The Best Comedy Movies Of 2022
2022 has been a very productive year for Hollywood, with countless movies released to both theaters and streaming in the wake of the pandemic slowing things down. Among the slate of feature films that have come out are a number of gut-busting comedies that have kept spirits high for audiences across the world. Whether they are slapstick animated romps or multiverse-bending adventures, comedies of all kinds have premiered in 2022. Now that audiences are going back to the theater in droves for big-budget features such as "Thor: Love and Thunder" and "Uncharted," it is the perfect time to highlight all the comedy films that can be seen before the year is out.
While 2022 is far from over, we decided to lay out all the year's laugh-out-loud comedies that everyone should check out. There were so many to choose from that we had to narrow down our choices to only the absolute best comedies that are worth your time. From heartwarmingly silly Pixar flicks to a bunch of guys injuring themselves on camera, here are the best comedies of 2022.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
You have probably already heard of one of the most talked-about movies of the year, "Everything Everywhere All at Once." This is a movie that defies definition by dipping its hotdog-shaped fingers into several different genres, such as action, adventure, drama, sci-fi, martial arts, and many more. One of the constants throughout the mind-bending experience of watching this film is just how funny it is, but that doesn't mean you won't need some help understanding the ending.
"Everything Everywhere All at Once" was created by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known for their other bizarre film called "Swiss Army Man." This film is an absurd dramedy about a Chinese-American immigrant named Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) who is thrust into a maddening multiversal story revolving around her family (Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, and James Hong). This is one of those movies that manages to balance the bonkers randomness of its humor with the grounded and realistic portrayals of its characters to amazing effect, thanks in no small part to the performances of Yeoh, Hsu, Quan, and Hong. Upon release, this movie was met with universal acclaim and praise for its creative premise, powerful performances, and genuinely hilarious comedy. It has gone on to be described by many as one of the best films ever made, and it really can only be seen to be believed.
Jackass Forever
On the complete opposite end of the comedy spectrum from films like "Everything Everywhere All at Once" is "Jackass Forever," a movie that has no pretensions of grandeur. The "Jackass" franchise has existed for over two decades simply by giving us hilarious movies of funny guys and gals hurting themselves on camera. Sometimes that's all you need. And considering that one of the stunts in this movie involving a bull nearly killed star Johnny Knoxville, these guys literally put their blood, sweat, and tears into making it.
"Jackass Forever" is the fourth mainline film in the series, and like the others, it focuses on putting its stars in dangerously compromising situations through extreme stunts, pranks, and general tomfoolery. This latest installment features almost all the same cast members from previous films such as Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee Man, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, Danger Ehren, and Dave England. "Jackass Forever" also aims to pass the torch of self-endangerment to a new generation of daredevils such as Sean "Poopies" McInerney, Zach Holmes, and Rachel Wolfson. With even more on-set injuries than ever, there's a reason that "Jackass Forever" has become the most highly rated film in the franchise.
Turning Red
It should come as no surprise to film buffs out there that a Pixar movie ended up on this list, considering that the beloved animation studio has consistently put out some of the most award-winning, high-quality animated movies of all time. Pixar films tend to strike a balance between humorous and heartwarming while wrapped in a high-concept package, and "Turning Red" is no exception. Marking the directorial debut for Domee Shi, this film features an incredible cast and ambitious script that has sparked some unfortunate drama thanks to narrow-minded internet trolls.
"Turning Red" is one of the latest films from Pixar Studios (along with "Lightyear"), telling the story of Meilin "Mei" Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl who magically gets turned into a giant red panda during moments of intense emotion. The film portrays this transformation as both serious and comedic, with it being a condition passed down through her family that is meant to be controlled. Once Mei and her friends realize the unique potential of using the panda to their advantage, they fully embrace using it for money-making clout to hilarious results. As a classic coming-of-age tale about a teenage girl going through major changes, the story walks the line between goofy jokes and more serious family drama to create a film that many regard as one of Pixar's best in years.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
One of the more strange and humorously named movies on this list is "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent," which stars and is entirely focused on actor Nic Cage, who plays a version of himself. This film was directed by Tom Gormican as an action-comedy that follows the escapades of Cage as he deals with a struggling film career as well as family issues. All these things and more come to a head as the famed actor gets himself involved in a massive plot beyond his control.
