Genre: Comedy

Comedy is built to make you laugh — through wit, absurdity, timing, and characters whose flaws and schemes keep tripping them up. Underneath the jokes, the best of it still says something true.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Donen and Kelly's 1952 musical comedy about the talkie transition. Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds. The musical other musicals measure against.

Comedy • Musical

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Some Like It Hot (1959)

Wilder's 1959 cross-dressing comedy. Lemmon and Curtis on the run, Monroe in her last great performance. Nobody's perfect.

Comedy

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A Shock to the System (1990)

Egleson's 1990 dark comedy. Michael Caine as an executive who discovers he can kill his way to the top and nobody will notice. The cleanest 90s satire of corporate culture.

Comedy • Crime

E
Deathtrap (1982)

Lumet's 1982 stage-play adaptation. Caine, Reeve, Cannon. Ira Levin source. The script doubles back on itself three times. The least-known great Lumet film.

Comedy • Thriller

E
Seven Psychopaths (2012)

McDonagh's 2012 Hollywood meta-comedy. Farrell, Rockwell, Walken, Harrelson. A screenwriter cannot finish his screenplay. McDonagh's second feature.

Comedy • Crime

E
Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Kubrick's 1964 Cold War satire. Sellers in three roles, Scott as Buck Turgidson. The film that established what political satire could do on film.

Comedy • Satire

E
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Zemeckis's 1988 live-action-animation noir. Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Roger and Jessica. The technical achievement nobody has matched.

Animated • Comedy

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Office Space (1999)

Mike Judge's 1999 cubicle satire. Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Stephen Root as Milton. The most accurate film ever made about American office work.

Comedy

E
Michael (1996)

Nora Ephron's 1996 angel comedy with John Travolta. Gentle commercial work that uses spiritual material as premise rather than substantial engagement.

Comedy • Fantasy

E
Bee Movie (2007)

DreamWorks 2007 Jerry Seinfeld animated comedy. The meme afterlife has substantially exceeded the original commercial reception.

Animated • Comedy

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