The 2010s will be forever known for the globalization of social media, streaming sites, and music platforms. It was the decade in which the world was predicted to end by eschatological forecasters, and featured the first and shortest-lived online uprising against African warlord, Joseph Kony. Julian Assange’s Wikileaks came to international attention, and the deadly condition AIDS became treatable. The 2010s wasn’t just a revolutionary era for technology and medicine, but also for comedy movies, which after a stellar 2000s, continued where it left off…
10 The Campaign
The Campaign takes politics to a new low (if it hadn’t reached that already), when Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) and Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) go head-to-head in Jay Roach’s 2012 political comedy movie, as they battle it out for a seat in congress. If you’re a fan of watching bribery, corruption, and sexual misconduct, you may as well stick to CNN, but if you enjoy the aforementioned and punching babies to boot, then The Campaign is for you.
9 21 Jump Street
“We’re Jump Street, and we about to jump in yo' ass” is the quote that seems to characterize this entire movie. Jonah Hill and Chaning Tatum team up for this buddy cop comedy flick, as the pair star as Schmidt and Jenko respectively, two high-school friends and police academy graduates. Together they are tasked with uncovering an underground drug ring conspiracy, as they are thrown back into education posing as students while undercover. The on-screen chemistry between Hill and Tatum is irrepressible in 21 Jump Street, and with an equally hilarious performance from veteran rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube, this was a standout film in 2012.
8 The Other Guys
The 2010s were a busy decade for director Adam McKay, with the likes of Vice, The Big Short, and Anchorman 2 released under his directorial tenure. However, The Other Guys is his funniest contribution to the decade by some margin.
Featuring comic-acting supremo Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as Detective Allen and Detective Terry, the two clashing police officers are assigned the job of undertaking an investigation into billionaire property tycoon, Sir David Ershon (Steve Coogan), though upon probing, they inadvertently expose a bigger conspiracy. The contrast between Ferrell and Wahlberg’s characters is comically resplendent and makes for such a rib-tickling watch.
7 Four Lions
“Rubber dinghy rapids, bro” has become something of a cultural reference in the UK, thanks to Chris Morris’ brilliant semi-political satire, Four Lions. Following the tragic events of 9/11, the 7/7 London attacks, and the Madrid bombing in 2004, the west was at war with terrorism. Four Lions hysterically points fun at perpetrators of such attacks, as it documents the story of a group of radicalized Muslim men in Sheffield, England, who plot to become suicide bombers. Their utter ineptitude and idiotic methods make Four Lions a truly unforgettable watch.
6 The Favourite
Olivia Colman won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her rendition of Queen Anne, in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite. The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Dear director has a distinctive, often very deliberate style, especially in his characters' dialogue and the complete absurdity of some of the actions that materialize on-screen. The Favourite flows a little more smoothly, and its rumbustious comedy is truly something to behold. It follows Queen Anne and her lesbian-love affair with two female aides, played by Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone who are simply exquisite as the Queen’s warring confidants.
5 Frances Ha
Noah Baumbach's entry here comes in the form of Frances Ha, which stars the director’s real-life wife, Greta Gerwig. Frances Ha documents the story of one of life’s wandering souls, of a whimsical disposition, Frances goes through her “What am I doing with my life?” years in a directionless waltz, as she attempts to navigate her jobs, dreams, and friendships in a Bohemian stream of semi-comprehensible confusion.
4 What We Do in the Shadows
In this mockumentary-style caper, we are introduced to silly vampires who are just trying to make it in the modern world. Waititi plays the hilariously named Viago von Dorna Schmarten Scheden Heimburg, Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords plays Vladislav the Poker, and Jonathan Brugh plays Deacon Brucke. Written (with Clement) and directed by comic genius Taika Waititi, What We Do in the Shadows follows the story of the vampires as they navigate day-to-day, or night-to-night, life in Wellington, New Zealand. This is a fabulously well-executed comedy that spoils us with quirky gags and wacky acting.
3 The Farewell
In Lulu Wang’s touching low-budget picture The Farewell, the audience is taken on an exploration of life, death, compassion, and cultural disparities between Western culture, and Chinese tradition. The dramatic comedy flick tells the story of writer, Billi a Chinese-American, who discovers that her grandmother has terminal cancer, and only has a few months to live.
After flying out to China to be with her sick Nai Nai, it comes to light that it is unbeknownst to Nai Nai that she is sick, and that her family is withholding this critical piece of information for her own peace of mind. Wang’s film, based loosely on her own experiences, is a gentle, moving, and heartwarming funny tale.
2 Lady Bird
2017’s Academy Award-nominated Lady Bird was only Greta Gerwig’s second movie as a director, with her first coming ten years prior with Nights and Weekends. Saoirse Ronan delivers a career-best performance as a rebellious Catholic schoolgirl. In this dark comedy, Christine McPherson (Ronan) is a peculiarly unique being, who has a fractious relationship with her mother and a challenging school life. Lady Bird is a beautifully funny and light-hearted illustration of Christine’s life as she has to overcome several social, personal, and educational obstacles during her attempts to land a place at a prestigious college in New York.
1 The Grand Budapest Hotel
Film is very much a visual art form when it comes to the creations of Wes Anderson. The Grand Budapest Hotel is to Wes Anderson what the Sistine Chapel was to Michelangelo. Not just a symbol of artistic freedom, but almost an act of worship of his craft. In typically quirky, symmetrically-perfect fashion, The Grand Budapest Hotel set in the fictional ski resort of Zubrowka, tells the story of a pedantic hotel concierge, Monsieur Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes) and his bellboy, Zero (Tony Revolori). As Gustave is falsely accused of the murder of a former guest, and lover, Zero and Gustave have to work tirelessly to prove his innocence. Full of idiosyncratic witticisms, and awkward exchanges, this is not only Anderson's highest-grossing movie, but undeniably his best.