As a self-indulgent but undeniably charming film, "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" shows a Nic Cage whose career is struggling amid numerous box office flops and who is taunted by visions of his past self. Out of desperation, Cage is brought to Spain to meet with a wealthy fanboy (played by Pedro Pascal). From there the plot goes off the rails, involving drug trafficking, kidnapping, the CIA, and props from the movie "Face/Off." By being appropriately tongue-in-cheek, this movie has been regarded by many as one of Cage's best roles in decades while also managing to be a genuinely hilarious comedy at the same time. Could this be the start of a Nic Cage renaissance? That remains to be seen.
The Bob's Burgers Movie
As one of the most anticipated animated comedies of the year, it should come as no surprise to fans that "The Bob's Burgers Movie" lived up to the expectations. Based on the award-winning Fox series of the same name, this movie took everything fun about "Bob's Burgers" and turned it up for the big screen. "Bob's Burgers" is about the Belcher family with Bob (H. Jon Benjamin), Linda (John Roberts), Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman), and Louise (Kristen Schaal) all dealing with the difficulties of running a burger business.
The show has gone on for 12 seasons since 2011 and has gained a massive cult following for its wacky humor, puns, musical numbers, and endearing characters. It was only a matter of time before "Bob's Burgers" followed in the footsteps of shows like "The Simpsons" and "SpongeBob SquarePants" by getting a feature film of its own. "The Bob's Burgers Movie" focuses on the Belchers suffering financial woes after being denied an extension on their business loan as well as having a massive sinkhole form right in front of their restaurant. Upon release, critics have agreed that "The Bob's Burgers Movie" has a successful mixture of laugh-out-loud silliness while maintaining a satisfyingly heartfelt story.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
When people think of not-terrible video game movies, one of the few that comes to mind is probably "Sonic the Hedgehog." The first film was released in 2020, with audiences everywhere being pleasantly surprised with the portrayal of Sonic (Ben Schwartz), a beloved Sega video game character with a huge fanbase, as well as Jim Carrey's over-the-top performance as the villainous Dr. Robotnik. It is because of that success that Paramount Pictures continued the gravy train with this year "Sonic the Hedgehog 2."
Picking up where the first film left off, "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" begins almost eight months later when Dr. Robotnik seeks revenge against Sonic with the help of Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba) — another fan-favorite character who had a viral meme moment of his own back in 2018. Sonic recruits the help of his friend Miles "Tails" Prower (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) to find the Master Emerald before his enemies do and save the universe as we know it. This may sound like heavy subject matter, but "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" manages to be a lighthearted cartoonish adventure with lots of slapstick humor and tongue-in-cheek jokes along the way. With a stacked cast of acting talent, it is no surprise this film gained significant buzz as being even better than the first film.
The Man from Toronto
"The Man from Toronto" is a high-octane action-comedy film directed by Patrick Hughes, starring Kevin Hart, Woody Harrelson, and Kaley Cuoco to name a few. While production for this film was heavily impacted by COVID-related issues, the movie finally came out this year to mostly negative responses from critics. Nonetheless, "The Man from Toronto" has enough laughs and shootouts to satisfy fans of the genre while also sporting enjoyable performances from its lead actors.
Hart stars as an unsuccessful fitness instructor who desperately wants to find success selling his idea of "no-contact boxing." During the course of the story, Teddy is swept into a plot of mistaken identity when he is confused as being "The Man from Toronto," a highly trained killer who is actually Harrelson's character. Together the two go on a globe-trotting adventure while running away from other assassins and FBI agents as they navigate this absurd situation. While the film has mostly been panned by critics and audiences alike, there is still enough comedic gold between Hart and Harrelson in "The Man from Toronto" to keep anyone entertained.
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
In the spirit of films like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and "Space Jam," the recently released "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" implements CGI, 2D animation, and live-action performances together in the same movie. This film focuses on Chip (John Mulaney) and Dale (Andy Samberg), two cartoon chipmunks who had a popular real-life show in the 1990s and have since become losers. In the world of "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers," animated characters and humans all live together and interact with each other like normal. This movie seeks to blend comedy, action, adventure, mystery, and nostalgia into a movie with lots of jokes that may go over the heads of younger audiences.
The story is centered around the kidnapping of Monterey Jack (Eric Bana), another character from the original show, and the investigation Chip and Dale must undertake in order to discover what happened to their friend. For many, the main appeal of this movie is the countless number of cameo appearances by other characters from animation history such as Peter Pan (Rachel Bloom), Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer), He-Man (Alan Oppenheimer), Scrooge McDuck (David Tennant), and more. One of the more talked about appearances in "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" is that of "Ugly Sonic," voiced by popular comedian Tim Robinson as the older, uglier version of CGI Sonic from the 2020 film "Sonic the Hedgehog," which was changed to its current version thanks to fan backlash.
