Comedy is one of those genres that seemingly never gets any respect come awards season. Much like horror films, comedies aren’t often recognized for their technical or filmmaking merits and rarely receive Academy Award nominations.
But this isn’t the case for all comedy films. It is exceedingly rare, but a few comedy movies have been nominated in the past. Some have received credit for their technical merits, others for their filmmaking, and others for their performances. Many feel it’s a shame that more comedy movies aren’t recognized at the Academy Awards, but that makes the rare nomination all the sweeter and more distinguished.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Tropic Thunder served as a surprising hit in 2008, scoring nearly $200 million at the worldwide box office and generating strong reviews from critics. Much of the praise went to Robert Downey Jr., who portrayed an egotistical actor named Kirk Lazarus.
Lazarus is so naïve and pretentious that he veers into racism, speaking in an American Black vernacular that bordered on stereotype and wearing blackface to “get into the role.” Downey was eventually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but understandably lost to Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.
Annie Hall (1977)
Annie Hall remains one of the greatest romantic comedies ever made, and it has a Best Picture win to prove it. The movie was co-written and directed by Woody Allen, who also stars as Alvy Singer.
It received widespread critical acclaim upon its release and was nominated for five Academy Awards. It ended up winning four – Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress for Diane Keaton, Best Director, and the coveted Best Picture award. It beat The Goodbye Girl, Julia, The Turning Point, and Star Wars.
When Harry Met Sally … (1989)
Twelve years later, another brilliant romantic comedy was released, called When Harry Met Sally. This film proudly stands alongside Annie Hall as one of the greatest romantic comedies ever made, although it was only nominated for one Academy Award.
The movie portrays romance in a far more mature and complex light than most movies of its kind and is filled with quotable dialogue and deft character work. For her efforts, writer Nora Ephron received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, but she lost to Tom Schulman, who penned Dead Poets Society.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blazing Saddles is often heralded as “one of those movies you just can’t make today.” The truth of this statement remains to be seen, but either way, the movie received a mixed critical reception when it was released in 1974. However, it proved enormously successful with the general audience, becoming only the 10th movie in history to gross more than $100 million (it ended up grossing $119 million).
And despite the mixed critical reception, Blazing Saddles earned three Oscar nominations – Best Original Song, Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actress.
Juno (2007)
Juno was a trailblazing film, almost singlehandedly kickstarting the “indie craze” of the late 2000s. While the film does contain many dramatic moments and themes, it is also wickedly funny and unashamedly “weird.”
Its wacky and idiosyncratic dialogue was widely praised, as was its popular indie soundtrack. It ended up being nominated for a solid four Academy Awards. It lost Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture, but the movie’s signature dialogue won Diablo Cody the award for Best Original Screenplay.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Little Miss Sunshine is another movie that wonderfully interweaves comedy with drama, although this film places more of an emphasis on the latter than Juno. The movie features a superb cast, including Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, and Abigail Breslin – two of whom (Breslin and Arkin) received Academy Award nominations.
The other two nominations came in the form of Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. It would end up winning two – Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, for Arkin.
Sideways (2004)
Sideways is another stellar road trip comedy, this one starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. Both play middle-aged men going through a midlife crisis who take a road trip to Santa Barbara wine country.
The movie was widely acclaimed and was nominated for five Academy Awards – Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It ended up winning the latter, having been adapted from Rex Pickett’s novel of the same name.
Shrek (2001)
Shrek is little more than a meme at this point, but the first movie is an undeniable classic. Shrek 2 as well, albeit to a lesser extent. The first movie is an astoundingly well-made film, complete with gorgeous animation, whip-smart writing, and stellar vocal performances from the likes of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy.
The movie won the first-ever Best Animated Feature Film award, beating both Jimmy Neutron and Monsters, Inc. However, it was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, an extreme rarity in the animated comedy genre – especially one so unabashedly silly and crude as this.
Back To The Future (1985)
Back to the Future combines two genres that almost never get any love from the Academy – comedy and science fiction. However, the movie is so tightly plotted and well-performed that even the Academy couldn’t ignore it. It was widely acclaimed for both its technical merits and its heartfelt story, resulting in a combination of Academy Award nominations.
Its technical nominations were for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Effects Editing, winning the latter. The Power of Love was also nominated for Best Original Song, and Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
The Nutty Professor (1996)
Of all the weird comedies to receive Academy Award nominations, The Nutty Professor may just be the weirdest. In this film, Eddie Murphy plays up to six different characters – Sherman Klump, his father Cletus, his mother Anna, his grandmother Ida Mae, his brother Ernie Sr., and a character named Lance Perkins.
This obviously required a ton of make-up and prosthetics, and they proved so good that The Nutty Professor ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Makeup. It beat out two other movies for the award – Ghosts of Mississippi and Star Trek: First Contact. Yes, The Nutty Professor beat a Star Trek movie for Best Makeup.
