Let's Talk Funny
A deep dive into the best comedies of the 2020s.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there aren’t that many comedies in theaters anymore. There are comedy-adjacent movies, which range from funny action-comedies, amusing dramedies (think A Real Pain or Anora) or shockingly humorous horror. And yet, the big-budget studio comedy has gone the way of the dinosaur.
There are a lot of reasons, but most notably, movie studios are trying to eventize everything. They’re focusing on showing you worlds and ideas that are less reliant on a bunch of guys (it’s usually guys) riffing, to hit big and make oodles of money. With the reliance on the foreign box office, comedies don’t always translate. It’s much easier to watch someone flying and understand what’s happening in a different language than it is to get the nuance of a joke or prolonged bit.
Also, mid-budget movies just aren’t being made at the same pace they were 10-20 years ago. Streaming services buy up any and all comedies, and a lot of stuff that would’ve been made 10-20 years ago doesn’t have the same runway it once had.
And yet, there was a run in the mid-2000s in which it felt like there was always a big-budget comedy on the big screen. There was the Will Ferrell run, from Step Brothers to Anchorman to Elf to Talladega Nights. There was the overlapping Judd Apatow Cinematic Universe, from The 40-Year-Old Virgin to Superbad to Forgetting Sarah Marshall to Bridesmaids. And there were out-of-nowhere behemoths from The Hangover to Borat to Meet the Parents.
2017’s The Big Sick feels like a pretty big change and test case, where the comedy needed to come packaged inside a sentimental idea—in this case, a romance centered on cultural differences after one of the protagonists is put into an induced coma. It was more plot-driven and less joke-driven. Great movie, to be fair, it just feels like a big shift from the nonsense of something like Pineapple Express, which was purely about putting up as many jokes per second.
A lot of comedy moved to TV, but we’re not talking about TV. Get out of here with that television nonsense.
And so, I wanted to look back at the 2020s and give you my (correct) takes on the best comedies of the decade. Because I’m generous, I’m going to break down my favorite pure comedy, and I’ll also drop in my favorite comedy-adjacent movie(s) from each year.
Let’s start with the newest addition:
2025: Friendship
Directed by Andrew DeYoung
This is the inspiration for this entire post, and I can’t recommend this one enough. Especially in a crowded theater. Although I found myself sinking into my seat while watching, this pitch-perfect, awkward comedy brought to you by Andrew DeYoung and Tim Robinson feels like an extension of I Think You Should Leave. Paul Rudd plays a weatherman, Kate Mara plays an exhausted wife and Tim Robinson plays … Tim Robinson. This is just so damn funny. It also has one line that makes me laugh whenever I think about it. As cringey as possible, but a hell of a time in theaters.
Comedy Adjacent: Black Bag, Eephus, Paddington in Peru
2024: Kinds of Kindness
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
I gotta be honest with you. I don’t feel good about this choice at all. I mean, I love this movie—it was my favorite of last year—but it’s too weird and off-putting to work as the best comedy of a given year. It really goes to show you how bleak the pure comedy genre is when my options were this or Problemista, Drive-Away Dolls and Snack Shack, along with comedy-adjacent films like Anora, The Substance, Will & Harper, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, Between the Temples and A Real Pain. I wouldn’t say any of these are pure comedies. But also, does it matter? I don’t know. This entire write-up is hurting my head.
Comedy Adjacent: Anora, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, Between the Temples
2023: Bottoms
Directed by Emma Seligman
Bottoms is a real throwback. A high-school comedy that straddles the line between nasty, sweet and ridiculous. It’s Not Another Teen Movie mixed with Superbad mixed with Fight Club, and it’s unbelievably funny. Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri are two of my favorite working actors, and they light up the screen in this nonsensical comedy. There are so many laughs and so many bits. A+ work from everyone involved. A real comedy! We did it.
Comedy Adjacent: Asteroid City, Poor Things, Amanda, The Holdovers
2022: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp
This is another tough one, because my initial thought was The Banshees of Inisherin, but I watched this with my friend Molly, and she was visibly rattled after the showing. I think she liked it, but I doubt she’ll ever watch it again. Editor’s Note: I sent this paragraph to Molly, and she got very upset again: “I do not think it’s funny.” -Molly
Anyway, I went with Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, an adaptation of a YouTube phenomenon voiced by Jenny Slate. It’s a sweet comedy with some ideas of family on its mind, but I think it’s funny enough to work under this arbitrary comedy banner.
Comedy Adjacent: The Banshees of Inisherin, Dual, Barbarian, Official Competition
2021: Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Directed by Josh Greenbaum
Okay, now we’re talking. This Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo comedy is as dumb (complimentary!) as it gets. If you haven’t seen it by now, you should. We watched it at the tail-end of Covid, so at home, and it was one of the best first-watches I’ve ever had. A remarkably silly story that has no real point other than to make you laugh. Takes clear inspiration from the decades of comedy in theaters before it, and is also its own very odd thing. Everyone’s on board, especially Jamie Dornan, and for that, we’re thankful.
Comedy Adjacent: Shiva Baby, Licorice Pizza, Inside, The French Dispatch, Luca
2020: Palm Springs
Directed by Max Barbakow
There’s a lot happening in this knowing Groundhog Day-inspired rom-com, but I’m giving it the edge because it features comedic powerhouse performances from Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti, and it made me laugh during Covid, which was very, very nice. This ingenious wedding sci-fi comedy has the vibes of Apatow’s apex (strong Forgetting Sarah Marshall energy here), but it lets Samberg be Samberg. What else could one want? Would’ve been great on the big screen with a packed audience, but I watched this in my parents’ basement while eating a box of Nilla Wafers. 2020 … what a time.
Comedy Adjacent: Shithouse, On the Rocks, Another Round
Okay, that’s it. Hope you laughed. If not, here’s Marcel the Shell.