Summary
The tradition of comedy movies goes back to the silent classics of Chaplin and Keaton, and modern times saw the absurdist masterpieces of Mel Brooks and the Zucker brothers, which evolved into the satirical gems of Elaine May and Albert Brooks. The turn of the 21st century brought along a new movement in Hollywood film comedy pioneered by Judd Apatow and Adam McKay.
Newer comedies seem to be returning to the raunchy and often subversive comedy of the 1980s when movies likeCaddyshackandRevenge of the Nerdsmade headlines with their controversial dialogues and outlandish situations. Contemporary comic genius can include everything from airplanes to superheroes, and in addition to the American production companies, there’s alsothe international marketto consider.
Updated July 13, 2025, by Kristy Ambrose:The big comedies of recent years, like almost every other movie these days, are related to either superheroes or remakes of classic sitcoms. Despite lacking creativity, some of these comedies have used experimental or subversive ways to tell their stories while making the audience laugh. R-rated comedies are back in style, and parody and absurdist humor are as popular as ever, so even though it feels like everything has been done, that’s not really the case.
13Team America: World Police
A Musical From The Makers Of South Park
Trey Parker and Matt Stone’sTeam America: World Policeis a masterpiece. With the same satirical edge as their groundbreakinganimated seriesSouth Park,Team Americalampoons the reckless destruction, inane plotting, and banal emotional scenes of Bayhem actioners by telling its story withThunderbirds-style puppets.
It also taps into the blind jingoism of those movies, as the titular squad “polices the world” on behalf of the U.S. government, often failing their missions while leaving behind a path of needless damage. As the icing on the cake,Team Americais full of hilarious (and catchy) original songs.
12Step Brothers
Ferrell And McKay’s Best Team-up
WhileAnchormanput Adam McKay and Will Ferrell on the map and probably remains their most prevalent work in the pop culture landscape, their greatest collaboration is 2008’sStep Brothers. Conceived as a vehicle for Ferrell’s on-screen chemistry with John C. Reilly (which reached its peak here),Step Brothersended up being a spot-on satire of Bush-era America.
The movie has a simple plot that could have been written for a sitcom. Adult children Brennan Huff and Dale Doback still live with their parents, and when those parents get married, the two of them have to live together as stepbrothers. It sounds simple, but the outcomes are hilarious.
11In Bruges
Black Humor And Hitmen
Martin McDonagh’s feature directorial debut,In Bruges,explores deep philosophical musings about morality and fate with a generous pepperingof pitch-black humor. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as two hitmen who are sent to hide out in the titular Belgian city after a job goes awry.
Ralph Fiennes steals the show in the movie’s final act as the duo’s boss, Harry Waters, while McDonagh deftly maintains his own unique comic tone through some pretty heavy plot points.
10Booksmart
A Classic Teen Comedy
Olivia Wilde has been swamped with job offers since her directorial debutBooksmarthit theaters. By recapturing the nostalgic tone of John Hughes’ high school comedies while subverting their more problematic elements, Wilde updated a stagnant comedy subgenre for the modern age. But primarily, she told a heartfelt story about friendship, warts and all, that connects emotionally.
Ultimately, what makesBooksmartwork as well as it does is the on-screen chemistry shared by stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, who are 100% believable as lifelong best friends.
9Deadpool
The Merc With The Mouth
It’s easy to forget that this movie almost didn’t get made. But thanks to the efforts of Ryan Renolds, some daring writers, and some suspiciously-timed leaked footage, there’s a wholeDeadpoolfranchise that just released another blockbuster.Deadpool & Wolverineis the first movie featuringthe superhero after the copyright moved to Disney, but now that raunch sells, there’s nothing Deadpool can’t do.
Studios and producers had soured on the idea of R-rated comedies, but the public felt differently. WhenDeadpoolwas finally released, it was a hit and paid for itself in a matter of days.Deadpoolis a parody and satire type of comedy, making fun of superhero movie tropes while also using them to tell their story.
8The Nice Guys
A Neo-Noir Comedy Thriller
Shane Black’s neo-noir comedy thrillerThe Nice Guyswas overshadowed at the box office byCaptain America: Civil WarandMe Before You. And that’s a real shame, asThe Nice Guyswas primed to be the beginning of a really great “buddy P.I.” action-comedy franchise.
Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe shared impeccable chemistry in the lead roles, while Black’s command of story and character as a writer-director is razor-sharp as usual.
7Tropic Thunder
The Best Of Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller grew upon film sets because his parents were actors. When he noticed that the stars of war movies returned from the set with the mentality of returning from an actual warzone, the seeds were planted for his absurdist masterpieceTropic Thunder. This movie is a masterpiece of parody, writing, and comedic timing.
The cast, which includes the director in the starring role, is also impressive. With hilarious supporting turns by Robert Downey, Jr. (who received an Oscar nod) and Jack Black,Tropic Thunderis a pitch-perfect self-aware satire of Hollywood celebrities.
6What We Do In The Shadows
Vampire Life In New Zealand
Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi explored what the everyday struggles of vampires would be in their brilliant mockumentaryWhat We Do in the Shadows.
The film chronicles a few weeks in the lives of some bloodsuckers living in the suburbs of New Zealand. Drawing on every facet of vampire fiction for gags,What We Do in the Shadowsis the definitive comic deconstruction of the vampire myth.
521 Jump Street
Everyone’s Favorite SitCom Remake
21 Jump Streetis based on a sitcom from the late 1980s, but the dialogue and twists on the typical situations hide some surprisingly dark jokes and unexpected consequences. It’s as if a contemporary writer wanted to take a 1980s buddy-cop show and write in a hyperrealistic way. The result is a hilarious satire on both teen and police movies.
The “friends” relationship at the core of this story starts when the main characters, Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko, meet in the police academy after years of being at odds with each other in high school. Eventually, they end up as undercover agents in a high school, looking for a dangerous drug, which is a genre trope as old as time.
4Napoleon Dynamite
Offbeat, Quirky, And Hysterically Funny
Jared Hess gave every indie comedy director a shoestring budget and a dream hope that their weird little movie could become a big hit with the unprecedented success ofNapoleon Dynamite. This movie is so quirky that it makes Wes Anderson’s films look mainstream.
There’s something about Jon Heder’s career-defining portrayal of the titular moody, geeky teenager thatmakes Napolean’s unlikable traitshilarious and strangely endearing. He’s supported by many equally lovable and unique characters.
