The 10 best comedy films of the 2010s

The 2010s produced many excellent comedy films, including some Best Picture winners. Comedies don't always compete for the biggest awards, but some of the funniest films of the 2010s combined elements of psychological dramas and in-depth character studies. That doesn't mean there weren't more traditional light-hearted comedies, because the 2010s had a little bit of everything.

In general, comedies from the 2010s will likely be remembered for their darkness. After the 2000s were dominated by light-hearted, crowd-pleasing comedies like Presenter: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Mean Girls, comedy films began to get darker in response. Films like Parasite, the favorite and Black Klansman they're all socially conscious comedies that offer a way for audiences to laugh at some disturbing real-world issues.

10

21 Jump Street (2012)

Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill bring out the best in each other

Rua do Pulo 21 is based on a TV show of the same name started in 1987, but has an original style and sense of humor. Before The Lego Movie and the Spider-Verse series, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller showed that they could also work in live-action. Its stars are Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, who play two rookie police officers who work undercover at a school to uncover a mysterious drug ring.

Rua do Pulo 21 takes a creative approach to his crime comedy. Based on the appearance of the two characters, it would be logical for Jenko to be the handsome, athletic idiot, with Schmidt as the clumsy, intelligent one. Instead, they are both incompetent in their own ways and constantly encourage each other to come up with terrible ideas. Somehow, their weaknesses complement each other perfectly. Rua do Pulo 21 has many ways to make audiences laugh, from raucous slapstick to memorable quotes.

9

Game Night (2018)

Game Night Makes the Most of a Quirky Concept

Game night continues the tradition of hilarious mystery films, but there are no cunning detectives to crack the case. Instead, the story focuses on a group of friends who initially think the crime is part of an engaging game night. This illusion quickly crumbles, and its picturesque suburbs are thrown into chaos. Game night mixes in some action to keep an exciting pace.

Game night was released in 2018, but feels like it could have been made 10 to 20 years earlier. Mid-budget comedies with big casts are becoming harder to find these days. Game night may broaden its appeal a bit by incorporating elements of the mystery and action genres, but its main goal is to make the audience laugh. With Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams at the top of their game, it certainly achieves that goal,

8

The Nice Guys (2016)

Shane Black's retro comedy Buddy Cop invites endless rewatches

Shane Black was a master of the buddy cop genre before The cool guyshaving written both Lethal weapon and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the latter marked his directorial debut. Still, the unlikely duo of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe made The cool guys a strange proposition. Although it was a box office failure The cool guys It quickly gained a cult following, and there have been calls for a sequel ever since.

Gosling and Crowe make a hilarious odd couple in The cool guys. Crowe's stoic tough-guy performance is the perfect foil to Gosling's frenzied nervous energy. While their dynamic is consistently brilliant to watch, The cool guys supports them with a murder mystery plot that turns into a political conspiracy. It's intriguing every step of the way and forces the two mismatched detectives to navigate some tight corners. Naturally, this brings out the best in the characters and actors.

7

Black Klansman (2018)

Spike Lee's crime comedy is stranger than fiction

After rising to global stardom as Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Adam Driver has been displaying an impressive range. By taking on interesting roles in both comedies and dramas, Driver refused to allow himself to be typecast, as often happens with actors who achieve immense fame as part of a major franchise. In Klan nigga, he and John David Washington play two police officers who infiltrate the KKK.

Spike Lee's ongoing exploration of the dark heart of racial tension in America has been surprisingly hilarious. Black Klansman is as funny as his early hits like She needs this and Do the right thing. The unbelievable plot is based on a true storywhich adds another layer to the humor. Lee makes the audience laugh at the audacity of the scheme and the ignorance of the KKK, but he turns the tables in an instant to deliver a confrontational message.

6

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

The indie horror documentary is full of laughs

Taika Waititi put together a number of great comedies in the 2010s. In addition to co-directing What we do in the shadows with Flight of the Concords star Jemaine Clement, he also directed Hunt for the Wild, Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi appears in some form in some of his films and is one of the stars of What we do in the shadows, a mockumentary that follows a group of vampires living in Wellington, New Zealand.

What we do in the shadows remains one of Taika Waititi's best films, showcasing his irreverent sense of humor and talent for directing comedies. While the script is full of hilarious quotes and the actors are all excellent, Waititi and Clement laugh a lot with jerky camera movements, strange framing choices, and knowing when to set things up in a wide shot and let them happen. What we do in the shadows It soon became a hit American TV show, but the film created the formula.

