Here’s a headscratcher if there ever was one — what’s been the best decade for movie comedies? Was it the ribald ’80s, the daring ’90s, the sex-obsessed 2000s, or something else entirely? The Mutant team weighed in on this subject:

ZombieDog: This is a super difficult question to answer because I do see comedy as a sliding measure of progressive ideas.

If we’re just dealing with visual comedy, you don’t really get anything unless you acknowledge the amazing creative work of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. To be able to visually communicate comedy is beyond insanely difficult. Then, of course, you have to give a nod to the vaudevillian comedians who were such an inspiration to film. The clean comedy of the ’50s and the boundary-pushing comedy of the ’60s with Lenny Bruce, which of course led into arguments about free speech, which bore fruit in the comedy of the ’70s.

This leads me ultimately to the distinction that I did not want to make. By far the best decade for comedy was the ’80s. This is one of the most foundational decades for some of the most amazing comedians of our time (George Carlin, Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Rodney Dangerfield, and dozens of other influential master comedians).

But it’s really important to realize that you’re not getting crazy college comedies without giving recognition to Animal House (1978). You’re not going to get a wacky, crazy comedy without paying homage to It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). And you don’t get wonderful romantic comedies without realizing that Some Like It Hot (1959) was influential in the genre.

Mike: I mean, it’s clearly the ’80s. First of all, you have the funniest movie of all time in Airplane!, the greatest comedy trilogy in the Naked Gun movies, the best sci-fi comedy (Ghostbusters), the best adventure comedy (Goonies) the best comedy musical (The Blues Bothers), the best comedy buddy cop movie (Running Scared) the best Christmas comedy (A Christmas Story) the two best time travel comedy franchises of all time (Back to the Future and Bill & Ted) and the best horror comedy (The Monster Squad).

In the ’80s, Mel Brooks gave us History of the World Part 1 and Spaceballs. And this was the era of the Police Academy franchise, of which rumor has it that they are comedies. Spicoli, Booger, Axel Foley, Johnny 5, Beetlejuice, Duckie, Peewee. The 80s were chock full of instantly iconic comedic characters. So yeah… ’80s. Final answer, Regis.

Justin: I think there’s a huge case to be made for the ’80s and a lesser one for the 2000s, but for me, the answer is easily the 1990s. Comedies surged to greatness with classic after classic this decade, and I’m still discovering more. They were a little more modern and approachable from what came before, and they were everywhere this decade.

I honestly judge this on how often I’ve heard people quote ’90s comedies, which is a heck of a lot. Flicks like Tommy Boy, PCU, Wayne’s World, Hot Shots!, Hudson Hawk, Dirty Work, Can’t Hardly Wait, The Ref, Empire Records, and many more. There was a willingness to embrace surrealism (Cabin Boy), girl power (Romy and Michele), subversive takes on nostalgia (The Brady Bunch Movie), and the weirdness that was Pauly Shore.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out one thing that this decade had almost exclusively: a treasure trove of indie comedies. The indie scene specialized in quirky dialogue and memorable characters in films such as Clerks, Party Girl, Dazed and Confused, Clockwatchers, Mallrats, National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, Cannibal! The Musical, Jawbreaker, Go, Kicking and Screaming, and Office Space. It was an amazing decade, and I’ll be enjoying these movies for a long time to come!

Drake: To the surprise of absolutely no one, I’m going to go with the 1920s.

Oh, sorry. I though that was all I had to say, but Justin is looking at the brevity of my answer and giving me one of his trademark glares. Chilling stuff! I saw him glare an errant fly buzzing through the Mutant Offices to death one time.

Look, every decade of film has been important to comedy one way or another, but it’s hard to overstate just how essential the Roaring Twenties were to establishing so many of the comedic patterns that have lasted to the present day. After establishing short comedies in the 1910s, the ‘20s saw the film industry start to realize the draw of longer comedies, establishing the fact that the genre was suitable for full-length motion pictures.

Also key to this decade was the fact that its stars were not only the draws of the era, but many are still well-known today. Charlie Chaplin, for example, is a historically important figure in cinema for his ability to blend comedy and pathos in a way that no one else at the time could. He was a storyteller of considerable talent and his name in many ways is synonymous with the Twenties.

No less important is Buster Keaton, whose mind-boggling stunt work is still being studied to this day. He was able to do things that would have left most people dead or injured, and he did it all for the sake of getting a laugh. Keaton’s dedication to film was legendary, and his work continues to resonate 100 years later.

And that’s the thing about the ‘20s. That decade set the stage for all of the film comedies that came after and continues to influence film a full century later. I’m not sure if, say. Ghostbusters, will still have fans 60 years from now, but I am certain that the groundwork that was established in the 1920s will continue to be felt for as long as movies are being made.

Now I have to go find some warm gloves. Justin’s chilling glare is giving me frostbite.

Sitting Duck: Comedy is pretty much neck-and-neck with science fiction in how poorly it tends to age. This is especially the case for humor that is based on then current events (looking at you, Fred Allen). Jokes about the peccadillos of some random senator no one will remember in 20 years won’t provoke laughs from future audiences. Then there are instances where comedies that were received poorly in their initial release find new life among future generations. The most notable in this regard are certain Marx Brothers and W.C. Fields titles which featured anti-authority undertones that appealed to counterculture audiences of the 1960s.

So with the state of cinematic comedy in constant flux, we’ll have to settle on one snapshot. And the AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs special from 2000 is as good as any. The decade with the most titles listed taking up nearly a quarter of the slots was the 1980s (the ranks of the other decades in order from most to least were the 1930s, the 1970s, the 1940s, the 1960s, the 1950s, and a tie between the 1920s and the 1990s for dead last). However, the highest ranked ’80s film is Tootsie. Eh. But take heart, as the second highest ranked ’80s title is Airplane!