Summary
The 1990s were a great time for comedy movies, with big studios and independent productions willing to take risks on adult-oriented humor. Looking back at the R-rated comedies of the 1990s highlights how studios have recently moved away from such movies. It’s a big financial risk to market big-budget comedies exclusively to adults, and this is something that may be falling out of fashion.
Studios gave plenty of creative control to comedic talents in the 1990s, resulting in some unforgettable comedy movies starring big names such as Robert De Niro, Cameron Diaz and Chris Tucker. R-rated comedies became somewhat homogenized in the 2000s. There are still hilarious R-rated comedies from the 21st century, but the 1990s were a particularly good time for them.
10 Great Comedy Movies That Would Never Be Made Today
Classic comedies reflect their time, but as societal norms evolve, some films may now rightfully be seen as problematic and wouldn’t get made today.
10Analyze This (1999)
Robert De Niro Flips His Gangster Movie Roles
Robert De Niro gets a rare chance to show off his comedy chops inAnalyze This,but he’s still playing the familiar role of a hardened mob boss. Far from the style of the Martin Scorsese movies that he’s often associated with,Analyze Thisis a comedy about a gangster who decides to see a therapist after he starts having panic attacks. In this way,Analyze Thisseems similar toThe Sopranos,but the two projects came out in the same year. Their similarities are nothing more than a coincidence.
De Niro has played a few comedic roles since 1999, but none have been as funny asAnalyze This.
De Niro has played a few comedic roles since 1999, but none have been as funny asAnalyze This.His surprisingly natural dynamic with Billy Crystal is a big reason why the movie works so well. When De Niro’s character is a fragile but potent danger, Crystal handles him with a gentle, firm hand.The constantly shifting power dynamic between the two characters is a joy to watch.The therapist wants to lead the sessions and establish some personal boundaries, but he knows what happens to people who cross the mob.
The Full Montyis a raunchy British comedy about a group of unemployed steel mill workers in Yorkshire who form a male striptease act to make some money. Their main advantage over the Chippendales, they believe, is that they are willing to go “the full monty” by stripping completely nude. The men aren’t in the typical mold of strippers, but they still manage to generate a lot of interest.
The Full Montydeals with some serious themes, including body image, homosexuality and fatherhood, but it always does so with humor and heart.
The Full Montydeals with some serious themes, including body image, homosexuality and fatherhood, but it always does so with humor and heart. Gaz’s relationship with his son is what drives him to become a stripper. It’s certainly an unorthodox story, but the love between the two reads as genuine and sweet.The Full Montyreceived a follow-up TV series on Hulu in 2023.
American Pieis responsible for the wave of teen comedies that came out in the early 2000s, as it set a new template for the genre. There have been many moreAmerican Piemoviessince 1999, but none have yet lived up to the original. Part of this is due to the fact that it’s impossible to replicate the shocking impact that the original movie had.American Piepushed the boundaries of good taste, creating an unforgettable teen comedy that defines American high school life in the 1990s.
American Piepushed the boundaries of good taste, creating an unforgettable teen comedy that defines American high school life in the 1990s.
Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan are the movie’s two romantic leads, but the ensemble comedy has a few other standout characters. Seann William Scott is superb as the ultra-macho, sex-obsessed Stifler, and Jennifer Coolidge is even harder to ignore as Stifler’s mom.There have been persistent rumors thatAmerican Pie 5could be on the cards.Reuniting the original cast once more would be the only way to make another sequel work.
Many ofRichard Linklater’s best moviescan evoke a time and place with incredible accuracy.Boyhood, Apollo 10 1/2andEverybody Wants Somedraw from the director’s own experiences to transport audiences back in time, andDazed and Confusedis no different. Although it is sometimes described as a stoner comedy, it’s really a hangout movie about high school kids who sometimes happen to smoke. The drug use is just one part of the immersive feel of the movie.
Although it is sometimes described as a stoner comedy, it’s really a hangout movie about high school kids who sometimes happen to smoke.
Dazed and Confusedis a brilliant movie to spend some time with. It uses a cast of likable characters and the setting of a single day to pull audiences into its world. Its loose structure is also more realistic, as characters bounce between interactions with different high school cliques naturally.Dazed and Confusedhelped make Matthew McConaughey into a star, but he isn’t the only young actor in fine form.
Office Spaceis a brilliant workplace satire, dissecting the pointless bureaucracy and busywork of most office jobs. Ron Livingston plays a man who grows tired of his pencil-pushing tasks, so he decides to do as little as possible while at work in the hope of getting fired. His subsequent promotion shows him the nonsensical hierarchy at his workplace, and he conspires with his two friends to tear the company down from the inside.
Office Spaceis painfully relatable for anyone who has ever found themselves working long hours in a job they don’t care about.
