the potentially viral joke or block comedy scene. To account for these changes I decided not to limit this list to movies with the most laugh-out-loud moments, but to reward clever and cerebral comedic storytelling as well. Here you will find the high brow and low brow standing shoulder to shoulder.

This list, as with all comedy, is subjective. People tend to have very strong feelings when it comes to the things they laugh at. I invite you to participate in this comedy conversation. Let me know what movies I may have overlooked and why I'm an idiot for thinking this film is funnier than that one. It all goes to a good cause -- reminding my friend that there's still funny to be found.

Without further adieu, I present to you:

The Funniest Movies of the Past 20 Years


1.        There's Something About Mary  (1998)
2.        Borat  (2006)
3.        Austin Powers (1997)
4.        South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut  (1999)
5.        The Big Lebowski  (1998)
6.        Waiting for Guffman  (1996)
7.        Best in Show  (2000)
8.        Step Brothers  (2008)
9.        Office Space  (1999)
10.      Anchorman  (2004)
11.      The 40-Year-Old Virgin  (2005)
12.      Old School  (2003)
13.      Superbad  (2007)
14.      The Hangover  (2009)
15.      Rushmore  (1998)
16.      Bridesmaids  (2011)
17.      Knocked Up  (2007)
18.      The Wedding Singer  (1998)
19.      Ted  (2012)
20.      Rat Race  (2001)
21.      The Royal Tennenbaums  (2001)
22.      Talladega Nights  (2006)
23.      Happy Gilmore  (1996)
24.      Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle  (2004)
25.      Being John Malkovich  (1999)
26.      Elf  (2003)
27.      The Dictator  (2012)
28.      Kingpin  (1996)
29.      Wedding Crashers  (2005)
30.      Jackass: The Movie  (2002)
31.      School of Rock  (2003)
32.      Election  (1999)
33.      Bad Santa  (2003)
34.      O Brother, Where Art Thou  (2000)
35.      The Grand Budapest Hotel  (2014)
36.      Tropic Thunder  (2008)
37.      Hot Fuzz  (2007)
38.      Kiss Kiss Bang Bang  (2005)
39.      High Fidelity  (2000)
40.      Little Miss Sunshine  (2006)
41.      Forgetting Sarah Marshall  (2008)
42.      Wet Hot American Summer  (2001)
43.      American Pie  (1999)
44.      This is the End  (2013)
45.      Team America: World Police  (2004)
46.      Role Models  (2008)
47.      Hot Tub Time Machine  (2010)
48.      21 Jump Street  (2012)
49.      Meet the Parents  (2000)
50.      Bottle Rocket  (1996)


Others Receiving Votes:

Napoleon Dynamite  (2004)
Dodgeball  (2004)
Zoolander  (2001)
Cable Guy  (1996)
Sideways  (2004)
The Pineapple Express  (2008)
Shaun of the Dead  (2004)
Bowfinger  (1999)
Trainwreck  (2015)  
Easy A  (2010)
The Other Guys  (2010)
Super Troopers  (2001)
Mean Girls  (2004)
Road Trip  (2000)
Burn After Reading  (2008)
Orange County  (2002)
Spy  (2015)


Friday, February 11, 2011

PIKER'S PICKS: POST-SUPER BOWL

I did not bet the Super Bowl.  Had I done so, I would have lost.  In fact, I did not place a single wager on professional football this entire season.  Had I done so, I would have lost.  I am not a good prognosticator.  I am not a good gambler.  I've never been a good gambler.  And that, in a nutshell, is why I hate Vegas.

Sunday, February 06, 2011

PIKER'S PICKS: SUPER BOWL

SUPER BOWL XLV

Pittsburgh
Green Bay   -3

Super Bowl Sunday is upon us.  One game left for all the marbles.  Two storied franchises in the football finale.  Two evenly matched teams with great defenses and creative quarterbacks.

If there's one thing I've learned this season, it's that I am clearly not a professional prognosticator (let alone a professional gambler).  I will not be making a living setting odds in Vegas, a la Danny Sheridan.  But I've watched a ton of football and I've taken a side in each and every game.  Today marks the end of the experiment.  Without a rooting interest, or even a hunch to go on, I'm leaning on experience.  Big Ben and the modern-day Steel Curtain have been to the Big Show before and have rings to prove it.  I'll take the points, but I don't think I'll need them.  Pitt over the Pack in a close one.

Piker's Pick:  Pittsburgh

Saturday, January 15, 2011

PIKER'S PICKS: DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

Coming full circle, Piker makes these picks from the Circus Circus in Las Vegas. Ironically, Piker is inherently allergic to Sin City and is plotting to make his escape within the half hour.

