The Funniest American Comedies


   

The laughDB database is dedicated to the funniest comedy movies, stand-up comedy and TV series.

This section is for comedies from the USA. By default they are presented starting with the ones ranking highest on the laugh-o-meter, but you can also sort them by year, title or IMDB rating.


Funniest American Comedies sorted by Laugh-o-meter (descending) / page 14 of 25


sort by…    

An American Werewolf in London posterAn American Werewolf in London
      1981 | USA | Laughs: 3.5 (Chuckle) | imdb: 7.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

First off, this movie is fantastic. This is one of those rare movies that I resist watching for the longest time under the smug pretext that I already know what it's about and won't like it — then end up watching and absolutely love.

Two American backpackers are assaulted by a werewolf in northern England. One dies, the other wakes up in a hospital bed in London, and starts to fear that on the next full moon he'll turn into a werewolf and perpetuate the carnage.

I don't like horror movies. This isn't one. It's funny from start to finish, with beautiful shots of the early eighties, likeable actors and a narration that never goes over the top, which it would have in the hands of most comedy directors.

What the movie doesn't have is the Warren Zevon song or Michael Jackson, who asked Landis to direct the Thriller video (1983). It's not a laugh-out-loud movie, but I sure grinned and chuckled a lot. If you haven't yet seen this, do yourself a favor and drop everything on your "to watch" list. It's a real gem.

(Last viewed: December 2019)

More About An American Werewolf in London:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for An American Werewolf in London


Spies Like Us posterSpies Like Us
      1985 | USA | Laughs: 3.5 (Chuckle) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Sent by the CIA to Pakistan and Russia as decoys, two men walk the thin line between genius and incompetence. No hard laughs but I enjoyed this movie very much as it features Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd at the top of their form.

(Last viewed: April 2020)

More About Spies Like Us:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Spies Like Us


Little Miss Sunshine DVDLittle Miss Sunshine
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 3.5 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Five stars. Dad is bankrupt, mom wants a divorce, grandpa snorts heroin, uncle Frank has just tried to kill himself, big brother doesn't speak, but everyone piles up in a VW van to bring little sister to a beauty pageant in California. Great story about who we are, and splendid acting, not least by Alan Arkin, who was already an amazing actor forty years earlier in The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming. (Last viewed: July 2010)

More About Little Miss Sunshine:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Little Miss Sunshine


She's Funny That Way posterShe's Funny That Way
      2014 | USA | Laughs: 3.5 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.1
      wikipedia | who was involved?

During the production of a Broadway play, the lives of a call girl, the director and several characters get entangled to the highest degree. I'm usually not a supporter of Hollywood's habit of making self-referential movies (as though everyone in the world worked in show business); neither do I usually much like movies with a strong theatrical feel. But I found this little movie thoroughly entertaining. It was nice to see Owen Wilson, and everyone else did a fine job too. It wasn't one of those that makes you laugh, but it was funny and it hit the spot. (Last viewed: June 2015)

More About She's Funny That Way:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for She's Funny That Way


Clerks DVDClerks
      1994 | USA | Laughs: 3.3 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 7.7
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A black-and-white film purporting to present a day in the life of two clerks in a convenience store and the attending video store. Clerks didn't make me laugh when it came out, but in the coming years it attained something of a cult following, so I thought I'd give the movie another shot. It still doesn't make me laugh. The dialogue sounds like it's out of a book, clashing with the "realistic" images of the store. (Last viewed: Jul 1995 October 2010)

More About Clerks:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Clerks


See no Evil, Hear no Evil DVDSee no Evil, Hear no Evil
      1989 | USA | Laughs: 3.3 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A blind man (Richard Pryor) and a deaf man (Gene Wilder) witness a murder. Now they must escape the killers and convince the police of their innocence. I wanted these guys to make me laugh, but they didn't. One thing that intrigued me: the gratuitous swearing, pioneering for 1989, swearing which would have made it hard for the film to reach the audience best suited to it—children between the ages of eight and thirteen. (Last viewed: May 2011)

More About See no Evil, Hear no Evil:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for See no Evil, Hear no Evil


Kabluey DVDKabluey
      2007 | USA | Laughs: 3.2 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This movie missed the "unwatchable" category by a hair: after about twenty minutes, right when we were about to give up, it took a turn for the better. Still not laugh-out-loud, but a cute tender story about a man regarded by his family as a loser (he hands out flyers in a blue alien suit on a low-traffic road) and who turns out to be a calming influence on his sister-in-law and her two frantic boys. (Last viewed: March 2012)

More About Kabluey:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Kabluey


What a Girl Wants posterWhat a Girl Wants
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 3.2 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 5.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

An American teenage girl travels to the U.K. to finally meet her dad, a prominent politician of royal lineage. Although the film had its entertaining moments—mostly the poking fun at stuck-up people kind—it was a waste of a very decent cast, including Colin Firth and Amanda Bynes, who had shone in She's The Man. (Last viewed: June 2015)