Dog
Another entry in the popular genre of movies about humans becoming friends with dogs, "Dog" is a road comedy about a U.S. Army Ranger with PTSD given the assignment of taking a military dog to his friend's funeral across the country. Rooted in serious topics like war, trauma, family, and death is also the comedic narrative of Jackson Briggs (played by Channing Tatum) learning to develop a relationship with a chaotic dog that wants to destroy everything in sight.
As with most road comedies, Briggs and Lulu the dog endure several strange encounters throughout the film that can lead to laughter such as when Lulu ruins an opportunity for Briggs to have a threesome as well as when they get kidnapped by trespassing at a pot farm. "Dog" satisfied audiences and critics alike with positive reviews and made significant box office returns on its meager $15 million dollar budget. For dog-lovers and Channing Tatum-lovers alike, "Dog" is a film that has a little something for everyone.
The Bad Guys
"The Bad Guys" is an animated comedy centered around a team of criminal animals who make a living planning heists that fit within the reputation of their species. Based on a book for children, this film features an impressive cast of actors in various roles like Sam Rockwell as Mr. Wolf, Marc Maron as Mr. Snake, Zazie Beetz as Diane Foxington, Awkwafina as Ms. Tarantula, and Craig Robinson as Mr. Shark.
As a team of criminals known as The Bad Guys, the animals embrace the negative stereotypes of their various species by plotting elaborate heists led by the charming Mr. Wolf. Once they accidentally get pictured doing a good deed during one of their schemes, the team is roped into trying to reform themselves as good guys in order to atone for their crimes. "The Bad Guys" is filled with witty humor, interesting animation, and lots of exciting action that serves to make this one of the higher-rated animated movies of the year. More than anything, many seem to agree that the film is genuinely funny for both kids and adults.
Minions: The Rise of Gru
It's time to talk about the Minions. With the recent release of "Minions: The Rise of Gru," the world has once again been graced with the big-screen presence of everyone's favorite little yellow banana-loving troublemakers. As the latest in the "Despicable Me" and "Minions" franchise, this film serves as a sequel to the first standalone "Minions" film while also simultaneously being a prequel to the first "Despicable Me" feature. Illumination Entertainment has managed to create some of the most iconic animated characters of all time, with this being their latest blockbuster appearance. The film, like its predecessor, is a financial smash.
"Minions: The Rise of Gru" takes place in 1975 and serves to explain how the Minions came to serve the villainous Gru (Steve Carell), who is only a kid at this time. Gru and the minions are roped into a conflict between the Villainous 6 and their former leader named Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin) as they struggle to collect the Zodiac Stone. In this film, Gru is desperate to earn legitimacy as a villain and at one point fires the minions for their silly incompetence, seeing them as a roadblock to his success. "Minions: The Rise of Gru" is full of the kind of minion-based shenanigans that the series has become known for, with lots of yelling, cartoon violence, laughing, and banana enjoyment. This film also sparked some real-life comedy when thousands of moviegoers around the world made it a meme to see the movie dressed to the nines in suits, calling themselves "gentle minions."
Fire Island
"Fire Island" is a delightful romantic comedy directed by Andrew Ahn about a group of gay men vacationing on Fire Island off the coast of Long Island, while the story is inspired by "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Things get more complicated as the men navigate romances, rivalries, judgment, and outrageous circumstances during their weeklong stay.
The narrative is mainly focused on Noah (played by Joel Kim Booster, who also wrote the film) as he heads to Fire Island with his friends as part of a yearly tradition among the five of them. From there, Noah has to deal with various flames and sexual encounters as he and his other friends try to have a good time while understanding this is the last opportunity they'll get to return to the island the way they used to. Throughout the film are humorous moments of levity that embrace awkwardness and misunderstandings. "Fire Island" has done considerably well with the critics, with many praising its representation of gay men and engaging characters.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Following in the footsteps of another A24 film on our list — "Everything Everywhere All at Once" — the horror flick "Bodies Bodies Bodies" transcends multiple genres by combining bold black comedy with slasher elements. This film was directed by Dutch actress and director Halina Reijn in her first English-language project, and stars a small but impressive ensemble cast of characters stuck together during a hurricane party gone horribly wrong.
