My Top Three Favorite Comedies (plus post-mentions)

Despite being a major fan of comedy films, I don't devote much space to reviewing or paying tribute to them (being I watch and read WAY too much horror and bizarro). Recently, a few friends over on THAT ADDICTIVE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE had asked me what my all-time favorite comedies were. So, I slept on it a couple of nights and came up with these 3. Why only 3? Because these 3 are films I never get tired of and always find something new to laugh at. But before you look to throw a pie at my face for not including ________, read my little post-mentions. And remember, this is a PERSONAL list so don't go getting your drawers in an uproar! (Make your list instead and post the link on the comments below.)
And the winners are:
KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE (1977). I first saw this in the early 80s during the VHS-renting craze, and was lucky enough to see it around 1984 during a theatrical re-release. If you haven't had the pleasure, this is basically an R-rated "Saturday Night Live," 90 minutes of film, TV and commercial parodies, plus so many hysterical little knick-knacks it's nearly impossible to get tired of. In the middle of the chaos is a 15-20 minute short film titled A FISTFUL OF YEN, a hysterical spoof of Bruce Lee movies. I must've sat through this film over 20 times and it just never gets old.
TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN (1972). Woody Allen's directorial debut is a mockumentary about Virgil Starkwell, the world's worst career criminal. While ANNIE HALL and MANHATTAN may be more polished productions, this is easily Allen's funniest film, and I still find myself quoting from it almost daily. A small bit of dialogue about the time Virgil managed to rob a bunch of veal cutlets (and what he had to do afterward) still puts me into a tear-enriched state of hysteria.
THE NAKED GUN (1988). Being a huge fan of the short-lived TV series from which this film was based (POLICE SQUAD), I was thrilled to see the film version not only lived up to the laughs the show offered every week, but in many ways improved on them. Leslie Neilsen as detective Frank Drebin is dead-on perfect as a clueless cop who acts without thinking, and there's just so many sight gags, snappy dialogue and things happening in the background you'll be rewinding the disc just to catch what you missed while you were laughing (I saw the film in the theater 2 weeks in a row, and laughed harder the second time). Neilsen wasn't a comic actor before POLICE SQUAD, which makes the serious look on his face nearly impossible to take seriously! Does that make sense? Either way, this one is the best of the 3 NAKED GUN films and one of the funniest films ever made.


Post-mentions: (Films that crack me up but either don't hold up as well (to me) to repeated viewings or have too many stretches of non-humorous material).
THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER (1975). Peter Sellers is beyond funny as chief inspector Jacques Clouseau in this second (and best) of Blake Edwards' PINK PANTHER series. One scene in a hotel room's sauna almost killed my old man and I when I saw this as a kid. The opening fight between Clouseau and his servant/partner Cato Fong is one of the funniest sequences ever filmed. If not for some chase-scene filler added later on, this would be the perfect comedy ... as it stands it's still a classic.
BLAZING SADDLES (1974). While I enjoyed SPACEBALLS and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN a bit more (being I HATE Westerns---even comedies), I have to list BLAZING SADDLES as the superior COMEDY for it's hysterical take on racism and plenty of other taboo-sensitive topics for its time. It also features a sight gag that still makes me crack up just by thinking about it: early in the film, we see an outlaw about to be hanged for his crimes. When the camera pans down, there's also a noose around his horse's neck. (Let that sink in for a minute). Yes...Mel Brooks is simply insane.
Only time will tell if some more recent comedies I've enjoyed (such as THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, CLERKS, and THE HANGOVER) will pass the test of endurance these gems have. So far CLERKS is in the lead...