It's always a good time to laugh. OK, no. If there's one thing Joker taught us, it's that is definitely not true. But in general, most of us could use more humor in our lives, which is what makes comedy movies such a special treat. They give us a chance to take a break, take a breath, and let out all that pent up energy, tension, and whatever else is on your mind in a communal guffaw.
And it's been a, let's call it interesting, year in comedy with the dreaded discourse ever-cycling back to debates of the boundaries of comedy, who gets to tell what jokes, and the idea of cancel culture. And yet, despite the catastrophizing cries about the death of humor, comedy movies thrived on the big screen (and streaming) in 2019, across genres and mediums, including some breakout box office surprises (looking at you Knives Out and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), a few oddball delights, and several awards contenders.
In short, there was a lot of good stuff and with that in mind, we polled the Collider.com for their favorites of the year. Here are the best and funniest comedy movies of 2019, from the critical darlings and indie gems to genre-bending surprises and box office hits.
Shazam!
One of the biggest surprises of 2019 for me was the superhero comedy Shazam! Anchored by a soulful performance by Asher Angel as Billy Bastion, a foster child with the magical ability to transform into a muscle-bound adult superhero, the film manages to explore virtually every comedic aspect of its premise for maximum jokes. It’s like Big with a slightly shittier kid, as Billy uses his newfound power to buy beer, ditch school, and grift fans for Instagram likes, among other decidedly unheroic things. Zachary Levi defies you not to be charmed by his goofball performance as Billy’s alter-ego Shazam, and Jack Dylan Grazer bounces off him excellently as Billy’s enthusiastic foster brother Freddy.
Freddy and Billy testing out Shazam’s different abilities are some of the movie’s best scenes, in particular, a standout moment in which they discover Shazam is bulletproof. There are some tonal shifts that don’t quite work, and I never believe that the spastic Levi and the pensive Angel are the same character, but Shazam is consistently funny and a refreshing departure from the standard superhero film formula. -- Tom Reimann
Booksmart
Olivia Wilde came out of the gate swinging into her directorial career with a bold and ambitious teen comedy that delivers unforgettable characters by treating them with bottomless empathy and constantly dropping them into wild shenanigans to keep the laughs up. Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein star as ride-or-die BFFs; a pair of consummate overachievers who realize they need to cram in some partying before graduation. Their dynamic is a constant delight, peppered with a steady flow of banter that keeps the film moving at a clip, and punctuated by moments of classic teen comedy insanity. And nobody brings the crazy better than Billie Lourd as the neighborhood rich party girl, who's constantly defying expectations with her soulful candor. Wilde went bold with her debut, delivering a provocative comedy that's vigorously shot and consistently surprising. Without question, Booksmart is one of the year's most heartfelt, very best comedies and a knockout debut for Wilde. -- Haleigh Foutch
The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
“Oh no, are we in a musical?” asks Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) moments before Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) bursts into a joyful tune about how she’s definitely not evil. Lucy asks the question with some disdain, a winkingly self-aware dig at how older audiences may react when taking their kids to The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and realizing everyone’s about to sing. But here’s the thing: At this moment, I asked the same question -- with nothing but joy and wonder in my eyes and heart. And friends, I am pleased to report to you that, beyond being an exquisitely crafted joke machine, surprisingly emotional meta-commentary on the purpose of play, and visual feast of animation invention, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is indeed a full-blown musical, with delightfully catchy, inventive tunes penned by The League’s Jon Lajoie -- one song is literally about how catchy it is!
Like its predecessor, The Lego Movie 2 jabs you with jokes by the second, germinating equally from character behaviors and straight up “written jokes.” It also takes the twist from its predecessor (these Legos are being played with by human children) and takes it as a given, resulting in an even more rich meta-narrative that choked me up. Plus -- Chris Pratt’s dual performance as Emmet and Rex Dangervest is likely his finest work to date, particularly as Dangervest -- a role which starts as a fun parody of self-serious action movie stardom and turns into a genuinely unsettling critique of toxic masculinity. But, y’know, funny! -- Gregory Lawrence
The Dead Don't Die
Jim Jarmusch’sThe Dead Don't Die is a polarizing pic, mostly (if not especially) because it’s a self-aware, meta zombie movie brimming with deadpan humor from the dude least likely to make that kind of movie. But let it be known that surprise turn from the auteur works.Jarmusch had previously dipped into the supernatural well with the thoroughly sublime Only Lovers Left Alive, which followed a vampire couple grappling with their tortured romance and the philosophical and existential woes of eternal life. Here, in The Dead Don’t Die, Jarmusch leans even harder into the freakish, supernatural delights of the zombie genre while also winking at us repeatedly that this ain’t your mama’s undead horror.
