As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing and delighting in An American in Paris.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree. I hope to hear from all of you.

A horse walks into a bar and sits down. The bartender looks over and asks, “Why the long face?” Now, some of you will smile indulgently, some of you might chuckle, some of you might laugh, and some of you might say, “What?” This is my elaborate way of illustrating that humor is, like beauty, in the mind of the beholder. In writing about comedy in film, I will try to incorporate various types of humor. Please feel free to send your comments about your favorite comedy.

In addition, almost any movie starring the Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal and Cary Grant will be entertaining.

I’m splitting comedy into five categories: witty, amusing, laugh-out-loud, just-plain-crude and foreign.

Witty

The Thin Man (1930s) series. To me, this is the most witty, charming, entertaining series ever. The banter between William Powell and Myrna Loy is the height of sophistication. I used to dream about being able to come up with lines like those. I know Hollywood is flirting with making new ones, but I will never see them. How do you improve on perfection?

Next in line is Mae West. Her movie with W.C.Fields, My Little Chickadee (1940), is famous for the pairing of two great comedic actors. It’s a wonder the studio could contain them both. Although I used to think this duo starred in many films, this was their only one together (maybe the studio couldn’t). Mae West and Cary Grant made two memorable films together. She Done Him Wrong (1933) is famous for the one-liner: “Why don’t you come up and see me sometime?” delivered with obvious innuendo. In I’m No Angel (1933), she drawls out, “When I’m good, I’m very good. But when I’m bad, I’m better.”

Cary Grant stars again, this time with Rosalind Russell, in His Girl Friday (1940), about the fast-paced world of newspapers. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the banter, but this is a film worth watching again and again.

In an unlikely pairing, Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort in Harold and Maude display bittersweet wit. This cult classic strays into the laugh-out-loud category and should not be missed.

Amusing

The amusing film displays a broader humor but is shy of laugh-out-loud status. It usually provokes a smile.

No Time for Sergeants (1958): Andy Griffith as a more-than-just-naïve army recruit hooks up with Nick Adams and Bruno Kirby to drive the brass crazy.

When Harry Met Sally (1989): “I’ll have what she’s having” —a great line delivered by none other than Carl Reiner’s wife lifts this romantic comedy above most others. Add Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan (before her disastrous face enhancements) and you’ve got amusing.

Some Like it Hot (1959): “Nobody’s perfect,” chimes Joe E. Brown to an alluring Jack Lemmon at the end of the film. Billy Wilder’s romp brings some very good comedic acting to the screen. The movie also stars Marilyn Monroe (which never hurts) and Tony Curtis.

Love and Death (1975): Woody Allen’s version of War and Peace is delightful. Great writing and Woody as Napoleon with Diane Keaton as the reluctant maiden earns a spot on this list.

Laugh Out Loud

The Odd Couple (1968): This Neil Simon movie starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau is hilarious. I remember laughing so hard my stomach hurt. It has aged well (or I have) and can still be watched with great enjoyment.

Murder by Death (1976): Another Neil Simon has a cast of Hollywood all-stars: David Niven, Maggie Smith, Peter Falk, Alec Guiness, Peter Sellers, James Coco, Elsa Lanchester, Eileen Brennan and author Truman Capote. “Tacky, really tacky,” responds Maggie Smith after learning what necrophilia means. And no one delivers a line like Maggie.

Mel Brooks’ films History of the World, Part I (1981), Young Frankenstein ((1974), The Producers (1968), Get Smart (1965) are among his best but the list goes on and on for 2000 years.

Leslie Neilson left behind his ingénue roles to become one of the wackiest actors of his time. Movies such as Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995), Airplane ((1988), and The Naked Gun series are all LOL films. And “don’t call me Shirley.”

Just Plain Crude

Most of the films in this category I couldn’t watch in their entirety. But I saw enough to realize they weren’t my kind of humor. Since they’re so prevalent nowadays, I must be in the minority.

Borat (2006): All the hype indicated that this was a funny film. I rented it and was so bored by what I saw, I stopped it before I fell asleep.

Pecker ((1998): This film hosted so much gratuitous nonsense it got sent back to Netflix immediately.

Hangovers I and II: I don’t understand why II should have been made. Didn’t the first one go far enough in crudity?

Dumb and Dumber((1994): Jim Carrey (who should be banned from making any movies) and Jeff Daniels (who can actually act) are together in dreck. Shrek would have been a better vehicle.

Foreign

It’s always fun to see what the rest of the world thinks funny. In these cases, I totally agree.

Johnny Stecchino (1991, Italy): Roberto Benigni in a very funny case of mistaken identity.

The Castle (1997, Australia): Australian actor Michael Caton stars in a funny, sweet and uplifting movie about a man’s home and property rights. Please see this movie.

My New Partner (1984, France): Phillippe Noiret plays an old-fashioned Parisian cop who is saddled with a fresh-from-the-provinces partner Thierry Lhermitte—and the corrupting begins. This is a funny and perfect little movie (it actually has an ending, which is a novelty in French films).

Kitchen Stories (2004, Norway): A funny and sweet film about a government worker sent to the farm of a Norwegian bachelor to follow his movements.

The Monty Python group (England) consisting of John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, and Graham Chapman) is an institution. Their movies such as Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979), and The Meaning of Life (1983) display a deep understanding of what it means to be funny. For some reason, which I completely fail to understand, they are not universally appreciated.