As I reported yesterday, at a Bridesmaids Q&A, Judd Apatow suggested that the Oscars should add a Best Comedy category to the ceremony, reasoning that comedy is as difficult — if not moreso — than a great drama, given the degree of difficulty in engaging viewers, giving them a story they can connect with, and bring down the house with laughter. But as I previously argued, the Academy doesn’t need to add a new category, what they need to do is broaden their horizons. Stop falling for the Oscar bait and begin to recognize that comedy is not only as difficult — or more — than a great drama, but that they can mean as much, or more, to viewers. Why shouldn’t they be appreciated simply because they don’t tackle meaty issues like the Holocaust, autism, war or, er, women flashing their legs while singing about murdering their husbands. The Academy can continue to be elitist, but would it kill them to have a sense of humor, too?
Looking over the last 20 years or so, I’ve curated a list of comedies that I think should’ve been contenders. I’m not saying that they necessarily should’ve won; I’m saying they should’ve at least gotten some consideration, although in some cases, these comedies have lived on much longer than the Best Picture winners (*cough* A Beautiful Mind (*cough*).
Groundhog Day
1994 Best Picture Winner: Schindler’s List
Possible Nominations Besides Best Picture: Best Screenplay (Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis), Best Actor (Bill Murray)
Monty Python’s The Life of Brian
1980 Best Picture Winner: Kramer vs. Kramer
Possible Nominations Besides Best Picture: Best Screenplay (The Python Troupe), Best Actor (Graham Chapman), Best Supporting Actor (Michael Palin)
Blazing Saddles
1975 Best Picture Winner: The Godfather part II
Possible Nominations Besides Best Picture: Best Director (Mel Brooks), Best Screenplay (Mel Brooks, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, Alan Uger, Andrew Bergman), Best Actor (Cleavon Little), Best Supporting Actor (Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman), Best Supporting Actress (Madeline Kahn)
40 Year Old Virgin
This Is Spinal Tap
Barbershop
2003 Best Picture Winner: Chicago
Possible Nominations Besides Best Picture: Best Screenplay (Mark Brown), Best Actor (Cedric The Entertainer), Best Supporting Actor (Michael Ealy, Anthony Anderson)
Wet Hot American Summer
Ghostbusters
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Coming to America
Borat
The Hangover
Bridesmaids
Rob Payne writes the indie comic The Unstoppable Force and tweets on the Twitter himself @RobOfWar. As this isn’t an exhaustive list, he’s certain he left some great comedy off here that should be rectified post and haste, and he’s certain you’ll remind him of it below. (Don’t forget to fight cancer here and fight poverty here!)