10 Best Comedies Of The 21st Century, As Revealed By New Poll

The New York Times asked over 500 directors, actors, writers, and other notable Hollywood powerhouses to name the best movies of the 21st century so far, and they included several great comedies. The criteria were for each person to submit a maximum of 10 films, and while some adhered to this limit, others submitted fewer. The NYT then calculated the list.

The list included the expected critical darlings and prestige pictures, and the number one movie turned out to be the Oscar-winning film Parasite. However, there were also several surprises, including at least 10 pure comedy movies, starting at the final 100th spot with Superbad and going as high as 22 with a Wes Anderson hit.

10

Superbad (2007)

No. 100

One of the bigger surprises of The New York Times’ countdown of the Top 100 movies of the 21st century was that 15 Oscar-winning movies missed the list. However, the comedy Superbad reached No. 100. Directed by Greg Mottola, the movie was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as a loosely autobiographical film.

Michael Cera and Jonah Hill play high school friends who are going to go their separate ways after high school, and neither of them is okay with this. However, on the night they attend their final high school party, everything seems to break down between them, and they must fix it before it’s too late.

The movie was a unique film because while it was a raunchy R-rated comedy, it transcended that subgenre, and as the votes from industry professionals here show, it has stood the test of time.

9

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

No. 85

The biggest surprise on this best-of list was seeing Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy appear at the 85th spot. This was the addition that proved the list wasn’t just going to be a typical countdown of prestigious films; it would also include fan-favorite movies, as well as some cult comedies.

Anchorman stars Will Ferrell as a chauvinistic and arrogant daytime news anchor who has to figure out how to survive when a new female co-anchor (Christina Applegate) joins the previously all-male news team. The story is thin on plot, but there are a lot of laughs, and Anchorman might be Ferrell’s greatest comedic performance in a movie.

8

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

No. 63

Released in 2006, Little Miss Sunshine is a small indie comedy about a dysfunctional family learning to stand together in support of one of their own as she pursues her dreams. Abigail Breslin stars as Olive, a young girl who has qualified for the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant being held in California.

The film features an impressive cast, including Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette as her parents, Paul Dano as her brother, Steve Carell as her uncle, and Alan Arkin as her grandfather. The entire plot sees the family supporting Olive in her dreams, even when they seem to be very far away.

The movie made this list thanks to its combination of comedy and its look at a family facing an uphill battle they know they can’t win. As long as they stick together, they will always win in life. This was Breslin’s breakout role, and the comedy still holds up today as far as industry professionals are concerned.

7

Best in Show (2000)

No. 57

Best in Show is a Christopher Guest mockumentary that explores the world of competitive dog shows. Guest’s mockumentaries are also mostly improvisational, and the director allows his fantastic cast to create their dialogue based on events he establishes in the script.

It is clear that this works, as Guest has several great movies in his history, including Waiting for Guffman and For Your Consideration. However, when it comes to the best movies of the 21st century, it is Best in Show that the voters chose. With stars like Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Catherine O’Hara, and Michael McKean, it remains a hilarious comedy.

6

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

No. 56

P.T. Anderson has several movies in the Top 100, including There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, and The Master. He also has a comedy in the countdown, with Punch-Drunk Love. This is a rare Adam Sandler comedy, one in which he acts but had no involvement with the script.

Sandler is Barry Egan, a man who owns a small company and whose anger issues cause him serious problems with everyone around him. This is a romantic comedy starring Emily Watson as the female lead, with regular Anderson actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman also making appearances in the movie.

Punch-Drunk Love didn’t receive the kind of award recognition that other P.T. Anderson movies did, but it left a mark on industry professionals, who have ranked it as the 56th best movie of the 21st century.

5

Borat (2006)

No. 53

It seems almost hard to believe, but Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) made an appearance on the best movies of the 21st century list at the 53rd position. Borat is a mockumentary in which Sacha Baron Cohen pretends to be an international visitor, but the people he meets do not realize it is a movie.

At the time of its release, Borat was a huge sensation, with the idea that he could make bad people look even worse in his movie, and he somehow got away with it. This is also a movie that has stood the test of time, even after so many years. There was even a Borat sequel, but it was only the original that was good enough to make this countdown.

4

The Favourite (2018)

No. 52

The Favourite is a historical comedy by Yargos Lanthimos about Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) in 1705 England. She has little interest in governing and prefers to play with her rabbits, while her confidante, Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), manages the country on her behalf. However, when she meets Abigail (Emma Stone), things get out of control.

This is a comedy of manners, with the central conflict coming between Abigail and Sarah, as they both vie for the queen’s attention. However, the star here is Olivia Coleman as Queen Anne, and she went on to win an Oscar and Golden Globe Award for her performance.

3

Lady Bird (2017)

No. 39

Greta Gerwig has two movies on this list: Frances Ha (No. 90) and the comedy Lady Bird (No. 39). She also had another film, Barbie, which received several votes but not enough to warrant a spot. Lady Bird is a story about a mother and her daughter at a stage in their lives where neither of them understands the other.

Saoirse Ronan is Lady Bird, someone who wants to escape her hometown and find her place in the world, while Laurie Metcalf is her overbearing mother, who feels her daughter is ungrateful for what she has done to help her grow up. However, Gerwig smartly doesn’t make one a bad guy, as she allows them just to be real people.

The film remains an impressive character study of two people who have deep vulnerabilities, but neither of whom are willing to show it.

2

Bridesmaids (2011)

No. 32

One of the most surprising comedies to hit the list of the best movies of the 21st century is Bridesmaids. When it came out, many people described it as a female-led version of The Hangover. While The Hangover was one of the most successful R-rated comedies of all time, it didn’t make this list at all. However, Bridesmaids did.

That is because, while the two movies are similar, Bridesmaids stands on its own, and as this countdown shows, it is the better of the two films. The Hangover was about a situation where the guys had to solve a mystery. However, Bridesmaids is a film about friends and how they must change to hold onto each other.

Melissa McCarthy won an Oscar for her performance, but the entire cast deserves credit for why this movie remains so iconic. It is the heart and spirit that is why industry professionals loved Bridesmaids enough to add it to the list of the best movies of the 21st century.

1

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

No. 22

Wes Anderson has a movie in the top quarter of the list of The New York Times Top 100 Movies of the 21st Century. Released in 2014, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a movie about a group of people either staying at or working at the titular location in the fictional Eastern European country of Zubrowka.

Ralph Fiennes portrays Monsieur Gustave H, while the supporting cast includes notable names such as F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Jude Law, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, and Owen Wilson, among others. The talent on display largely accounts for its excellence.

The Grand Budapest Hotel earned nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won four. When asked why he voted for the movie, author Dennis Lehane said, “It’s either the saddest comedy I’ve ever seen, or the most hilarious tragedy I’ve ever seen.”