I’ve never really thought of Jarmusch as a guy who loves a good bit, but man, he really goes for it in The Dead Don’t Die. Among the best of the bits are repeated scenes of two cops (played by frequent Jarmusch collaborators Adam Driver and Bill Murray) driving along and listening to the song “The Dead Don’t Die” by Sturgill Simpson. You quickly know what this movie is going for when, during one rotation of the track, Driver’s character tells Murray’s matter-of-factly, “This is the theme song,” as they drive. Another incredible bit comes after the first zombie attack hits the local diner, with each member of the police force driving up, asking the same questions as the last, and it culminating in Chloe Sevigny’s cop character puking in front of her tiny electric car. Jarmusch is having fun in the zombie sandbox without ever becoming a slave to it, weaving it and out of logic and straight narrative storytelling and giving to his viewers a light, fun, corny slice of undead mania. -- Allie Gemmill
Long Shot
Long Shot is a weird movie, but then again Jonathan Levine makes weird movies. He used the zombie genre to tell a love story in Warm Bodies, crafted a heartbreaking “cancer comedy” in 50/50, and turned in a drug-fueled Christmas movie in the supremely underrated The Night Before. But Long Shot is basically The American President meets a Seth Rogen comedy, and somehow it totally, completely works.
Rogen plays a progressive journalist who gets pulled into writing some speeches for the Secretary of State (Charlize Theron), who also used to be Rogen’s babysitter. A sweet, profane, and surprising romantic comedy ensues, and Rogen and Theron are genuinely pretty terrific together while Levine also tactfully tackles the political atmosphere of 2019 in a way that, impossibly, doesn’t feel preachy. Again, weird! – Adam Chitwood
The Beach Bum
Under all of his absurdities, director Harmony Korine has a heart. In the case of The Beach Bum, that heart buried under a fair bit of surf and sand but believe you me, it’s there. Korine’s March 2019 release stars Matthew McConaughey as layabout poet Moondog, a Margaritaville wannabe who probably smells like a mix of Banana Boat and Hennessey at all times. Moondog is adrift, an addict who treats everyone as a BFF in the making and feels absolutely zero pressure to take responsibility for his life. His world rapidly derails when his ex-wife, Minnie (Isla Fisher) is killed in a freak accident during the couple’s wild night out on the town.
Even though The Beach Bum has its downbeat moments, there are tons here to lift it up into the realm of the absurdly hilarious. Trips to the surreal growhouse of Moondog’s friend (and Minnie’s current boo), Lingerie (Snoop Dogg), an extended sequence where Moondog helps out old friend Captain Wack (Martin Lawrence) swindle a nice family of four out of their money while on a marine life sightseeing trip, Moondog’s performance of some rather graphic poetry performance at his comparatively straight-laced daughter’s nuptials, and even his breaking out of rehab with Zac Efron’s Flicker (looking like the biggest South Florida scumbum to ever exist) are just a few of The Beach Bum’s most memorable and comedic moments. If you missed this one, seek it out on Hulu because it’s not only one of the funniest movies of the year but it’s perhaps the best introduction to Korine if you have somehow managed to skip his work all these years. -- Allie Gemmill
Midsommar
Yes, sure, Ari Aster's Midsommar is a dark and disturbing horror movie about confronting grief, trauma, and codependence. It also happens to be hilarious. That's part of what makes it so special, and such a caddy-corner sophomore effort from the Hereditary filmmaker after his relentlessly bleak and crushing feature debut (though that film too had moments of humor, just not quite as obvious). Aster was hired onto the project to write a horror movie about tourists facing terror at a Swedish Midsummer festival, and he approached the task with self-aware irony, leaning into the comedic beats amidst the carnage and writing a literal love letter to the tropes of the pagan cult subgenre on the intricately adorned walls of his constructed village. Aster himself has said he considers the film a dark comedy, including the punchline of an ending, which finds a laughing place in the madness of despair. It's a perverse, disquieting comedy that, like the film's sun-drenched setting, acts as a perfect highlight to its horrors. -- Haleigh Foutch
