2023 was a year greatly defined by the return of large exciting comedy movies returning to the forefront of theatrical releases on top of their continued support on streaming services. Films likeBarbie,No Hard Feelings,Bottoms, andAsteroid Cityhave shown that creative original comedy movies continue to be released and can find dedicated audiences worldwide. However, even more than just the highly successful comedies that defined the year, 2023 was also home to many amazing, underrated comedies that deserve their time in the spotlight.
Especially with massive movies being released every week both in theaters and on a wide variety of streaming services, it only makes sense that a select few exceptional films would fall through the cracks of popularity. Both theaters and streaming services had their fair share of inventive and creative comedy movies that were sadly overlooked in favor of several other more popular releases. However, especially for those looking for more original and unknown modern comedy experiences, 2023 was a year that delivered in leaps and bounds.
10’Fool’s Paradise' (2023)
Director: Charlie Day
Fool’s Paradisefollows the story of a mental health patient who has lost the ability to speak and is left on the streets of Los Angeles to fend for himself. However, thanks to sharing a striking resemblance to a bad boy movie star, he is soon hired directly off the street to sub into a film for him. This soon becomes the beginning of this man’s completely accidental career as a Hollywood actor. Now acting under the name Latte Pronto, his publicist does everything in his power to use Latte’s newfound fame to skyrocket both of them into the annuls of success.
Charlie Dayhas proven himself time and time again to be a highly successful and versatile comedic actor, and for his directorial debut, he creates this strange passion project satire that is filled with charm. The film takes a lot of comedic jabs at the Hollywood system, as well as several other strange instances and concepts that have come up as a result of the Hollywood celebrity system.The true highlight of the film is its implementation of Day’s signature style of humor, which may not hit on every joke, but when it does hit, it makes for a genuinely hilarious experience.
Fool’s Paradise
Watch on Hulu
9’Dicks: The Musical' (2023)
Director: Larry Charles
Adapted from the comedic off-Broadway musicalFucking Identical Twins,Dicks: The Musicalfollows two self-obsessed businessmen who discover that they’re actually long-lost identical twins. After their discovery, the duo soon hatch a plot to have their estranged parents reunite with one another, in hopes of being able to have a happy family for the first time in their lives. However, their plan comes with a number of major hiccups, as their parents seem completely incompatible with one another.
Dicks: The Musicalis at its best when it is excelling at a balance between an in-your-face comedic style and an unpredictable absurdist lens that allows for any number of chaotic inclusions throughout the film. This is most specifically seen by all-starsNathan LaneandMegan Mullally, who perfectly encapsulate the absurdist chaos of their characters, musical numbers, and overall plot to the best of their abilities. The film is also highly reliant on crass shock humor, which doesn’t always work, but has its moments of genuine hilarity strewn throughout.
Dicks: The Musical
Rent on Apple TV+
8’Paint' (2023)
Director: Brit McAdams
Paintfollows the story of Carl Nargle (played byOwen Wilson), aBob Ross-style painter who is famous in his community as Vermont’s #1 public television painter. While it may seem like Carl has his entire life all figured out, with everything he could ever ask for, he soon faces some unexpected competition when a younger, better artist begins to steal attention away from Carl. Carl has difficulties with having to share the attention all of a sudden, creating a snowball effect where Carl begins to lose everything and everyone who cares about him and his art.
Paintgets a lot of mileage out of the inherent potential of its amazing premise, being a parody story that follows the downfall of a toxic satirical version of Bob Ross. Seeing Carl Nargle fall further and further down into rock bottom makes for an entertaining watch, as Wilson does a great job at portraying the character during his most sad and pathetic moments, while still allowing the audience to laugh at his grievances. Carl Nargle is also a strangely erotic character in the story, which leads to some strangely hilarious yet iconic moments.
Watch on AMC+
7’Landscape with Invisible Hand' (2023)
Director: Cory Finley
Landscape with Invisible Handtakes place in the future, a few years after the human race has been willingly adopted into a benevolent alien occupation, with all of humanity attempting to adjust to their new rulers. While the aliens' new technology initially seemed to hold promise for humanity as a whole, the reality is that it made most human jobs and methods of steady income completely obsolete. However, when two teenagers discover that the aliens find intrigue in the concept of human love, and are willing to pay access for it, they begin to livestream their relationship to make extra cash for their families.
Landscape with Invisible Handis a highly inventive and creative world that is rarely explored in the realm and tone of a comedyand provides a great number of strange, dark comedic moments about the dreads that come from extraterrestrial capitalism. The film is constantly throwing new and interesting ideas and facets about the world against the wall, with some plot threads and characters sticking around longer than others, but leading the final product to feel more unpredictable and grounded in comedic realism as a result.
Landscape with Invisible Hand
Watch on MGM+
6’Outlaw Johnny Black' (2023)
Director: Michael Jai White
Created by the same team that made the cult classicBlack Dynamite,Outlaw Johnny Blackis another parody film, instead taking its aim on the settings and conventions of the Western genre. The film follows the story of Johnny Black, who is holding nothing back to avenge the death of his father at the hands of the dangerous Brett Clayton, becoming an outlaw in the process. He finds himself hiding away and posing as a preacher in a small mining town, getting wrapped up in their politics and quarrels while hiding from the law.
