The 50 Funniest Movies of All Time

From satire to screwball, romantic to parody – the comedy is a versatile beast.

Sometimes nothing is more soothing than an easily digestible funny movie. Every once in a while, that funny movie is so great that you’re still quoting it 25-30 years later.

One note: while there are no movies on this list that predate 1970, we decided to keep the ‘all time’ tag. There are plenty of movies from that era that deserve to be on this list, but we tried to stick to the ones that our generation has first hand experience with.

Click here to see the “science” behind how we ranked these movies, and to meet the panelists that ranked them.

50. Revenge of the Nerds

After revisiting this film I realized that I never fully appreciated how brilliant this David vs. Goliath (or is it David vs. Ogre?) tale really is. I was probably way too young to have seen this when I did (first movie I saw the female pubis in). Being a nerd and outcast myself back then, this truly hit home for me. In a time when bullying is so prevalent, this film still resonates but it also makes you piss your pants with laughter. Lambda Lambda Lambda!

49. Roxanne

This 1987 romantic comedy is a retelling of the classic story of “Cyrano de Bergerac”. Steve Martin stars as CD Bales (same initials!), a fire chief in a small town who happens to have an overly large nose. He meets and falls in love with Roxanne (played by Darryl Hannah) who has her sights set on another fireman. The romantic comedy has a great supporting cast, with the likes of Fred Willard, Shelly Duvall,  and a young Damon Wayans.  One of the best scenes is where CD is challenged to come up with “20 Nose Insults” about the size of his beak.

48. Zoolander

I have to admit that when I first heard of Zoolander I thought it would be incredibly stupid and completely unfunny.  It may be pretty stupid, but when I caught it on TV the first time I laughed so much that it hurt.

47. Happy Gilmore

One of two golf comedies to make our list and the only Adam Sandler film, Happy Gilmore made the cut due to a variety of quotable scenes.  It doesn’t hurt that it features UnderScoopFire favorite, Julie Bowen.

46. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Not only is this one of the funniest movies of all time but it’s also one of the best musicals I have ever seen. Based on the hit tv show South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone bucked a traditional adaptation and decided to make it a musical instead. Five minutes into the film you knew you were in for a wild time. The experience of seeing this for the first time with a small group of family and co-workers holds a dear place in my heart. Oh, they bash Canada- which is awesome too!

45. Young Frankenstein

A parody of the classic Universal Monster movies, Mel Brooks takes the traditional Frankenstein monster story and turns it on its head. Fantastic comic performances from Wilder, Kahn and Garr, and of course, the unforgettable Marty Feldman. “Walk this way…”

44. Superbad

This is one of those movies that gets fairly regular air time on cable networks like FX, and every time I stumble upon it, I’m hooked. Now, I have been told that I should seek professional help for my Michael Cera obsession, however- I say if you can make it through the scene where Evan sings The Guess Who’s “These Eyes” awkwardly yet with increasing confidence without at least chuckling, you are dead inside.

43. The Cable Guy

Better known as the first “bomb” of Jim Carrey’s career (a $20 million salary puts a bullseye on your back). I would contend that the film was not marketed properly and audiences expected another Ace Ventura or Lloyd Christmas. Instead, they got a deeply dark, super funny flick about a lonely cable guy named Chip (Carrey) who befriends newly single Steven (Matthew Broderick). When Steven wants nothing more than a casual friendship, Chip’s warped side comes out. Great supporting cast including Jack Black, Jeanine Garafalo, Owen Wilson, Andy Dick, Ben Stiller and Eric Roberts (playing twins in a movie within the movie!). This movie holds up 16 years later, if not for the Owen Wilson bathroom scene alone (Salt peanuts! Salt peanuts!).

42. Liar Liar

Jim Carrey checks in again, and this won’t be the last time. Carrey owns the comedic 90s, so when word came out that he would be playing a narcissistic attorney who was suddenly compelled to tell the truth, no matter how brutal, we salivated with anticipation. I remember enjoying my first viewing but feeling a bit disappointed, however, after watching it multiple times since, I find it funnier each time.

41. MacGruber

I may be in the minority on this one, but this is one comedy in recent years that quickly became one of my all time favorites. To successfully go from Saturday Night Live sketch to full length movie is not an easy task (see: It’s Pat). Will Forte and company join the ranks of successful attempts (see: Wayne’s World) and put together one of the raunchiest and most ridiculous movies to come out. Most people run away from bombs. I run to them. And this box office misfire is pure comedy heaven.

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