One of the biggest surprises of 2019 for me was the superhero comedy Shazam!Anchored by a soulful performance by Asher Angel as Billy Bastion, a foster child with the magical ability to transform into a muscle-bound adult superhero, the film manages to explore virtually every comedic aspect of its premise for maximum jokes. Here are the best and funniest comedy movies of 2019, from the critical darlings and indie gems to genre-bending surprises and box office hits. In short, there was a lot of good stuff and with that in mind, we polled the for their favorites of the year. And yet, despite the catastrophizing cries about the death of humor, comedy movies thrived on the big screen (and streaming) in 2019, across genres and mediums, including some breakout box office surprises (looking at you Knives Out and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), a few oddball delights, and several awards contenders. They give us a chance to take a break, take a breath, and let out all that pent up energy, tension, and whatever else is on your mind in a communal guffaw.Īnd it's been a, let's call it interesting, year in comedy with the dreaded discourse ever-cycling back to debates of the boundaries of comedy, who gets to tell what jokes, and the idea of cancel culture.
But in general, most of us could use more humor in our lives, which is what makes comedy movies such a special treat.
If there's one thing Joker taught us, it's that is definitely not true.