Comedy has been a staple of entertainment long before cinema.
Today, comedy movies and shows hold a special place in most people’s hearts.
But, as highlighted above, there are a lot of comedy movies out there.
Slapstick and Puns Galore
Airplane!
is a 1980 comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker.
When an in-flight emergency strikes, Striker must confront his fears to save the passengers and crew.
This film is filled to the brim with visual gags, irreverent humor, and non-stop humor.
Ferrell plays Burgundy, a news anchor in a time when news anchors supposedly appeared as rockstars.
The film also stars an ensemble of comedy greats, with even more stars joining for the sequel.
Dumb and Dumber stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and was directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly.
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
One of Joel and Ethan Coen’s most successful crime comedies, The Big Lebowski follows Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) after he is assaulted in a case of mistaken identity. After becoming tangled with the millionaire who shares his name, the Dude is tasked with delivering a ransom in order to save Lebowski’s wife from a group of hardened criminals. The Dude is joined by his bowling buddies Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Buscemi), who complicate Lebowski’s plans.
Directed by Mel Brooks, Young Frankenstein is a comedy that parodies Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel with Gene Wilder in the role of the infamous mad scientist’s grandson. Marty Feldman portrays Igor, Teri Garr plays Inga, Cloris Leachman plays the scary housekeeper Frau Blücher, and Peter Boyle gives life to the Monster.
A satirical comedic take on the legend of King Arthur, Monty Python and the Holy Grail sees the legendary British comedy troupe portraying Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, who have embarked on a quest to find the Holy Grail. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin all-star in the film as Arthur and his knights, also playing multiple other roles in the supporting cast of characters.
Airplane! is a 1980 comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker. It parodies disaster films, centering on Ted Striker, a former fighter pilot dealing with a fear of flying. When an in-flight emergency strikes, Striker must confront his fears to save the passengers and crew. The film stars Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, and Leslie Nielsen, employing a mix of slapstick humor and rapid-fire jokes.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a comedy film starring Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate that follows the titular Ron as a San Diego news anchor. The movie satirizes the news culture of the 1970s, where men ruled the airwaves, and here, Ron Burgundy is the king. But when the station hires Veronica Corningstone, a female anchor, Ron and the other men’s egos are shaken, forcing them to reckon with the changing social landscape.
John Hughes' comedy classic Ferris Bueler’s Day off follows the titular high schooler, a self-assured, charming young man who wants a day off. Going to unheard-of lengths to secure that day for himself, his girlfriend, and his best friend, he conjures up the ultimate scheme to get them out of school. However, his sister and principal are confident he’s up to no good, and his principal will embark on an equally overblown quest to expose Ferris' truancy.
When a woman leaves a briefcase containing ransom money at an airport, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne travel across the country to return it to the woman. Dumb and Dumber stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and was directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly. The film also received a critically panned prequel in 2003 and a sequel in 2014 called Dumb and Dumber To.
Office Space is a satirical comedy movie by Mike Judge, the creator of Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill. Peter Gibbons, the film’s protagonist, is overworked, underpaid, and over it all as his work continues to wreak havoc on his personal life and mental health. One day during a hypnosis session, Peter’s therapist dies mid hypnosis leaving Peter in a perpetual state of calm, where he is no longer bothered by the trivial elements of the world. With a changed outlook and a devil-may-care attitude, Peter’s newfound love of life starkly contrasts with the rest of the world and the hustle approach evident in American work culture.
The Hangover follows a group of friends who head to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. With Doug (Justin Bartha) preparing for his wedding, his friends Phil, (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) take him on a night he’ll never forget, After blacking out, the group - who call themselves the “Wolf Pack” - realize that they’ve lost Doug, and must retrace the steps of the most outrageous night of their lives in order to find him.
From director Edgar Wright, Shaun of the Dead stars Simon Pegg as Shaun, an ambitionless slacker who one day finds his world overrun by zombies. From a script by Wright and Pegg, Shaun of the Dead injects comedy into a typically horror-focused subgenre as Shaun and his lazy friend Ed (Nick Frost) attempt to rescue Shaun’s estranged girlfriend and make it through the apocalypse unscathed.
