Most comedy movies end with a moment of sincerity, but there are a few which keep delivering jokes until the very end. The best movie endings wrap things up for the characters in a satisfying way, and this means that it’s not always the best time for a joke. Some comedies buck this trend, ending with a great punchline that leaves the audience laughing as the credits roll, although this is relatively rare.
A perfectly timed punchline can be the best ending possible in a comedy movie, and it’s more original than veering into sentimentality or getting dark like so many other comedies. The final scene often represents the idea that filmmakers want to leave their audience with. Leaving the audience with a joke can therefore make the whole movie seem even lighter and funnier in retrospect.
Burn After Readingis one of thebest Coen brothers movies, as the directing duo return to the fertile ground of crime comedies. However, unlikeFargoandThe Big Lebowski, Burn After Readingrefuses to get poignant in its final moments. The chaotic crime comedy draws to a close as two government officials try to make sense of the mess within the safe confines of an office far removed from the action.
The final scene ofBurn After Readingacts as a wry meta-commentary on the entire movie.
The final scene ofBurn After Readingacts as a wry meta-commentary on the entire movie, as if the two characters are struggling to find some kind of meaning that underpins the narrative. As they wonder what they’ve learned from the debacle, the obvious answer is that nobody has learned anything.The ending is the ultimate punch lineto a crime comedy that never abides by the rules of conventional storytelling.
Some Like It Hotis one of thebest Old Hollywood comedies, and it has aged beautifully despite dealing with some sensitive topics. The story follows two musicians who witness a gangland assassination in Chicago, so they disguise themselves as women and join a traveling band to evade the mob. The final scene inSome Like It Hotsums up the movie’s laughable comedy of errors in a single moment.
Jerry briefly entertains the idea of marrying Osgood and keeping up his lie for just long enough to become rich. Ultimately, he sees sense and tries to let Osgood down any way that he can, but he’s forced to lay his cards on the table.Osgood’s succinct, unbothered reply is one of the funniest punchlines in film history,putting a bow on a madcap comedy. Jerry has a quick comeback for everything, but Osgood leaves him speechless for once.
Tropic Thunderhas an outstanding ensemble cast, with the biggest surprise being Tom Cruise in a rare comedic role. He doesn’t get too much screentime, but Cruise’s brash, blunt studio executive steals every scene he’s in. Ben Stiller makes the wise choice to give him the spotlight during the movie’s credits sequence, and Les Grossman’s dance is as funny as anything that comes before it.
The idea of the dance scene is already funny, but the execution brings it up a notch.
The idea of the dance scene is already funny, but the execution brings it up a notch, as both the song choice and Grossman’s dance moves contribute to his over-the-top character. Tom Cruise’s performance is so enjoyable that he and Ben Stiller have discussed the idea of aLes Grossman spinoffover the years, which is something thatTropic Thunderfans would surely be on board for. Of course, another dance number would be the icing on the cake.
Monty Python’s moviesare known for their absurd comedy, so it’s best to expect the unexpected.Monty Python and the Holy Grailroughly follows the journey of a group of knights in search of sacred treasure, butthe narrative is little more than a loose structure that allows for a series of hilarious sketches.The disparate narrative threads finally come together in the end, as the knights converge on an enemy castle for an epic battle.
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Of course, the epic final battle never quite pans out, as the knights are arrested en masse by modern-day police officers. This is the final punch line to the running joke of a historian who narrates the events of the movie as if he’s presenting a documentary. It’s also a hilarious anticlimax, and one last dose of silliness in keeping with the movie’s unpredictable sense of humor.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodis Quentin Tarantino’s colorful fantasy of Los Angeles in the late 1960s, as Old Hollywood gave way to new ideas and voices. Leonardo DiCaprio’s fading movie star represents the old guard, while Margot Robbie represents the new. Robbie plays Sharon Tate, a real-life actor who was murdered by the Manson family, and this information casts a dark shadow over the scenes in which she happily cruises around the city.
Tarantino’s irreverent style is so bold that it becomes funny in the end.
Tarantino decides to rewrite history in the end, saving Tate from her fate with a glorious outpouring of violence.Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodfrequently meanders from scene to scene, presenting a few vignettes of life in the city, butits finale pays off plenty of these seemingly unrelated scenes.After the Mansons are attacked by a dog and torched with a flamethrower, Rick has a quiet conversation with his neighbors. Tarantino’s irreverent style is so bold that it becomes funny in the end.