Brittany Runs a Marathon
Brittany Runs a Marathon is not the movie you think it is, in the very best way. The film stars Jillian Bell as an overweight woman who sets out to train for and run the New York marathon as a way to get in shape, which she also believes will change her life for the better. Changes do come, but they’re a mix of positive and negative as Bell’s character learns the hard way that her issues are related to who she is as a person rather than how she looks on the outside. It’s a surprising, sweet, and frequently hilarious comedy with a dash of romance for good measure. But it’s also genuinely moving, and Bell gives a star-making performance that deftly navigates both comedic and dramatic territory. Brittany Runs a Marathon isn’t just one of the best comedies of 2019, it’s also one of the best films of the year full-stop. – Adam Chitwood
Dolemite Is My Name
The story of Rudy Ray Moore, portrayed here by Eddie Murphy in his best performance in a very long time, is a deftly made blend of hysterical comedy and occasional pathos. Rudy, a failed emcee and record store manager, is inspired by a local bum in 1970s Los Angeles to reinvent himself. Stealing and polishing this poor sap’s material, Rudy becomes Dolemite, a pimp who spits crass rhymes and owns the stage, finding local fame overnight. Producing comedy records, he parlays his popularity into a movie career, making (self-aware?) Blaxploitation flicks that have endured as cherished pieces of ‘70s cinema. But the film focuses on the making of the first one: Dolemite—a misadventure of a production if ever there was one.
Craig Brewer’s entire cast is superb (Wesley Snipes and Da'Vine Joy Randolph are standouts), but the movie is Murphy’s through and through. It’s a reminder of the actor’s otherworldly comic chops that have been in short supply over the past two decades thanks to some curious choices he’s made. He’s so perfectly cast here, however, as a larger than life individual as funny as he is sympathetic. -- Brendan Michael
One Cut of the Dead
All I can say about One Cut of the Dead is to know as little about it as possible before going in. Since it's an indie Japanese movie that hasn't suffered from non-stop marketing, you can do that! The brief tease is that the movie follows a film crew that's filming a zombie movie when they have to fend off zombies, but that's really just the tip of the iceberg for this incredibly clever, brilliantly shot spin on the zombie genre. The film is quirky, cute, and surprising in all the best ways. Go in cold and you'll likely end up having a blast. - Matt Goldberg
Plus One
Plus One is a fantastic hangout movie in the sense that you just like hanging out with these characters. Co-written and co-directed by Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer, the film stars PEN15's Maya Erksine and The Boys' Jack Quaid as a pair of old friends who make a pact to attend all their upcoming wedding obligations together and wind up falling in love. It's a tried and true classic rom-com set-up, but even if Plus One doesn't break the mold structurally, it's a delightful and fresh spin on classic rom-com tropes thanks to a snappy banter-filled script and wholly charming performances from Erksine and Quaid. The duo have killer chemistry and they're both knockouts with a deadpan delivery, and their easy but crackling energy makes the film a breezy good time at the movies from start to finish. -- Haleigh Foutch
Mister America
From a quantitative standpoint, I don’t think I laughed harder at any 2019 movie than Mister America. Taking place in the On Cinema-verse -- Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington’s multimedia comedy franchise that started as a bad-on-purpose movie review podcast and has ballooned out to a collection of Adult Swim series, multi-day murder trials, and IRL Twitter beefs -- the film somehow plays equally great for true believers of the mythology and complete newbies. Take that, MCU!
