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Comedy Favorites
Some comedy favorites, underrated, under-the-radar, or otherwise.
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Comedy Favorites
4 Delightful Judy Holliday Comedies
5 Movies That Deserve More Love
8 Great Movies About Being in a Rock Band
8 Hilarious Silent Comedies
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16w
All the Movies
Anna
Bottoms (2023)
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For about 25 years I've had the same three favorite high school/teen comedies: Clueless, Bring It On, and Josie and the Pussycats. Thanks to @Anna, I'm adding this—in which two girls start a fight club in the hopes of hooking up with a pair of cheerleaders—as a fourth. Like the other three, it's hilarious, often delightfully absurd, and endlessly quotable.
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3
19w
All the Movies
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
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I skipped this for almost a decade because, even more than The Hudsucker Proxy, it seemed like it got absolutely scorched in every review and Coen Brothers ranking I'd ever read (maybe ahead of The Ladykillers but not much else). I finally decided on a whim to actually watch the thing, and maybe my rock-bottom expectations and affection for classic movies helped, but I thought this was hilarious. George Clooney plays a dimwitted 1950s movie star who gets kidnapped by a bunch of communists, Josh Brolin is doing his grim square-jawed Josh Brolin thing as a studio fixer, Alden Ehrenreich is charming and delightful as a singing cowboy, etc. etc. Is it Raising Arizona or The Big Lebowski? No, of course not. But I liked more than, say, Burn After Reading (and I'm a sucker for just about anything involving bumbling criminals with poorly-thought-out schemes) or The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. If you're a fan of Coen Brothers comedies and haven’t watched this one, give it a fair shot. (If you're not yet a fan of Coen Brothers comedies, then by all means start with Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski.)
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8
2
19w
All the Movies
Paddington (2014)
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Does everyone know this is fantastic? If not, give it a watch—a gentle delight throughout, and I had to pause it at least once because I was laugh-crying so hard that I had to lie down on the floor and recover.
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19w
All the Movies
The World's End (2013)
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The concluding film of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's first-rate "Three Flavors Cornetto" trilogy, following the also-excellent zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead and action comedy Hot Fuzz. When I first saw this, I thought it was the weakest of the three (relatively speaking), but a second watch changed my mind—it’s a comedy, and a very funny one at that, but it also has some serious emotional heft to it, more so than the other two. (Hot Fuzz is still the funniest and my favorite of the three, though.)
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2
18w
All the Movies
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
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If you haven't seen this funny, clever take on horror-movie tropes, it's best watched without knowing anything whatsoever about it. (And if you're familiar with those tropes and enjoy a good send-up, you’ll definitely like this.)
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4
19w
All the Movies
Attack the Block (2011)
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A British cult classic starring a pre-Star Wars John Boyega, in which a London street gang tries to fight off alien invaders. A fun (and funny) 90 minutes.
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18w
All the Movies
Hot Fuzz (2007)
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I already separately rec'd the first and third films in Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's first-rate "Three Flavors Cornetto" trilogy (the zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead and sci-fi comedy The World’s End), so I’m just gonna throw this action comedy up here too, since it's my favorite of the three and one of my favorite movies period. Simon Pegg plays an overachieving London police officer sent to a quiet hamlet that turns out to be hiding unexpected secrets. It's hilarious, has obvious affection for action movies as a genre, and leads up to an incredible climactic shootout. (Timothy Dalton is particularly great in this as well.)
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3
19w
All the Movies
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
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This got panned all over the place when it came out and I never understood why, because man, I love this movie—for me it’s the #2 Wes Anderson behind The Royal Tenenbaums. Stacked cast, it’s very funny in that low-key Bill Murray/Owen Wilson way, and honestly the ending hits me in the feels.
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4
1
18w
All the Movies
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
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The first film of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's first-rate "Three Flavors Cornetto" trilogy (followed by the terrific action comedy Hot Fuzz and the equally excellent sci-fi comedy The World’s End), featuring Pegg and Nick Frost as a pair of underachieving London flatmates caught in a zombie outbreak.
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5
1
20w
All the Movies
School of Rock (2003)
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Jack Black pretends to be a substitute teacher at a prep school and turns his class into a full-on rock band. Just a blast from start to finish.
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2
20w
All the Movies
Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
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So much better and funnier than it has any right to be, and the songs are legit great (the songwriting credits include Adam Schlesinger (RIP), Anna Waronker, Jane Wiedlin, and Matthew Sweet, among numerous others). Tara Reid's sweet, dimwitted Mel is a low-key secret weapon.
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20w
All the Movies
Almost Famous (2000)
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A semi-autobiographical Cameron Crowe movie about a teenage journalist who goes on the road to cover a touring band. (Not really about the band, but enough band stuff for this collection.)
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5
20w
All the Movies
High Fidelity (2000)
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Great music-nerd romantic comedy with John Cusack as a record-store owner in Chicago, adapted from Nick Hornby’s novel. Breakout role for Jack Black, who absolutely steals every scene he’s in.
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5
20w
All the Movies
That Thing You Do! (1996)