A good dumb comedy movie can be just the tonic you need after a long and tiring day. They allow us to switch off our brains and simply enjoy whatever silly amusements they have in store for us. While there have been plenty of stupid movies that we get a few giggles from and then forget all about, there have also been some that have become iconic classics of the genre with their underlying brilliance and have kept movie lovers coming back for repeat rewatches.
While all of these movies run with a silly brand of comedy, beneath their exteriors of crude humor and low-brow appeal there lies a creative comedy masterythat is easy to overlook in itself, but gives these films a quality that many others lack. From satirical masterworks to the gold standard of stoner comedies, the characters in these films may be dumb, but don’t go thinking the movies themselves are too.
45’Duck Soup' (1933)
Directed by Leo McCarey
When it comes to the marriage of feverish goofiness and timeless genius in comedy, there are few names more illustrious than the Marx Brothers. The films of the colorful comedy troupe are the epitome of slapstick, gag-a-minute laugh fests with every second spent trying to procure laughs in one way or another.Duck Soupis something of a masterpiece in this regard, with the politically-minded satire following Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) in his new station as the leader of Freedonia, with his rule being threatened by spies dispatched from the neighboring land of Sylvania.
Within the confines of this narrative, and its 68-minute runtime,Duck Souprelentlessly hurls jokesof all varieties at viewers.Everything from absurd visual gags to physical comedy, witty wordplay, and even musical mayhem gets its chance to shine. Despite being a financial disappointment upon release, it has come to be revered as the Marx Brothers’ defining masterpiece and is an enduring icon of the delightful lunacy of slapstick comedy in all its genius.
44’This Is Spinal Tap' (1984)
Directed by Rob Reiner
“It’s such a fine line between stupid, and uh… clever.” Wiser words have never been said, and they appear in the 1984 mockumentary comedy classicThis Is Spinal Tap. A send-up of the music industry, particularly the heavy metal hair band of the era, it follows filmmaker Marty DiBergi’s (Rob Reiner) efforts to film a documentary on the American comeback tour of British metal band, Spinal Tap, including feature interviews with each of the band members.
The film revels in the dim-witted philosophy of its focal characters, but it never stoops so low as to make them a punch-line without also equipping them with oddly endearing elements, even as it does serve as a relentless skewering of the delusions of rock ‘n’ roll culture.Its genius is in its detail, with the accuracy of the stupidity on display making it an authentic masterpiecethat has earned praise from many real-life rockers from the era. It is the ultimate cult film, a bona fide comedy classic, and insurmountable proof that sometimes it really is a fine line between stupid and clever.
This is Spinal Tap
Directed by Edgar Wright
The first of the threeEdgar Wrightcomedies starringSimon PeggandNick Frost—that have affectionatelybeen dubbed the ‘Cornetto’ trilogy—Shaun of the Deadthrives as a magnificent send-up of zombie movie tropes and horror cinema at large. It follows Shaun (Pegg), an aimless salesman who finally finds the inspiration to break the cyclic nature of his life, rekindle his romance with his ex-girlfriend, and take better care of his mother when the dead rise and begin feasting on the living.
While the spoof movies of the early 2000s were typically juvenile and flagrant,Shaun of the Deadproves that the parody genre can still be done well, especially when the creatives involved have a deep respect for what is being mocked. As such,the film takes a silly premise and makes it one of the greatest horror-comedies of all time, a spectacle that is full of laugh-out-loud moments but also exceeds itself as a gnarly and gory zombie flick as well.
Shaun of the Dead
42’Spy' (2015)
Directed by Paul Feig
It would seem that many glanced at a spy parody movie starringMelissa McCarthyand immediately dismissed it as a cheap cash grab defined by its stupidity and its smut. Those who did do that couldn’t have been more wrong, withSpya consistently hilarious and surprisingly progressive blending of comedy and action that flaunts noteworthy intelligence as well. It follows McCarthy’s CIA analyst Susan Cooper as she is forced from her desk job and into the field to infiltrate an arms deal and gain intel on a portable nuclear device.
McCarthy dazzles in the lead role, while the ensemble cast around her all deliver note-perfect performances to fill the movie with an absorbing sense of fun. Further bolstered byPaul Feig’s deceptively witty script and his measured direction,Spystands asa uniquely brilliant marriage of action cinema and chaotic hilarity that makes for one of the most underrated comediesof the 2010s.
41’Animal Crackers' (1930)
Directed by Victor Heerman
“One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don’t know.” The wordplay of the Marx Brothers could so easily have been frustrating and conducive to eye-rolls, but laced with an acidic zest and Groucho’s perfectly rapid delivery, the gags work an absolute treat. Few of the Marx Brothers’ movies flaunt this trait of the troupe quite likeAnimal Crackers.