Heidecker, playing the miserable version of himself he’s perfected over the years, is running for district attorney of San Bernardino county. Who’s his opponent? The DA who almost put him behind bars for murder, of course. We follow Heidecker’s journey through small-stakes political implosion via mockumentary format -- director Eric Notarnicola does an excellent job of reminding us why this comedy sub-genre works so well, making sure to highlight Hedecker’s bravado toward camera versus the obvious patheticism inherent every step of the way. And when Turkington shows up, the eternal “let’s just talk about movies” thorn in Heidecker’s side? The film cranks up the heat and thensome, culminating in a “candidate Q&A” sequence that is equal parts hilarious, mortifying, and even a little sinister. I’ll end on a hot take: Terri Parks deserves a Best Supporting Actress nod for her work as Heidecker’s campaign manager-turned-lover. -- Gregory Lawrence
Knives Out
Rian Johnson’s Knives Out is not your typical Gothic mansion murder mystery for a myriad of reasons. Not only do we learn a whole lot more information about the nature of our victim’s demise in the first act, but there's one very particular detail plaguing our much renowned detective that separates the film from others of its ilk. Who did the deed is not what Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc wants to know. Rather, who hired him is the bedeviling question in his mind. And cracking that is the key to bringing sense to this most unusual case. Johnson pairs Blanc with Ana de Armas’ Marta—nurse of the deceased—making for 2019’s most surprising and riotously funny comic duos. Thanks to dynamite performances from the ensemble cast of eccentrics, and a whip smart script whose plotting was handled with as much care as the jokes consistently populating its pages, this This Agatha Christie meets Clue whodunnit is probably the most fun you’ll have at the movies this year. -- Brendan Michael
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The trailers suggested this one might have a good deal of levity to it, despite the backdrop of one of the more grisly events in Tinseltown’s history, forever making Charles Manson a household name. But Manson is hardly the story here. Quentin Tarantino puts Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) front a center, as a Hollywood has-been and his stunt man, respectively. Their friendship is the movie’s story, which tracks the pair in the final year of the 1960s. hough there are some offbeat and amusing exchanges throughout, very little about the film looks and feels like Tarantino made it. Until the third act. It’s here where he turns high tension into uproarious comedy, leaving you with something you won’t soon forget.
He’d altered history before (Inglorious Basterds), but the fun he’s having with the climax of this thing are what make the movie the sort of memorable fantasy you’ll wish resembled the historical record, if only for the yucks of it all. With Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Tarantino managed to honor the memory of Sharon Tate while simultaneously turning the Manson Family into 2019’s biggest joke. -- Brendan Michael
Velvet Buzzsaw
Boasting an amazing ensemble cast featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, and John Malkovich, Velvet Buzzsaw is like a zany episode of The Twilight Zone, with a few scenes of bloody horror thrown in to punctuate its message. Gyllenhaal is especially delightful as art critic Morf Vandewalt, whose volcanic outbursts of indignant outrage at anyone who challenges his status or opinions are like solar flares of over-the-top comedic fury. There’s one glorious moment in which he renounces a previous good review of an artist’s work after discovering the artist has slept with a woman he’s interested in, and his brief self-important meltdown is a top-tier exercise in buffoonery. Malkovich is also great as an alcoholic has-been artist struggling to paint something marketable again, and Collette is similarly fun as a vapid curator trying to push her shitty clients on everyone. It’s a movie about insufferable opportunists getting murdered by haunted artwork, so the satire isn’t exactly subtle, but judging by the film’s title, I don’t think it was ever meant to be. -- Tom Reimann
Good Boys
One of the most hysterical, laugh-out-loud surprises of the year, I'll admit I had somewhat written off Good Boys as "not my thing" before settling in for a watch and being completely charmed by its distinct combination of childish innocence and outright raunchy comedy. The feature debut of The Office and Bad Teacher producer Gene Stupnitsky, Good Boys stars Brady Noon, Keith L. Williams, and Jacob Tremblay as grade school BFFs who go on a wild adventure with a bag full of drugs (drugs they desperately don't want) on their way to a big party. It's been described as a pre-teen Superbad and that's fair, especially with the influence of producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, but the secret strength of Good Boys is in its purity and the absolute know-nothing innocence of these kids who are in way over their head. That uniquely endearing quality makes Good Boys, not just hysterical, but surprisingly lovely, uplifting, and earnestly adorable. -- Haleigh Foutch