While not as directly satirical with its tropes asBlack Dynamitewas,Outlaw Johnny Blackstill features a great deal of the team’s signature absurdist comedic writing which still works wonders over 10 years after the release ofBlack Dynamite. Although the film is hilarious from start to finish, the film alsofinds time to be surprisingly touchingwith its themes and messaging, thanks in part to the spectacular performances fromMichael Jai White,Anika Noni Rose, andByron Minns.
Outlaw Johnny Black
Watch on Hoopla
5’Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre' (2023)
Director: Guy Ritchie
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerreis a comedic spy film that follows special agent Orson Fortune and his team of operatives as they are enlisted for an undercover mission to stop the sale of a deadly weapon that threatens world order. However, there’s a notable divide between the new team formed, as Orson will have to adapt to cooperating with his new teammates on the fly. To accomplish their task, they have to recruit one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, Danny Franscesco, as a way to get close and personal with the deadly billionaire orchestrating the deal.
Guy Ritchiehas certainly dabbled in action comedy movies in the past, ranging from beloved films likeSnatchto underrated gems likeThe Gentlemen. Operation Fortune combines Ritchie’s distinct style of humor and action with the concept of a classic spy thriller, making for an excellent and original blend for the filmmaker which works wonders onscreen. The film also features fantastic comedic chemistry and back-and-forth between its star cast, consisting ofJason Statham,Aubrey Plaza,Hugh Grant, andJosh Hartnett.
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
Watch on Starz
4’BlackBerry' (2023)
Director: Matt Johnson
BlackBerryis a comedic biopic that follows the triumphant rise and monumental fall of BlackBerry, the cell phone brand that used to be on top of the world before it all came crashing down. The film sees the team-up between the two awkward and geeky entrepreneurs behind the tech of BlackBerry, Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, and the cutthroat businessman Jim Balsillie. While their initial teaming up comes with its major hiccups and adjusting, they prove to balance out each other’s faults, helping BlackBerry achieve massive success, yet these divides prove to end them just as much as they created them.
2023 as a whole was filled withcorporate biopicsthat focused on an array of famous products, from the large and prestigious films likeAirto the overlooked ones such asFlamin' Hot. However,BlackBerrysets itself apart greatly from every other corporate biopic this year by being much more cynical and reflective of all the faults and mismanagement that led to the death of BlackBerry. The film also greatly succeeds thanks to director and starMatt Johnson’s signature comedic style, which flourishes greatly in a biopic setting, alongside amazing performances byJay BaruchelandGlenn Howerton.
BlackBerry
3’Polite Society' (2023)
Director: Nida Manzoor
Polite Societyis an action comedy that follows the story of Ria Khan, an adolescent who has big dreams of becoming a stuntwoman, often recording and doing her stunts to upload online in her free time. While she used to receive a great deal of help and support from her older sister Lena, when a mysterious bachelor is suddenly getting married to Lena, Ria can’t help but feel that something is off. Convinced that her new fiancé’s family is up to nefarious schemes, Ria enlists help from her friends to pull off a dangerous heist, rescuing Lena on the day of her wedding.
Polite Societytells a classic coming-of-age story mixed in with a great deal of exceptional choreographed kung fu action scenes, creating a brilliant balance between the two. The film also features poignant themes about womanhood and the struggles with preconceived notions and bias about what women are expected to do contrasted against seemingly impossible dreams and hopes.It all comes together by the end to create a highly satisfying and action-packed comedic joyride that it’s impossible to not come out the other side smiling.
Polite Society
Watch on Amazon Prime
2’Rye Lane' (2023)
Director: Raine Allen-Miller
Rye Laneis a modern-day self-reflective romantic comedy that follows the meeting of Dom and Yas, two twenty-somethings who are both reeling from their bad break-ups. Over the course of a day in South London, the two help each other deal with the fallout of their own nightmare exes, help cover up all loose ends and even begin to bond and fall for one another. The fun times and events prove themselves to connect the two in a way highly unexpected, restoring the faith of romance being real for both parties.
While initially seeming like just another basic romantic comedy story-wise,Rye Lane’s greatest strengths come from its masterful execution and loose visual experimentation. Simple choices like having an entire audience consisting of one character watching a stage play performance of another character’s story are just the beginning of the film’s flair and enthralling execution of these tried and true rom-com conventions. What brings the entire film together is the out-of-this-world chemistry between the leads, played byDavid JonssonandVivian Oparah, who elevate the material thanks to their genuine on-screen connection.
1’Theater Camp' (2023)
Directors: Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman
Theater Campfollows the story of a scrappy, underdog theater camp in upstate New York, that begins to fall under difficult times when the beloved founder falls into a coma. In an attempt to make the camp season still run smoothly without their leader, the entire staff bands together with the founder’s clueless and inexperienced son to keep the camp afloat for the summer. However, the financial situation proves itself to be much more difficult than imagined, leading to the camp making several compromises, to the detriment and dismay of the staff and children.
What makesTheater Campsuch a hilarious and brilliant comedy film isits strong understanding of theater kids' culture, being able to make a comedy that knows exactly how to draw comedy from the community. On top of having numerous hilarious stand-out characters in its ensemble cast, the film can also deliver musically, with many amazing hilarious comedy songs, especially with its heartfelt finale.The film proves itself to be a must-watch for anyone who was a part of theater as a child, as it is filled with charm and love for the art of performance and musical theater.
Theater Camp
The eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York must band together with the beloved founder’s bro-y son to keep the camp afloat.
