A.V. Club's "The 50 best comedies since 2000"

I might choose Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and burn the rest in a garbage dump.

obvious child is really funny imo, but you really need to enjoy jenny slate for it to work

like I think I watched some of the extras on the dvd and the orig script dialogue was super clunky and unfunny

Seen 23, the only omissions I regret:

In The Loop
Frances Ha
In Bruges*
Obvious Child
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Force Majeure
Four Lions*

* = I have actually had these on my PC at some point, fuck's sake, Farrell.

Bad Santa possibly the funniest movie here. I like several of these quite a bit but not many among my all-time faves. This century has produced way funnier TV than it has movies.

Hot Fuzz might be the one on the list that got me to laugh the most. I'd say it was the best of the slapstick style comedies.

There is some dark and funny stuff in Bad Santa too. Billy Bob Thornton is good in that one.

Pineapple Express seems to be one missing that I like much better than some of these movies. That fight scene at Danny McBrides characters house is a classic.

putting all three of Hot Fuzz/Shaun of the Dead/World's End on here is o_0 - I mean they're all basically the same sorta entertaining movie but no way are all three of them great comedies

seen 37 of these. out of 33 38 43 46 49, 46

MacGruber and Hot Rod are the most glaring omissions IMO.

(And another that I have gotten inordinate amounts of shit about in the past and will surely get inordinate amounts of shit for naming.)

a Harold & Kumar probably belongs on here - but which one?

xp hah I was going to say there was at least less BroComedy than I was fearing - removing Danny McBride from history seems to unshockingly have a salutory effect.

i see oldlunch, you like yr film comedies as tv sketches draaaaaged out to feature length

thank you Lorne

My omissions--either of which would have gotten my vote over anything here--are Ratatouille and The Way Way Back, but I'm assuming they didn't consider animation of the non-puppet-sex variety (though Team America isn't even the best puppet-sex movie of the last 16 years) or even see TWWB (since very few people did).

The Edgar Wrights are very different movies, you might be confused by the accents?

xp my "it's not great but I love it" missing would be Blades of Glory.

biggest omissions are Eternal Sunshine (Morbz otm) and This is the End imo

I've seen all three movies AF, they are v similar in cast, tone, structure, joeks, etc.

oh Kung Fu Hustle should be on here too, for sure

i see oldlunch, you like yr film comedies as tv sketches draaaaaged out to feature length

thank you Lorne

― helpless before THRILLARY (Dr Morbius), Monday, July 11, 2016 12:04 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Lorne (or, more accurately, the Lonely Island dudes) only figured out a workable formula in the past decade. Which involves, notably, making something that resembles an actual movie rather than exhaustively riffing on something that barely worked in five-minute increments.

I liked all of these:

2. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
4. Best In Show (2000)
5. Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
7. Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (2004)
8. High Fidelity (2000)
9. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)
10. Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan (2006)
11. Superbad (2007)
13. Hot Fuzz (2007)
14. Bridesmaids (2011)
15. Team America: World Police (2004)
16. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
18. Mean Girls (2004)
20. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
28. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
32. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
35. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
36. A Mighty Wind (2003)
37. School Of Rock (2003)
38. I Heart Huckabees (2004)
40. Zoolander (2001)
41. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
42. Knocked Up (2007)
46. Bad Santa (2003)
48. Josie And The Pussycats (2001)

voting Kiss Kiss Bang Bang because it's awesome and underrated

(although I probably should vote Kung Fu Hustle or Josie)

WHAS is a good #1 pick but all of these would get a thumbs up from me.

1. Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
2. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
3. In The Loop (2009)
5. Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
6. Frances Ha (2012)
8. High Fidelity (2000)
10. Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan (2006)
13. Hot Fuzz (2007)
17. In Bruges (2008)
27. Idiocracy (2006)
28. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
29. The Informant! (2009)
31. The World’s End (2013)
35. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
46. Bad Santa (2003)

oh sorry missed that KFH is up there my bad

good call above on Pineapple Express being omitted. I definitely have a strong bias towards some of these films after having watched them on cable 9,000 times, hence my top ten from this list would be:

2. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
3. In The Loop (2009)
4. Best In Show (2000)
5. Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
7. Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (2004)
14. Bridesmaids (2011)
17. In Bruges (2008)
18. Mean Girls (2004)
28. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
40. Zoolander (2001)

really hated to cut Hot Fuzz there. speaking of which, my #1 would be Shaun of the Dead.

i like all of the edgar wright films i've seen but SOTD is pretty clearly the funniest and the tightest film, narratively speaking.

No Wedding Crashers?

frances ha is a pretty damn good movie i think. also i enjoyed its humor, i was thinking it would be more dour than it was.

I guess I should probably finally watch Kung Fu Hustle and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

they might be overhyped at this point but I love both of them to death

KFH has so many memorable aspects and the Ax Gang is super dope. the knife/snake scene is probably the funniest scene of any scene in any of these films (possible competition from the Tim Robbins murder fantasy in High Fidelity)

Seen 41, haven't heard of two.

I think the hardest I've laughed at a movie made in the last 15 years was that one scene about ten minutes into The Other Guys. Too bad the rest of the movie didn't measure up.

12:08 East of Bucharest, guys.

the only times I laugh at movies are during rematches of The Naked Gun

sounds kinky

I guess the indifferently received sequels really damaged The Hangover's cultural standing (I always thought it was terrible but it was a pretty big deal at the time)

first Jump Street should probably be on there

Elf for sure

never actually watched the movie version of The Trip, but I'm sure it's better than half this list

surprised Super Troopers isn't on here

and yeah 21 Jump Street is a good call. I couldn't believe how funny that one was. (22 was good too but...yeah)

v likely I Heart Huckabees is one of the 5 best here

(RIP Russell)

and you people deserve Jonah Hill and Rogenthing.

