A companion list for Week 49 of the 52 Comedies at the Movies Challenge, because apparently we needed an excuse to celebrate women who've been making people laugh for decades while getting a fraction of the credit.
Why 111 minutes? Because round numbers are boring, and this quirky cutoff opens up the field to include gems like Booksmart, A New Leaf, and The Heartbreak Kid that would've been cruelly excluded at 100 minutes. Also, it's the kind of arbitrary specificity that makes list-making fun.
From Elaine May's caustic masterpieces in the '70s to Amy Heckerling defining generations of teen comedy to Nicole Holofcener's razor-sharp character studies, women have been directing some of the smartest, funniest, and most emotionally honest comedies…
A companion list for Week 49 of the 52 Comedies at the Movies Challenge, because apparently we needed an excuse to celebrate women who've been making people laugh for decades while getting a fraction of the credit.
Why 111 minutes? Because round numbers are boring, and this quirky cutoff opens up the field to include gems like Booksmart, A New Leaf, and The Heartbreak Kid that would've been cruelly excluded at 100 minutes. Also, it's the kind of arbitrary specificity that makes list-making fun.
From Elaine May's caustic masterpieces in the '70s to Amy Heckerling defining generations of teen comedy to Nicole Holofcener's razor-sharp character studies, women have been directing some of the smartest, funniest, and most emotionally honest comedies ever made. They just haven't always gotten the visibility (or the budgets, or the second chances) their male counterparts enjoy.
This list spans silent-era pioneers to contemporary breakouts, covering screwball, satire, rom-coms, dark comedies, and everything in between. Whether you're looking for Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird, Emma Seligman's anxiety-inducing Shiva Baby, or Céline Sciamma's tender Petite Maman, there's something here that'll make you laugh, think, or both.
Suggestions welcome. Let's make this list as comprehensive as possible.
