Humor is one of the most contagious human responses and that they leave a greater feeling of satisfaction and well-being in both our body and our psyche. But in general, laughter rarely arises spontaneously, and we must be exposed to situations that can generate it, or to the evocation and imagination of these.
Fortunately, the positivity generated by laughter has made human beings seek to actively provoke it, incorporating it into the arts, among other aspects. Among them is cinema, which throughout history has produced a large number of high-quality works. That is why in this article we can make a brief selection of 14 funny films, with the purpose of showing different examples of comedy in the seventh art.
Below we present a small collection of humor and comedy films from different eras and designed for different audiences.
1. Scary Movie (2000)
A fun parody of the movie Scream, which has various sequels in which Elements from different horror and science fiction films are used in a ridiculous way The original used, based on Scream, elements from I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Shining, The Matrix, Carrie, American Pie or Halloween. The plot revolves around Cindy Campbell, who years after having committed a fatal accident (or almost), links this fact to the sudden persecution and murder of the members of her group of friends.
Although it would not be the first parody of a film genre (in fact, one much earlier than this can be seen on the list), in addition to its official sequels, this film gave rise to the profusion of films that used the same tone and the use of elements of multiple cinematographic works to make a parody, such as Spanish Movie.
2. The great dictator (1940)
This old film was the first with sound made and starring Charles Chaplin, being a criticism of the Nazi dictatorship and fascism in general. The protagonist simultaneously plays the role of the dictator and the Jew persecuted by him. More than a laugh, we could consider it an interesting satire or dramatic comedy that makes humor with one of the most rugged and sad themes of the last century. Curiously, and despite being released during wartime, the film was generally well received and had great success.
If we talk about Macaulay Culkin we will probably end up talking about one of his best-known roles: that of Kevin, the protagonist of this film. He is about an eleven-year-old boy who is accidentally forgotten by his family at home due to the rush to catch a plane and who must protect his house from the attack of some thieves, placing ingenious traps that will make life miserable for criminals It had several sequels.
4. Land as you can (1980)
This well-known movie acts as a parody of natural disaster cinema He introduces us to a retired pilot named Ted Striker who, despite suffering from a phobia of flying (the reason for his retirement), gets on a plane to win back his stewardess girlfriend, who has recently abandoned him. However, on said flight, the crew and part of the passengers became food poisoned, leaving the pilot and co-pilot affected and leaving the stewardess and the former pilot with a phobia of flying the responsibility of flying the aircraft.
5. Police Academy (1984)
With multiple sequels due to its popularity, this film tells us how Carey Mahoney He enrolls in the police academy as the only alternative to prison, meeting multiple professionals in the process who he will become friends with and who he will end up helping. He initially attempts to have him expelled so that he will not end up behind bars, but the commander in charge has agreed not to expel him so his attempts will be unsuccessful.
6. Eight Basque surnames (2014)
A much more recent film than most of those on the list, this film that humorously deals with the typical stereotypes of Basques and Andalusians tells us how the Sevillian Rafa falls in love with Amaia, a young Basque woman who had just broken up with her ex-boyfriend, and Argoitia follows her. There, the arrival of Amaia’s father will force Rafa to pretend to be the young woman’s ex-Basque man, whom he was actually going to marry.
This Monty Python film is a parody of medieval life and a critique of the modern lifestyle. Its plot is based on the myth of King Arthur, who together with the Knights of the Round Table (in this case, square) will receive the mission of finding the Holy Grail, having to live various adventures to do so.
8. Look Who’s Talking (1989)
Curious comedy in which Mikey, a newborn, is going to narrate to us (as a voice-over) his first years of life and how he sees the love life of his mother (who is single after the baby’s father disengages), having The little one has decided who he wants to be his new father and has to make his mother realize that he is the perfect match for her. It had two sequels, although not as successful as the original.
9. Like God (2003)
This comedy starring Jim Carrey tells us as Bruce Nolan, a reporter who dreams of becoming a news anchor but ends up being fired after showing his anger on air when he finds out that it is his enemy who gets the job. After this and several other problems he becomes angry with God and suggests that he should be fired. God will decide to test him to see if he could do better by granting him his powers. It also had a sequel, in this case related to the story of Noah’s Ark.
10. Crazy with skirts (1959)
This classic is a highly rated comedy that tells us how two musicians witness a settling of accounts and because of this they begin to be persecuted by the mafia. In this context, they will decide to dress as a woman to play in a female orchestra and be able to survive while remaining hidden. They will also have to deal with love problems: while one of them attracts the romantic interest of a millionaire, the other will try to conquer the group’s singer, played by Marilyn Monroe.
11. American Pie (1999)
With several sequels behind it, the American Pie saga brings us a typically focused on the interests and exploration of the typical sexuality of adolescence and early youth
The first film tells how the young Jim Levenstein and his friends actively seek to lose their virginity, each one carrying out different strategies in order to achieve it. The protagonist even stars in an incident with a webcam and a classmate, making the entire school see how he ejaculated twice with slight preliminaries and later ending up meeting a girl who apparently does not know the existence of the video in question.
12. The Mask (1994)
Another humor classic that It has had various sequels both in film and in an animated series, the original tells us how Stanley, a kind executive with very bad luck and is constantly beaten by all his surroundings, finds himself one especially bad night with a wooden mask that has magical properties: when he puts it on he changes completely, emerging a side of him completely different with the ability to make his deepest desires come true. Curiously, at first it was going to be a horror movie.
13. Torrente: the foolish arm of the law (1998)
National film that presents a great type of humor that may not be fun for all viewers: it is a tacky, slum humor, which resorts to the most absurd topics of society in order to elicit a laugh or a grimace of astonishment. at the same time ridicules and reduces different aspects of our society to absurdity Specifically, it can be a comical and at the same time somewhat bitter representation of machismo, racism and corruption, as well as sexuality and poverty.
In Torrent We will see the story of José Luis Torrente a corrupt police officer, Franco possessor of all the aforementioned characteristics who usually takes advantage of others and who, accidentally, discovers a gang of drug traffickers whom he tries to eradicate.
This comedy starring Santiago Segura has had multiple sequels, which use the same comedic and acidic tone of the original. Likewise, it resembles the type of humor of another film of the same genre, Austin Powers.
14. The best summer of my life (2018)
A Spanish film that is currently still in theaters, He tells us the story of Curro and the promise he makes to his son: Getting A’s in everything will lead you to an unforgettable vacation. The problem comes because his situation is quite precarious and he does not have the financial resources to do so, although he will do everything possible to fulfill his promise.
