The Funniest Movie From Every Year of the 2000s
Many people will say that comedy movies peaked in the 2000s, and disagreeing with them would be a tough job. Huge budgets and beloved stars made the genre the blockbuster genre of the decade, and as such, many of those ten years’ best films were laugh-out-loud funny. However, there’s always one comedy every year that’s funnier than all the others.
Whether it’s an underrated Disney gem, a late-2000s cult classic, or a foreign film that proves comedy is a universal language, the funniest films of every year of the 2000s prove that there was no time like this one to have good laughs at the movies. When done right, comedy movies can make for some of the most entertaining experiences ever, and these ten movies fit that bill.
2000: ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’
Throughout its 2D era, Disney made some of the most legendary animated movies in history, from the historic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the flawless The Lion King. Most of those films, however, were mostly musicals and mostly more on the dramatic side. That’s what The Emperor’s New Groove was originally envisioned as, back when it was titled Kingdom of the Sun; but at some point during development, the story morphed into the wacky body-swap comedy that cinephiles know today.
Just because a movie was made for kids doesn’t mean its sense of humor can’t be universal and timeless, as The Emperor’s New Groove so hilariously proves. Endlessly quotable and full of slapstick set pieces that are to die for, from the cliff sequence to the climactic third act, The Emperor’s New Groove is not just Disney’s funniest film, but also one of their best of the decade.
2001: ‘Zoolander’
September 2001 wasn’t exactly a time when American audiences were in a particularly cheerful mood, and yet, Zoolander (which released on September 28th of that year) became a box office success both in the US and around the world. Ben Stiller‘s third-ever feature directing effort, this absurdist satire poking fun at the fashion industry has aged like fine wine.
Zoolander, the only film that ever made Roger Ebert apologize for a negative review, has been immortalized by a meme culture that has enshrined it as one of the biggest American cult classics of the early 2000s. Quotable, silly, with a pair of powerhouse comedic performances by Stiller and Owen Wilson, and a supporting cast led by a scene-stealing, scenery-chewing Will Ferrell, Zollander is a must-see for all those who love laughing at goofy films.
2002: ‘Jackass: The Movie’
Initially devised as the epilogue to Jackass, easily one of the most dangerous reality shows in history, Jackass: The Movie is mostly a love-it-or-hate-it kind of comedy. The chaos of these life-threatening stunts and the juvenile humor that they can often rely on are definitely not designed to appeal to everyone’s comedic palate, and that’s okay.
However, for people who love watching a group of friends put their lives on the line for the stupidest stunts ever captured by a camera, Jackass: The Movie is bound to be a delight. It’s certainly not the most universally acclaimed comedy of 2002 (it only holds the approval of 49% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes), but its guarantee of uncontrollable laughter sure makes it the funniest.
2003: ‘Bad Santa’
The fact of the matter is that Christmas isn’t for everyone. People who find the joy and whimsy of the holiday season unbearably sappy should really check out Bad Santa. Executive-produced by the Coen brothers and starring Billy Bob Thornton in one of his most iconic performances, this endlessly re-watchable R-rated Christmas movie is a love letter to poor-taste humor.
Offensive, twisted, unapologetically misanthropic, and irresistibly hysterical, Bad Santa is bound to offend plenty of people, but that only has made it even more timeless and funny. The film pushes the limits of what can be considered “tasteful” in all sorts of ways, and at least some of them are pretty much guaranteed to get a full belly laugh out of any viewer. Powered by Thornton’s game, Golden Globe-nominated performance, Bad Santa is a modern classic of pitch-black comedy.
2004: ‘Kung Fu Hustle’
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Comedies aren’t all about Hollywood. Case in point: the Hong Kong-Chinese martial arts extravaganza Kung Fu Hustle, which Roger Ebert once described as “Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meet Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny.” There’s no other reasonable way to describe this live-action cartoon, which delights itself in offering as many scenes defying the laws of physics as it possibly can.
