Friday Night Fever: Get Your Laugh On with These Classic Comedies

The comedy genre in movies closely followed the development of the cinema. When during the first Lumière Brothers screening in 1895, they showed the first comedy film Tables Turned on the Gardener. Since then, the genre has evolved, transformed, acquired new techniques, but never lost its popularity with the audience.

Comedies help to relax and get distracted from the reality around us, and at the same time are often the best reflection of it. Here are five classic movies that will not only make you laugh, but also take you back in time, starting with the era of old Hollywood and ending with 80s New York.

Duck Soup (1933)

Directed by Leo McCarey

An anti-war film starring the comedians Marx Brothers, less famous than their contemporaries Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, but no less funny.

A comedy about the brewing conflict between the fictional countries of Freedonia and Sylvania. The film is a constant flow of humorous situations, gags and absurdity, but it still remains relevant despite being made almost a century ago.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Directed by Howard Hawks

An excellent example of absurdist comedy featuring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, the main stars of Golden Age of Hollywood, known primarily for their serious and dramatic roles.

On the eve of his wedding, the eccentric Susan Vance bursts into the life of David Huxley, a quirky paleontologist, and invites him to her country house to take care of Baby, a tame leopard from Brazil. Complications arise when Susan falls in love with David, and tries to keep him at her house. A witty plot with many unexpected twists, brilliant dialogue and a real leopard.

The Apartment (1960)

Directed by Billy Wilder

A touching romantic story by the director of Some Like It Hot and Sunset Boulevard, which won five Academy Awards.

A young, single clerk named Baxter is forced to rent his apartment near the office to his bosses, who bring their mistresses there. One day he falls in love with one of the girls. The film transcends the genre and becomes a tragic story about a small man in a cruel big city. But in this case, unlike most similar plots in movies and literature, everything ends with a lovely happy ending.

Annie Hall (1977)

Directed by Woody Allen

Perfect example of Allen's intellectual humor and one of his most famous films, which once beat Star Wars at the Oscars.

The line between the director himself and his character Alvy Singer, a neurotic Jewish comedian from New York, is blurred, which is why the film is often called autobiographical. The story is about the beginning, evolution and the end of Singer's relationship with aspiring singer Annie Hall.

It is outstanding not only for the witty dialogues and monologues of the main character, but also for the stylish looks of Diane Keaton, made by the actress using her own outfits.

Tootsie (1982)

Directed by Sidney Pollack

The film continues the tradition of comedies about a man disguised as a woman, largely inspired by the picture Some Like It Hot.

Because of his unstable character, actor Michael Dorsey can't find a job and, after impersonating a woman, auditions for a female role in a popular TV series. He succeeds, but it is not easy to lead a double life.

The film received ten Oscar nominations, though in the end, only Jessica Lange got the award for Best Supporting Actress.