The inherent joy and laughter that is attained from watching a truly great comedy film is a feeling that is simply unmatched by any other genre of film or even other forms of entertainment media. Laughing along with a group of friends or even strangers at a wildly goofy work of art has been a tried-and-true style of cinematic success for generations, with each era having its own standout comedy releases. This has largely continued into the modern day, with the past 15 years of comedy filmmaking seeing a wide array of hilarious films being released.
Even in only a decade and a half, comedy as a whole has undergone a wide array of different changes, coinciding with massive shifts in the filmmaking industry as a whole, such as catering to social media and streaming services. Still, while the state of the industry may be completely different from in the 20th century and early 21st century, the past 15 years of comedy filmmaking have created some legendarily hilarious films.
10
‘Bottoms’ (2023)
A fun, over-the-top queer satire of classic high school teen romance comedies, Bottoms is the type of bloody, chaotic love-letter to teen romance films that the genre has been needing for years. While it certainly finds inspiration from a lot of the R-rated teen movies of yesterday, its signature sense of carnage and manic energy gives it an individual personality oozing with charm and wit at every opportunity. At the center of this inherent comedy brilliance are the lead actresses Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri, who both fully lean into the wild world and tone set up by the film.
The film’s plot is relatively simple yet instantly engaging, following a classic story of social outcasts attempting to capture the attention of popular classmates, yet through the wild concept of a female fight club. As the insanity and chaos of the fight club grow more and more over the course of the film, it all comes to a head for a bloody and hilarious final act, complete with action, charm, and romance. The film simply feels tailor-made to the sense of humor inherent to modern, LGBTQ+ focused social media, as it made massive waves and became an instant fan-favorite among these circles.
9
‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’ (2016)
The mockumentary is a tried and true structure of satirical comedy that has consistently found strength within each era of comedy filmmaking since its inception, with one of the most beloved cult classic mockumentaries of the past 15 years being Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. The film acts as a parody of the pop music industry and celebrity culture as a whole, following the hilariously idiotic Connor4Real (Andy Samberg) as he deals with the backlash and difficulties of his latest album being a commercial and critical failure.
Popstar inherently plays into the strengths of The Lonely Island as a comedy trio, giving them a lot of moments to shine in terms of a sketch comedy style as well as many catchy yet hilarious comedy songs. It makes for a deeply engrossing and hilarious experience that adds new wrinkles and elements to its charm with each subsequent rewatch, quickly helping it attain a cult classic status over the years.
8
‘Friendship’ (2025)
Tim Robinson has proven himself to be one of the most beloved and acclaimed rising comedy stars of the past 15 years, with his work on I Think You Should Leave skyrocketing him into fan-favorite stardom. While the film was released relatively recently, the inherent strength and passion that Robinson brings into his comedic performance in Friendship largely elevates the film into being an immediately iconic cringe comedy masterpiece.
The film employs a similar style of painfully uncomfortable comedy as Robinson’s other work, leaving audiences in a strange lull of discomfort where the only natural reaction is to laugh at the pain and absurdity of it all. While it’s a style of comedy that isn’t for everyone, Robinson excels so greatly in the genre that it manages to make this style of comedy largely more approachable, even when he’s doing shocking, painful-to-watch things. It’s the start of hopefully a wide array of great comedy films from Robinson down the line, as he has proven his inherent style works just as well in film as it does on television.
7
’21 Jump Street’ (2012)
One of the few modern reboots of classic properties that not only lived up to the legacy and weight of the original but also largely surpassed it in terms of popularity and charm, 21 Jump Street quickly made its own legacy as a definitive 2010s action comedy. The film exemplifies a lot of the inherent trends and strengths that 2010s action comedy thrived under, while at the same time having an intelligent, satirical lens and self-awareness towards its own existence as a reboot.
It makes for a brilliantly hilarious, fun time that manages to work wonders even if an audience member had not only not seen the original Jump Street series, but had never even heard of it before this reboot. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill have a brilliant comedic chemistry with one another that adds to each other’s strengths and easily makes for one of the most recognizable and effective buddy comedy duos of the 2010s.
6
‘Hundreds of Beavers’ (2024)
A wildly chaotic and absurd love letter to Golden Age silent filmmaking and slapstick cartoon shenanigans, Hundreds of Beavers is a meticulously crafted independent gem of comedy that is destined to become a cult classic. The film follows a relatively simple setup and ramps up the chaotic possibilities to their absolute extremes, following a drunken applejack salesman rising to become a highly experienced fur trapper. However, on his quest for glory and love, he finds himself facing off against a powerful and dangerous legion of beavers (of which their numbers are in the hundreds).
