50 Best Comedy Movies of All Time — A List That Actually Has Opinions (IMDb + Rotten Tomatoes)

Most “best comedy movies” lists are useless. They round up the same 15 films every critic agrees on, tack on crowd-pleasers to hit a number, and call it a day. No real opinions. Zero standout moments. And certainly no help when you’re staring at a streaming menu at 9 PM and want to laugh.

This list, however, is different. All 50 are here — grouped by era and sub-genre, written by someone who’s seen them all and has opinions. You’ll find the silent-era classics that invented physical comedy, the sharp satires about power, the 90s teen comedies you’ve quoted a thousand times, and the offbeat cult films your film-obsessed friend won’t shut up about.

Pick a mood, era, or style below and press play.

Silent-Era Comedy: Still Watchable?

These films are a century old. They have no sound, no color, no CGI. And yet — they’re still funny. That’s not nostalgia. That’s craft.

Safety Last! (1923)

• IMDb 8.1 · RT 97%

Harold Lloyd climbing a skyscraper with no safety net is as gripping now as it was in 1923. For good reason, the dangling clock-face image remains iconic. If you’ve never seen a silent comedy, start here.

Sherlock Jr. (1924)

• IMDb 8.2 · RT 96%

Buster Keaton plays a projectionist who dreams himself into the film he’s showing. Meanwhile, the special effects are so inventive that film schools still teach them. At just 45 minutes long, it’s the most efficient comedy ever made.

The Gold Rush (1925)

• IMDb 8.1 · RT 100%

In fact, Chaplin eating a boiled shoe like it’s a fancy meal might be the single funniest scene of the silent era. The bread roll dance sequence alone earns this film a permanent spot on this list.

City Lights (1931)

• IMDb 8.5 · RT 98%

Chaplin made a silent film after talkies took over — to prove a point. He was right. The final scene will wreck you. Bring tissues.

Duck Soup (1933)

• IMDb 7.7 · RT 92%

The Marx Brothers at full chaos. No plot, no consequences, just Groucho insulting everyone and Harpo dismantling reality. To this day, the mirror scene has been copied by everyone from Lucille Ball to The Simpsons.

Golden Age Comedies That Earned Their Status

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

• IMDb 7.8 · RT 94%

Screwball comedy at its most frantic. Hepburn and Cary Grant destroy each other’s lives over a leopard named Baby. The dialogue fires so fast you might need subtitles. Ironically, it bombed in 1938. That tells you about people in 1938.

His Girl Friday (1940)

• IMDb 7.9 · RT 99%

Howard Hawks had his actors talk over each other on purpose, inventing a new film technique in the process. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell match each other beat for beat.

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

• IMDb 7.9 · RT 100%

Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart in one movie. At its core, it’s a romantic comedy about class and second chances — built on timing and performance, not plot. Jimmy Stewart won an Oscar and seemed genuinely surprised.

Some Like It Hot (1959)

• IMDb 8.2 · RT 95%

Two musicians witness a mob murder and hide by joining an all-women jazz band in drag—Curtis, Lemmon, and Monroe, directed by Billy Wilder. In fact, the AFI voted it the greatest comedy ever. They might be right.

The Apartment (1960)

• IMDb 8.3 · RT 93%

Jack Lemmon lends his apartment to his bosses for their affairs, then falls for one of the women. In many ways, Billy Wilder walks the line between farce and heartbreak. “Shut up and deal” is one of cinema’s great final lines.

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

• IMDb 8.4 · RT 98%

Kubrick made a satire about nuclear annihilation and somehow made it the funniest film of 1964. Peter Sellers plays three roles — each one perfect. The joke — that the world might end by incompetence, not malice — has only gotten funnier with time.

The Producers (1967)

• IMDb 7.5 · RT 91%

Mel Brooks directs Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder in a scheme to produce the worst Broadway musical ever and pocket the money. To this day, “Springtime for Hitler” remains the boldest comic set piece Brooks ever staged.

The Odd Couple (1968)

• IMDb 7.6 · RT 97%

Lemmon and Matthau as Felix and Oscar — the neat freak and the slob — set the template for every mismatched-roommate comedy that followed. Both are insufferable in completely different ways, and yet you love them both.

Best Satirical Comedies of the 70s–80s

Blazing Saddles (1974)

• IMDb 7.7 · RT 89%

A movie about racism that uses racist characters as the punchline, not the joke. Mel Brooks understood the difference. Notably, it ends with the cast breaking through the fourth wall into the studio next door. Heads up: the discomfort is the point.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

• IMDb 8.0 · RT 94%

Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks parody classic Universal horror with such affection that it works as both satire and tribute. “Putting on the Ritz,” Igor’s hump, and Madeline Kahn stealing the whole movie — the result is endlessly quotable.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

• IMDb 8.2 · RT 97%

If you’ve ever said, “It’s just a flesh wound,” this film already influenced you. British absurdist comedy at full speed — knights who say “Ni,” killer rabbits, and a quest that goes nowhere on purpose. No film has been quoted more in college dorms since 1975.

