Joel Katz

Joel Katz

Joel Katz

Bill Murray in a scene from the film 'Caddyshack', directed by Harold Ramis, Florida, 1980.

Beyond just the enjoyment and laughter of it, watching a funny movie has scientifically proven benefits, according to Study Finds. Researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland found that laughter and smiling can help relieve daily stress, and help us to cope with life’s challenges, problems, and bad luck. Although there’s no direct correlation between the intensity of laughter and stress relief, scientists concluded that humor is a huge factor in helping us deal with stressful situations in everyday life.

A touch of humor can also enhance learning, as revealed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania. They discovered that young adults are more likely to remember newscast information when delivered with a humorous approach. Humor-infused news or serious content allows kids to absorb and retain crucial information effectively. It just makes sense that we would remember something that made us laugh.

The popularity of “funny news shows” like The Daily Show lies in their use of dark humor to cover serious topics, which, according to research from the University of Vienna in Austria, has its benefits. Fans of dark humor, or black humor, tend to exhibit higher intelligence levels compared to those who don’t appreciate it. The ability to comprehend dark humor reflects a connection between information processing and cognitive abilities.

With that, here are the top 5 funny movies, according to Study Finds research, which consisted of consulting movie critics and pop culture websites.

  • Superbad

    I laughed so hard the first time I saw this movie. I’m not what you would call a “laugh out loud” person, but this one gave me a lot of lols. I didn’t have the same result the second time around, but the first viewing really made me laugh.

  • Dumb and Dumber

    This one is aptly titled as it’s one of the dumbest movies ever. Again, watching this the first time really made me laugh, but when you know when the joke is coming, not so much. There are multiple scenes (“So you’re saying there’s a chance”) that can be great stress relievers.

  • Caddyshack

    This is an absolute classic! While it may be very dated at times, there are so many scenes that comedically were ahead of its time. I watched this for the first time as a teenager and remember thinking at the time, “That was the funniest movie I’ve ever seen.”

  • Blazing Saddles

    I saw this as a child and while I thought it was funny, I don’t think I got a lot of the jokes at the time. Then when I watched it a few years later I got many more of the jokes and found it funny again. Then as an adult, I found it clever and funny, but sometimes uncomfortable with the racial humor. Nevertheless, it’s one of the funniest movies ever.

  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail

    This is one of the most quoted movies of all time, and for good reason. Again, I saw this when I was very young and didn’t understand all the humor the first time around. When I watched again when I was in my twenties I really appreciated it.

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