Top 20 Comedy Movies No One Expected To Be Good

huh that was actually really funny welcome to watch mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 comedy movies that were better than we expected for this list we'll be looking at various comedies in which the critical reception box office performance and cultural impact were far more impressive than people were expecting tina eat eat the food number 20 hot tub time machine thanks to that silly title audiences knew exactly what they were getting into check it out they must have fixed it come on this sounded like just another goofy guy comedy that would come and go without much fanfare even the lead billing of john cusack seemed questionable as he's not really the type of actor audiences would expect to lead a movie like this you know it's not always about my emotional journey that could be about yours but the script was surprisingly dexterous and intelligent using its main characters as targets of satire the characters were also far richer than anyone thought they would be everyone was well cast and the sci-fi flick often leaned into its own ridiculousness these aren't things viewers typically see in a gross-out comedy such as this and it took critics and audiences by surprise hey john lennon gets shot wait that already happened number 19 blockers blockers sounded like an outright disaster it's a sex comedy which aren't often critical darlings that's what trying things is for to teach you things it's contradiction it was directed by a writer producer making her directorial debut so things were likely to be rough around the edges it starred john cena which seemed more like a meme than anything else and even the title itself is derived from a dirty term but the movie ended up being adored not only for its humor but also for its themes and tone what about a little chugging contest yeah bring it it flipped the teen sex comedy on its head by focusing on the parents and it treats the characters with empathy and respect lending the story in undeniable sweetness these are people not caricatures and that is all too rare within the genre it was just really nice what you said it's good i mean it thanks i feel like like phil jackson was coaching number 18. beetlejuice beetlejuice beetlejuice [Music] beetlejuice it's showtime tim burton's eccentric colorful and somewhat morbid approach to comedy has resulted in a number of critical and box office successes but back in 1988 the prospect of getting big laughs with the story about a deceased couple haunting their house was far from a done deal you want to get rid of the people who have moved in here barbara and i worked very hard on this house we probably wouldn't mind sharing the house with people who were more like you used to be given that michael keaton's most recent films hadn't set the box office on fire and winona ryder wasn't yet a recognizable name expectations for burton's follow-up to pee-wee's big adventure were not high but the sensibilities of this cast and director were perfectly in tune resulting in a quirky film that gets laughs from unexpected places [Applause] number 17 zombieland rule number one for surviving zombieland cardio when the virus struck for obvious reasons the first ones to go were the fatties at the time of zombieland's release many felt the zombie craze was dying down could a zombie comedy with an odd twinkie fascination really resurrect the genre tallahassee had a sick sense of humor when it came to zombies zombies aren't the most lovable creatures but he really hated them in fact the only thing he was more obsessed with than killing zombies was finding a twinkie add to that the fact that it was director reuben fleischer's first feature film and expectations were not exactly sky high yet this offbeat flick became one of the genre's biggest hits and was hilarious to boot credits sharp writing a solid cast and some funny action sequences for its success and of course that bill murray cameo was a major plus mix it all together and you get a comedy that defies expectations oh murray you're a zombie oh god i'm on fire ouch you're not a zombie you're talking you're okay the hell i am number 16 girls trip deaf direction and a strong cast can turn a standard comedic premise into a really good movie and as premises go a group of friends going on a road trip is about as standard as you can get but regina hall queen latifah tiffany haddish and jada pinkett smith made their characters believable and fresh i'm gonna be cool i'm gonna be cool i just want to say hi to that song i'ma just say hello no no no don't you say hello no dina don't do that remember ryan said this is her life [Music] with haddish stealing the show as the hilarious dina their friendship felt so real that audiences were only too happy to laugh along with them and girls trip was a huge critical and commercial success the result a trip that's surprisingly fun to take look i get it you're upset i shouldn't be throwing things in a place of work why are you making air quotes this is a place of work lesson learned how you so understanding number 15 mean girls it was written by tina fey produced by lauren michaels and had tim meadows in the cast so it's easy to assume this would be a run-of-the-mill snl movie if you need anything or if you want to talk to somebody thanks maybe some other time when my shirt isn't see-through okay okay turns