Comedy is something you can never get enough of. There’s nothing like an evening full of pure fun and enjoyment with laughter that brings you to tears andwitnessing memorable comedic scenesthat you can look back on. Comedy is all about the writing, timing, and delivery of the actors. It can often be satirical, physical, raunchy, or just downright dumb as well.
There’s a plethora of wildly talented comedic actors, writers, and directors to check out, and the various eras of comedy films bring about something different. There are the raunchier comedies of the 2000s and the more smartly written comedies of the ’80s and ’90s. The following films are a mix of everything and have earned their spot in the ‘Comedy Hall of Fame.’
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Adam McKay
Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Rob Riggle, Andrea Savage, Seth Rogen, Lurie Poston, and Elizabeth Yozamp
2008
54%
6.9
VOD
Step Brothers is a buddy comedy with an unconventional premise starring John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell. They play Dale and Brennan, two middle-agedrival step-brotherswho still live with their parents. They’re two jobless adults who refuse to grow up, and their outlandish behavior puts a strain on their parents' marriage.
There are too many fun and memorable moments in Step Brothers, like the disastrous music video where Dale and Brennan destroy their dad’s beloved boat, the brothers' makeshift bunk beds collapsing on them, the job interviews, Brennan burying Dale alive, and the Catalina Wine Mixer finale with Will Ferrell singing Andrea Bocelli’s Por Ti Volare.
Larry Charles
Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell, Pamela Anderson, Bob Barr, and Mitchell Falk
2006
90%
7.4
Sacha Baron Cohen originated the Golden Globe-winning character, Borat, for Da Ali G Show. In the feature film, Borat Sagdiyev leaves his home country of Kazakhstan (not before crudely introducing his neighbors and family) to journey to America (or US and A as he calls it) to learn the culture and also confess his love to actress Pamela Anderson, whom he wants as his new wife.
The beauty of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat is that he exposes much of America’s racism, ignorance, and antisemitism by messing with real-life people and political figures with his silly interview questions and antics. Baron Cohen’s portrayal of Borat as a Kazakh journalist in America is comedic gold, especially with the chaotic situations he gets himself into.
The 2020 sequel, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, is also every bit as good as the original, even winning the Golden Globe for Best Picture - Musical or Comedy.
Judd Apatow
Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Catherine Keener, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, Elizabeth Banks, Kat Dennings, Gerry Bednob, Shelley Malil, Kevin Hart, Mindy Kaling, Marika Dominczyk, and Jonah Hill
2005
85%
7.1
Judd Apatow amassed a stellar filmography of comedy films, but his feature film debut remains his most iconic. The 40-Year-Old Virgin follows Steve Carell’s Andy, a 40-year-old memorabilia collector employed at an electronics store who has never successfully managed to do the deed with a woman (with hilarious flashbacks to prove it).
When his co-workers at Smart Tech, Cal, Jay, and David, learn that Andy is still a virgin, they’ll do whatever they can to attempt to help him find a woman, which includes speed dating and Andy getting a wax to remove all his body hair. Andy eventually meets Catherine Keener’s Trish and the two develop a healthy relationship that may finally see him a virgin no more.
Mike Judge
Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Ajay Naidu, David Herman, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, John C. McGinley, Diedrich Bader, Richard Riehle, Alexandra Wentworth, Joe Bays, and Paul Willson
1999
81%
7.6
Hulu, Disney+
You’re probably familiar with Mike Judge in the realm of comedy TV, but he also wrote and directed theworkplace comedyfilm Office Space (along with Idiocracy). While it’s memorable for the main trio of guys hilariously destroying their company’s malfunctioning printer, it’s Stephen Root’s mistreated and stapler-deprived Milton who is truly the star of the show.
Office Space is about downsizing the workspace at a software company called Initech, overseen by a horrible boss, Gary Cole’s Bill Lumbergh. Three co-worker buddies, Peter, Samir, and Michael retaliate by installing a fund-stealing virus into Initech’s systems that goes horribly wrong. There’s also a romantic storyline between Ron Livingston’s Peter and Jennifer Aniston’s Joanna.
Peter and Bobby Farrelly
Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holley, Teri Garr, Karen Duffy, Mike Starr, Charles Rocket, Victoria Rowell, Cam Neely, and Felton Perry
1994
67%
7.3
Another splendid comedic duo is Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber. Carrey plays limo driver Lloyd Christmas, with Daniels as his dog groomer best friend, Harry Dunne, and together they go on a gag-filled road trip to Aspen to return a briefcase full of money belonging to Lloyd’s passenger, Mary Swanson, who purposely left it at the airport.
