Laugher truly is the best medicine. Whenever you have a bad day, you can throw on your favoritecomedymovieor look up your favorite scenes on the internet to cheer you up The great thing about comedy is that it’s universal, and there’s a wide range of styles that can make viewers laugh. Whether it’s well-written comedies likeThe Big Lebowskithat tickle your funny bone or gross-out films likeFreddy Got Fingeredthat make you smile, comedy movies are always a fun source of entertainment.
While there have been a ton of great comedy movies released in the last decade starring hilarious actors like Steve Carrell, Adam Sandler, and Seth Rogan, there have also been a lot of funny movies starring lesser-known actors. These films don’t always have the big production and marketing budgets of say, a Judd Apatow comedy, but that doesn’t mean that they should be ignored. Here are some of the best comedy movies out there that didn’t need big Hollywood actors to get great reviews.
10Slap Shot
Slap Shotis not only a funny movie, but it’s often cited as one of thebest hockey movies of all time. When the small town of Charleston braces for layoffs at the local mill, it becomes obvious that the local hockey team the Charleston Chiefs won’t survive. In a last-ditch effort, the team decides to play the Hanson Brothers, known for their thuggish style of play. The team instantly becomes hugely popular, using violence and fighting to sell tickets.
Paul Newman stars as the Chiefs' coach Reggie Dunlop, but other than him, the film doesn’t have any big stars. Jeff Carlson, Steve Carlson, and David Hanson star as the Hanson trio that riles fans up with their bloody style of play.Slap Shotdidn’t make much at the box office, but it’s become a cult classic since its release in 1977.
9The Gods Must Be Crazy
The Gods Must Be Crazyis a 1980 film written and directed by Jamie Uys. When an empty glass Coke bottle falls from an airplane, South African farmer Xi (Nǃxau ǂToma) sets out to return it to the Gods. During his travels, Xi meets a biologist, a teacher, and a group of hostile guerilla fighters. The comedy in the movie comes from the tribe’s people and their interactions with new people.
The film was the most financially successful South African movie ever at the time of its release. Columbia Pictures also released a sequel in 1989 calledThe Gods Must Be Crazy II. The cast of the movie is largely South African, with no big Hollywood names even making a cameo.The Gods Must Be Crazyproves that screwball comedies with lesser-known actors can be hilarious.
8Napoleon Dynamite
There are some pretty strong feelings out there when it comes toNapoleon Dynamite. Audiences seem to either love it or loathe it. The 2004 movie stars Jon Heder as the title character, an awkward high school kid who doesn’t fit in. He meets a new student named Pedro (Efren Ramirez) and together they launch a campaign to try to get Napoleon elected as class president.
Napoleon’s sarcastic attitude is funny in a cringe kind of way. He has an inflated sense of ego and he makes everyone around him feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless,Napoleon Dynamitehas become a huge hit in cult circles and fans are still hoping a sequel will happen.
RELATED:10 Life Lessons We Can Learn From Napoleon Dynamite
7Delicatessen
Back in 1991, a quirky French black comedy calledDelicatessenwas released by UGC Distribution. The film is set in post-apocalyptic France, where food is scarce and people are forced to ration what they have to survive. A landlord named Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfuss) sets up a butcher shop at the bottom of his building and lures people in by posting job ads. However, Clapet murders the jobseekers and sells them as cheap meat.
It’s a crazy premise, but it packs in a lot of laughs without any big-name stars. A former circus clown comes looking for a job and Clapet decides not to kill him because he’s good at magic. The rest of the film is a screwball caper where the audience doesn’t know who is going to kill who first. In the USA,Delicatessenwas marketed as “presented by Terry Gilliam and it lives up toGilliam’s signature off-the-wall style.
6Another Round
A recent example of a movie that doesn’t need big stars to get big laughs is 2020’sAnother Round. Mads Mikkelson is Martin, a bored teacher in Copenhagen who needs a change. He decides to liven up his day by taking on an experiment with three of his friends to see if having alcohol in their bloodstream at all times makes life more interesting. They find out that it does, but the test also has dire consequences.