Based on the group’s 1928 Broadway play of the same name, the film follows famed African explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding as he attends a dinner party held in his honor where the theft of a valuable painting sees the hunter cast in the role of detective. Perhaps the troupe’s most frenetic and fast-paced of all the Marx Brothers’ movies,Animal Crackersisa magnificent and maddening display of comedy at its most absurdthat inspires fits of laughter by the minute.
Animal Crackers
40’Galaxy Quest' (1999)
Directed by Dean Parisot
SpoofingStar Trekas a gimmicky sci-fi comedy,Galaxy Questis, on face value,an easy film to dismiss, but there is a hilarious might and even a touching homage to itthat has seen it age among the finest parody films ever made. It follows the cast of ‘Galaxy Quest,’ a B-grade sci-fi series from the ’80s that has amassed a cult fanbase. When the program is misinterpreted as being historical documents by an alien race, however, the TV stars find themselves being pulled into an intergalactic feud against a ruthless tyrant and his alien army.
It pokes and prods at the eccentricities ofshows likeStar Trek, but it does so in a way that is playful and praising more so than pointed. It also makes the absolute most of its star-studded cast and is wise enough to still present its own unique story that is both ceaselessly hilarious and genuinely exciting. 25 years on from its release,Galaxy Questremains a wholesome love letter to fan culture that strikes a beautiful and brilliant balance between teasing mockery and starry-eyed reverence.
Galaxy Quest
39’Monty Python and The Holy Grail' (1975)
Directed by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam
Monty Python and the Holy Grailrepresents the iconic comedy troupe’s first foray into feature film-making, and it is quite possibly their defining masterpiece.Ridiculous, whimsical, and gloriously silly, the wacky re-telling of the Arthurian legend features the English comics at their outlandish best, be it in regard to their political allegory, their slapstick spontaneity, spoofing splendor, and, of course, their litany of memorably hysterical characters.
Whereas so many comedy hits of the 1970s have aged quite poorly over time,Monty Python and the Holy Grailhas arguably grown stronger over the decades. Such sequences asthe Black Knight and his flesh wounds, the Legendary Black Beast of Argh, and even the simple visual gag of the endless running scene are iconic moments in the history of comedy cinema, and a testament to how truly ingenious a seemingly simple gag can be.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
38’Office Space' (1999)
Directed by Mike Judge
On surface-level inspection of its premise,Office Spacepresentsa cathartic comedy romp of desk job frustrations and the monotony of the 9-to-5 work week. Truth be told, that is kind of exactly what it is, but it executes its story with such rousing precision, with such unfettered, awkward truth and honesty, that it has reverberated around America and across generations as one of the quintessential workplace comedies.
It follows Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingstone), a disgruntled programmer at a tech company whose growing resentment of his job and his personal life takes an inspired turn courtesy of a fateful appointment with a hypnotherapist.Office Space’s handling of the malaisethat many people experience in the workplace is defined byMike Judge’s razor-sharp anti-conformist sensitivities that permeate through every barbed familiarity of the American office space, resulting in a work of scathing satirical genius that has remained ever-relevant since its release.
Office Space
37’Clerks' (1994)
Directed by Kevin Smith
Another brilliant display of workday monotony,Clerksplaces its slice-of-life focus on the typical experiences during a shift for store clerks. Called in on his day off to cover for a co-worker’s morning shift, Dante (Brian O’Halloran) embarks on yet another day of work as an employee confined to his small convenience store. He defeats the mundane existence that is shift work by discussing movies with his friend from the neighboring video rental store, annoying troublesome customers, lazing around, and even playing hockey on the roof of the complex.
It relishes the aimlessness of young adult life, soaking in the mind-numbing drudgery that is shift workwith a powerful resonance that—while it may not have aged quite as timelessly as the aforementionedOffice Space—still wields quite the impact today. Made on a measlybudget of around $27,000,Clerkswent on to be a monumental success, one that still stands as one of the landmark comedies of the 1990s.
36’Stir Crazy' (1980)
Directed by Sidney Poitier
The unlikely yet perfectly matched partnership betweenGene WilderandRichard Pryorled to four feature films released from 1976 to 1991. Arguably none of them had the impact of their 1980 crime-comedy rompStir Crazy, which sees the two leads starring as aspiring artists who find themselves wrongfully sentenced to prison for a bank robbery they did not commit. After pretending to be wildly insane to scare of other inmates, the two pals devise a cunning plan to escape as the annual prisoners’ rodeo draws near.
The premise sometimes overplays its hand and some of the set-ups grow a touch tired, butthe film always has the benefit of allowing Wilder and Pryor to do their thing. While it has its lulls,Stir Crazyhas ultimately come to be adored as a stunning, sidesplitting presentation of one of the screen’s greatest comedic duos at the peak of their powers.