Harry and Lloyd don’t realize that the money in the case was meant to pay a ransom to a pair of thugs now on their tail. The duo also ends up falling in love with Mary Swanson and sabotaging each other’s chances with her, including the infamous scene of Harry getting fed laxatives by Lloyd.
Jonathan Lynn
Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, Mitchell Whitfield, Fred Gwynne, Lane Smith, Austin Pendleton, Bruce McGill, Maury Chaykin, and Paulene Myers
1992
Hulu, Disney+, AMC+
In Martin Scorsese’s films, Joe Pesci is often the funniest character running with the mob. In My Cousin Vinny, Pesci is on the other side of the law. He plays lawyer Vincent Gambini, who comes to the aid of his cousin Bill Gambini, who was arrested along with his friend Stan for murder, a crime they’re innocent of.
The only problem? This case will be the first-ever trial for Vinny, but his lawyering turns out to be effective while also incredibly comical. My Cousin Vinny is an excellent genre blend of courtroom drama and comedy, with hilarious moments between the judge, who’s played by Fred Gwynne, and the witnesses. Marisa Tomei also won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Harold Ramis
Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron, Randy Quaid, Imogene Coca, Christie Brinkley, Eddie Bracken, Miriam Flynn, Brian Doyle-Murray, Eugene Levy, Jane Krakowski, and John Candy
1983
94%
National Lampoon’s Vacation is one of the best familyroad tripadventure comedy movies ever made. Plus, it’s even more iconic as it’s written by John Hughes of The Breakfast Club, Home Alone, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off fame, and directed by Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler from Ghostbusters), the director of Caddyshack and Groundhog Day.
Vacation is centered around the Griswold family, with parents Clark and Ellen Griswold and siblings Rusty and Audrey Griswold venturing to the amusement park Walley World. As you would expect, there’s trouble on the road and Clark’s fun family outing turns into one mishap after another, with the Griswold’s chances of making it to Walley World looking less and less likely.
All the main National Lampoon’s Vacation movies – Christmas Vacation, European Vacation, and Vegas Vacation – are solid entertaining comedies. Even the 2015 legacy sequel starring Ed Helms as a grown-up Rusty Griswold is not a bad option.
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker
Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lloyd Bridges, Lorna Patterson, Robert Stack, Stephen Stucker, and Otto
1980
97%
7.7
Airplane!is a classic parody movie that’s still a fun watch, especially with all that’s going on with planes in this day and age. It stars comedic icon Leslie Nielsen from Naked Gun and Dracula: Dead and Loving It, playing an onboard doctor when an unknown illness wreaks havoc on the passengers.
Meanwhile, there’s also a former Air Force pilot chasing to win back a stewardess, but for every passenger he tells his life’s story, they seem not to want to hear another word. There’s also a hilarious running joke on the pilots and a flashback parodying Saturday Night Fever. All in all, there are endless gags in this movie that you’ll be laughing at non-stop.
Sean Baker
Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Lindsey Normington, Darya Ekamasova, Aleksey Serebryakov, Vincent Radwinsky, Luna Sofía Miranda, Ivy Wolk, Anton Bitter, Ella Rubin, Brittney Rodriguez, Alena Gurevich, Paul Weissman, and Vlad Mamai
2024
93%
7.5
Neon’s Anorais a comedy movie that won five Oscars, including Best Picture. Amazingly, Sean Baker, an American indie filmmaker, managed to deliver one of the funniest Russian-led comedies. The story is about a Brooklyn sex worker named Ani casually seeing a Russian oligarch’s son before the two spontaneously decide to get hitched in Vegas.
Once Vanya’s parents get wind of their marriage, they fly out to their son and also send their henchmen to get the marriage forcibly annulled. This leads Vanya to flee and leaves Ani in the custody of Igor, Toros, and Garnik, where the situation gets extremely chaotic and out of control. All the Russian dialogue is incredibly spot-on and humorous.
Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater, Anita Morris, Bill Pullman, William G. Schilling, Art Evans, and Clarence Felder
1986
Danny DeVito is an iconic actorknown for many hilarious characters, but Ruthless People is still one of the funniest movies ever made (from the directors of Airplane! and the writer of My Cousin Vinny). In this film, DeVito portrays ruthless businessman Sam Stone, whose wife is being held for ransom, and not only is he happy to see her gone, but he was plotting to kill her himself.
Ruthless People has terrific dark and cynical humor for a memorable comedy experience. Its best moments are of DeVito rejoicing and popping champagne when he discovers that his wife has been taken, and even daring her kidnappers to kill her. Meanwhile, his wife Barbara is having a leisurely time in her kidnapper’s basement.