out this teen comedy bucked the trend and was an original thoughtful and funny flick the real surprise though is this 2004 film's cultural impact so you've actually never been to a real school before shut up shut up i didn't say anything while mean girls is an apt title meme girls would have worked as well more than a decade later the film's characters and one-liners live on in numerous memes endlessly quotable relatable and hilarious all at once mean girls is timeless getting loser we're going shopping number 14 21 jump street i think you idiots are perfect you're officially transferred all right that's great where should we report to down on jump street 37 jump street no that doesn't sound right that's it turning an old tv show into a big screen action comedy has been done so many times that it's almost about as commonplace as well the undercover cop trope phil lord and christopher miller's adaptation of 21 jump street involves both those things yet it turned out to be incredibly entertaining in no small part thanks to the on-screen chemistry between jonah hill and channing tatum it also had solid character development just the right amount of self-referential humor and one hell of a comedy and action-packed limo chase in fact the movie was such a hit that it spawned a solid sequel and almost a men in black crossover you literally yo this is the best thing ever number 13. harold and kumar go to white castle on the surface this might look like your standard stoner comedy and road trip movie but harold and kumar go to white castle is so much more than a one or two note joke fest our parents came to this country escaping persecution poverty and hunger hunger harold they were very very hungry they wanted to live in a land that treated them as equals a land filled with hamburger stands instead it's a comedic odyssey through various communities that deals with some serious social issues such as bigotry and racial profiling you want me to cross give me the cross i will cross it makes you happy i will cross i'll do it it also offers an abundance of twists and turns along the way as two friends who just want to reach white castle john cho and cal pen are well defined and sympathetic enough to keep the audience rooting for them even if their goal is a fast food restaurant the movie launched their careers and led to a sequel where you going wherever god takes me number 12 game night guys this is madison yeah you brought her last week you work at forever 21 right no no i work at sephora i'm confused different girl same same look same voice nice to meet you you too what's yours that's uh no i think you're supposed to kiss it right welcome the premise seems simple a competitive couple participate in a game night with their friends and unusual hijinks ensue but despite sounding like a cookie cutter comedy this 2018 film is far from it instead the team behind horrible bosses delivers enough twists and turns to keep the audience constantly guessing gotta capture this moment honey get in there we'll take a quick little selfie here and send it off to the losers one two three the charismatic ensemble cast manages the difficult trick of keeping viewers on the edge of their seats while also making them laugh with popular party games incorporated into the characters attempts to foil a kidnapping this is genuinely a game night to remember [Music] number 11 spy the spy genre is one of the most easily spoofed as such audiences have been given countless spy parodies throughout the years with seemingly diminishing returns oh god he went into a building okay well well done that's it time to call it today but the winning magic of paul feig and melissa mccarthy resulted in what is arguably the freshest and funniest spy spoof in recent memory that's exactly what i was thinking much of the praise stems from feig's writing directing and mccarthy's lead performance but much can also be said for the supporting roles you've got a big night ahead of us don't be afraid to clean yourself up amber take a shower is what i'm saying rose byrne's comedic timing and line delivery are spot on and jason statham provides a self-aware performance that was gleefully outlandish and surprisingly hilarious spy made the spoof genre funny again i drove a car off a freeway on top of a train while i was on fire not the car i was on fire jesus you're intense number 10 clerks do you have that one with that guy who was in that movie that was out last year clerks was shot on a paltry budget of about thirty thousand dollars which was rounded up by kevin smith taking money from his college fund maxing out credit cards and selling his comic books it was also shot in black and white and the story concerned the slacker employees of a convenience store just going about their business are either one of these any good i don't watch movies well have you heard anything about either one of them i find it's best to stay at other people's affairs in no world would this bare bones movie have worked but smith's assured direction and sharp dialogue combined with the winning performances of the inexperienced cast helped turn clerks into a cult classic many people saw themselves in the characters and smith was praised for capturing the general malaise of lost and directionless 20-somethings you know there's a million fine looking women in the world dude but they don't all bring lasagna