"Bodies Bodies Bodies" stars Maria Bakalova as Bee, a working class young woman from Eastern Europe, who is invited to a glow stick-filled hurricane party thrown by the privileged friends of her girlfriend Sophie (Amandla Stenberg). David (Pete Davidson) is hosting the party at his parents' mansion but when he suddenly turns up dead, the partygoers all start pointing fingers at one another as they become convinced there's a killer among them.
By fully embracing the tropes of the genre and absurdity of their situation, "Bodies Bodies Bodies" perfectly satirizes how paranoia pushes people towards insanity. "Bodies Bodies Bodies" embraces the ironically detached Gen-Z humor of putting dumb people in intense situations, while watching them become their own worst enemies.
Thanks to the performances of the cast and subversive story, "Bodies Bodies Bodies" did great with critics, with the Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus calling it "an uncommonly well-done whodunit."
Bros
Co-written by Billy Eichner and Nicholas Stoller (who also directed the movie), "Bros" focuses on the budding relationship between two commitment-averse men living in New York City.
Bobby Lieber (Eichner) is a podcaster and radio host, who meets his soon-to-be romantic partner Aaron Shepard (Luke Macfarlane) at a nightclub. The two begin seeing each other, but due to their histories and insecurities, struggle to find the intense spark that one would expect from a new romance.
Although "Bros" wasn't a commercial success (via Box Office Mojo), it remains one of the funniest and unique movies of 2022 that definitely deserves a watch. It's historic too, as it's both the first major studio rom-com to feature a gay love story, as well as an all openly LGBTQ+ principal cast (via The Hollywood Reporter).
By showing the realistic side of dating through an LGBTQ+ comedic lens, "Bros” proved to be one of the most exciting comedy movies of the year, which impressed critics and audiences alike. Critic Wendy Ide put it best in her review for The Guardian, describing "Bros" as "a ribald and riotous onslaught of bracing humour which belies a sweetly soft centre."
Rosaline
Hulu's romantic comedy "Rosaline" seeks to re-imagine the timeless classic Shakespeare story of "Romeo and Juliet" by turning the heretofore unseen character of Rosaline as the protagonist. "Rosaline" was directed by Karen Maine and stars Kaitlyn Dever as Rosaline Capulet, the scorned lover of Romeo, whom he leaves so he can be with her cousin Juliet. Rosaline is a brave, ambitious, and progressive young woman in a male dominated society, who decides to get revenge on her ex-boyfriend by destroying his new relationship with Juliet at any cost.
This creative interpretation of "Romeo and Juliet" was based on Rebecca Serle's 2012 novel "When You Were Mine," but the film doubles down on the tongue-in-cheek comedic elements of the story, which has made it one of the best original Hulu movies of 2022 so far.
"Rosaline" also features an incredible cast of performers such as Isabela Merced, Kyle Allen, Minnie Driver, and Bradley Whitford as characters both from the original play and this new story.
Thanks to its witty script and charming lead actors, "Rosaline" did well with critics and audiences and the Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus notes that Devers' performance in particular "makes this period romance easy to love."
Hocus Pocus 2
Although the Halloween season has come and gone, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy one of the most anticipated sequels of the year with "Hocus Pocus 2." This spooky comedy was directed by Anne Fletcher and brings back the stars of the original 1993 film with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy all returning as the Sanderson sister witches. It's been roughly three decades since the last time audiences saw these characters on the big screen back in 1993, so their return was highly anticipated by fans.
In "Hocus Pocus 2," the Sanderson sisters are accidentally summoned by two teenage girls, who light the Black Flame Candle, which brings these troublemaking witches into our world.
The story of "Hocus Pocus 2" is filled with laughs and references to the previous film that fans will definitely enjoy. Overall, the movie did decently with critics. Shirley Li noted for The Atlantic that "Midler, Najimy, and Parker reprise their roles with an enthusiasm that radiates off the screen," which makes the movie a delight for viewers, whether you've seen the original 100 times or not.
Unlike the original, this sequel premiered on Disney+ rather than to a theatrical release. The world has changed quite a bit for the Sanderson sisters — and everyone else — since 1993, so this decision to stream the movie first paid off: "Hocus Pocus 2" had the most-viewed premiere of any Disney+ movie to-date and actually became the most-watched film on the entire platform (via Deadline).