Stanley Kubrick’s classic comedy has aged beautifully. Even though its Cold War context has become irrelevant to the present day, its razor-sharp political satire still rings true.Dr. Strangelovealso benefits from an outstanding performance by Peter Sellers, who plays three characters of different nationalities, each culpable in their own way for allowing humanity to stumble into total nuclear annihilation.
His facade of respectability is shattered, but it’s far too late to matter.
Not manyactors play multiple characters in one movie, but Sellers has impeccable comedic range. While his cowardly British military man and his self-conscious American president are more reserved characters, the title character is an eccentric. German scientist Dr. Strangelove barely conceals his allegiances to the Third Reich, and he seems to be hiding a few more secrets. After the iconic bomb drop scene, Dr. Strangelove breaks the tense mood in the war room by rising from his wheelchair and screaming in glee. His facade of respectability is shattered, but it’s far too late to matter.
Comedy sequels are notoriously difficult to pull off, but22 Jump Streetis a rare success. In the movie’s final moments, it shows a cunning level of self-awareness, and its ridiculous credits sequence teases an endless number of new sequels. This refers to the tenuous approach of the sequel. Like most comedy movies,21 Jump Streetis built around a premise that’s hard to replicate.22 Jump Streetfinds a way to make it work, but it slams the door shut on any more sequels.
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As well as making fun of itself,22 Jump Streetalso pokes fun at long-running movie franchiseswith its closing credits sequence. Some movie franchises become more and more outlandish as they stray further from the original premise, and this is the thinking that could easily lead to such ludicrous sequels as27 Jump Street: Culinary Schooland34 Jump Street: Return of the Ghost.
Airplane!is packed with great jokesfrom beginning to end. Few comedy movies manage to squeeze in so many laugh-out-loud moments, andAirplane!adds one final joke after the credits.The film is bursting at the seams with comedy, from witty wisecracks to slapstick and sight gags, so it’s appropriate that the humor can’t be contained within the regular runtime of the movie.
It’s one ofAirplane!’s best jokes, but many fans of the movie could easily have missed it.
Airplane!’s brief post-credits scene is a brilliant callback, as Ted’s taxi passenger from the beginning is seen, still in the back of the cab, suggesting that he has been sitting and waiting patiently for the entire duration of the movie.Airplane!has countless ways of making its audience laugh, and it ends by delivering a hilarious punch line that consists of a man sitting still. It’s one ofthe movie’s best jokes, but many fans could easily have missed it.
The Italian Job’s endingis one of the most famous cliffhangers in film history, as the characters are left literally teetering over the edge of a cliff with a bus full of gold. It’s also the perfect punchline to a madcap heist comedy about a group of British louts who go to pull a job in Turin, although they resemble football hooligans far more than they resemble the typical suave ensemble of 1960s heist movies.
Michael Caine gets the last line inThe Italian Jobto cap one of his most endearing performances, as Charlie claims that he has a great idea. The camera pulls back before giving any indication of what that idea might be, and Charlie’s demeanor suggests he may not be entirely sure either. The film’s writers theorized that Charlie could let the gold slide out the back of the bus, so that his gang could regroup and gather the gold at the bottom of the mountain. A sequel based on this idea was never made, andit’s probably for the best that the cliffhanger was left untouched.
This Is Spinal Taphas set the tone for so many mockumentaries that have come in the years since, but it’s still fresh. The story of a hair rock band clinging to their fading relevance in the music industryoften dips into the surreal, but it’s always presented with straight-faced, deadpan attitude.One of the movie’s best jokes focuses on how the band’s drummers keep dying in mysterious and unexplainable circumstances. The final moments of the movie offer a callback.
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This Is Spinal Tapdoes opt for the sentimental ending that so many other comedy movies resort to, but it also has one last big punch line, as Spinal Tap’s drummer randomly explodes on stage. In keeping with the movie’s nonplussed style, he is replaced in the very next shot, and the song continues without missing a beat, as if nothing happened. After more than 40 years, aThis Is Spinal Tapsequelis coming soon. Presumably, the band will have burned through dozens more drummers in the intervening years.
