The 100 best comedy movies of all time, according to critics
From Charlie Chaplin's silent-film antics to quote-worthy parodies like "Airplane!," to the animated movies of the new millennium, comedy classics have taken many forms over the decades.
To find out which movies in the genre have gained the most critical acclaim over time, we turned to the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes for its list of the top-rated films labeled "comedy" on its site.
As happens with many films and the idea of "genre," some may argue that certain of these entries are dramas rather than comedies (or horror in the case of "Get Out"). But we went with their categorization on Rotten Tomatoes.
We arranged the films in chronological order by decade, stretching from the 1920s to the present.
Here are the 100 best comedy movies of all time, according to critics:
"The Gold Rush" (1925)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "A prospector goes to the Klondike in search of gold and finds it and more."
"City Lights" (1931)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 96%
Summary: "With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically."
"Duck Soup" (1933)
Critic score: 94%
Audience score: 91%
Summary: "Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale."
"It Happened One Night" (1934)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "A spoiled heiress running away from her family is helped by a man who is actually a reporter in need of a story."
"Modern Times" (1936)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 95%
Summary: "The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman."
"Bringing Up Baby" (1938)
Critic score: 95%
Audience score: 90%
Summary: "While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby."
"The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu)" (1939)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 90%
Summary: "A bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II, as the rich and their poor servants meet up at a French chateau."
"His Girl Friday" (1940)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 90%
Summary: "A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying."
"The Philadelphia Story" (1940)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself."
"To Be or Not to Be" (1942)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
"It's a Wonderful Life" (1946)
Critic score: 94%
Audience score: 95%
Summary: "An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed."
"All About Eve" (1950)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "An ingenue insinuates herself into the company of an established but aging stage actress and her circle of theater friends."
"Singin' in the Rain" (1952)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 95%
Summary: "A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound."
"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 83%
Summary: "Showgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw travel to Paris, pursued by a private detective hired by the suspicious father of Lorelei's fiancé, as well as a rich, enamored old man and many other doting admirers."
"Roman Holiday" (1953)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome."
"Some Like It Hot" (1959)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "When two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in."
"La Dolce Vita" (1960)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 90%
Summary: "A series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering paparazzo journalist living in Rome."
"The Apartment" (1960)
Critic score: 93%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "A man tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue."
"101 Dalmatians" (1961)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 75%
Summary: "When a litter of Dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella de Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement."
"8 1/2" (1963)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 92%
Summary: "A harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies."
"Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964)
Critic score: 99%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop."
"Mafioso" (1964)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 81%
Summary: "When a good-natured factory supervisor living in Milan with his Northern wife returns to his native Sicily, a decades' old oath forces him to fulfill a nightmarish obligation."
"A Hard Day's Night" (1964)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 89%
Summary: "A 'typical' day in the life of The Beatles, including many of their famous songs."
"Mary Poppins" (1964)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 86%
Summary: "In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father."
"My Fair Lady" (1964)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 90%
Summary: "A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society."
"The Producers" (1967)
Critic score: 91%
Audience score: 85%
Summary: "Producers Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom attempt to make money by producing a sure-fire flop."
"Yellow Submarine" (1968)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 84%
Summary: "The Beatles agree to accompany Captain Fred in his Yellow Submarine and go to Pepperland to free it from the music hating Blue Meanies."
"The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie" (1972)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 89%
Summary: "A surreal, virtually plotless series of dreams centered around six middle-class people and their consistently interrupted attempts to have a meal together."
"Playtime" (1973)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 89%
Summary: "Monsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction."
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 95%
Summary: "King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles."
"Annie Hall" (1977)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 92%
Summary: "Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditzy Annie Hall."
"Manhattan" (1979)
Critic score: 95%
Audience score: 92%
Summary: "The life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress."
"Monty Python's Life of Brian" (1979)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "Brian is born on the original Christmas, in the stable next door. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah."
"Airplane!" (1980)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 89%
Summary: "A man afraid to fly must ensure that a plane lands safely after the pilots become sick."