Office Spaceis painfully relatable for anyone who has ever found themselves working long hours in a job they don’t care about. There are obnoxious bosses and utterly bizarre coworkers all throughout the office. Peter realizes he can either play the game of office politics, or he can act like a normal human being and reject the phony artifice of work.Office Spaceis detailed enough to work over 20 years later, even when there are no more fax machines to destroy.
The fact that the title of theSouth Parkmovie contains a joke about male genitalia was the first indication that creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were ready to push their raunchy style of humor to its limits.South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncutis designed to shock and offend, but it does so with a lot of intelligence. Ultimately, the joke is on the people who decry the low morals of a cartoon, people like Kyle’s mom.
The fact that the title of theSouth Parkmovie contains a joke about male genitalia was the first indication that creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were ready to push their raunchy style of humor to its limits.
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncutis a musical movie, with plenty of hilarious songs, including “Blame Canada,” “It’s Easy, Mmmkay,” and some others too profane to be repeated here. The show often uses the crude Canadian comedy duo Terrance and Phillip as a way of commenting on its own controversies, and the movie is no different. Trey Parker and Matt Stone didn’t quite spark a global conflict with theSouth Parkmovie, but they did attract a firestorm of criticism, all of which they predicted in the movie itself.
Being John Malkovichis one of the most creative comedies of the 1990s, but its quirky premise is more than just a gimmick. The movie follows a puppeteer who discovers a portal that allows him to briefly inhabit the body of John Malkovich. Craig is willing to sacrifice everything for fame and fortune, even his own identity. Naturally, this backfires horifically, eventually leading to a tragic ending in which he becomes trapped in a young girl’s body, and he must watch the woman he loves enjoy a life without him.
Being John Malkovichis one of the most creative comedies of the 1990s, but its quirky premise is more than just a gimmick.
Being John Malkovichis wildly original, and this allows it to keep plenty of surprises throughout. The twisty narrative also helps the comedy.There’s no way of knowing what bizarre scenario may come up next, whether it’s two women using John Malkovich’s body as a vessel to act out their sexual fantasies, or a world populated entirely by John Malkoviches, saying nothing but “Malkovich” over and over again.
Many of Ice Cube’s movies sinceFridayseem to be his attempts to recapture the brilliant chemistry he shares with Chris Tucker. He often plays gruff, no-nonsense straight men, but Tucker is the perfect funny man to bring the best out of him. Their dynamic is just one part of what makesFridayhilarious, however. Thesupporting cast ofFridayis also filled with fantastic comedic actors, including the late, great Bernie Mac.
With an endless supply of memorable quotes and a smooth hip-hop soundtrack,Fridayis worth rewatching long after the initial impact of the jokes has worn off.
Fridaytakes place over the course of one day in a south central Los Angeles neighborhood.The story takes in both the mundane and the bizarre, as the two main characters struggle to find money fast so that they can stay out of trouble. With an endless supply of memorable quotes and a smooth hip-hop soundtrack,Fridayis worth rewatching long after the initial impact of the jokes has worn off.
There’s Something About Marytakes a fairly standard romcom trope to absurd new heights. While it’s common for romcoms to feature some kind of love rivalry,There’s Something About Maryfeatures a staggering number of potential suitors fawning over Mary, including NFL star Brett Favre.Cameron Diaz delivers a superb performance as Mary.She is both likable and naive enough to attract dysfunctional men who can project their own ideals onto her.
There’s Something About Maryhas a strong enough premise to work as a PG-13 comedy, but it makes full use of its R rating with some wonderfully immature humor.
There’s Something About Maryhas a strong enough premise to work as a PG-13 comedy, but it makes full use of its R rating with some wonderfully immature humor. The plot does enough intelligent, subversive work to allow for some surprisingly hilarious gags about sex and a pathetic fist fight. Each of Mary’s potential partners is terrible in their own special way, and their petty conflict provides the source for endless jokes.
The Big Lebowskistarts with a case of mistaken identity like many other dark comedy capers, but it quickly spins into something far weirder and less predictable. The world ofThe Big Lebowskiis populated by flamboyant bowlers, spiritual cowboys and violent pornography magnates. It’s a surreal crime comedy, but the protagonist wants nothing to do with any of it.
The world ofThe Big Lebowskiis populated by flamboyant bowlers, spiritual cowboys and violent pornography magnates.
The Big Lebowskiis one of thebest Coen brothers movies.It has a captivating crime plot just likeFargoandRaising Arizona,but its approach is much looser. Rather than ratcheting up the tension,The Big Lebowskifrequently dips into inconsequential conversations with quirky side characters. There’s also a beautiful dream sequence that draws parallels between the Dude’s twin passions of bowling and sex.
