Five Comedies on a Desert Island

I don't know if I'd do this in the absence of NaBloPoMo (I'm starting to feel strung out by the process), but I'm going to play along with the Times Magazine game, "Which five comedies would you want to take with you if you were stranded alone on a desert island?"

One detail jumps out at me: I'm supposed to choose comedies to watch when I'm stranded alone.  They set this up to echo Desert Island Discs, hence the "alone" part, but comedy doesn't strike me as an especially solitary experience.  I enjoy my comedies more when I'm watching them with other people.

Alone, I choose romantic comedies.  In a crowd, I choose more Laurel & Hardy, and Duck Soup.

Here's my spur-of-the-moment list:

1. Top Hat (Can I count this as a comedy? I think I can)
2. It Happened One Night
3. L.A. Story
4. Groundhog Day
5. 50 First Dates (I know, I'm overlooking my earlier complaint)

I bet I change my mind in the morning.

Comments

[Courtney]

I don't know what I'd choose. Romantic comedies, likely. I tend to rent the same movies when my husband is away - Legally Blonde, About a Boy, any of the Richard Curtis movies that my British friends snidely say are what Americans incorrectly think British life is like. Does Pride & Prejudice count as a comedy? Because I'd hate to be stranded on a desert island without that.

I've been hoping you'd tackle that odious NYT article about cosmopolitan moms. I really want to know why the debate in the mommy blogosphere is "does drinking in front of my kids provide a bad example" instead of "why the hell is this in the newspaper? It's not news."

[mc]

Hmm, I don't know if I could stand to watch Groundhog Day over and over again. I think I'd have to add either Animal House or the Blues Brothers, just so I could irritate myself by quoting dialogue all the time.

Also, I second Courtney's request for a post on the NYT story. I wrote about it last night and am dying to hear what others think.

[Lisa V]

It's morning. Different choices?

Courtney I posted on the drinking moms on Friday. I think the whole thing is part of mommy bashing that the media loves to do. There would never be a story on Dads who get together and watch football with their kids once a week and have a beer.

[APL]

I'm with MC. I can (and do) watch Animcal House and the Blues Brothers every time they're on TV. I'd also add So I Married an Axe Murderer. And probably Groundhog Day or Stripes (I agree it's important to have Bill on the list).