14 Hilarious Comedy Movies To Make You Crack Up
Sometimes, there’s nothing better than settling in for a night of over-the-top hilarity from a great comedy movie. When I’m looking for belly laughs, I turn to these funny films that always crack me up no matter how many times I’ve seen them.
Read on for my picks of 14 essential funny movies and the reasons they’re so hilarious!
This list covers comedies ranging from the witty to the downright stupid (but in the best way).
1. Airplane! (1980)
This disaster movie spoof set the gold standard for rapid-fire visual gags and wordplay. Ex-pilot Ted Striker boards a plane in an attempt to win back his stewardess ex Elaine, but the flight crew soon falls ill, leaving Ted to land the airplane.
Hilarious Moments:
- Deadpan acting and dialogue delivered with straight faces
- Sight gags like the blowup autopilot doll
- Running jokes about the “drinking problem”
Fun Fact: The directing-writing team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker honed their freewheeling parody style in The Kentucky Fried Movie before hitting the big time with Airplane!
Key Takeaway: Its straight-faced absurdity and nonstop jokes pioneered a wacky spoof comedy style still influential today.
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2. Bridesmaids (2011)
As maid of honor for her best friend’s wedding, Annie’s attempts to plan the perfect pre-wedding activities go hilariously awry. This raunchy comedy made a star out of Kristen Wiig.
Hilarious Moments:
- The epic dress shopping scene where the women get violently ill from bad Mexican food
- Annie’s cringeworthy, sexually explicit speech at the engagement party
- The outrageous, over-the-top airplane meltdown
Fun Fact: Many scenes featuring Maya Rudolph were unscripted, with Wiig and Rudolph improvising interactions to maximize laughs.
Key Takeaway: Its hilarious yet heartfelt look at female friendships redefined the female-driven R-rated comedy.
3. The Big Lebowski (1998)
Jeff Bridges shines as The Dude, an eccentric slacker plunged into an absurd mystery when thugs confuse him for a millionaire with a similar name. With his pals, The Dude stumbles through a wacky noir-esque crime plot.
Hilarious Moments:
- The Dude’s ridiculous exchanges with the angry, incomprehensible Vietnam veteran Walter
- Dream sequences set to bowling pins being struck
- The nihilist kidnappers making outrageous threats for ransom money
Fun Fact: Bridges wore some of his own relaxed wardrobe items to get The Dude’s look just right.
Key Takeaway: Its meandering tale centered on a character who just wants to bowl and drink white Russians creates endless quotable comedy.
4. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Based on the short-lived police procedural parody show Police Squad!, this feature film followed bumbling detective Frank Drebin, played by Leslie Nielsen, as he tries to foil an assassination attempt.
Hilarious Moments:
- Visual gags like the repetitive close-up shots as Frank tries (and fails) to pound a nail
- Frank nonchalantly dodging a continuous stream of lobbed baseballs to walk to home plate
- Queen Elizabeth II’s dismissive gesture sending a tea set crashing to the floor
Fun Fact: Priscilla Presley met her future husband Elvis on the set when he gave her an impromptu karate lesson while in costume as Drebin.
Key Takeaway: Nielsen’s dimwittedly deadpan Drebin set the standard for oblivious spoof law enforcement characters.
5. Superbad (2007)
This raunchy coming-of-age comedy captures the hilarious misadventures of teens Seth and Evan on a wild mission to buy alcohol for a party and impress their crushes.
Hilarious Moments:
- Evan drawing penises instead of people during his home economics class
- Cops mistakenly thinking Seth and Evan are actually called “McLovin” and “Muhammad”
- Their inebriated encounters with the deranged party girl Becca
Fun Fact: Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s mom had to be on set for his underage character’s sex scene, which made it even more awkward to film.
Key Takeaway: Its crass but heartfelt take on teenage bonding spawned many copycats, but none matched its wit or chemistry between Jonah Hill and Michael Cera.
6. Young Frankenstein (1974)
Mel Brooks’ monochrome masterpiece parodies classic horror films as scientist Dr. Frankenstein’s grandson returns to Transylvania and creates his own monster by accident.
Hilarious Moments:
- Frau Blücher’s mentions eliciting thunder and horse whinnies
- Igor inexplicably surviving gruesome accidents and disfigurements
- The monster’s giant “member” visible in silhouette as he approaches newlyweds to wish them luck
Fun Fact: Gene Wilder only agreed to play Dr. Frankenstein if he could help write the script to refine the humor.
Key Takeaway: Clever wordplay and sheer silliness make it one of the greatest movie spoofs of all time from the master of parody.
7. Step Brothers (2008)
Man-children Brennan and Dale are forced to co-exist as step brothers when their single parents marry. Their attempts to bond start out disastrous before leading to eventual friendship.
Hilarious Moments:
- Their angry tree house argument turning physical
- The vivid “Boats ‘N Hoes” pirate fantasy music video
- Brennan rubbing Dale’s drums on his naked butt
Fun Fact: John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell improvised hours of alternate takes full of absurdist banter, most of which couldn’t make the R-rated final cut.