"Risky Business" (1983)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 72%
Summary: "A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand."
"Repo Man" (1984)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 79%
Summary: "Young punk Otto becomes a repo man after helping to steal a car, and stumbles into a world of wackiness as a result."
"Ghostbusters" (1984)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 88%
Summary: "Three former parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service."
"Brazil" (1985)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 90%
Summary: "A bureaucrat, in a retro-future world, tries to correct an administrative error, and becomes an enemy of the state."
"Back to the Future" (1985)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent thirty years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown."
"Tampopo" (1985)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food."
"The Princess Bride" (1987)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him a story called 'The Princess Bride.'"
"Broadcast News" (1987)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 78%
Summary: "Take two rival television reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one Producer, female. Mix well, and watch the sparks fly."
"Big" (1988)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 82%
Summary: "After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult."
"Hairspray" (1988)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 80%
Summary: "A 'pleasantly plump' teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show."
"Bull Durham" (1988)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 82%
Summary: "A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him."
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 84%
Summary: "A toon-hating detective is a cartoon rabbit's only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder."
"Say Anything..." (1989)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 85%
Summary: "A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college."
"The Player" (1992)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 85%
Summary: "A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected, but which one?"
"Groundhog Dog" (1993)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 88%
Summary: "A weatherman finds himself inexplicably living the same day over and over again."
"Bullets Over Broadway" (1994)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 83%
Summary: "In New York in 1928, a struggling playwright is forced to cast a mobster's talentless girlfriend in his latest drama in order to get it produced."
"Before Sunrise" (1995)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together."
"Toy Story" (1995)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 92%
Summary: "A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's room."
"Sense and Sensibility" (1995)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 90%
Summary: "Rich Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his second wife and her three daughters poor by the rules of inheritance. The two eldest daughters are the titular opposites."
"The Truman Show" (1998)
Critic score: 94%
Audience score: 88%
Summary: "An insurance salesman/adjuster discovers his entire life is actually a television show."
"Antz" (1998)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 52%
Summary: "A rather neurotic ant tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves."
"Toy Story 2" (1999)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 86%
Summary: "When Woody is stolen by a toy collector, Buzz and his friends vow to rescue him, but Woody finds the idea of immortality in a museum tempting."
"Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother)" (1999)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "Young Esteban wants to become a writer and also to discover the identity of his father, carefully concealed by his mother Manuela."
"Le goût des autres (The Taste of Others)" (2000)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 81%
Summary: "Three men, three women, opposites, possibilities, and tastes."
"Chicken Run" (2000)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 64%
Summary: "When a cockerel apparently flies into a chicken farm, the chickens see him as an opportunity to escape their evil owners."
"Monsters Inc." (2001)
Critic score: 96%
User score: 90%
Summary: "In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, 2 monsters realize things may not be what they think."
"The Man Without a Past" (2002)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 90%
Summary: "The second part of Aki Kaurismäki's 'Finland' trilogy, the film follows a man who arrives in Helsinki and gets beaten up so severely he develops amnesia."
"Finding Nemo" (2003)
Critic score: 99%
User score: 86%
Summary: "After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home."
"Lost in Translation" (2003)
Critic score: 95%
User score: 85%
Summary: "A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo."
"Sideways" (2004)
Critic score: 96%
User score: 78%
Summary: "Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle."
"The Incredibles" (2004)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 75%
Summary: "A family of undercover superheroes, while trying to live the quiet suburban life, are forced into action to save the world."
"Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (2005)
Critic score: 95%
Audience score: 79%
Summary: "Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest."
"Ratatouille" (2007)
Critic score: 96%
User score: 87%
Summary: "A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous restaurant."
"Juno" (2007)
Critic score: 94%
User score: 88%
Summary: "Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child."
"The Band's Visit" (2007)
Critic score: 94%
User score: 88%
Summary: "A band comprised of members of the Egyptian police force head to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab arts center, only to find themselves lost in the wrong town."
"Up" (2009)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 90%
Summary: "Seventy-eight year old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his home equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway."