Wild Card Weekend was incredible fun in person, but not kind to Piker's Picks, as a 1-3 record illustrates.  As much football as Piker has watched and picked this season, he's still essentially clueless about this weekend's matchups.

Green Bay
@Atlanta                      -1.5

Piker's Pick:  Atlanta

Baltimore
@Pittsburgh                  -3

Piker's Pick:  Pittsburgh


NY Jets
@New England            -9

Piker's Pick: NY Jets

Seattle
@Chicago                    -10

Piker's Pick: Seattle

Saturday, January 08, 2011

PIKER'S PICKS: WILD CARD WEEKEND

Piker is on the road.  Posting from a La Quinta Inn in Indianapolis, Piker isn't feeling all that confident about today's picks.  However, Piker doesn't really care too much about the picks considering he'll be attending the Jets-Colts game live this evening!  And... after a race against the clock tonight, he'll be attending the Ravens-Chiefs tomorrow afternoon in KC!

NY Jets
@Indianapolis             -3

Piker's Pick:  NY Jets

New Orleans              -10
@Seattle

Piker's Pick: New Orleans


Green Bay
@Philadelphia              -2.5

Piker's Pick: Philadelphia

Baltimore                      -3
@Kansas City

Piker's Pick: Kansas City

Monday, January 03, 2011

PIKER'S PICKS: REGULAR SEASON WRAP-UP

Week 17 Results:  12-4
Season-to-Date:  116-119-5

The NFL baffles Piker.  But he's not alone.  This is obviously not breaking news, but the lack of consistency in the league coupled with the skill of the oddsmakers makes it incredibly difficult to bet.  Not that Piker wagered any money on these games.  Really, he didn't.  Piker's Picks was and is merely an experiment.  Why Piker waited until the last two weeks to figure things out is a mystery that will not soon be solved.  After crashing in Week 15 with a 4-12 clip, Piker rallied to close out the season with two straight monster weeks -- 11-5 and 12-4 -- and end up only 3 games under .500.  Piker's inability to remove emotion from the equation when picking games in which the Miami Dolphins were involved was most likely the difference between a season in the black and a season in the red.  The Aqua and Orange were the model of inconsistency this year, defying logic by posting a 6-2 road record and going 1-7 at home.  As a lifelong Dolfan, Piker is depressed on this ultimate day for Monday Morning Quarterbacks.  But overall, Piker doesn't feel too bad about the Picks.  If Piker had placed the same amount of money on every single game, the losses would have been minimal.  But by keeping things strictly at the experimental level and not wagering a dime, Piker got the thrill of having a little bit riding on every game absolutely free of charge.  That is what Piker calls winning.

Piker P.S. -- Piker is taking his act on the road and venturing to the Midwest for Wild Card Weekend.  Tickets have been acquired for the Jets-Colts game Saturday night in Indianapolis, and the search has begun for seats at Arrowhead Stadium for the Ravens-Chiefs on Sunday afternoon in KC.  Enough of this Sunday Ticket, coach potato crap.  Piker can finally say he is ready for some football!

Saturday, January 01, 2011

PIKER'S PICKS: NFL WEEK 17

Week 16 Results:  11-5
Season-to-Date:  104-115-5

Mirroring the week-in, week-out yo-yo effect of the NFL, Piker's Picks' worst week of the season was followed by its best.  After a horrendous 4-12 in Week 15, Piker posted a tremendous 11-5 in Week 16.  Maybe it was pure coincidence, but once the Dolphins showed their true colors and the weight of expectations was released, Piker loosened up and found a groove.  Not only did the Lions cover against the hapless home-field 'Phins, they actually won the game.  For Miami, losses at home to Cleveland, Buffalo, and Detroit resulted in a 1-7 home record for the season.  Pathetic numbers for a team with playoff aspirations.  A regime change is as imminent as the permanent demotion of Chad Henne to career backup.  Philly's no-show at home on Tuesday against Minny was a shocker, as Piker had begun counting his chickens before they hatched and assumed a 12-4 finish.  That elusive .500 mark for the season is looking bleak with Piker 11 games under heading into today's action...

