The Funniest Spanish Comedies

We Need To Talk (Tenemos que hablar)
      2016 | Spain | Laughs: 6.6 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 5.8
      who was involved?

Having been separated from her husband for two years, a young woman seeks tactful ways to inform him that it's time for a divorce so that she may remarry—but she gets ensnared in a growing web of lies of her own making, giving her false hopes to her depressed ex.

While all the actors did a decent job, the one who played the ex's roommate was particularly prominent in the funniest parts of the film.

The story is not as good as that of Spanish Affair, but on the laugh-o-meter, the movie probably ranks a little higher. It seems to belong to a movement in which Spain is reinventing its comedy genre, drawing from classic French and American interpretations of the genre. While some may regret the loss in originality, I for one welcome this move, having been exposed to enough squeaky dark comedies à-la-Almadovar for a lifetime and being generally more interested (where comedies are concerned) in genuine laughs than in art. (Last viewed: February 2017)

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Spanish Affair (Ocho Apellidos Vascos)
      2014 | Spain | Laughs: 6.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A man from the South of Spain travels north to the Basque region, against which he is strongly prejudiced, on a self-assigned mission to "extract" a woman with whom he's fallen in love and bring her back to what he perceives to be the civilized world. He ends up spending more time in the Basque country than he bargained for, first having to pass himself off as a leader of the independence movement, then having to pretend to be a proud Basque in front of his potential father-in-law.

This classic fish-out-of-water premise works brilliantly. There were many occasions to laugh, such as when our hero arrives in the Basque town and immediately starts demeaning everything in his sweetheart's surrounding—down to her clothes and hairstyle. Even without speaking fluent Spanish, you can tell the strong difference in accents, which in itself has to make you smile.

The movie came out shortly after Welcome to the Sticks (France, 2008) and its Italian remake Welcome to the South (2009) and may well have been engineered to cash in on that North-South tension without paying rights for the script that started the trend. That's a good thing, because that tension is of great comedic effect, and it's too rich not to exploit it with multiple stories.

This is the first Spanish movie to really make me laugh. Perhaps that's because classic Spanish comedies are designed to make you smirk rather than smile—dark humor seems to be the standard fare. Truth be told, this movie has something of the flavor of an American comedy, or of a French farce, if the two can be reconciled. And that's far from a bad thing.

Highly recommended.

The sequel is disappointing, unless you expect sequels to disappoint, in which case it is just what you expect. (Last viewed: February 2017)

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Friend Zone (Pagafantas)
      2009 | Spain | Laughs: 5.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.1
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A man falls in love with an Argentinean woman but can't avoid falling into the role of pagafantas, the guy who buys drinks but never becomes a romantic interest.

I'm not sure I laughed out loud, but I found the movie very funny and enjoyable. It's short and sweet, which is probably how comedies with a simple premise should be.

For those who enjoy accents, the out-of-place accent of the young woman is another aspect to savor.

(Last viewed: January 2019)

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The Year of the Tick (El año de la garrapata)
      2004 | Spain | Laughs: 4.8 (Chuckle) | imdb: 5.9
      who was involved?

In a time of economic hardship, a group of young adult friends answer their existential questions with sloth, drugs and humor.

Even though it makes me smile and chuckle more than laugh, this is one of my favorite Spanish comedies. It has attitude, but with a light touch. Although it predates the prolonged "crisis" that started in 2007, it feels like it was filmed yesterday.

As a loving student of the Spanish language, I enjoyed having to pause many times to look up words, as the movie is full of delightful slang.

(Last viewed: January 2019)

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Escuela de Seducción
      2004 | Spain | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 3.7
      who was involved?

A man with an unusual sensitivity to women's needs sets up a romance-coaching school and causes mischief for a man-hater, the female host of a radio show about relationships.

We found this to be an entertaining watch. The movie was surprisingly devoid of the nudity that seems so common in Spanish comedies. The ending was dismal, with an out-of-place, drawn out video of a live concert that occupied the screen for an incredible amount of time—we couldn't understand it. (Last viewed: February 2017)

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The Day of the Beast (El día de la Bestia)
      1995 | Spain | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Seeking to meet the devil in order to prevent the reign of the antichrist, a priest forces himself to do evil deeds. I really enjoyed this movie, especially the first half, which had a lighter touch than the hectic finale, as with a great number of movies. I didn't laugh out loud, but I probably chuckled and grinned for a good part of the film. To me the comparison with Peter Jackson is inevitable, but I enjoyed this a good deal more. That being said, it is so offbeat that it won't be to everyone's taste. (Last viewed: October 2017)

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Party Town (El Pregón)
      2016 | Spain | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 5.1
      who was involved?

Two brothers who had a hit song in the 1990s have fallen on harder times and must accept a lucrative offer to deliver a speech in the childhood village they had worked so hard to escape.