at work most of them just cheat on you number nine tropic thunder tropic thunder is one of the smartest and funniest comedies of the 2000s but no one really expected it you hit that director in the face yes the cast was stacked with the likes of ben stiller jack black and robert downey jr but the general concept of an action spoof had been well trod and ben stiller's directorial filmography was spotty at best tropic thunder proved his first big hit as a director scoring nearly 200 million dollars and earning critical praise for its send-up of conceited hollywood culture actors producers studio executives the movie industry in general nothing was safe from the biting and wide-reaching satire of tropic thunder while many of the film's jokes wouldn't necessarily work today there's no denying that downey and tom cruise's performances are simply legendary with downey even scoring an academy award nomination for his efforts you're more shredded than a julian salad man thanks yeah what's the secret dude it's a dying just diamond yeah cause i'm trying to come up a little but it's just it's tough you look good number eight jumanji welcome to the jungle cake is my weakness along with speed and strength huh strength is my weakness hey can i quick question how is strength my weakness the original jumanji starring robin williams is a classic so audiences could have been forgiving for viewing this belated sequel with trepidation but with a fresh modern twist on the premise it was a surprisingly fun and side-splitting movie while in 1995's jumanji a brother and sister get sucked into a board game welcome to the jungle puts an entirely new cast inside a video game instead dwayne johnson jack black karen gillen and kevin hart all give great performances and the fast-paced comedic action really works it's since spawned a sequel of its own and is poised to become a franchise [Music] number seven the other guys much like spy comedies the cop spoof genre is ancient and seemingly played out this city's dying for a hero is it yeah what about nine million socially conscious and unified citizens all just stepping up and doing their part but like spy the other guys proves that sheer talent both behind and in front of the camera can overcome even the most overplayed of genres adam mckay and will ferrell make for a great team and they provided a stellar one-two punch with step brothers and the other guys two movies that work far better than they had any right to where are you going i'm going upstairs because i'm gonna put my nuts hat on your drum set this buddy cop flick gleefully parodied the genre in numerous inventive ways including the absolutely stellar opening sequence and will ferrell and mark wahlberg made for an unexpectedly delightful duo maybe we should uh call ourselves the febreze brothers because it's feeling so fresh right now right let's do another fresh start because i just wanted to punch you in the face in a sea of cop spoofs the other guys is the other movie the rare great one i did my first desktop it's a real thing right number six bridesmaids bridesmaids was a monumental success effortlessly crossing demographics and grossing nearly 300 million dollars worldwide the movie could be enjoyed by anyone as it deftly mixed seemingly disparate genres i don't know what to say you look megan are you okay it was a raunchy comedy a sentimental chick flick and a touching buddy story with each aspect given equal importance it wasn't just a gross out comedy with women as it was so often build help me i'm poor it was also an intelligently written and wonderfully performed film that took an honest look at its characters lives and situations crafting rich and mature themes amongst all the farting puking and pooping well you're really doing it aren't you i'm just [ __ ] in the street it also helped launch melissa mccarthy's comedy career which led to future fig marthy collabs like the heat and spy life is good i'm life and i'm gonna bite you in the ass number five home alone home alone is now a christmas classic but very few people had faith in the film back in 1990. look what you did you little jerk warner brothers seemingly couldn't care less and shut down production over budgetary concerns and fox picked it up with a still measly 18 million dollar budget what else could we be forgetting and even though it managed to get made no one was expecting it to perform particularly well at least not as well as it did other than that i'm in good shape for some reason home alone really resonated with general audiences and its growth slowly ballooned over the holiday season and went to an insane 476 million dollars you guys give up or you're thirsty for more it stayed at number one for 12 consecutive weeks at the time and became the third highest grossing movie ever behind only star wars and e.t it was the little christmas movie that could keep the change you filthy animals number four the 40 year old virgin this one could have been so bad they were nice you know and like you grab a woman's breast and it's and you you feel it and it feels like a bag of sand when you're touching it bag of sand based on the title viewers could have been forgiven for expecting vulgar low brow humor and stereotypes the late roger ebert sure thought that's what he was in for and was delighted to instead find it surprisingly insightful with a good heart and a lovable