Even though we’re in a weird time where most comedies are being released straight to streaming and those being released in theatres are doing rather poorly, this past year offered a lot of great ones in both regards and here’s our countdown of the 5 best along with a few honorable mentions. Before diving into this list, it should be noted that this list will consist of films that are primarily referred to as comedies or known mostly for their comedy. So that means films like Babylon, The Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Cha Cha Real Smooth, which all feature some comedy in them, won’t be included on this list. With that out of the way, lets dive in…
Honorable Mentions:
Bros
Bros deserved a whole lot better than what it got. The film is easily one of the best studio romcoms of the past several years that just so happened to be one of the sweetest and most heartfelt as well. It’s leads Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane are wonderfully paired and have some of the best chemistry of 2022. This is an undeniable crowd pleaser full of big laughs and a major step forward for representation in film.
I Want You Back
Despite coming out fairly early in the year, I Want You Back has remained one of the funniest and most enjoyable romantic comedies of 2022. It has a terrific ensemble led by the never better Charlie Day and Jenny Slate who work extremely well together and share some really natural chemistry. This is a total charmer and a throwback to romantic comedies of yesteryear. Also, big shoutout to Scott Eastwood who turns in the best work of his career here.
Clerks III
Clerks III could’ve gone either way especially considering how long it’s been since its predecessor and Kevin Smith’s recent track record but luckily this gave fans everything they could’ve asked for as it wraps up the trilogy with a surprisingly emotional and very heartfelt fashion. The raunchy humor is still there and the chemistry between Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson has never been better. However, what most will walkaway from this final installment is how genuinely sweet and moving it surprisingly is. It will more than please the biggest Kevin Smith fans but also show his detractors how much he’s matured and grown as a filmmaker.
Vengeance
Vengeance is a rock-solid directorial debut from B.J. Novak that works as both a murder mystery and a commentary on modern America. It’s much more of a darkly comedic thriller than a straight up comedy, but it still contains some big laughs mostly thanks to Boyd Holbrook’s hilarious supporting role and its showing the cultural divides in America. In the end, it is one of the more underrated films to come out in 2022 so if you missed it, it’s definitely worth a look.
Rosaline
Rosaline is a great sophomore feature from Karen Maine with a great sense of humor and a perfectly cast Kaitlyn Dever in the title role. Dever was born to play the role of Rosaline and gets a great opportunity to show off her excellent comedic chops while Bradley Whitford and Christopher McDonald bring a lot of laughs in their supporting roles. It delivers a fun, cute and fresh spin on the Romeo + Juliet story with modern touches that actually works.
Do Revenge
Do Revenge is a teen comedy classic that pays homage to many of the classics from the 90’s and 2000’s era including Mean Girls, Heathers, and Clueless being the most obvious comparisons while still having enough of its own modern edge and unique style to more than stand on its own. Camilla Mendes and Maya Hawke share electric chemistry together and lead an excellent ensemble full of winning performances from the entire cast. It’s smart, clever, darkly funny, and even goes in a few directions audiences might not expect. This one might’ve just missed the top 5 but it gets a big recommendation, nonetheless.
