The Funniest American Comedies


   

The laughDB database is dedicated to the funniest comedy movies, stand-up comedy and TV series.

This section is for comedies from the USA. By default they are presented starting with the ones ranking highest on the laugh-o-meter, but you can also sort them by year, title or IMDB rating.


Funniest American Comedies sorted by Laugh-o-meter (descending) / page 11 of 25


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Kingpin DVDKingpin
      1996 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

An unlikely pair travels cross-country to Reno to compete in a bowling tournament with a prize money of a million dollars. This movie has its cute moments, but the laughs are rare. I would really not bother watching it unless you're a huge Bill Murray fan and want to catch him as a pro bowler at the start and the end of the movie. In that case, you'll also enjoy the short appearance of Larry the cameraman from Groundhog Day. (Last viewed: December 2011)

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Harold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay DVDHarold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay
      2008 | USA | Laughs: 4.9 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Only watch if you want to see a perfect comedy balance wasted. In this sequel to Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, the writers destroy the character of Kumar, turning the brilliant young man into an insensitive jerk. Harold's character is unchanged, but the magic is lost. No doubt, some good moments can be found in the middle of a hundred minutes of sewer-level language and situations. (Last viewed: January 2011)

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National Lampoon's Vacation DVDNational Lampoon's Vacation (a.k.a Vacation)
      1983 | USA | Laughs: 4.9 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.4
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Clarke Griswald (Chevy Chase) drives his family across country from Chicago to Wally World. Part of the movie's charm is that it skirts the line between family movie and adult comedy. Definitely very cute, with a few great moments. If you're in a very forgiving mood, you can also watch Christmas Vacation, which I find flat but some people prefer. Do yourself a favor and skip European Vacation and Las Vegas vacation. (Last viewed: October 2009)

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Delirious DVDDelirious
      1991 | USA | Laughs: 4.9 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 5.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After a car accident, the writer of a TV series finds himself living in the world of his TV drama, a world where whatever he writes soon turns into reality. It's nice to see John Candy, and the movie certainly has a few laughs, but too few to overcome the plot's painful weakness. Bill Murray fans may want to sit through this movie once for the scene where John Candy impresses everyone with a virtuoso piano performance followed by an execution of a life-saving Heimlich maneuver… just as in Groundhog Day, which didn't come out until two years later! (Last viewed: January 2012)

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Planes, Trains and Automobiles DVDPlanes, Trains and Automobiles
      1987 | USA | Laughs: 4.8 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 7.6
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

This is one of those movies that is probably not as funny as you remember it—perhaps you felt good when you first saw it because it is sweet. I like John Candy, and I have nothing against Steve Martin, though a strange pathology makes me unable to laugh at his act, so in a way for me this is only half a movie. The plot? A study in the "unlikely pair" genre: two strangers get stuck together trying to get back to Chicago from New York City in time for Thanksgiving. (Last viewed: February 2012)

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My Blue Heaven DVDMy Blue Heaven
      1990 | USA | Laughs: 4.8 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.3
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A New York mobster (Steve Martin) lands in a California town where he must live under the FBI's protection until he appears as a witness at a mob trial. In his new community, our mobster is a round peg in a square hole, and gives lots of work to the assistant district attorney and to the FBI agent charged with his protection. I laughed once and smiled a lot, but overall the rewards are too low to bother watching this instantly forgettable movie. (Last viewed: June 2012)

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The Hangover Part II DVDThe Hangover Part II
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 4.7 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

It's hard to like a movie when you don't find any of the characters likable. I didn't love the first Hangover to start with. Perhaps it's age, but I don't relate to any of the activities depicted in the movie. But if you're a party animal, maybe you'll enjoy this. (Last viewed: April 2012)

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Arsenic and Old Lace DVDArsenic and Old Lace
      1944 | USA | Laughs: 4.7 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 8.0
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A famous art critic discovers that his two aunts have made a habit of poisoning some of their elderly lodgers to put them out of their misery. When his older brother (a convicted criminal on the run) arrives with his assistant, a German plastic surgeon, the house turns into a pressure cooker. This movie came out in 1944, and I don't think the humor works anymore. Cary Grant in particular is unbearably loud. Sorry, handsome. (Last viewed: Mar 1980 June 2010)

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Scoop DVDScoop
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 4.6 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

This "crime comedy" by Woody Allen is tight and well cast. It has a few good chuckles (no belly laughs), but I was too nervous with the crime story to truly enjoy it. I don't know what happened to Woody Allen in the 21st century, but since about 2005 he seems to have matured tremendously—perhaps that's what turning 70 does to you. In the 1990s I had become allergic to his films, but I've found several of his late productions to be polished, accomplished films. (Last viewed: January 2012)

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Jack and Jill posterJack and Jill
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 3.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Of the hundreds of comedy movies I've reviewed so far, this one has the second-lowest imdb rating. Since I usually dislike comedy that tries to draw laughter by featuring men playing women (a strange, enduring phenomenon), I was predisposed to join the ranks of the bashers, but for some reason Adam Sandler pulled off the drag thing for me. In fact, he pulled playing off two roles at onces—a Los Angeles advertising executive, and his twin sister who visits from their native Bronx for the holidays.

At the risk of sounding too contrarian, I'll advance that there were some good comedy moments in this film, especially in the first half. It's far from being the worst movie with Adam Sandler who, although he's starred in some terrific comedies, has also picked a number of duds. (Last viewed: August 2015)

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MacGruber posterMacGruber
      2010 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 | imdb: 5.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A CIA operative whose trademark is a lucky mix of brilliance and incompetence goes up against his nemesis, who has taken control of a nuclear warhead.

Is there a point in comedy that can be characterized as filthy, but not too filthy? If so, for me this movie hits that spot. Doing so, it also manages to be funny, but not too funny.

The night I watched this, my other option was a high-brow black-and-white movie with subtitles. I knew what I was getting into, and given the mood I was in, I had no regrets. (Last viewed: January 2019)

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Guess Who posterGuess Who
      2005 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 5.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A young man and his girlfriend plan to announce their engagements to her African-American parents, who are unaware of his pale skin condition.

Race issues are often treated in comedy, not always in the most subtle way. I was pleasantly surprised at the consistently light tone maintained throughout the movie, which entertained me. (Last viewed: January 1970)

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The Wedding Ringer posterThe Wedding Ringer
      2015 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A loner under pressure to provide a list of groomsmen for his upcoming wedding hires a company which specializes in providing a best man and fake friends. After a slow set-up, the movie somewhat improves. Although it was chaotic, often weak and sometimes gross, it had enough good moments to warrant watching on a night when you find yourself in a low brain state. (Last viewed: April 2015)

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Weekend at BernieWeekend at Bernie's
      1989 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

This is one of those movies that starts out really well but runs out of steam before the halfway point is reached. Two grunts in a New York company's accounting department discover a large error. When they tell the boss, he invites them for a weekend at his house in the Hamptons—with sinister motives, having embezzled the missing funds. Sadly for him, he gets a lethal injection courtesy of his mafia boss before the young accountants arrive. To enjoy the weekend, they keep up the pretense that Bernie is alive. I really liked the beginning, and probably laughed, but the weekend itself was a grueling session of "more of the same". Too bad. (Last viewed: July 2012)

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The Apartment DVDThe Apartment
      1960 | USA | Laughs: 4.4 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 8.3
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

One of those movies where the charaters' dress and manner of speech are so obsolete that it's nearly impossible to identify. Had not laughed after half an hour, gave up. Oh, the plot: a man in a large accounting firm makes his apartment available to the company higher ups who need a bachelor pad for an evening. Painful. (Last viewed: July 2010)

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