“One name? Who are you, Seal?”
It’s the film that generated the kind of quotes you would throw around at parties and social circles, where mis-quoting or forgetting a reference would lead to humiliation and the kind of ostracisation only experienced by those guilty of the worst faux-pas. 2007’s Superbad launched its young cast into a new tier of stardom, one few could have anticipated. With its measly $20 million budget, the film became a pop culture sensation, raking in a staggering $170.8 million at the box office. Hilariously raunchy, quotable, and at times sincerely heartfelt, the movie continues to be a fan favourite even today. Now, it seems even science agrees as the film has been deemed the Funniest Movie of All Time according to one recent study.
While they didn’t quite do a population survey to determine the results, a study published by the experts at OnBuy Movies analysed the top 125 comedies based on IMDb reviews. They analysed titles with ratings above 6.0 and a number of keywords synonymous with “funny”. Using this criteria, a select few movies made the cut while others unfortunately did not.
Using this metric, Superbad prevailed as the leading film when it comes to funny movies. It scored an impressive 7.6 across 528,021 individual ratings and had close to 250 reviews containing keywords closely linked or similar to “funny” which, given our penchant for adopting the tone of a revered film critic when it comes to writing movie reviews, is no easy feat.
In clinching the top spot, Superbad even bested Ryan Reynolds’ hilarious Deadpool which came in at a close second with a score of 8.0 across 918,739 individual ratings and 233 reviews. Interestingly, it’s not the first time science has attempted to find just what film scores the most laughs when it comes to comedies. Perhaps given the current climate we find ourselves in where the news is akin to shooting lemon juice into the eyeball, we’re willing to dig deeper if it means finding something that is guaranteed to make us laugh.
Previously, a study sought to break down the funniest movies of all time based on laughs per minute. In this study, Superbad actually didn’t rate amongst the top, but instead only came in at number four, behind the 1980 comedy classic, Airplane!
It goes without saying that films are, like any art form, subjective, and determining just what happens to be the funniest movie of all time is no easy task, with rankings sure to prove controversial. Below are the 10 funniest movies of all time based on the laughs per minute rating, curiously, just what film do you think deserves the top spot?
Funniest Movies Of All Time (Laughs Per Minute)
- Airplane! – 3 laughs/minute
- The Hangover – 2.4 laughs/minute
- Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! – 2.3 laughs/minute
- Superbad – 1.9 laughs/minute
- Borat – 1.7 laughs/minute
- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy – 1.6 laughs/minute
- American Pie – 1.5 laughs/minute
- Bridesmaids – 1.4 laughs/minute
- Shaun of the Dead – 1.3 laughs/minute
- Life of Brian – 1.2 laughs/minute
