I wonder whether Thalia, the Greek Muse of Comedy, would find any of these great classic comedy movies funny?
Let’s start with a few of the comic geniuses. Someone has to tickle her funny bone.
Abbott and Costello
1. Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)
Jerry Lewis
2. The Nutty Professor (1963)
Peter Sellers
3. The Party (1968)
4. The Pink Panther (1963)
Gene Wilder
5. The Producers (1968)
https://youtu.be/A2XdG8oF3sM
Richard Prior & Gene Wilder
6. Silver Streak (1976)
https://youtu.be/JgAxvukW9dA
7. Stir Crazy (1980)
Steve Martin
8. The Jerk (1979)
9. The Man with Two Brains (1983)
10. The Three Amigos (1986)
Bill Murray
11. Stripes (1981)
Eddie Murphy
12. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
13. Coming to America (1988)
Chevy Chase
14. Spies Like Us (1985)
Jim Carrey
15. Dumb and Dumber (1994) – I nominate this movie as the funniest film of all time.
16. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
17. Man on the Moon (1999)
Mike Myers
18. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
Will Farrell
19. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
7 School/College/University related Comedy Movies:
20. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
21. Back to School (1986)
22. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
23. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
24. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997)
25. American Pie (1999)
26. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
3 Job related Comedies:
27. Police Academy (1984)
28. Tommy Boy (1995)
29. Office Space (1999) – For experienced cubical dwellers.
4 Rom-Coms:
30. Annie Hall (1977)
31. The Wedding Singer (1998)
32. There’s Something about Mary 1998)
33. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
7 Got-it-all Comedy Movies:
34. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)
35. Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000)
36. The Blues Brothers (1980)
37. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
38. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
39. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
40. Kings of Mykonos (2010) (Australia)
Remember this:
No other religion has a muse of comedy.
That’s one more reason to think highly of the Greek Gods and Goddesses.
Try and think of one funny story from any other make-believe religion. It won’t be easy.
For the Greek Gods to have a Muse of Comedy, says a lot. Comedy must be valued highly by the Greek Gods.
For those of you who need a refresher, the nine Muses are daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, a Titaness, whose name means “memory”. The Muses spent most of their time on Mount Olympus or Mount Helicon (Parnassus). They enjoyed themselves by entertaining everyone at parties with their singing and dancing.
In ancient times, the Muses inspired artists, so it’s very likely they’re still playing a similar role in the arts today. That’s why musicians, artists and writers still speak of being “inspired by the Muse”.
Be careful not to mess with them though. The nine daughters of King Pieros, a ruler of Macedonia, challenged the Muses to a musical contest. The Muses won and some say they turned their rivals into magpies. Another time they blinded a challenger and took away his poetic skills.
To remind you of who the 9 Muses are:
- Thalia, the Muse of comedy
- Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry (mother of Orpheus)
- Erato, the Muse of love poetry
- Clio, the Muse of history
- Euterpe, the Muse of playing the aulos (like a flute)
- Polyhymnia, the Muse of hymns
- Terpsichore, the Muse of dance
- Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy
- Urania, the Muse of astronomy