As you would expect, this "fish out of water" comedy is often predictable, but I enjoyed it. It was a particular treat for me to see Berto Romero and Andreu Buenafuente together on screen, a pair I had listened to countless times on their podcast Nadie Sabe Nada while trying to improve my Spanish. (Last viewed: May 2018)

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The Great Vazquez (El Gran Vázquez)
      2010 | Spain | Laughs: 4.0 (Chuckle) | imdb: 6.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A talented cartoonist who is also a con artist drives his publisher mad, not to mention his immediate family. This biographical movie was a pleasant watch, both because of the man's antics, which made me chuckle a few times, and because of the colorful texture.

It seemed to me, but I may be wrong, that I had read parts of the story in Paco Roca's graphic novel El Invierno del Dibujante ('The Winter of the Cartoonist').

Often in Spanish comedy I find the stroke a little thick. With this film, perhaps because of his expertise in the subject matter as a script writer for comics, the director managed something balanced: cartooney but not overly cartoonish, if that makes sense.

(Last viewed: January 2019)

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Champions (Campeones)
      2018 | Spain | Laughs: 3.8 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.3
      who was involved?

To expiate his drunk-driving offence, a high-profile basketball coach is condemned to three months of community service. His task? Coach a team of people with mental challenges.

First off, I'm a fan of the main actor Javier Gutiérrez, whom I enjoyed in the TV series Estoy Vivo then Vergüenza, in which he plays a similar role of insensitive egocentric.

This is not a laugh-a-minute kind of comedy, but I smiled a lot. Apart from that, I must say that the movie was very touching.

A worthwhile addition to the new wave of Spanish comedies.

(Last viewed: January 2019)

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Antes de la quema
      2019 | Spain | Laughs: 3.5 (Chuckle) | imdb: 5.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A man who chronically struggles to make ends meet finds himself embroiled in the planning of an operation to steal drugs from a public incinerator.

Thankfully, the plot is far better than it sounds. The comedy doesn't stand out, but what redeems the movie, and by much, is the incredible accents — for those who, like me, have never been to Cádiz — of several of the protagonists.

Needless to say, this will only be of interest to Spanish speakers or learners.

(Last viewed: April 2021)

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Toc Toc
      2017 | Spain | Laughs: 3.0 (Chuckle) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

By a scheduling mistake, three men and three women have appointments with the same psychiatrist at the same hour. All six suffer from some form of obsessive compulsion, such as washing one's hands or saying everything twice.

The device is a little crude and the plot often formulaic (with allotted segments to each of the patients), but, if you put out of your mind the question of whether using people's clinical conditions as a basis for comedy is even acceptable in this day and age, you'll probably find enough in the film to keep you fairly entertained for its very reasonable duration.

For me, the most enjoyable part was sin duda the older gentleman's Argentinian accent. (Last viewed: December 2018)

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Superlopez (Superlópez)
      2018 | Spain | Laughs: 3.0 (Chuckle) | imdb: 5.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This Superman spoof was among the most viewed films of its season in Spain, so its low ratings are surprising. Superlopez is a superhuman from another galaxy who happens to have landed on the Earth's lamest country: Spain (the scriptwriter's words—actually cutre—not mine). In order to blend in to Spanish society, he tries to follow his foster father's advice by striving for mediocrity.

Although the movie didn't really make me laugh, I enjoyed watching it and found it very entertaining, excepting for the last half-hour, which was rather flat, as tends to happen with adventure comedies.
(Last viewed: June 2019)

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Spanish Affair 2 (Ocho apellidos catalanes)
      2015 | Spain | Laughs: 3.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 5.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

If you want to laugh, this sequel to the brilliant Spanish Affair is not really worth watching. This time Rafa travels to Catalonia to prevent Amaia from marrying another man.

The movie has more minutes, more shots from helicopters, more extras, but I don't think it really made us laugh. It is cute though, so if you fancy an easy romantic flick, this may just be the thing for you. (Last viewed: February 2017)

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Common Wealth (La comunidad)
      2000 | Spain | Laughs: 3.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After their upstairs neighbor dies, the dwellers of an apartment building scheme to retrieve the cash from his lottery winnings. This is the kind of offbeat comedy that makes you smirk rather than laugh. I enjoyed it. (Last viewed: October 2017)

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Airbag
      1997 | Spain | Laughs: 3.0 | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After a bachelor party doesn't turn out as they expected, a group of friends find themselves in all kinds of trouble. Does that sound like a rip-off of Hangover? Possibly, assuming the producers of this 1997 film were able to jump twelve years forward to the future.

The brothel scene was so coarse that I nearly gave up on the movie, but I came back to it a couple of months later and found the rest fairly entertaining and well put-together, even though I didn't laugh. A colorful introduction to modern Spanish comedy. (Last viewed: January 2018)

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