As Aesop, the Ancient Greek storyteller and philosopher once said, “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” Whether it’s a testament to his clairvoyance, or simply down to the fact that humanity has always failed to separate fraudsters from the forthright, that statement still rings disturbingly true today. From Trump and Putin to Bush Jr. and Boris Johnson, world leaders have taken the “hold my beer” meme to truly catastrophic heights. So much so, that there are simply not enough limbs in the world to burden the weight of their gazillion gallons of untenanted beer.
As divisive, controversial, and contentious as political figures can be, they very often arm filmmakers with a war chest of inspiration, which is partly why there is an abundance of excruciatingly funny political satires. Aside from voting and protests (if you're lucky enough to live in a country where those things genuinely exist), one of the few things that people can do in the face of scheming politicians' is to mock them. Fortunately, there are great films like these which does just that...
7 In the Loop
Armando Iannucci began plying his political satire trade long before his hit show Veep, with The Day Today and the wonderfully profane The Thick of It, which led to the loose 2009 spin-off film In the Loop. The film features much of that show's original cast, including Peter Capaldi as the cut-throat, no-nonsense enforcer Malcolm Tucker and the ministers at the fictional Department of Social Affairs.
The movie also benefits from bringing his distinctly British political satire into the realm of American politics, aided by the stellar acquisition of the revered Sopranos legend James Gandolfini in a hilarious role. The Oscar-nominated film remains a modern classic of political stupidity.
6 The Death of Stalin
Speaking of Iannucci, if you fancy a lighter Russian taste in comparison to the current goings-on at the Kremlin and Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the satirist's film The Death of Stalin can certainly cater to those needs. The extremely dark comedy starring Steve Buscemi, Jason Isaacs, and Michael Palin follows the last days of Stalin’s reign as Russian Premier and the immediate aftermath of his death. After Stalin drops dead, Russia’s key political figures assemble at Stalin’s dacha, eyeing the now vacant role of head-of-state. It is tremendously comical in a very dry way, and provides a rib-tickling insight into the fear Stalin had struck into the power-hungry Russian dignitaries.
5 The Campaign
Jay Roach’s 2012 movie The Campaign, starring comic-supremo’s Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, provides a satirical spin on congressional campaigning. The film rather disconcertingly seemed to foreshadow the state of US politics under the Trump administration (not to mention anticipating the extremely political turn that its producer, Adam McKay, would take with the subsequent films The Big Short, Vice, and Don't Look Up).
Cam Brady (Ferrell) and Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) go toe-to-toe in this sidesplitting comedy. Cam, a man that embodies the capitalist conservatism of the Republican Party, has an uncontrollable tongue that seems to get him into endless trouble as he attempts to hold on to his seat in Congress. Having been unopposed for several terms, Brady faces competition in the form of Marty, a soft family man who is used as a pawn by two corporate businessmen to further their own political, personal, and business agendas.
4 Don’t Look Up
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Last year, director Adam McKay brought us the divisive Don’t Look Up, a movie that essentially points fun at climate-change deniers, and those in government that refuse to take the climate crisis seriously. Beloved as a sensational satire by some and lamented as a lame misfire by others, Don't Look Up tells the tale of two scientists, Dr. Randall (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), as they try in vain to warn the world of the imminent threat of an asteroid hurtling towards Earth that will likely wipe out humankind.
Using irrefutable evidence to prove the coming apocalypse to the disbelieving public, indifferent media (including Tyler Perry and a phenomenal Cate Blanchett), and ignorant President (Meryl Streep), all the powers-that-be fail to take their grave concerns seriously and are left with egg on their faces when the inevitable happens. A searing indictment of the willfully ignorant, Don't Look Up is a depressingly accurate reflection of the world's current political dilemma.
3 Wag the Dog
Barry Levinson’s movie contains a stellar ensemble cast, including Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Woody Harrelson, Kirsten Dunst, and the late great Anne Heche. Wag the Dog is another example of a political satire that is somewhat alarmingly reminiscent of real-life events, and portrays a President’s struggle to conceal a sex scandal, as he and his aide rush to divert the public’s prying eyes by waging a fake war against Albania. Released before the Clinton-Lewinski scandal, Wag the Dog was a deeply witty prophecy of the burgeoning world of postmodern political spin.
2 The Great Dictator
Charlie Chaplin takes on two roles in The Great Dictator, a Jewish barber and the Nazi monster Adolf Hitler (or 'Adenoid Hynkel,' as this film calls him), resulting in not just one of the greatest political comedies of all time but also one of the best comedy movies in general. Released during the early stages of WWII, the film follows the barber, who suffers amnesia after a plane crash in World War I. Years later, as Hynkel rises to power, the barber begins to regain his bearings and resist the tyrannical regime. The Great Dictator is one of the earliest masterpieces in the political comedy genre, and treats Hitler and the Nazis as they should be treated — with contempt for their evil and hilarious mockery for their stupidity.
1 Dr. Strangelove
Stanley Kubrick’s movie (officially titled Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) has practically transcended film history and become a cultural touchstone, with the iconic image of Peter Sellers’ Dr. Strangelove, with his black-out shades, curly hair, and menacing look, becoming a pop culture reference point for so many.
Co-written by Kubrick, Terry Southern, and Peter George, the movie expertly satirizes the Cold War and laughs at the realistic threat of mutually assured nuclear destruction. With American and the Soviet Union hovering their hands over the red buttons that would send the world into the nuclear abyss, the movie isn't afraid to be relentlessly dark in its chronicle of military miscommunication, as a rogue US Brigadier takes it upon himself to deploy an American bomber jet to attack Russia.