Annie Hall (1977)

• IMDb 8.0 · RT 97%

Woody Allen broke every romantic comedy rule and invented new ones. Characters talk to the camera, split screens show two conversations at once, and it refuses a happy ending. As a result, it won four Oscars, including Best Picture.

Animal House (1978)

• IMDb 7.4 · RT 91%

National Lampoon’s debut launched a thousand party-movie imitators — none of which matched it. Belushi eating an entire cafeteria is pure chaos. For context, Delta House was modeled on Dartmouth’s Alpha Delta Phi — those guys reportedly hated the movie. That alone is an endorsement.

Caddyshack (1980)

• IMDb 7.2 · RT 73%

Less a film, more a loose collection of Murray, Chevy Chase, and Dangerfield improvising wildly. That said, Murray’s groundskeeper monologue about Cinderella winning the Masters might be the greatest piece of cinematic rambling ever recorded.

Airplane! (1980)

• IMDb 7.7 · RT 97%

Notably, the joke rate is so high that researchers have studied it. Gags hit in the foreground, background, and sometimes where you aren’t looking. Leslie Nielsen’s oblivious doctor created an archetype. Every parody since has been trying to be this.

Best Slapstick and Physical Comedy from the 70s–80s

Ghostbusters (1984)

• IMDb 7.8 · RT 95%

Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis catch ghosts in NYC. On paper, it sounds absurd. On screen, Murray’s Dr. Venkman — charming, deadpan, totally unimpressed by the supernatural — is the template for every cool-guy comedy lead since.

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

• IMDb 7.9 · RT 96%

The mockumentary that launched the genre. Impressively, Rob Reiner’s fake rock documentary is so convincing that real musicians thought it was real. “These go to eleven” gets funnier the more you understand music. The Stonehenge scene, conversely, gets funnier the less you understand anything.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

• IMDb 7.8 · RT 81%

John Hughes loved teenagers who refused to be bored. Even so, Broderick’s Ferris is somehow likable despite being self-involved — mainly because he brings his sad friend Cameron along. The parade sequence is pure joy.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

• IMDb 7.6 · RT 92%

A buddy comedy disguised as a holiday travel nightmare. Steve Martin and John Candy are so well-matched that the film shifts to something deeper in the final act without ever losing its warmth.

The Princess Bride (1987)

• IMDb 8.0 · RT 96%

“Inconceivable.” A fantasy adventure that parodies fantasy adventures while being better than most serious ones. Romantic, funny, quotable to a weaponized level, and Andre the Giant as a gentle giant. Impressively, Rob Reiner directed both this and Spinal Tap — the most impressive directorial one-two punch of its era.

Coming to America (1988)

• IMDb 7.1 · RT 72%

Eddie Murphy playing four characters, including an elderly Jewish barber — that’s either commitment or hubris, and it’s both. The barbershop scenes alone, however, are worth the runtime.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

• IMDb 7.6 · RT 87%

Leslie Nielsen as Lt. Frank Drebin — the most confidently incompetent detective ever. The joke density rivals Airplane! because it’s the same creative team. As a highlight, the baseball game sequence is comedy perfection.

Best Comedy Movies of the 90s

Wayne’s World (1992)

• IMDb 7.0 · RT 84%

SNL sketches rarely become great films. Surprisingly, this one did. Myers and Carvey, as public-access hosts, celebrate classic rock and small-time authenticity. The Bohemian Rhapsody car scene became a cultural event the second it screened.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

• IMDb 7.0 · RT 71%

Robin Williams in a fat suit as a Scottish housekeeper, secretly being his own kids’ father — both absurd and touching. Ultimately, this is peak Williams: silly and sincere in equal measure.

Groundhog Day (1993)

• IMDb 8.0 · RT 97%

Bill Murray relives the same day until he learns how to be a decent person. What starts as comedy, however, becomes philosophical, then genuinely moving. Murray’s performance in the later sections is among his best.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

• IMDb 6.9 · RT 47%

Admittedly, it’s funnier than people admit as adults. Jim Carrey’s physical commitment is total — every line, face, and walk is a deliberate choice. In doing so, it redefined what “overacting” could accomplish.

Dumb and Dumber (1994)

• IMDb 7.3 · RT 67%

Two genuinely stupid people are driving a dog-shaped van from Providence to Aspen. The joke isn’t that they’re hapless — it’s that they’re completely unbothered. The “most annoying sound in the world” scene is physically difficult to sit through. Respect.

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

• IMDb 7.1 · RT 92%

Hugh Grant’s first major role and possibly still his best. The opening scene — nothing but increasingly creative f-bombs as Grant realizes he’s late — is perfect screenwriting. Above all, Richard Curtis understood that British awkwardness is one of the funniest things in the world.

Clueless (1995)

• IMDb 6.9 · RT 81%

Amy Heckerling adapted Austen’s Emma, set it in Beverly Hills, and made it sharper than most direct adaptations. Silverstone’s Cher is genuinely intelligent underneath the surface, and the film knows it. Remarkably, “As if” entered the vocabulary and never left.