Key Takeaway: Ferrell and Reilly’s absurd chemistry and improvisation talents drive this innocently idiotic frat boy comedy.
8. Borat (2006)
In Sacha Baron Cohen’s mockumentary, his fictional Kazakh journalist Borat travels across America getting into outrageous situations and eliciting horrified reactions from real people.
Hilarious Moments:
- Borat completely butchering the national anthem at the rodeo
- His nude hotel combat with Azamat after glimpsing Pamela Anderson
- Borat’s misinterpretation of American customs leading to jaw-droppingly offensive behavior
Fun Fact: Many lawsuits were filed by angry participants duped into appearing in the film while Cohen stayed in character.
Key Takeaway: Cohen’s committed performance makes the guerilla-style prank comedy unbearably awkward yet undeniably bold and subversive.
9. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The legendary British comedy troupe took on the legends of King Arthur in this absurdist spoof film featuring coconuts as horse hooves, cartoon monsters, and exploding bunny rabbits.
Hilarious Moments:
- The Knights of Ni demanding shrubbery
- Arthur and his squire’s debate over swallows and coconut migration
- The knight with limbless “flesh wounds” insisting he’s fine
Fun Fact: All Python members play multiple roles despite the dirt-cheap budget, including Graham Chapman as both Arthur and the taunting French knight.
Key Takeaway: The Pythons’ signature irreverent, nonsensical humor created an iconic cult comedy perfect for endless quote-alongs.
10. 22 Jump Street (2014)
Undercover cops Schmidt and Jenko are hapless but hilarious. After a successful operation in high school, they now tackle college, partying with frat boys to crack another drug case.
Hilarious Moments:
- Trying – and failing – to pass as college students, getting mocked as “forty-year-old virgins”
- Tripping on drugs results in a wildly funny hallucination montage
- Their incompetency mistaken for a genius avant-garde interpretation of Shakespeare
Fun Fact: Directors Lord and Miller started as animators before pioneering mixing live action with animation in movies like The Lego Movie.
Key Takeaway: Comedic chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill carries this buddy action spoof sequel.
11. Best in Show (2000)
This mockumentary from the team behind Spinal Tap depicts overcompetitive dog owners prepping for an esteemed dog show competition. Their personalities are funnier than their pets.
Hilarious Moments:
- Parker Posey’s deranged, dramatic reactions to her dog getting the least applause
- Fred Willard’s clueless color commentary filled with dog puns
- Ed Begley Jr.’s chats with his canine as if speaking in dog thought bubbles
Fun Fact: Most actors improvised large sections of dialogue based on their eccentric character backgrounds crafted by director Guest.
Key Takeaway: Its improvised absurdity mocks both dog show culture and the broader quirks of overly passionate hobbyists everywhere.
12. What We Do In the Shadows (2014)
This faux documentary follows four vampire roommates living together in New Zealand whose ancient habits collide with mundane aspects of modern life.
Hilarious Moments:
- Viago’s polite disemboweling of victims who don’t take shoes off indoors
- The fruitless nightclub outings due to their age and inability to enter without invitation
- Werewolves crashing their flat and marking their territory around the house
Fun Fact: Many moments were improvised, including Taika Waititi’s scene mocking the Twilight films.
Key Takeaway: The juxtaposition of archaic vampires struggling with wi-fi and household chores provides endlessly witty situational comedy.
13. The Hangover (2009)
After a wild Las Vegas bachelor party, three groomsmen awake with no memory of the raucous night but must retrace their steps to find the missing groom.
Hilarious Moments:
- Discovering a live tiger in their hotel suite
- Their befuddlement at the baby they unknowingly acquired
- Trying to piece together their crazy night through photographs
Fun Fact: Many lines and jokes were made up on the spot instead of strictly sticking to the script.
Key Takeaway: Side-splitting shock humor stems from the insane aftermath rather than the party itself, creating an intriguing comedic mystery.
14. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Mike Myers is hilarious as both unflappable British agent Austin Powers and his archnemesis Dr. Evil in this groovy spoof of 1960s spy films. After being cryogenically frozen, Austin returns to face Dr. Evil’s evil schemes.
Hilarious Moments:
- Dr. Evil’s eccentric demands for sharks with laser beams and absurd ransom sums
- Random henchmen getting hurled into fire pits or compacted into cubes
- Austin’s innuendo-laden flirting and seduction attempts
Fun Fact: The film kicked off a trilogy with Myers playing multiple roles including Fat Bastard and Goldmember.
Key Takeaway: Myers’ lively caricatures and silly, slightly risqué jokes launched a superspy parody franchise.
Whether I need some good, clean fun or really raunchy laughs, these 14 comedies always leave me with stitches in my side.
Because sometimes the best medicine is just nonstop, no-holds-barred hilarity.
From slapstick to satire, you can’t go wrong with any of these hilarious classics. Just pick your favorite funny movie to forget your worries for a while and laugh yourself silly.