Miami
@New England    -5.5

Buffalo
@NY Jets             -1

Cincinnati
@Baltimore           -9.5

Tampa Bay
@New Orleans     -7.5

Carolina
@Atlanta               -14.5

Minnesota
@Detroit                -3

Oakland
@Kansas City       -3.5

Pittsburgh              -5.5
@Cleveland

Jacksonville
@Houston              -3

Arizona
@San Francisco     -6

Chicago
@Green Bay           -10

Tennessee
@Indianapolis          -9.5

San Diego                -3.5
@Denver

Dallas
@Philadelphia          -3

NY Giants                -3.5
@Washington

St. Louis                   -3
@Seattle

Sunday, December 26, 2010

PIKER'S PICKS: NFL WEEK 16

Week 15 Results:  4-12
Season-to-Date:   93-110-5

The bottom dropped out of my NFL season last week.  The Dolphins cemented themselves as the sorriest home team in the league by losing to the lowly Bills by a field goal.  If you're a conservative team that plays for field goals instead of touchdowns, then proceed to miss four field goals, you can't beat anybody.  Pouring salt into that gaping wound, I could barely manage to pick 4 out of 16 games last week, by far my worst week of the season.  Despite the Dolphins elimination from playoff contention, and the near impossibility of Piker's Picks getting to the .500 mark, and my severely diminished enthusiasm for this masochistic experiment, I bravely soldier on...

Detroit
@Miami              -4

Baltimore            -3
@Cleveland

New England     -7.5
@Buffalo

Washington
@Jacksonville    -6.5

NY Jets
@Chicago          -2.5

Tennesee
@Kansas City    -4

San Francisco
@St Louis          -2.5

Indianapolis        -1.5
@Oakland

San Diego          -8
@Cincinnati

Houston             -2.5
@Denver

NY Giants
@Green Bay     -3

Seattle
@Tampa Bay    -6


Minnesota
@Philadelphia   -14

New Orleans
@Atlanta           -2

Saturday, December 25, 2010

PIKER'S PICKS: CHRISTMAS EDITION

Dallas   -7
@Arizona

Piker's Pick: Dallas

Thursday, December 23, 2010

PIKER'S PICKS: THURSDAY NIGHT EDITION

Carolina
@Pittsburgh -14

Piker's Pick: Pittsburgh

Sunday, December 19, 2010

PIKER'S PICKS: NFL WEEK 15

Week 14 Results:  7-7-2
Season-to-Date:    89-98-5

If I had actually bet every single game the last two weeks, I would only have lost the vig.  Two straight weeks of .500 picking.  I'm running out of time to score that coveted monster day.  Leaning heavy on the home teams, maybe, just maybe, today could be that day...

Buffalo
@Miami            -5.5

Arizona
@Carolina         -2.5

New Orleans
@Baltimore        -2

Jacksonville
@Indianapolis    -4.5

Detroit
@Tampa Bay     -4.5

Philadelphia
@NY Giants       -3

Kansas City
@St. Louis         -3

Washington
@Dallas              -9

Cleveland
@Cincinnati        Pick 'Em

Houston
@Tennessee        -1

Atlanta                 -6
@Seattle

NY Jets
@Pittsburgh         -4.5

Denver
@Oakland            -8


Green Bay
@New England     -14

Chicago                -7.5
@Minnesota

Thursday, December 16, 2010

PIKER'S PICKS: THURSDAY NIGHT EDITION

San Francisco
@San Diego -10

Piker's Pick: San Diego

Sunday, December 12, 2010

PIKER'S PICKS: NFL WEEK 14

Week 13 Results: 8-8
Season-to-Date: 82-91-3

Thanks to the Patriots and their shellacking of the Jets, I was able to claw my way back to even for last week.  Although, an 8-8 week is not going to help me level things for the season.  Just like an 8-8 season is not going to save Chad Henne, and I doubt it'll save Tony Sparano.  I think it's about time to face facts: I'm not good at picking NFL games against the spread.  However, I refuse to give up the season-long experiment.  Onward we go...

Philadelphia             -3
@Dallas

Kansas City
@San Diego            -10

Denver                     -4.5
@Arizona

Miami
@NY Jets                -5.5

Seattle
@San Francisco      -5

St. Louis
@New Orleans       -9.5

Tampa Bay             -1
@Washington

Atlanta                    -7
@Carolina

Green Bay              -6.5
@Detroit

Cleveland
@Buffalo                -1

New England          -3
@Chicago

Cincinnati
@Pittsburgh            -9

Oakland
@Jacksonville         -4


NY Giants               -3
@Minnesota

Baltimore                 -3
@Houston

Thursday, December 09, 2010

PIKER'S PICKS: THURSDAY NIGHT EDITION

Indianapolis       -3
@Tennessee

Piker's Pick:  Indianapolis