Maybe it’s because I am aging, or perhaps I’m just becoming a grumpy old man, but I seem to encounter fewer and fewer outright belly laughs at the movies anymore. I recall the glory days of my youth, when comedy films like The Naked Gun and Spaceballs commanded my attention, and find that broad spoofs that I once so enjoyed are now much less common, having given way to a brand of spoof that is, well… do I need to bring up A Haunted House 2?
2014 was an average year for comedy films. A lot of the comedies of the year were decent and entertaining, but not at all notable: this is the time when we recall that Bad Words was released in 2014. And, of course, some of the worst films of the year were attempts to make us laugh; I personally really loathed Horrible Bosses 2. There were, however, a few nuggets of actual comedic genius hidden amongst the glut of mediocre yuk-fests like Blended and That Awkward Moment.
Check Out: The Best Movie Villains of 2014
This list is devoted, then, to those nuggets. Those hilarious and sublime moments of this year’s glorious giggly absurdity. Here are the eight funniest films of the year.
Slideshow: The Eight Funniest Films of 2014
Witney Seibold is a contributor to the CraveOnline Film Channel, and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. You can follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
The 8 Funniest Movies of 2014
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8. Muppets Most Wanted
Although the latest film in the Muppets series didn't cause much of a splash overall – it's most certainly lesser Muppets – we should openly acknowledge just how funny it was. Some of the small visual puns and throwaway gags are priceless. As when Danny Trejo shows up unexpectedly playing himself. Or when the Swedish Chef enacts a scene from The Seventh Seal. Most of the story conceits weren't quite on the mark, but the energy was up and the timing was perfect.
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7. Why Don't You Play in Hell?
Sion Sono's bugnuts crazy tribute to 35mm film lands on this list merely for energetic audacity. The characters – filmmakers who long to return purity into film – were all so upbeat and energetic and cheerful, and they took their absurd positions so whimsically in stride, that the audience cannot help but descend into incredulous giggles. This was a film that was so daring and wonderfully strange, that it ended up being downright hilarious.
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6. Penguins of Madagascar
Legendary animator Tex Avery had a very simple philosophy when it came to making cartoons: The more gags the better. If you're going to have the audience's attention for any amount of time, you should never, ever stop adding jokes. The makers of Penguins of Madagascar seem to have adopted that philosophy as well, stuffing their trifling kiddie flick with as many frantic gags, visual slapstick, and oddball puns as possible. Keep an ear out for John Malkovich's constant sideways references to celebrity names (e.g. “Drew! Barry! More power!”). Also the Werner Herzog cameo.
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5. Chef
Jon Favreau's Chef doesn't have a lot of big comic setpieces, so much as it has a generally pleasant feeling. Although the story is a drama about a chef finding his creative mood again after being forced to work for corporate mediocrity, the entire film feels upbeat and optimistic. When the characters laugh and have fun, you're not so much laughing at the film as you are chuckling along with some good buddies. And if a film is this full of pleasant laughter, it can certainly be considered amongst the funniest. Oh yes, and Robert Downey, Jr.'s scenes are hilarious.
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4. The Lego Movie
This film is getting a lot of acclaim largely for how unexpected it was. There was no reason to trust that a movie based on a toy product was going to be any good, much less as clever and as energetic as this was. The filmmaking team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller have adopted the mantle once held by Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, churning out one unexpected slapstick hit after another. The Lego Movie hurls jokes and dialogue quickly and furiously, as if they were chairs hurled by Bad Cop.
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3. Neighbors
The setup is quotidian sitcom stuff: A married couple with a baby (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) recoil when a fraternity moves in next door. The film becomes a rivalry between the couple and the frat's leader, Zac Efron. But this is not a film about the misadventures, so much as it is about the absurdities of clinging to immaturity. In the film's funniest exchange, Byrne and Rogen argue over who gets to be the immature buffoon – the Kevin James – in their relationship. It also doesn't hurt that Rogen, Byrne, and Efron are all amazingly funny people.
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2. They Came Together
The alumni of "The State" and Wet Hot American Summer reconvened for this reality-bending slapstick spoof of romantic comedies. This is a film wherein the characters speak screenplay beats aloud, quoting clichés so common, that, well, they may as well be reduced to abstractions. Plus, the filmmakers threw in a few unexpected visual gags just to keep us on our toes. Someone, for instance, sneezes over their own subtitles in one scene. They Came Together might feel precious to some, and it does repeat its one gag ad infinitum, but one has to admire the dedication to satire.
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1. 22 Jump Street
Also from Lord and Miller, this sequel to a TV adaptation might be the last place one might look for comedy gold. But comedy gold it possesses. In spades. This is a film that also hurls as many gags as possible at the audience, most of them landing perfectly. It is frantic and self-aware to a degree that we rarely see in movies. This is a film that openly satirizes its own uselessness. More than that though, it satirizes Hollywood's current propensity for milking properties into inflated features; the credit sequence – wherein we see previews for the next 20-or-so Jump Street movies – is one of the most sublimely hilarious things I've seen in years.
