The comedies that film critics have deemed the greatest in history often wrap their humor in an inventive or thought-provoking package.
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The 100 best comedy movies of all time, according to critics
From Charlie Chaplin to Monty Python to quote-worthy parodies like "Airplane!," comedy classics have taken many forms over the decades.
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.
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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:
1920s:
"The Gold Rush" (1925)
Critic score: 100%
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Audience score: 93%
Summary: "
1930s:
"City Lights" (1931)
Critic score: 98%
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Audience score: 96%
Summary: "
"Duck Soup" (1933)
Critic score: 94%
Audience score: 91%
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Summary: "
"It Happened One Night" (1934)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "
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"Modern Times" (1936)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 95%
Summary: "
"Bringing Up Baby" (1938)
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Critic score: 95%
Audience score: 90%
Summary: "
"The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu)" (1939)
Critic score: 98%
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Audience score: 90%
Summary: "
1940s:
"His Girl Friday" (1940)
Critic score: 98%
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Audience score: 90%
Summary: "
"The Philadelphia Story" (1940)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 93%
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Summary: "
"To Be or Not to Be" (1942)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "
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"It's a Wonderful Life" (1946)
Critic score: 94%
Audience score: 95%
Summary: "
1950s:
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"All About Eve" (1950)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "
"Singin' in the Rain" (1952)
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Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 95%
Summary: "
"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953)
Critic score: 98%
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Audience score: 83%
Summary: "
"Roman Holiday" (1953)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 94%
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Summary: "
"Some Like It Hot" (1959)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "
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1960s:
"La Dolce Vita" (1960)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 90%
Summary: "
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"The Apartment" (1960)
Critic score: 93%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "
"101 Dalmatians" (1961)
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Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 75%
Summary: "
"8 1/2" (1963)
Critic score: 98%
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Audience score: 92%
Summary: "
"Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964)
Critic score: 99%
Audience score: 94%
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Summary: "
"Mafioso" (1964)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 81%
Summary: "
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"A Hard Day's Night" (1964)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 89%
Summary: "The Beatles
"Mary Poppins" (1964)
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Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 86%
Summary: "
"My Fair Lady" (1964)
Critic score: 96%
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Audience score: 90%
Summary: "
"The Producers" (1967)
Critic score: 91%
Audience score: 85%
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Summary: "
"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."
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1970s:
"The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie" (1972)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 89%
Summary: "
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"Playtime" (1973)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 89%
Summary: "
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975)
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Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 95%
Summary: "
"Annie Hall" (1977)
Critic score: 97%
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Audience score: 92%
Summary: "
"Manhattan" (1979)
Critic score: 95%
Audience score: 92%
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Summary: "
"Monty Python's Life of Brian" (1979)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "
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1980s:
"Airplane!" (1980)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 89%
Summary: "
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"Risky Business" (1983)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 72%
Summary: "
"Repo Man" (1984)
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Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 79%
Summary: "
"Ghostbusters" (1984)
Critic score: 97%
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Audience score: 88%
Summary: "
"Brazil" (1985)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 90%
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Summary: "
"Back to the Future" (1985)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "
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"Tampopo" (1985)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "
"The Princess Bride" (1987)
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Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 94%
Summary: "
"Broadcast News" (1987)
Critic score: 98%
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Audience score: 78%
Summary: "
"Big" (1988)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 82%
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Summary: "
"Hairspray" (1988)
Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 80%
Summary: "
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"Bull Durham" (1988)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 82%
Summary: "
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988)
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Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 84%
Summary: "
"Say Anything..." (1989)
Critic score: 98%
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Audience score: 85%
Summary: "
1990s:
"The Player" (1992)
Critic score: 98%
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Audience score: 85%
Summary: "
"Groundhog Day" (1993)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 88%
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Summary: "
"Bullets Over Broadway" (1994)
Critic score: 97%
Audience score: 83%
Summary: "I
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"Before Sunrise" (1995)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "
"Toy Story" (1995)
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Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 92%
Summary: "
"Sense and Sensibility" (1995)
Critic score: 98%
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Audience score: 90%
Summary: "
"The Truman Show" (1998)
Critic score: 94%
Audience score: 88%
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Summary: "
"Antz" (1998)
Critic score: 96%
Audience score: 52%
Summary: "
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"Toy Story 2" (1999)
Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 86%
Summary: "
"Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother)" (1999)
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Critic score: 98%
Audience score: 93%
Summary: "
2000s:
"Le goût des autres (The Taste of Others)" (2000)
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Critic score: 100%
Audience score: 81%
Summary: "
"Chicken Run" (2000)
Critic score: 97%
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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%
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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: "
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"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)
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Critic score: 95%
User score: 85%
Summary: "
"Sideways" (2004)
Critic score: 96%
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User score: 78%
Summary: "
"The Incredibles" (2004)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 75%
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Summary: "
"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."
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"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)
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Critic score: 94%
User score: 88%
Summary: "F
"The Band's Visit" (2007)
Critic score: 94%
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User score: 88%
Summary: "A
"Up" (2009)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 90%
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Summary: "Seventy-eight year old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his home equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway."
2010s:
"Toy Story 3" (2010)
Critic score: 99%
User score: 89%
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Summary: "
"Le Havre" (2011)
Critic score: 99%
User score: 75%
Summary: "
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"Muppets" (2011)
Critic score: 95%
User score: 80%
Summary: "
"The Artist" (2011)
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Critic score: 95%
User score: 87%
Summary: "
"Monsieur Lazhar" (2012)
Critic score: 97%
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User score: 86%
Summary: "
"Moonrise Kingdom" (2012)
Critic score: 93%
User score: 86%
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Summary: "
"Silver Linings Playbook" (2012)
Critic score: 92%
User score: 86%
Summary: "
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"Before Midnight" (2013)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 82%
Summary: "
"Enough Said" (2013)
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Critic score: 95%
User score: 75%
Summary: "
"The LEGO Movie" (2014)
Critic score: 96%
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User score: 87%
Summary: "
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014)
Critic score: 91%
User score: 86%
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Summary: "
"We Are the Best!" (2014)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 78%
Summary: "
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"Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" (2014)
Critic score: 92%
User score: 77%
Summary: "
"Shaun the Sheep" (2015)
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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%
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User score: 80%
Summary: "
"Spy" (2015)
Critic score: 94%
User score: 79%
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Summary: "
"Tangerine" (2015)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 75%
Summary: "
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"What We Do In The Shadows" (2015)
Critic score: 96%
User score: 86%
Summary: "
"The Nice Guys" (2016)
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Critic score: 92%
User score: 78%
Summary: "
"Hunt for the Wilderpeople" (2016)
Critic score: 97%
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User score: 91%
Summary: "
"Zootopia" (2016)
Critic score: 98%
User score: 92%
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Summary: "
"Paterson" (2016)
Critic score: 96%
User score: 71%
Summary: "
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"Love & Friendship" (2016)
Critic score: 97%
User score: 60%
Summary: "
"The Edge of Seventeen" (2016)
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Critic score: 95%
User score: 83%
Summary: "
"Don't Think Twice" (2016)
Critic score: 98%
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User score: 69%
Summary: "
"La La Land" (2016)
Critic score: 92%
User score: 81%
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Summary: "
"Get Out" (2017)
"The Lego Batman Movie" (2017)
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"The Big Sick" (2017)
"Logan Lucky" (2017)
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