Comedies are hard to remain successful years after their release. Many comedy movies have the problem of no longer being relevant years later when the subject matter deals with the world when it first hit theaters. There is also a new problem where what was funny 10 years now is offensive today, and the once-beloved films are dismissed instantly.
What makes timeless comedy films are ones that take funny ideas that would be funny a decade later, or would have even made audiences laugh an era earlier. They are also ones that remain respectful, possibly making fun of people but not in an overly offensive way. Here is a look at 10 comedies from the 2000s that have aged surprisingly well.
KUNG FU HUSTLE (2004)
Released in 2004 at the height of the Wushu movie craze that included Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Stephen Chow released the action-comedy movie Kung Fu Hustle.
The film was about a group of gangsters who show up to try to bully money from residents of a poor village and the unlikely heroes that rise against them. With Looney Tunes style action, this is a timeless comedy for anyone who loves slapstick action. There is reportedly a sequel coming 16 years later.
IN THE LOOP (2009)
In 2009, IFC Films released a black comedy movie In the Loop. This film is a political satire that has not aged badly at all. It mostly deals with bureaucracy and the unwillingness to do anything even when something desperately needs to be done.
It actually fits in perfectly with today’s society. A politician accidentally starts a war in the Middle East, and the U.S. and U.K. have to deal with the fallout.
IDIOCRACY (2006)
Mike Judge made his name in animation with Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill, but he also made a couple of brilliant comedies over his career. The first, Office Space, it still a beloved comedy for anyone who has ever worked in an office atmosphere.
However, Idiocracy seems even more timeless today as it takes place in a future where the world has grown dumber and can barely take care of itself anymore.
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002)
For people who were surprised that Adam Sandler was so great in Uncut Gems, go back in time to 2002 and relive his movie Punch Drunk Love. Yes, this was a comedy, and those are hit and miss for Sandler, but this was a P.T. Anderson comedy, and that is unique.
In the movie, Sandler is Barry, a single man who owns a company that makes novelty items but has anger problems. He ends up getting involved with a woman named Lena (Emily Watson) while also angering a phone-sex overlord played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
HOT FUZZ (2007)
Edgar Wright is one of the best filmmakers working, even though he doesn’t make as many movies as his fans might wish. In 2007, he created a movie called Hot Fuzz.
While the movie is almost a satire of both buddy cop movies and classic cult films like Wicker Man, it stands on its own and is a sweet-hearted comedy about two guys who realize they live incomplete lives until they found each other.
ANCHORMAN (2004)
Will Ferrell is one of those comic actors who is hit and miss. However, most fans will agree that his best movie came out in 2004 with the newsroom comedy Anchorman.
While his character of Ron Burgundy is unapologetically sexist and arrogant, he is the butt of the joke more often than not, and it works for that very reason. Burgundy is a news anchor who finds his career slipping away from him and does all the wrong things to try to win it back.
MEAN GIRLS (2004)
Easily, Lindsay Lohan’s best movie as an adult was the 2004 comedy film Mean Girls. In the film, Lohan is a new girl in school, where she has a chance to run with the mean girls in the school who rule over all and run over everyone.
However, when the dark secrets of the clique get out for the school to see, the entire batch of mean girls find the bullying turned back onto them. Written by Tina Fey, the movie is smart, funny, and still poignant 16 years later.
SUPERBAD (2007)
The best way for a comedy movie to remain timeless and age well as time passes is for it to have a lot of heart and never to go over that line where it is too cruel or mean. Superbad is a perfect example of that.
Michael Cera and Jonah Hill are two high school students who want to enjoy one last party together before they go their separate ways when college ends. The result is a night of hilarious situations and heartwarming moments.
SCHOOL OF ROCK (2003)
School of Rock is a Jack Black movie where he stars as a former musician who is kicked out of his band and ordered to come up with his part of the rent in a short time or move out. He gets the chance to work as a substitute teacher for a school by impersonating someone else and ends up helping the kids in the school learn through music.
Directed by Richard Linklater, the movie was universally praised, was turned into a stage play, and received a TV adaptation. It still holds up 17 years later.
BORAT (2006)
There is no way that Borat should still hold up in 2020. It was controversial when it came out in 2006, and the shelf life was going to be small for this movie where comedian Sacha Baron Cohen went into the real-world of middle America and showed many people for who they really are.
However, not only is it still relevant, but Cohen is doing the exact same thing now with his TV show Who is America? and special appearances across the country.
