Thankfully, comedies are a cherished art form, with there seldom being a shortage of them in production at any one time. Yet, due to their mass production and wide popularity, it's a fair assessment that a few too many fail at their primary purpose — making us laugh. The genre is plagued with flagrant rip-offs, tasteless cheese, and cringe-worthy wisecracking, which is merely an insult to some of the great comedies that have lived long in the memory, and that many still reference in jest today.

Update July 15, 2023: This article has been updated with even more great comedies from the 2000s.

The 2000s was a scintillating period for comic writers and comic acting, which translated into some excellent work, making the decade one of the best ever for original comedy movies. It also was one of the last times that comedy was a viable box office draw, as they could compete with big-budget blockbusters. Here are the actually funny, significant, and timeless comedies from the first decade of our new millennium.

11 The Hangover (2009)

The two sequels may not have been great, but it's worth remembering that the original Hangover was a lot of fun. Three friends attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas wake to find that the groom is missing, and none of them have any memory of the night before. With the big day looming, they must piece together what happened while encountering everything from a missing baby to a Bengal tiger along the way.

The Hangover is a sidesplittingly funny film that shouldn't work as well as it does, largely thanks to the chemistry of the three leads played by Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis.

10 Role Models (2008)

Before he was Ant-Man, Paul Rudd was just a funny guy who made goofy comedy movies. One of his best ones from the 2000s was Role Models, a film that saw him and Sean William Scott playing a pair of immature men who are forced to take part in a Big Brother program as part of their community service.

Related: Movies That Made 2008 A Great Year For Comedy

Rudd and William Scott make a surprisingly great comic duo, meanwhile, the film features an unforgettably hilarious performance from the always excellent Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who here plays a medieval LARPer that gets paired with Rudd's character. With cameos from a whole host of comedy acting talent, including Elizabeth Banks, Ken Jeong, Jane Lynch, Matt Walsh, Joe Lo Truglio, Keegan-Michael Key, and Louis C.K., Role Models is everything 2000s comedies were about; crude humor, high gag rates, and star-studded casts.

9 Hot Fuzz (2007)

The second installment in Edgar Wright's Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy gives us Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two police officers on the hunt for a serial killer in a sleepy English village. Only, not everything is as it seems. Hot Fuzz takes great delight in playing with the tropes and conventions of police procedurals and buddy cop action films to great comedic effect.

By this point, Wright had more than nailed his signature directorial style, filling this movie with sharp cuts and action-based gags, giving it a kinetic quality that hilariously juxtaposes the serene nature of the village setting. Wright is responsible for more than one stand-out comedy of the 2000s, and this might not be his only entry on this list.

8 The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Even as early as 2007, The Simpsons hadn't been at its best for a while. The decision, then, to make a feature film about everyone's favorite yellow-skinned family must've seemed an odd one. Amazingly, though, The Simpsons Movie really works. The film sees the residents of Springfield become trapped in a giant glass dome after the government (whose president is Arnold Schwarzenegger) deems the town a substantial environmental threat. It falls to Homer and the rest of the Simpsons clan to save the day.

The return of former members of the series, a sleeker visual style, and a high gag count ensure The Simpsons Movie is one of the best entries in the thirty-plus-year-old canon.

7 Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Napoleon Dynamite is the definition of a cult classic. It got a small release, but it grew to find an audience through word of mouth. Directed by Jared Hess and written by Hess and his wife Jerusha, the movie follows the titular character (played by Jon Heder), who is a stereotypical nerd, as he awkwardly navigates his way through high school and his bizarre home life.

From Napoleon's hilarious attempts at flirting to the final elaborate dance routine, Napoleon Dynamite is filled to the brim with laugh-out-loud moments and unashamedly offbeat humor. And good news for fans, as Jared Hess has recently teased that a sequel is in the works.

6 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Ron Burgundy is everyone’s favorite news anchor. With the currently depressing newsworthy affairs reported on by equally dull news reporters, it regularly has us wishing that Ron Burgundy would be carted out to brighten the place up a bit, with Brick, Brian, and Champ in tow, of course.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a rip-roaring barrel of frantic silliness. Will Ferrell plays the ignorant, narcissistic, and gloriously fake-tanned news presenter for KVWN television station, who is unprecedentedly rivaled by a female competitor in Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate).

5 Step Brothers (2008)

When you ask a male non-movie fan what their favorite film is, Step Brothers is often, and perhaps rather predictably, their answer. It’s an answer that might ruffle a few movie-going snobs’ feathers, but while it may not be an example of true cinematic mastery, it certainly does exactly what it says on the tin — makes you howl with laughter.

Starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, two 30 to 40-something men (who still live with their single parents) become step-brothers when their parents marry. With the intellectual capacity of 10-year-olds (and that’s being generous), the pair develop an uproarious brotherly love that is outrageously surreal as it is hysterical.

4 Borat (2006)

“Wa Wa We Wa” is a phrase written into 2000s heritage. Sacha Baron Cohen has the unique power of being able to unify a nation through their mutual feelings of utter detestation towards him, having made the world laugh at Kazakhstan’s expense, a country Cohen was subsequently banned from.

Related: These Are 5 of the Best Mockumentaries

2006’s Borat (Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) was written by and stars Sacha Baron Cohen in the titular role of Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakhstani journalist who journeys to the United States to record a documentary about life in the country. The mockumentary-style movie is wacky, hilarious, and at times, downright grotesque. It features large segments of unscripted footage with various diplomats, political advisors, and judicial figures who have absolutely no idea Borat is simply taking them for a ride.

3 In Bruges (2008)

Director Martin McDonagh’s tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin, which won over critics and audiences alike when it was released last year, also played host to the reunion of the beloved pairing of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Their budding, on-screen bromance was originally formed in the picturesque medieval town of Bruges.

McDonagh’s debut feature In Bruges follows the story of two hitmen, Ray (Farrell) and Ken (Gleeson), who are sent by their psychotic boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) on an unknown mission. It quickly transpires that Ken is expected to kill Ray, who unintentionally murdered a child following a hit gone wrong. In Bruges is expertly acted, exquisitely scored (by the esteemed Carter Burwell), and has a mouth-watering (and hilariously profane) storyline.

2 Shaun of the Dead (2004)

“Let’s go to The Winchester, have a pint, and wait for all of this to blow over” is an utterance we can all probably relate to what with the world’s economic and political landscapes in drastic need of urgent reform. In Edgar Wright’s opening movie of his cult-celebrated Cornetto Trilogy, we are brought Shaun of the Dead, a comical and unconventional take on the subgenre of the zombie movie (a zom-com film, if you will).

Starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, two best friends and housemates who find themselves thrown into the midst of a zombie apocalypse. The pair, along with friends, family, and Shaun’s girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), must navigate themselves through the ensuing carnage and seek refuge.

1 Superbad (2007)

McLovin would be technically 41 years of age now if he was, for some unknown reason, still using his Hawaii driving license. Superbad is a comical classic, a film that has come to the rescue in many an awkward social situation, which is rather ironic given the painfully awkward nature of some of the film’s funniest moments.

Starring Michael Cera and Jonah Hill as best friends Evan and Seth respectively, the pair attempt to enjoy their summer before beginning college. As is often the case with teenage boys, they’re led astray by their hopeless attempts at acquiring booze and attracting women. With the reluctant addition of their outlandish friend, Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) the trio embark on an epic night out that ends in police-encouraged disorder.