Extreme Job
I love a heartfelt movie about a bunch of weirdos that's not afraid to be absolutely silly. A massive success in South Korea that's already been scooped up by Kevin Hart's production company for an English-language remake, Extreme Job largely slipped under the radar in America (I probably would have missed it if I didn't catch it at Fantasia Film Festival earlier this year,) which is a damned shame. Centered on a group of screw-up cops who keep botching the job, Extreme Job follows the odd bunch on their last-chance bust; major drug busting operation that puts them undercover at a local chicken restaurant. Naturally, they're so good at making chicken they almost forget how bad they are at being cops. It's ridiculous and relentlessly light-hearted, right down to the chicken-clucking score and wisely leans in on the fantastic chemistry between the ensemble of unforgettable characters. It also mixes in some of the best action of the year between the belly laughs. I walked out of Extreme Job feeling lighter than any other movie this year, and if you love a feel-good comedy about the power of well-meaning screwups, you absolutely have to put this one on your list. -- Haleigh Foutch
Fighting with My Family
I use Letterboxd, a service in which you can log, review, and make lists of movies to share with other Letterboxd users -- it’s a social network for movie fans. After I see a film I’ve never seen before, I always jot down a lil review. Here’s what I wrote for Fighting with My Family: “I don’t mean to be hyperbolic, but this is the best movie anyone has made or will ever make.” Okay, so, yes, that is likely a little hyperbolic. But one thing’s for sure: Stephen Merchant’s inspirational sports dramedy is the crowd-pleaser of 2019, and I do not understand why more people aren’t singing its praises. Based on a true story, Florence Pugh (damn, what a 2019 she’s having!) plays the daughter of a working-class British family that lives, breathes, and practices wrestling. She and her brother (Jack Lowden) try out for the WWE, under the hopeful eyes of their parents (Lena Headey and Nick Frost). But what happens when she makes the cut and he doesn’t?
While Merchant’s work has notoriously been known for its cringeworthy incisions of pathetic men (The Office, Hello Ladies), he wears his more empathetic, hopeful tones well, grounding what could read as hackneyed tropes in authenticity. Even as the film reaches its predictably joyous conclusion, Merchant is unafraid to complicate every step of the way with moments of jealousy, confusion, judgment, and pain. Oh, and also, it’s riotously funny. Never mind, I stand by my Letterboxd review, this is the best movie ever made, end of story, give it all the Oscars, bye bye. -- Gregory Lawrence
Knives and Skin
If you like your comedy dark, weird and deadpan, with a side of sing-a-long-worthy a capella breaks, Knives and Skin is a very specific dream come true. Filmmaker Jennifer Reeder delivers a staggeringly confident feature debut (not particularly surprising given her long history of knockout shorts) that cements her auteurist grasp on tone and style. Featuring an ensemble cast largely comprised of discoveries and unknown (or in some cases, under-celebrated) actors, Knives and Skin thrives on a strange frequency pitched between John Waters and David Lynch with a fearless commitment to candid queer feminism. Gorgeous to look at, the neon-noir follows the collective insanity of a small town after a teenage girl goes missing, weaving a tapestry as it dips in and out of the intimate lives of the town's citizens. It's a true unique, one-of-a-kind surreal musical/mystery/drama/comedy that makes me cackle every time I watch it. -- Haleigh Foutch
Late Night
It shouldn't be as easy to love Late Night as it ends up being. Despite being penned by seasoned multi-hyphenate Mindy Kaling and featuring both her name and Emma Thompson’s at the top of the bill, Late Night has a shaky start á la Bambi getting its footing on the ice. Late Night follows the intersection of rising star late night writer Molly Patel’s (Kaling) path with aging stand-up-turned-late-night-
host Katherine Newbury (Thompson) as the former begins working for the latter and is quickly roped into helping Newbury’s show stay on the air lest younger, more male talent be called in to host.
There are some big, memorable moments in Late Night — like Molly getting hit with garbage while giving herself a pep talk, which we saw — which pair nicely with the mostly dialogue-driven comedy which is reflective of Kaling’s own style. The wordplay and banter between Katherine and her staff as well as Molly’s razor-sharp one-liners make for a fresh movie which leaves you both wanting to see more but also extremely happy with what you were allowed to witness during the movie’s runtime. Thompson is also in the freakin’ zone as Katherine, whether it’s laying into her male writers with her caustic wit or throwing a bone-dry eye-roll at an unsuspecting guest. Late Night is full of true comedic surprises which, in this male-dominated comedy world, feel especially hard to come by. -- Allie Gemmill