Every frame and sequence of Hundreds of Beavers has something to offer in terms of manic visuals, overwhelming personality, and genuine comedic charm put into every aspect of the filmmaking. From all the animals being portrayed by goofy over-the-top mascot outfits to the film’s signature green-screen action that puts life-action characters into wild cartoon antics, the film is a blast to watch from beginning to end.
5
‘Game Night’ (2018)
Sometimes a comedy premise proves to be so effective and rife with comedic potential that it’s difficult to imagine an execution that doesn’t do the story justice, yet Game Night goes above and beyond the potential of its fun premise. The film sees a group of friends coming together for a murder mystery party, not realizing that their party has taken a turn for the real when their host ends up being kidnapped. The various couples find themselves looking for clues and attempting to solve the “mystery”, finding themselves in all sorts of unexpected danger and chaos in the process.
Game Night’s premise already does a lot of heavy lifting in terms of its overwhelming fun factor, yet the film’s comedy is even further amplified by a great sense of visual style and exceptional comedic performances across the board. Everyone in the compelling supporting cast gets their own moments to shine in the film, creating many standout comedic moments that have made the film one of the most beloved studio comedies of the 2010s.
4
‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (2014)
Combining a mockumentary style with horror comedy and gothic worldbuilding to create an ingenious evolution and exploration of vampires, What We Do in the Shadows is an icon of vampire comedy. While many people nowadays associate the What We Do in the Shadows name with the hilarious FX series, the original Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement movie that inspired the series is an achievement of comedy in its own right. The film sees Waititi and Clement’s signature comedic styles at their absolute best, combining goofy nonsensical caricatures with the brash nature of the real world around them.
It genuinely makes for a lot of fun to see these distinctly different vampires interacting with a similar yet different version of our own modern world, with the culture shock consistently creating a great deal of comedy. Like many great mockumentaries before it, the film does an exceptional job of creating a satirical edge to its storytelling, with its satire also taking aim at the rise of found-footage horror in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The banger vampire movie has delighted audiences for years since its release and has been considered a career highlight for Clement and Waititi.
3
‘Bridesmaids’ (2011)
One style of studio comedy that saw a great deal of success during the 2000s but largely fell out of favor in the 2010s was that of the raunchy R-rated comedy, yet it largely had a swan song with one of the absolute best at the beginning of the 2010s with Bridesmaids. The film sees the inherent strengths of raunchy studio comedies at their absolute best, utilizing a wide cast of hilarious actresses getting into all sorts of shocking yet hilarious sequences, blending charm and absurdism to create a defining crowd-pleaser.
The film almost single-handedly proved the success and possibilities of female-lead R-rated comedies in the modern era, ushering in a wave of various other comedies throughout the decade that attempted to capitalize on the same market. However, none of these other copycats came close to the mixture of hilarity and genuine emotional heart present within Bridesmaids. The film proved to be so beloved that it even received Academy Award nominations for its screenplay and for Melissa McCarthy‘s hilarious performance.
2
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (2022)
Following a wide-array of standout action comedies that were dominating the box-office throughout the 2010s, Everything Everywhere All at Once perfectly encapsulates the trends of the era into one of the best films of the 21st century. Humor proves to be only one facet of the film’s overwhelming strength, as it also features many compelling performances, a genuine emotional heart, and some of the most enthralling action choreography possible. Still, humor continues to be the centralizing factor that makes the film so approachable and rewatchable.
The film has an infectious sense of charm and wit that persists throughout every aspect of its filmmaking, amplifying the comedy as well as making its emotional moments and storytelling that much more memorable. There’s a good reason that the film became as critically acclaimed as it ended up being, quickly becoming one of the defining cinematic achievements of the 2020s and the standout action comedy of the modern era.
1
‘The Nice Guys’ (2016)
While The Nice Guys may not have the same level of compelling action and emotional storytelling as something like Everything Everywhere All at Once, it arguably exceeds the film in terms of its humor and comedic wit. The goofy buddy comedy simultaneously feels like both a return to form for the comedic subgenre and an evolution on classic noir conventions, being the type of instantly enjoyable film that always wins over the audience with its charm.
Like any great buddy comedy film, the inherent chemistry and dynamic between Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling elevates the film into being an absolute blast from beginning to end. Gosling especially has so many standout comedic moments that it’s difficult to keep track, with the entire film leaning into its comedic antics to make for an experience of raw entertainment value. The film’s notoriety has only grown over the years, now being considered a certifiable classic of the era and a must-watch comedy experience.
The Nice Guys
- Release Date
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May 20, 2016
- Runtime
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116minutes
- Director
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Shane Black
- Writers
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Anthony Bagarozzi, Shane Black
