10 Hilarious Comedy Films That You Should Watch

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 and witnessing memorable comedic scenes that 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.’

10

Step Brothers

Step Brothers is a buddy comedy with an unconventional premise starring John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell. They play Dale and Brennan, two middle-aged rival step-brothers who 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.

9

Borat

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.

8

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

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 try 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.

7

Office Space

You’re probably familiar with Mike Judge in the realm of comedy TV, but he also wrote and directed the workplace comedy film 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.

6

Dumb And Dumber

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.

5

My Cousin Vinny

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.

4

National Lampoon’s Vacation

National Lampoon’s Vacation is one of the best family road trip adventure 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.

3

Airplane!

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.

2

Anora

Neon’s Anora is 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.

1

Ruthless People

Danny DeVito is an iconic actor known 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.