I'm by no means averse to Brit comedy but I thought The Trip was very dull.

great call on Super Troopers, that's finely distilled idiocy right there.

anyway I voted for Step Brothers :)

Also, I haven't seen them, but I've only heard good things about the Magic Mike films - seems like an odd omission.

I... do not think the Magic Mike films are comedies

i'd say the second very much is, in the Shakespearean sense!

also Step Brothers fans, really, don't watch 12:08 or Offside, there's no point.

I haven't seen them so my perception is 100% based on the promo material and secondhand accounts

go back to the Jerry Lewis thread Morbs

there's nothing for you here

but Jerry Lewis is kinda like Adam Sandler, except funny.

I loved the Trip. Several on here and suggested by some I would not consider comedies (including, possibly, the Trip). The way I see it is if I leave a movie with a general sense of melancholy or sadness, a la Lost in Translation (which is basically just a lighter remake of non-comedy In the Mood for Love) or Eternal Sunshine or even Royal Tenenbnums/Grand Budapest Hotel, I dunno if I think of them as comedies. List def. needs Pineapple Express/This is the End, or Harold and Kumar or a few others. Love that What We Do In The Shadows is here, that movie was hilarious.

Nice to see The Informant! on here. I'd read the book, so the tonally different movie was a really pleasant surprise.

categorizing the ones I haven't seen...

very little interest:
13. Hot Fuzz (2007)
15. Team America: World Police (2004)
23. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
30. Young Adult (2011)

maybe if it's on tv:
18. Mean Girls (2004)
22. Burn After Reading (2008)
48. Josie And The Pussycats (2001)

possible rental:
43. State And Main (2000)
47. Force Majeure (2014)
49. Songs From The Second Floor (2000)

? look these up on imdb:
44. The Color Wheel (2011)
45. 12:08 East Of Bucharest (2006)

also Step Brothers fans, really, don't watch 12:08 or Offside, there's no point.

I liked Step Brothers and Outside

Offside I mean.

If animation is ok, then how is the LEGO Movie not on here?

i saw theater camp on a plane recently and imo it was a really solid endless-cascade-of-jokes movie that was also clearly angling for wet hot american summer cult status (bottoms seems more “improv” than either to me, tho i also enjoyed it)

oh my god, Theater Camp was amazing. it's enjoyable for all audiences but anybody who's done the theater kid experience will probably lose their shit.

the bit that went:

"I know this is an incredibly stressful process and it can kinda feel like life and death. It's designed to feel that way

"If you drop a line, if you crack, if you're a little flat, what does that say about you?"

slayed me

the making up the song on the spot part was great too.

and the kid auditioning with Better Now lmao

i’m not a theater person at all and thus approached the film with trepidation, but i lol’d at almost every joke! had to respect it

It definitely did feel like WHAS in many ways, you're right there

Bash brothers

Yeah, I'd say Bottoms is more working in 'modern society' than with much of a message about it (thinking particularly here of the "to me, being an ally is..." scene). It's basically a horndog hustle movie - Rachel Sennott is giving Peak Bill Murray Energy for a lot of it. Of course, two women in a horndog hustle movie now play differently from two guys 40 years ago, but that's modern society!

Moonrise Kingdom and WALL•E are probably my two favorites but they weren't included.

checked did i note the absence of super troopers previously, ok guess my work here is done

I feel like the absurdist, gags-upon-gags sort of comedy in the lineage of Airplane! & Mel Brooks has been missing from contemporary cinema since at least the Anchorman/Step Brothers days and it makes me sad. I love that garbage. No emphasis on story or character, no attempt at biting satire, just an endless buffet of escalating dumb jokes

― feed me with your chips (zchyrs), Tuesday, January 16, 2024 10:06 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

If you need a reminder of why this genre was likely rendered permanently radioactive, do a quick google for 'Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer'.

i see WHAS noted as a cult comedy by americans and i note once again that 'cult' in this context means "no jokes and no good line reads and no good performances' and honestly that's fine i spose

That can sucks its own dick, dude.

which movie called Wet Hot American Summer did you watch that had no jokes?

britishes and Irishers don't get Withnail and I either.

correct

every performance in Wet Hot American Summer is amazing wtf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6YR1EvOS78

I've seen a few British comedies. Brave flex there, darraghmac.

xps fair point on Friedburg & Seltzer, those guys have a lot to answer for :(

I started watching Barb & Star a while back and recall liking it, so it's due for a revisit. I'll put Theater Camp on the list too

can we maybe pull back on calling ppl british as a reflex

historically we have shot ppl for it and im not sure laziness will be accepted as an excuse if i start

Stop the presses, a new title emerges:

First poster for ‘RICKY STANICKY’, starring Zac Efron and John Cena.

Releasing March 7 on Prime Video. pic.twitter.com/RyEm9SWvso

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 26, 2024

The writing credits are as long as a Kanye track's.

Academy Award-winning director Peter Farrelly!

can we maybe pull back on calling ppl british as a reflex

Perhaps Eric assumed that, much like every US funnyman turns out to be Canadian, British comedies are secretly entirely made by Irish people?

an interesting thought- apart from graham linehan ironically who everyone thinks is irish but is actually from anywhere else