Top 5 Jewish Comedy Movies

A Serious Man - The Coen Brothers' dark comedy about a Jewish family in the 1960s easily takes the number one spot. The first scene is entirely in Yiddish, which is amazing. Michael Stuhlbarg's portrayal of Larry Gopnik,a down-on-his-luck Jewish man, earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best actor. Everything in Larry's life seems to be falling apart, all while his son's bar mitzvah is rapidly approaching. The movie is filled to the brim with Jewish hijinks, including but not limited to: a rabbi giving a roundabout story about "the goy's teeth" with no conclusion, another rabbi who is too busy thinking to see a member of the congregation and of course the immortal line, "SY ABLEMAN!?"

The Frisco Kid - A Western, featuring Gene Wilder as Rabbi Avram Belinski, with one of the most hilariously fake beards of all time.just let that idea sink in. The movie's tagline says it all. The greatest cowboy who ever rode into the wild West.from Poland. Wilder initially falls in with the wrong crowd when he arrives in America and winds up getting robbed. He then goes on a journey where he mistakes the Pennsylvania Dutch for Jews and befriends a man who turns out to be a bank robber played by Harrison Ford. The two form a bond whose limits are tested when Ford robs a bank on a Friday, and Wilder refuses to ride with him (because he is shomer Shabbas) even though they are being chased.

Annie Hall - I don't really feel I need to defend a Woody Allen pick on this list, but I will in case any of you are unconvinced. Woody Allen is the archetypal neurotic Jew in Annie Hall okay,in life. While the film isn't inherently centered around being Jewish, the fact that it's Woody Allen essentially playing Woody Allen already oversaturates the film with Jewish neuroticism. There is a moment where he actually argues with his friend that somebody was being anti-Semitic because he distinctly heard them say,"Jew eat?" rather than,"Did you eat? "When the two protagonists are waiting to see an Ingmar Bergman film - only to later learn it is sold out - Allen suggests they see the The Sorrow and the Pity, an excessively long two-part documentary about the French Resistance and the Vichy Government of France's cooperation with Nazi Germany. I cannot stress enough though that none of the actual things that happen in the movie would work if it weren't for Woody Allen simply being Woody Allen.

The Big Lebowski - The Coen Brothers' second appearance on this list. Some of you are probably thinking to yourselves, "This is not a Jewish comedy; he clearly just wants to put The Big Lebowksi on the list." Well, you're not entirely wrong, but allow me to convince you anyway. First of all, the Coen Brothers are Jewish so that alone qualifies. What really cements its position though (aside from the fact that it is tremendously funny) is John Goodman's character, Walter Sobchak. Walter converted to Judaism when he got married, and his religion crops up throughout the film. He comes into a bowling alley saying,"If you will it, it is no dream," he famously does not roll on Shabbas and at one point he screams, "3000 years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Kofax, you're goddamn right I'm living in the f##### past!"

Keeping the Faith - Edward Norton and Ben Stiller as a priest and a rabbi who are childhood friends obsessed with each other's religion. Hilarity ensues. Opinions vary on the quality of this film. As far as I can tell, Jews seem to like it more than goys, and I believe it's because most of the comedy requires a working knowledge of Jewish culture. There are the numerous dates Stiller is forced to go on with members of his congregation because his congregation has never had an unmarried rabbi. Then there was the time he brought in an all black church chorus to lead the congregation in "Ein Keloheinu." His relationship with Norton becomes strained when another childhood friend comes to visit, and they both desire to become romantically involved with her. This is a problem for both because Norton is a catholic priest, and she is not Jewish. This does not stop Norton from drunkenly showing up to a post bar mitzvah kiddish and screaming, "He stole my girlfriend." Most importantly though, Stiller provided young pubescent Jewish boys with a pre-bar mitzvah rallying cry that will echo on through the generations,"I LOVE THAT I SUCK!"