"Toy Story 3" (2010)
Critic score: 99%
User score: 89%
Summary: "The toys are mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic right before Andy leaves for college, and it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned and to return home."
"Le Havre" (2011)
Critic score: 99%
User score: 75%
Summary: "When an African boy arrives by cargo ship in the port city of Le Havre, an aging shoe shiner takes pity on the child and welcomes him into his home."
"Muppets" (2011)
Critic score: 95%
User score: 80%
Summary: "A Muppet fanatic with some help from his 2 human compatriots must regroup the Muppet gang to stop an avaricious oil mogul from taking down one of their precious life-longing treasures."
"The Artist" (2011)
Critic score: 95%
User score: 87%
Summary: "A silent movie star meets a young dancer, but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions."
"Monsieur Lazhar" (2012)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 86%
Summary: "At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed."
"Moonrise Kingdom" (2012)
Critic score: 93%
User score: 86%
Summary: "A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out to find them."
"Silver Linings Playbook" (2012)
Critic score: 92%
User score: 86%
Summary: "After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own."
"Before Midnight" (2013)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 82%
Summary: "We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna."
"Enough Said" (2013)
Critic score: 95%
User score: 75%
Summary: "A divorced woman who decides to pursue the man she's interested in learns he's her new friend's ex-husband."
"The LEGO Movie" (2014)
Critic score: 96%
User score: 87%
Summary: "An ordinary LEGO construction worker, thought to be the prophesied as 'special,' is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the LEGO universe into eternal stasis."
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014)
Critic score: 91%
User score: 86%
Summary: "The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend."
"We Are the Best!" (2014)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 78%
Summary: "Three girls in 1980s Stockholm decide to form a punk band -- despite not having any instruments and being told by everyone that punk is dead."
"Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" (2014)
Critic score: 92%
User score: 77%
Summary: "A washed-up actor, who once played an iconic superhero, attempts to revive his career by writing and starring in his very own Broadway play."
"Shaun the Sheep" (2015)
Critic score: 99%
User score: 80%
Summary: "When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for.
"Paddington" (2015)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 80%
Summary: "A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven."
"Spy" (2015)
Critic score: 94%
User score: 79%
Summary: "A desk-bound CIA analyst volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent diabolical global disaster."
"Tangerine" (2015)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 75%
Summary: "A hooker tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart."
"What We Do In The Shadows" (2015)
Critic score: 96%
User score: 86%
Summary: "Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are finding that modern life has them struggling with the mundane - like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts."
"The Nice Guys" (2016)
Critic score: 92%
User score: 78%
Summary: "In 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star."
"Hunt for the Wilderpeople" (2016)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 91%
Summary: "A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush."
"Zootopia" (2016)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 92%
Summary: "In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy."
"Paterson" (2016)
Critic score: 96%
User score: 71%
Summary: "A quiet observation of the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details."
"Love & Friendship" (2016)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 60%
Summary: "Lady Susan Vernon takes up temporary residence at her in-laws' estate and, while there, is determined to be a matchmaker for her daughter Frederica -- and herself too, naturally."
"The Edge of Seventeen" (2016)
Critic score: 95%
User score: 83%
Summary: "High-school life gets even more unbearable for Nadine when her best friend, Krista, starts dating her older brother."
"Don't Think Twice" (2016)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 69%
Summary: "When a member of a popular New York City improv troupe gets a huge break, the rest of the group - all best friends - start to realize that not everyone is going to make it after all."
"La La Land" (2016)
Critic score: 92%
User score: 81%
Summary: "While navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future."
"Get Out" (2017)
Critic score: 99%
User score: 87%
Summary: "A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point."
"The Lego Batman Movie" (2017)
Critic score: 90%
User score: 80%
Summary: "A cooler-than-ever Bruce Wayne must deal with the usual suspects as they plan to rule Gotham City, while discovering that he has accidentally adopted a teenage orphan who wishes to become his sidekick."
"The Big Sick" (2017)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 88%
Summary: "Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings."
"Logan Lucky" (2017)
Critic score: 93%
User score: 75%
Summary: "Two brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina."