Friday Night OT: Funniest Movies of the Last 15 Years

Submitted by L'Carpetron Do… on January 27th, 2023 at 10:07 PM

It's a Friday night and it's pretty quiet in mgoworld so I wanted to pose a question to the board: what are the funniest movies of the past 15 years?  I have a theory that there hasn't been a truly great, classic comedy movie to come out in a loooong time. I believe this is likely because studios have gone away from comedies to emphasize big budget comic book movies that generate big box office returns. But it has certainly been a golden age of comedy TV.

My theory is that the vast majority of comedy classics were made in an era stretching from the late 70s to the early 2000s. BUT, that doesn't mean there haven't been great comedies to come out since then. And I'm always on the lookout for new ones. So what are your nominations for the best modern comedy classics (since 2007 -08)?

My favorites:

Step Brothers, Pineapple Express, MacGruber, Tropic Thunder, Bridesmaids, What We Do In the Shadows, They Came Together, Black Dynamite, Wanderlust, Sisters, Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping.

Honorable Mention: You Don't Mess With the Zohan, The Heat, Hunt for the Wilderpeople,The Dictator.

Discuss...

 

uminks

January 28th, 2023 at 12:36 AM ^

Many of the Monte Python movies. All the Mel Brooks movies, Air Plane, Trains Planes, and Automobiles. Caddy Shack, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Dumb and Dumber, Water Boy, Happy Gilmore, Wedding Crashers. Office Space Wow, they are all on the other side of the 15 year window!

L'Carpetron Do…

January 28th, 2023 at 1:03 AM ^

Animal House, Ghostbusters, Tommy Boy, My Cousin Vinny, Coming to America, even later gems like Saving Silverman, Anchorman, Snatch/Lock Stock etc. are all in the previous time period. All of these and the ones you mentioned easily outrank any in the post-07/08 period. 

I'm still proud of my list, though. MacGruber and They Came Together are my two modern favorites and are saving the spoof/parody genre. They are both incredibly funny. So I like to think comedy isn't totally dead. 

 

NittanyFan

January 28th, 2023 at 12:49 AM ^

A couple other folk upstream mentioned it already, but 'This Is The End' is by far the funniest movie since 2010 for me. 

That movie also works --- at a certain level ---as a philosophical movie too.

michgoblue

January 28th, 2023 at 1:32 AM ^

Comedies have generally sucked for the past 15 years. Go back and look at the great comedies and not a single one could be made today because they would be deemed “offensive” by someone. 
 

I guess the best comedy in the timeframe that the OP suggested was Anchorman 2 (#1 was better but falls outside the date range). Other than that, I’ve got nothing. Maybe some of the Minion movies if you want to go with an animated comedy directed at a younger audience that still has crossover appeal to adults. 

BlueWolverine02

January 28th, 2023 at 2:55 AM ^

You know you are getting old when you see a thread like this and the first movie that popped into your head was Dumb & Dumber.  There is a good chance I haven't seen a comedy that has come out in the last 15 years.  I've hardly seen any movies that have come out in the past 15 years.

The Deer Hunter

January 28th, 2023 at 2:58 AM ^

Impossible list depending out your taste, but I start will Will Farrell, Adam Sandler, & Jim Carrey and go from there. Kristien Wiig is right up there too. What they do have in common is SNL. 

mrgate3

January 28th, 2023 at 6:20 AM ^

In Bruges (2008, barely in under the wire) and The Death of Stalin. And by extension, anything by Martin McDonagh or Armando Iannucci.

 

"Geez, he swears a lot don't he?"

"What's a war hero have to do to get some lubrication round here?"

Grampy

January 28th, 2023 at 10:12 AM ^

I took my wife to see In Bruges because I had the impression that it was a buddy comedy.  It was not. My wife was mortified, although she has a sensitivity to violence on-screen.

I can't believe that no one has brought up 'Spy' yet.  I thought it was hilarious.

chrisu

January 28th, 2023 at 6:23 AM ^

Pitch Perfect. Read me before you neg me on this. Somewhat predictable humor in a Disney gone college setting, but Mrs. chrisu and I have 5 grown kids (4 dudes and a princess), and when they would come home for dinner/movie night, they all picked/agreed on this. The first time, and several times after. Not sure if it's the humor, or that memory for me, but makes the list for me.

1VaBlue1

January 28th, 2023 at 2:09 PM ^

My wife's favorite movies of all time - the Pitch Perfect trilogy.  She watches them so much I  bought all three just to avoid the streaming rentals fees. They have their moments, but the girls are all really pretty and the movies are just easy to watch.  I call them the 'pretty girls in little skirts' movies...

L'Carpetron Do…

January 28th, 2023 at 12:43 PM ^

Your comment may be proving my point. Nevertheless, I stand by my list. 

Step Brothers and Pineapple Express hold up and are growing into modern classics. They Came Together and MacGruber are brilliant spoofs and Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do In the Shadows are excellent Taika Waititi works.  Almost all of the others have at least one brilliant scene. While a movie like Sisters may be overlooked and some will scoff at it on a list like this, watch the scenes with Bobby Moynihan, Greta Lee and John Cena and tell me they're not hilarious. Give all those movies an honest watch again.

Perkis-Size Me

January 28th, 2023 at 11:06 AM ^

It’s not a bad movie, but it’s going to forever live in the shadow of its predecessors, at least three of which are (in my opinion) unquestionably better movies, two of which are classics (original Vacation and Christmas Vacation). But it’s going to be measured against them, whether that’s fair or not. 

Vegas Vacation is the only one that I’d say is kind of meh. Still has a few good moments but not a classic.