Other than Mikkelson, who’s appeared in hit movies likeDoctor Strange,Casino Royale, andFantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,Another Rounddoesn’t feature any big-name Hollywood actors. Not only is the movie darkly funny, but it was also a smash success, winning the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
5Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Tucker & Dale vs. Evilis a horror comedy that came out in 2010. It’s about two hillbilly guys named Tucker McGee (Alan Tudyk) and Dale Dobson (Tyler Labine) who are on vacation in the backwoods and are mistaken for murders by a group of dimwitted college students. When they try to save a drowning girl, the group thinks Tucker and Dale are abducting her and come after them.
Critics thoughtTucker & Dale vs. Evilwas actually a pretty good comedy with just enough jump scares, funny lines, and heart to make it interesting. Tudyk is the only big name in the film, known mostly for his voice acting roles in several Disney/Pixar animated films likeFrozen,Zootopia, andWreck-It Ralph. It’s not likely, but there’s a small chance aTucker & Dale vs. Evilsequel could still happen.
4Thank You For Smoking
Aaron Eckhart stars as tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor in 2006’s original comedyThank You For Smoking. Nick regularly meets with two friends who are also lobbyists for dangerous substances, but soon finds himself questioning his morals. He’s trying to raise a young son, but a liberal senator is putting out an anti-smoking campaign that Nick is being pressured to counter.
Thank You For Smokingwas directed by Jason Reitman, so you know it’s going to be a fun movie to watch. Eckhart drives the film with slick satire and undeniable swagger, but there aren’t any other comedy stars cracking jokes.Thank You For Smokingwas a box office success, pulling in more than $39 million - $56 million in today’s dollars - on a measly $10 million budget ($14 million today).
RELATED:Best Jason Reitman Movies, Ranked
3Me Earl and the Dying Girl
Me Earl and the Dying Girlis a great comedy, and it’s also one of the best underrated coming-of-age movies. The movie is about a guy named Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann) who spends his time making parody movies and is generally unsocial. In his senior year in high school, Greg finds out his friend Rachel (Olivia Cooke) is dying of leukemia, which changes his outlook on life.
The pair begin to spend more time together and Greg accompanies Rachel to her cancer treatments. Greg starts to ditch his schoolwork just to be with Rachel, which angers his friend Earl (RJ Cyler) and results in Earl punching Greg. Despite its bleak premise,Me Earl and the Dying Girlis cute and charming, even without any Hollywood names attached to it.
2Booksmart
Booksmartis a wild and fun ridefilled with hilarious scenes and twists and turns. It’s about two smart girls named Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) who realize their excessive studying has left them out of too many high school adventures. They decide to rectify this with one insane night, jamming everything they missed in the last four years into just a few chaotic hours.
The duo’s night consists of taking hallucinogenics, watching pornography, partying on a yacht, and trying to have sex with their friends. It all culminates in the revelation that Amy won’t be spending the summer in Botswana with Molly as they had planned, but rather taking a gap year to figure out her life. The chaos is hilarious to watch andBooksmartcertainly earns its 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
1Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
The most recent funny comedy movie with lesser-known actors isAre You There God? It’s Me, Margaret?Based on the 1970 Judy Blume book, the movie is about a young girl named Margaret who’s going through puberty and struggling with changes to her body and her emotions. Her mother is Christian and her father is Jewish, but Margaret finds it difficult to relate to either religion. Instead, she talks directly to God about her thoughts and feelings.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaretwas released in April 2023 toexcellent reviews. The film stars Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret, Rachel McAdams, and Bennie Safdie as her parents, and Kathy Bates as her grandmother. McAdams and Bates are the biggest names on the bill, but it’s Fortson that carries the movie and delivers viewers a charming, delightful, and funny narrative.