More About What a Girl Wants:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for What a Girl Wants


Hall Pass DVDHall Pass
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 3.2 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 5.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Two women give their sex-starved husbands a week off from their marriage. It's less a comedy than a tragedy (not a bad one) about the plight of males trapped by their biology and the roles carved for them in society. In that respect, this might be worth a watch, but not if you're hoping to laugh. (Last viewed: September 2012)

More About Hall Pass:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Hall Pass


Bowfinger posterBowfinger
      1999 | USA | Laughs: 3.2 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

There are a few laughs in this movie, but the pain you must endure to earn those isn't worth it. I'll admit that I'm highly prejudiced: with rare exceptions, I can't stand movies that deal with movie-making—as though the whole world revolved around Hollywood. The premise of this one is that a desperate director decides to shoot a movie without telling a movie star he will feature in it. Sadly, it's much worse than it sounds. There's lots of screaming, chaos, and terrible music to cover up the images. It might just be bad enough to qualify as a cult movie, but you'd have to ask someone who's interested in such things. (Last viewed: July 2015)

More About Bowfinger:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Bowfinger


Wedding Crashers DVDWedding Crashers
      2005 | USA | Laughs: 3.1 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Two buddies have perfected a routine whereby they crash weddings and hit on attractive singles. The beginning was a bit hard to watch because the two men kept referring to a list of rules (e.g. "rule number 21"), which was both idiotic and instantly unbelievable. Apart from that, this is a decent romantic comedy (as that largely appalling genre goes) that will probably make you smile and perhaps laugh once or twice. Things get interesting when the friends board a boat to spend the weekend with the bride and her wealthy family, evoking a distant taste of Meet the Parents, which also featured Owen Wilson. (Last viewed: August 2012)

More About Wedding Crashers:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Wedding Crashers


A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas DVDA Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 3.1 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 6.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The good news is that since Harold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay, the writers fished the Kumar character out of the sewer and brought him somewhat back in line with his old self. The bad news is that the magic of the original Harold & Kumar hasn't returned. I didn't laugh once (though there was much to smile about). And you can't ask the studio to bring back the original writing team, because it was they who committed the two sequels. Many of the movie's frames are designed to give those with the proper glasses a 3-D thrill—but that doesn't help when all you care about is the laughs. The actors do a good job, especially John Cho, of whom I'd like to see more in other movies. But the writers have lost their touch. Next they seem to be lining us up for something along the lines of Harold & Kumar have Babies. Maybe this time the writers will take a year off in a remote cabin so they have time to focus and write something decent again. Otherwise, let someone else have the job! (Last viewed: September 2012)

More About A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas


Home Alone DVDHome Alone
      1990 | USA | Laughs: 3.1 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 7.6
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

I resisted watching this much-liked movie for over twenty years. (Please don't burn me for saying this, but I'm just not interested in kids.) After several people on the site recommended it, I finally buckled up to see if it would make me laugh. This was not a case of "wow, what have I been missing all this time". No, it was exactly what I had been expecting (for once)—a cute kid trying to defeat some not-particularly clever baddies. This is really a kid's movie. If you're into kids, then by all means, give it a shot. (Last viewed: August 2012)

More About Home Alone:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Home Alone


Walk Like A Man DVDWalk Like A Man
      1987 | USA | Laughs: 3.1 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 4.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Raised by wolves, Bobo is found and returned back to society, to the worry of his brother who had started spending his inheritance. A well-intentioned movie that will make you smile and might make you laugh once or twice but just doesn't have enough to keep you going—unless you are between the ages of five and eight. (Last viewed: April 2012)

More About Walk Like A Man:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Walk Like A Man


Moonstruck DVDMoonstruck
      1987 | USA | Laughs: 3.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.1
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Sure, this romantic flick is instantly forgettable. Yet it's a touch more watchable that the average, thanks to a decent plot and decent acting which nearly overcome the boring backdrop—yet another intimate window into an Italian-American family. Enough of that already! I was pleasantly surprised to find Nicholas Cage in one of his better roles, which made me realize that he should have stayed in the 1980s. (So should I, for that matter.) But don't get your hopes up too high, this is no Birdy or Wild at Heart. (Last viewed: June 2012)

More About Moonstruck:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Moonstruck


Pages in this section: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 
(This section: Funniest American Comedies)
Back to the List of Countries



Not Finding a Movie, TV Series, Stand-Up Set?

Since the reviews span many pages, if you're looking for a specific title, you can use the search box at the top of each page.

Search Tip: Type a few letters of the title, for instance "wed" for Muriel's Wedding.


Buy me a coffee


Be the First to Leave a Comment






All comments are moderated.
Link spammers, this won't work for you.

To prevent automatic spam, may I gently ask that you go through these crazy hoops…
Buy me a coffee