hero you know what i respect women i love women i respect them so much that i completely stay away from okay i have a very fulfilling life and now i am making your silver pants blue most moviegoers concurred and the film became a substantial hit steve carell was previously best known for his contributions to the daily show and this film put both him and director co-writer judd apatow firmly on the hollywood map for good reason just just stop calming me down and tell me what i should do okay we just take everything that's embarrassing and we move it out of here so it doesn't look like you live in neverland ranch number three napoleon dynamite talk about coming out of nowhere what are you gonna do today napoleon whatever i feel like i wanna do gosh this quirky small town comedy made for four hundred thousand dollars by a team just out of college went on to make 46 million dollars and become a cult hit complete with merchandising and a bronze statue at 20th century fox studios with an unknown director and no known stars no one expected much and so were surprised by the film's heart and originality got shocks pegs lucky you ever take it off any sweet jumps you got like three feet of air that time it was director jared hess in star john heater's first feature film and boy did they knock it out of the park this simple personal story about ordinary high school students told with irreverent humor struck a chord with audiences and is still quoted today so what do you think that's pretty cool i guess oh man i wish i could go back in time i take state this is pretty much the worst video ever made number two the hangover made for just 35 million dollars the hangover starred bradley cooper ed helms and zach galifianakis none of whom were particularly popular at the time this isn't the real caesar's palace is it it was directed by todd phillips who was known for his raunchy but somewhat underwhelming comedies and the story came across as dude wears my car in vegas i look like a nerdy hillbilly but the finished product was far more than the sum of its generic parts as it was well shot and written impeccably acted and genuinely hilarious the comedy turned its relatively unknown actors into movie stars hey there's a baby on board someone just said baby it's a baby goat many of its scenes and lines became iconic and it became the 10th highest grossing movie of 2009 with 467 million dollars the hangover series would see diminishing returns but the first is a bonafide comedy classic in the face before we unveil our most unexpected number one pick here are a few honorable mentions eurovision's song contest the story of fire saga netflix scores a sweet funny and fun movie about icelandic singers at eurovision [Music] the nice guys who knew ryan gosling and russell crowe would be so funny together you take a header off the balcony and now you're going to tell me it's like a a hallowed time on a detective ploy right it was very slippery up there friday ice cube proved his comedy chops by writing and starring in this cult classic come on craig man stimulate your mind man it's friday gonna get you high good boys this profane comedy starring children is hilarious but it also has a lot of heart rixie can i kiss you why why yeah what do you like about me before we continue be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you'll have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you're on your phone make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications number one super bad gangsters what's up guys today superbad is fondly remembered as one of the greatest comedies of the 2000s it helped launch careers it revitalized the raunchy teen comedy and it is unyieldingly hilarious from beginning to end credits but no one would have guessed it changed your name to mclovin mclovin what kind of a stupid name is that fogle what are you trying to be an irish r b singer made for a minuscule 20 million dollars superbad starred michael sarah who no one had really previously paid much attention to and jonah hill who was then only a minor part of seth rogen and aptow's movie gang not to mention the script was written while rogan and evan goldberg were teenagers nothing against teenage creativity but they don't often pump out acclaimed million dollar grossing hollywood comedies but superbad captured the high school experience in all its awkward and zany glory and it became one of the most important and cherished comedies of our time hey greg why don't you go piss your pants again that was like eight years ago [ __ ] people don't forget do you agree with our picks check out this other recent clip from watchmojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the 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Channel: WatchMojo.com

Views: 1,336,450

Rating: 4.8598542 out of 5

Keywords: comedies that were better than expected, unexpectedly funny movies, comedy movies, funniest comedy movies, best comedy movies, funniest movies, unexpected box office hits, funniest movies of all time, comedies that made us laugh, comedies that exceeded expectations, movies that were better than expected, best comedies, best comedies of all time, superbad, bridesmaids, 21 jump street, Film, Comedy, Movies, watchmojo, watch mojo, top 10, list, mojo

Id: FwwSrS0bQVw

Length: 23min 21sec (1401 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 27 2020