5

The Favorite (2018)

Yorgos Lanthimos' surreal satire benefits from some notable performances

Each of Yorgos Lanthimos' films is characterized by its disturbing and surreal style. He's used it a lot for psychological horror, but he often tempers it with dark comedy. The favorite It's a surprising combination of both. Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz play two women competing for Queen Anne's attention. Both were nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, and Olivia Colman won Best Actress for her portrayal of Queen Anne.

Lanthimos creates a confrontational atmosphere in The favorite. His characters speak in strange, stilted sentences without any metaphor or lyricism, but they still have the ability to lie to each other. This makes for a unique political satire that draws parallels between small personal conflicts and issues of global relations. The favorite provides some moments of levity with disarming crude humor and childish outbursts of violence.

4

Birdman (2014)

Birdman's breathless pacing makes it a tragicomic masterpiece

Michael Keaton revived his career with bird man, a hilarious meta-comedy about an actor best known for his performances in old superhero films who tries to gain relevance and respect at the same time. Alejandro González Iñárritu filmed Birdman to make it feel like one long, continuous take, which adds to the sense of intense pressure that builds around Riggan as he tries to put on a Broadway play.

The unusual style of Birdman it also maintains a fast pace for the film's comedy. Riggan's frenetic rhythm is often accompanied by jazzy percussion as he moves further and further away. Although the overall arc of Birdman is a tragic farce, there are also more succinct moments of humor. The cast includes great comedic actors like Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Norton.

3

Paddington 2 (2017)

Paddington 2 is a great comedy for all ages

Paddington 2 bucks the trend of bad comedy sequels, improving on the original in almost every way imaginable. After the first film introduces Paddington and the Brown family, the first sequel is a more exciting adventure in which Paddington is accused of robbery and sent to prison. The idea of ​​poor, wholesome Paddington being put behind bars is already funny, but the script repeatedly comes up with new jokes and unexpected developments.

Paddington 2 It's a great kids' film, but it's smart enough to entertain adults too. The key to his allure is that he doesn't talk down to his audience. It juggles many different characters without resorting to exposition dumps, and gives each of them a unique story that pays off in a rollercoaster third act. Mr. Brown's shy coconut skills, Knuckles' newfound kindness, and Mrs. Brown's swimming all play a major role in the ending. Just before the release of 2024 Paddington, Peru, a room Paddington film has been confirmed.

2

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Wes Anderson's flat compositions hide a lot of depth

Wes Anderson is famous for his quirky visual style, and none of his films show this as clearly as The Grand Budapest Hotel. However, there is a lot going on just below the surface. The Grand Budapest Hotel It's impressive to seebut his story is equally entertaining. It's essentially a convoluted adventure set in the shadows of a fascist uprising, with Ralph Fiennes playing an eccentric hotelier who becomes a marked man.

The Grand Budapest Hotel It is without a doubt Wes Anderson's best film. It seems light and charming, but hides a surprising emotional impact. From its stark physical comedy to its intentionally pathetic dialogue, The Grand Budapest Hotel tells the story of a man out of time, desperately trying to maintain a sense of decorum in a world heading towards chaos. The Grand Budapest Hotel cleverly uses two layers of a framed narrative. The third invisible layer is that the entire fabrication is Anderson's attempt to take into account his own artistic sensibilities.

1

Parasite (2019)

Bong Joon-Ho's Oscar Winner Is a Dark Social Satire

The first non-English language film to win Best Picture is a strong contender for best film of the 2010s, let alone best comedy. Bong Joon-ho's social satire follows a working-class family struggling to survive until they slowly infiltrate the luxurious idyll of a wealthy family. Parasite takes dark comedy to new extremes and has periods as disturbing and dark as a psychological horror film.

Parasite finds much humor in the grim social inequality of South Korean society. The first half has the same giddy joy of a heist movie, as the Kim family pulls off a long con to outsmart the Park family. They're easy to root for, and Bong injects a lot of humor to make them even more likable. This sets up a terrifying second half, as Parasite interrogates the very nature of dark comedy. The cast of Parasite they masterfully guide the audience through this tonal shift, and their performance even elicits laughs in some incredibly dark moments.