Comedy is one of the oldest and most diverse genres in cinema. From its slapstick and vaudeville origins in the silent era to the present day, comedies have existed in a wide variety of forms. Dark comedies, romantic comedies, musical comedies, action comedies, and parodies are just a few examples of the different styles of comedy films throughout history.
Dozens of comedies are produced by Hollywood each year. Some go on to become pop culture phenomenons, while others sadly get lost in the shuffle. There are many great comedies that exist, both old and new, that have been largely forgotten.
10 Swingers Launched The Careers of Jon Favreau And Vince Vaughn
Made on a minuscule budget of $200,000, Swingers helped launch the careers of Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. Favreau and Vaughn both began their careers as supporting actors in film and television. Swingers directly led to Vaughn getting cast in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. For Favreau, who wrote the film as well, Swingers proved his propensity for working behind the camera, ultimately leading to Favreau directing several of the most financially successful films of the 21st century.
Swingers follows two unemployed actors living in Hollywood during the 1990s swing revival. The film was included on Bravo's list of the funniest movies and Empire Magazine's list of the greatest American Independent Films.
9 Intolerable Cruelty Is A Throwback Screwball Comedy
One of the Coen brothers' least known films, Intolerable Cruelty is a throwback to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 40s. George Clooney channels his inner Cary Grant and Catherine Zeta-Jones channels her inner Katharine Hepburn in this battle of the sexes.
Throughout their careers, the Coen brothers have shifted back and forth between oddball comedies with offbeat humor and existential dramas. Many of their comedies such as Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski have become classics. Despite receiving positive reviews from critics, including being hailed as a minor masterpiece by Damon Wise of Empire, Intolerable Cruelty did not achieve the same level of success as other Coen brothers comedies.
8 The Trouble With Harry Encompasses Alfred Hitchcock's Dark Sense Of Humor
Alfred Hitchcock possessed an extremely dry and dark sense of humor. Many of his films feature double entendres and macabre humor. Best remembered for his suspense thrillers, The Trouble with Harry remains one of Hitchcock's few true comedies.
Gorgeously photographed in Technicolor VistaVision and beautifully scored by Bernard Herrmann, The Trouble with Harry is a dark comedy about a group of small-town individuals who must figure out what to do with a dead body they find in the woods. Golden era audiences found the film's humor to be in bad taste, resulting in one of Hitchcock's biggest box office failures. Despite being one of Hitchcock's lesser-known films, The Trouble with Harry offers an abundance of laughs for those with a dark sense of humor.
7 Everybody Wants Some!! Is The Spiritual Sequel To Dazed And Confused
A spiritual sequel to Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused, Everybody Wants Some!! depicts the week leading up to the start of college for a group of baseball players. Like Dazed and Confused, Everybody Wants Some!! is a laugh-out-loud hangout movie full of wild youthful antics and a killer soundtrack.
Although the film received near-unanimous acclaim from critics, it was a box office bomb, bringing in a measly $5 million. Everybody Wants Some!! is one of the very best comedies of the 2010s and deserves to be seen by a larger audience.
6 Silent Movie Is One Of Mel Brooks's Least Seen Films
One of the most important comedic figures of the 20th century, Mel Brooks began his career in television, working on iconic shows such as Your Show of Shows and Get Smart. In the late 1960s, Brooks began directing feature films, resulting in some of the greatest comedy films ever made such as The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein.
Silent Movie is another excellent Mel Brooks comedy even though it is one of his least seen films. Starring Brooks himself, Dom DeLuise, and Marty Feldman, Silent Movie is a silent film that satirizes the film industry. Reminiscent of the silent comedies of the 1910s and 20s, Silent Movie features a plethora of brilliant visual gags.
5 Jack Black Gives The Best Performance Of His Career In Bernie
Jack Black has had an amazing career with over 175 credits, yet Black has been at his best in his collaborations with Richard Linklater. Black was fantastic in School of Rock, but the best performance of his career occurs in the dark comedy Bernie.
In Bernie, Black plays real-life mortician Bernie Tiede, a beloved member of the community who murders Marjorie Nugent. Black is brilliant as the quirky Bernie, however, much of the film's comedy derives from the implementation of talking-head interviews with the real-life townspeople who experienced the murder in 1996.
4 Election Is A High School Movie About Politics
Alexander Payne's Election uses student body elections as a metaphor for American politics. This darkly comedic film pits Jim McAllister, a high school teacher, against Tracy Flick, an overachieving student. When Flick decides to run for student body president, McAllister does everything in his power to sabotage her campaign.
Payne is known for his socially-minded comedies. While films such as About Schmidt, Sideways, and The Descendants all went on to be box office successes, Election is less-known despite its acclaim. Election was included on Bravo's list of the funniest films, Empire Magazine's list of the greatest films, and Entertainment Weekly's list of the best high school movies.
3 After Hours Is A Forgotten Scorsese Masterpiece
After Hours is a forgotten comedy masterpiece from Martin Scorsese, a director not known for comedic films. Following the production difficulties of trying to get The Last Temptation of Christ made, Scorsese decided to focus on more independent-minded films.
In what has been described as a yuppie nightmare, After Hours mixes elements of film noir and screwball comedy in a story about a word processor named Paul who has the worst night of his life after agreeing to meet a girl in Soho. After Hours belongs in the same conversation as Scorsese's masterpieces like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas.
2 Charlie Chaplin's Personal Controversies Cause Monsieur Verdoux To Flop
Monsieur Verdoux was the first Charlie Chaplin film that completely abandoned any similarities to his beloved Tramp character that he had portrayed for over 20 years. Audiences were not receptive to Monsieur Verdoux, a dark comedy about a man who marries and murders rich women to support his family.
Chaplin's personal controversies finally caught up to him and Monsieur Verdoux was his first true flop. His next film, Limelight, was heavily boycotted in the United States, and by the mid-1950s, Chaplin left the United States to live in Europe. Retrospectively, Monsieur Verdoux is considered another Chaplin masterpiece and has been named one of the greatest films of all time by The Village Voice and Cahiers du cinéma.
1 The Court Jester Is A Musical Comedy Classic
The most expensive comedy film made up until that point in time, the $4 million budgeted The Court Jester brought in only $2 million at the box office. However, television reruns brought reappraisal to the film which is now considered an American classic.
Modern audiences may be unaware of The Court Jester, yet the film is easily one of the funniest films ever made. This National Film Registry inductee was included on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest comedies. Danny Kaye delivers a tour de force performance that includes countless witty musical numbers and tons of slapstick high jinks.