Office Space (1999)

• IMDb 7.6 · RT 80%

Mike Judge made a movie about a man who stops caring about his job and gets happier. If you’ve ever worked in a cubicle, this is 89 minutes of pure catharsis. The printer destruction scene, in particular, is every office worker’s repressed fantasy.

Notting Hill (1999)

• IMDb 7.2 · RT 84%

A London bookshop owner falls for the world’s most famous actress. Another Richard Curtis film, but Julia Roberts plays the famous woman so well that it never feels like fantasy — just a real mess two real people got into.

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

• IMDb 7.6 · RT 91%

Technically, 1989, spiritually a 90s film. Ryan and Crystal argue about whether men and women can be friends while obviously falling in love. The diner scene is so famous that the deli still has a sign. The structure — building across years with fake interview segments — has held up better than almost anything else from that era.

Best Comedy Movies of the 2000s and 2010s

Mean Girls (2004)

• IMDb 7.1 · RT 84%

Tina Fey wrote the screenplay — the jokes are sharper than a teen comedy needs, the structure is airtight. To this day, “On Wednesdays we wear pink” is still referenced in ads.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

• IMDb 7.9 · RT 92%

Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg made a zombie comedy that works as both parody and genuine horror. Cleverly, Shaun doesn’t notice the apocalypse because his routine is already that mindless. It’s the funniest and saddest observation about modern life in any 2000s comedy.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

• IMDb 7.1 · RT 66%

On paper, Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy shouldn’t work — but it does. He plays him with complete, unironic commitment, believing he’s the most important man in San Diego. The jazz flute scene is unforgettable. Stay for the credits.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

• IMDb 7.1 · RT 85%

Judd Apatow proved you could make a long, dirty, sincere comedy about loneliness and people would love it. Carell’s chest-waxing scene is legendary — partly because his pain is completely real. It was improvised. With real wax.

Borat (2006)

• IMDb 7.3 · RT 90%

Sacha Baron Cohen as a Kazakh journalist touring America is either the most uncomfortable or funniest thing you’ve seen. The point isn’t the character — it’s every real American revealing something about themselves on camera. As a cultural moment, it made saying “My wife” awkward for about four years.

Superbad (2007)

• IMDb 7.6 · RT 88%

Hill and Cera are trying to get alcohol for a party before heading to separate colleges. Sounds crude, but it’s an honest film about male friendship and the terror of growing apart. The McLovin subplot shouldn’t work — somehow, it makes the whole film.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

• IMDb 7.8 · RT 91%

Edgar Wright makes a buddy-cop parody set in an English village with a disturbingly low crime rate. The editing alone is worth watching — Wright cuts faster and more precisely than almost anyone in comedy. Pegg and Frost, meanwhile, are the best comic duo of their generation.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

• IMDb 7.6 · RT 96%

A mockumentary about vampires sharing a flat in Wellington, NZ. Importantly, Waititi and Clement’s joke — that ancient vampires are fundamentally just annoying roommates — never gets old. The werewolf subplot (“werewolves, not swearwolves”) is gold.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

• IMDb 8.1 · RT 92%

Wes Anderson’s comedy is its own sub-genre. Every frame is precisely composed. Ralph Fiennes as M. Gustave nails every beat — pompous, devoted, principled, and absolutely furious about everything. Unusually for a comedy about a hotel and a stolen painting, it won four Oscars.

Best Romantic Comedies and Feel-Good Films

Tootsie (1982)

• IMDb 7.4 · RT 89%

Dustin Hoffman plays an actor so difficult he can’t get hired — so he auditions as a woman. Even now, it’s sharper about gender politics than most films made today, and the comedy comes from how seriously everyone takes it.

Pretty Woman (1990)

• IMDb 7.1 · RT 65%

Roberts’ performance is so winning that the premise survives on sheer charm. Admittedly, it launched a hundred worse rom-coms. But it also launched Julia Roberts, which makes up for it.

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

• IMDb 6.7 · RT 80%

Zellweger won a BAFTA for this — her performance is more honest than the genre usually allows. Bridget is self-sabotaging, anxious, and completely relatable. The Firth-vs-Grant love triangle, by contrast, is almost secondary.

Bridesmaids (2011)

• IMDb 6.8 · RT 90%

Initially, studios weren’t sure audiences would watch a raunchy comedy with an all-female cast. It grossed $288 million. Melissa McCarthy nearly hijacks the movie as Megan, and the dress-fitting scene is exactly as catastrophic as you hope.

Pick the Right Comedy Movie for Your Mood

Not every comedy hits the same way. Here’s a practical guide.

Final Thoughts

After all, great comedy is about human beings being ridiculous, embarrassing, or brilliantly stupid at the worst possible moment. From Buster Keaton hanging off a clock face in 1923 to Kristen Wiig destroying a bridal shop in 2011, these 50 films span a century. What connects them: they make you forget your worries.

Start with the era or mood that fits tonight, and work through the rest over time.

Got a film on this list you’d fight over? Or one that should have been here? Drop it in the comments. Strong opinions make the best movie nights.