2. Some Like It Hot
Its hard to believe that comedies were once subtle affairs, relying on character, plot and genuine wit so Wilders definitive work rightly tops most lists of the greatest. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis spark brilliantly off each other, Marilyn Monroe never looked or performed better and the script cracks with perfect gags and intelligent allegory. What more could you ask for from a film? Well, in modern Hollywood, no film is perfect and above a remake. From Porkies, through American Pie and various offerings from the Farrelly Brothers, cleverly constructed comedy based on dialogue and comic timing has been replaced by sight gags drawn from well below the belt line. Could Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler do anything beyond clichéd jokes about genitalia in the cross dressing role that Lemmon and Curtis perfected?
Look, I have huge false breasts! Hey, cool, let me honk them! Shudder!