10 Underappreciated Comedy Movies That Were Ahead Of Their Time – TheFantasyTimes

Whether it’s because of their sense of humor, style of comedy, or social commentary about the era in which they were released, these comedy movies were ahead of their time. Through laughter and satire, comedy movies can push boundaries and challenge conventional social norms, but that can also mean they won’t fit into the current trends and may have to wait years to be appreciated. By shaking up the system, however, they break molds and formulas and introduce new and funny ways to look at the world, as well as launch the careers of comedians, actors, and filmmakers.

While every other comedy movie was interested in parroting what was popular, these movies set out to do something different, whether it involved unfiltered teens, spoofing sci-fi, or making fun of the superhero genre. By innovating the structure of comedy movies and shaking up established tropes about what was considered funny, these films not only were ahead of their time but also influenced future contributions to comedy. Some of the most hilarious comedy movies today can trace their roots back to these trailblazing pioneers.

10 Annie Hall (1977)

There’s no doubt about it, Woody Allen’s Annie Hall revolutionized the rom-com in the late ’70s by bringing philosophical introspection and quirky eccentricities to the conventional plot of boy meets girl. Allen’s neurotic and desperate character has been blamed for starting the trend of nerdy “nice guys” somehow getting fabulous partners while requiring them to carry the emotional burden of the relationship (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin), but there’s no denying that the film did introduce concepts like mental health and realistic relationships into a genre that, up until then, had mostly featured glamorous stars in situations that lacked nuance or complexity.

9 The Jerk (1979)

The Jerk helped launch Steve Martin’s career as a bankable film star, but at the time of its release, audiences didn’t quite know what to do with, “I was born a poor black child.” The line came from his standup routine and was used as the basis of the rags-to-riches story about a man who leaves his shack in the Mississippi Delta and hits the road on a whirlwind journey from the carnival to the carwash and finally to Beverly Hills. Steve’s anarchistic humor was stuffed with anecdotes about social justice and when combined with the wholesomeness of his character, made something groundbreaking.

RELATED: 10 Iconic Steve Martin Characters, Ranked By Likability

8 Freddy Got Fingered (2001)

Freddy Got Fingered starred Tom Greene as a young man shuffled around the foster care system and featured the sort of gonzo cringe humor that’s passe in movies like The Hangover. Greene was given a substantial amount of money to make this movie and took the opportunity to subvert audience and industry expectations at every turn by lampooning certain narrative cliches. Setting up several standard scenes in comedies only to send them flying off the rails was all in a day’s work for Greene, whose street-style reactions and internet streams have since gone on to inspire Jackass and the Eric Andre Show.

7 Network (1976)

Satirizing media was at the heart of Networkwhich examined the lines that could be blurred between news and sensationalism at one national news station. While it interrogated social greed and its dehumanizing methods to turn a profit, it also forced audiences to take a look at how much journalism would erode if they didn’t think critically and question the content they were being bombarded with. Its dark humor might have put off some viewers, but it predicted the rise of reality television and the 24-hour news cycle before they became media mainstays.

6 Animal House (1978)

Raunchy teen comedies like American Pie and Superbad owe their successes to Animal House which flipped the script on the wholesome depictions of campus life that had been the norm until it was released. Rather than teens abstaining from sex, illegal substances, and wild parties, this comedy movie featured the Delta fraternity doing outrageous school pranks and making constant sexual innudenos. Carefully hidden amidst all the zany gags and uncouth humor were counterculture ideas from the ’60s and ’70s that reflected how young people really felt towards authority and their overly-conservative education system.

5 The Big Lebowski (1994)

The Coen Brothers almost have a comedy subgenre all their own, but The Big Lebowski still represents something unique even to their repertoire. Jeff Bridges plays an atypical hero known as The Dude, a bathrobe-wearing slacker just trying to bowl with his friends and get through life without spilling his White Russian, but a case of mistaken identity, a kidnapped heiress, and a stolen rug sends him on a wild adventure into the criminal underworld. The Big Lebowski’s best quotes have made it a cult classic, but if it’s underappreciated it all, it’s because its blend of surrealism, film noir tropes, and dry humor makes it difficult to classify.

4 Galaxy Quest (1999)

When real aliens view a Trek-like show as “historical documents” depicting a brave group of Earth heroes, they set out to find the crew, and undeterred by the fact they’re just actors, recruit them to save their galaxy. When Galaxy Quest debuted, Star Trek series (and their conventions) dominated the ’90s, and while the movie acted as a send-up of all the nerdy stereotypes associated with being a “Trekkie,” it managed to be a parody as good as the real thing, an action-packed and surprisingly poignant sci-fi film too. Galaxy Quest walked so that The Orville and The Big Bang Theory could jump to lightspeed.

3 Mystery Men (1999)

Mystery Men came out a decade before Iron Man launched the MCU and Christopher Nolan crafted his Dark Knight trilogy yet was the perfect spoof of the superhero genre. A ragtag group of B-list superheroes have to rescue Mr. Fantastic, an A-list superhero whose super suit is emblazoned with product placement and would have made the most of social media had it existed at the time. The Boys biting social commentary and twisted sense of humor has been praised for the pot shots it takes at superheroes and celebrity worship, while Mystery Men remains underappreciated.

2 This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

This Is Spinal Tap was so effective at capturing the ups and downs of life on tour for a heavy metal band at the height of the scene that audiences thought the band was real. It was a totally convincing mockumentary movie that incorporated deadpan humor with flamboyant characters and incredible stage productions at a time when the template was fresh. It would go on to influence the Borat films and provide a blueprint for hit series like What We Do In The Shadows.

1 48 Hours (1982)

Prior to 48 Hours the buddy cop comedy movie featuring two mismatched partners was far from established, but after Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte teamed up in this classic, its raucous storyline would be duplicated for decades to come by pairings like Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, and Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. The banter was as rapid fire as the bullets, and its energetic approach to an interracial partnership paved the way for greater diversity. Despite its comedic tone, it had an authenticity and grittiness that made it as beloved to action aficionados as comedy fans.