Top 5
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Starting off the top 5 is the biopic to end all biopics. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a glorious send up of the musical biopic genre that is wildly entertaining, absolutely crazy, and full of hilarious cameos. Those going into this expecting a traditional musical biopic will probably walk out extremely disappointed or confused beyond belief but for those who go into this knowing it’s a parody, then it’s an absolute riot and one of the funniest movies of the entire year. Daniel Radcliffe is clearly having the time of his life in the title role and it’s among the best performances he’s ever given. He nails every single comedic beat and really puts himself out there like we’ve never seen him before. Evan Rachel Wood is a hilarious standout as Madonna and Toby Huss is hysterical every time he’s on screen as Al’s father. This premiered at TIFF (which is luckily where we got to see this) before premiering on The Roku Channel and seeing it with a crowd was one of the more memorable theatre experiences of all of 2022. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all and is full of historical inaccuracies which only makes the experience all the more outrageous, inventive, and fun.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent could’ve gone either way given it’s extremely meta and somewhat ridiculous premise. But thanks to clever writing and game performances from Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal, it turned out to be one of the funniest and most enjoyable movies of 2022. This will undeniably play better for big time Cage fans, but even casual fans can still have a great time with it and really appreciate how much he pokes fun of himself and his career without it ever coming across as obnoxious or unpleasant. This is a hilariously meta, surprisingly touching, and heartfelt love-letter to Cage, his life, career, and cinema in general that’s very funny and self referential but also a bit deeper and more heartwarming than one would initially expect. Cage is fantastic as a fictionalized version of himself but even he is overshadowed by Pascal who steals just about every scene he’s in. Their bromance is everything one could hope for out of it and the chemistry they share is off the charts. There’s an argument to be made that this would’ve been even better if it dropped the whole action/kidnapping stuff but it’s still clever, self-aware and laugh-out-loud funny.
Triangle of Sadness
It’s already perfectly clear that Triangle of Sadness isn’t for everyone and is the film most likely out of any on this list that someone would completely hate. But those who can get on board with Ruben Östlund’s latest satire will have an absolute blast with it. The film outrageously hilarious from start to finish, unpredictable and contains some biting social commentary that pokes plenty of fun at the rich and wealthy. It isn’t exactly a subtle film, and many will be bothered by how far it takes things in some scenes, but an extended sequence in the middle of the film remains one of the most entertaining, funniest and grossest things to come out of last year. Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean (RIP) are the glue that holds it all together, but the entire ensemble is fantastic with Dolly de Leon being a major standout. It won’t work for everyone due to it feeling like 3 separate films at times, it’s abrupt ending and its excessive length, but there are few films from last year that play better with a crowd like this one did.
Jackass Forever
From a filmmaking and quality standpoint, Jackass Forever normally wouldn’t be this high up on the list but it nonetheless remains one of the absolute best and funniest theatre experiences of this past year. If someone isn’t a fan of the Jackass franchise or this type of humor than they will likely hate this one but there is no way any fans of the franchise could have walked away from this disappointed or let down. It has all the insane, creative, disgusting, painful and ridiculous stunts/pranks audiences could hope for, and the film updates many of their previous stunts to hilarious effect. This is the first Jackass film with new cast members and all of them are welcome additions who fit in nicely with the older cast members. It’s so nice to be reunited with this cast again and it makes it even more fun watching them badly injure themselves because of how much genuine fun they seem to be having and how great their chemistry remains. Seeing this with a crowd who was fully into it and laughing all the way through really made us miss when mainstream comedies were being released regularly. Hopefully this opens the door for them to come back.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Coming in at #1 is of course Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. It’s kind of incredible how a whodunit somehow managed to be far and away the funniest film of the year but thanks to Rian Johnson’s brilliant, clever, and hilarious screenplay, he pulled it off. This is a murder mystery first and foremost and it somehow never loses sight of that despite delivering consistent big laughs throughout. One of the primary reasons this is as funny as it is, is due to the cast who all deliver their lines perfectly and are clearly all having a blast working together with Daniel Craig, Kate Hudson and Edward Norton being responsible for the film’s biggest laughs and most quotable lines. The way this pokes fun of the rich isn’t subtle but it only adds to the fun and the celebrity cameos planted throughout are very amusing. Once the mystery is actually revealed, and the motivations are figured out it’s absolutely priceless. There were a lot of great comedies in 2022 but none were able to top the sequel to Rian Johnson’s expertly crafted Knives Out and we’ll be eagerly awaiting the third instalment.
Stay tuned as we run down the best films in other genres as we finish our 2022 wrap-up. What comedies are you looking forward in 2023? Check out our interactive 2023 theatrical release calendar here.
*still courtesy of Netflix*
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