With some of the funniest action set pieces and some of the best over-the-top villains of the decade, Kung Fu Hustle is one of the funniest movies of the 2000s as a whole, let alone of 2004. Silly, snappy, and with fight choreography that’s genuinely genius, Kung Fu Castle is a slapstick masterpiece that proves martial arts cinema can indeed be absolutely hilarious.
2005: ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’
Shane Black‘s directing debut, starring Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. in what’s probably the funniest role each actor ever played, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of the most underrated comedies of the 2000s. It sees Downey Jr. as a small-time burglar mistaken for an actor and sent to Los Angeles to tail a hard-boiled PI, played by Kilmer.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is nothing short of a genius genre subversion.
Masterfully pulpy and neo-noirish without ever ceasing to be tongue-in-cheek, it’s both a clever parody of and a loving homage to its genre. The script is airtight and highly quotable, Kilmer and RDJ offer nugget after nugget of comedy gold, and all the violent and self-referential humor keeps hitting even after several re-visits. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is nothing short of a genius genre subversion, but it’s so well-written that it’s also a genuinely smart and entertaining noir tale.
2006: ‘Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan’
Sacha Baron Cohen dominated the comedy genre during the 2000s, and that was partly thanks to what’s definitely his most famous role: Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev in Borat, one of the funniest and most iconic mockumentaries ever made. It follows Borat as he interacts with real-life people from the US, who believe him to be a foreigner with no awareness of local customs.
There are several movies from 2006 that have already become modern classics, and this is among the biggest ones. Controversial, subversive, and full of the best possible kinds of shocking and offensive moments, Borat is the kind of comedy gold that people love to say “they couldn’t make this nowadays” about. There’s no humanly possible way of watching this film and not getting at least a handful of moments of laughter so uncontrollable that tears start coming out of one’s eyes.
2007: ‘Hot Fuzz’
Edgar Wright has established himself as one of the most fun and exciting comedy filmmakers of the modern era, and his Cornetto Trilogy is his magnum opus. Starting with Shaun of the Dead (another strong contender for the title of “funniest film of 2004”), the series was then followed up by Hot Fuzz, one of the best action comedy movies in history.
With Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as your leading men, you’d be hard-pressed to make a comedy that’s not hilarious. Even then, Hot Fuzz is well above average as far as humor goes. Simultaneously a biting parody of the buddy cop genre, a highly effective satire, and a genuinely thrilling action flick in its own right, Hot Fuzz is a masterful piece of genre filmmaking that just so happens to offer some of the best laughs of any 2007 movie.
2008: ‘In Bruges’
For those who like dark comedies, the work of Martin McDonagh should be obligatory viewing. Though he mostly works in theater, he has also done a lot in film, and his best film is arguably his debut: In Bruges. Its pitch-black sense of humor is happy to offend anyone and everyone that crosses its path, and that’s precisely the source of its consistently gasp-worthy charm.
In Bruges may be one of the darkest comedy movies ever, yes, but it’s also a genuinely poignant examination of guilt, depression, and violence, enhanced by career-best work from Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Those who prefer more lighthearted humor might want to look at other 2008 comedies, but people who are in for a morbid and transgressive cult classic are very likely going to laugh their heads off with In Bruges.
2009: ‘The Hangover’
2009 had plenty of hilarious comedies, but the question of which one’s funniest has a rather clear answer: There’s no comedy from that year that has stood the test of time as well as Todd Phillips‘ The Hangover has. The trilogy only kept getting worse with each sequel, but that doesn’t make the cult-classic original any less of a must-watch.
Smart, raunchy, and with a set of flawless comedic performances by Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, and Ed Helms, the film offers a laugh-a-minute kind of experience that comedy fans will find difficult to resist. It’s not particularly groundbreaking, but it never pretends to be. The Hangover is a solid use of tried-and-true formulas, as well as an intelligent twist on some others, that results in a laugh machine that keeps its audience engaged for every second of its 100-minute runtime.
