Modern Comedy Films are a Joke — And Not the Funny Kind
Modern comedies suck
and not in a charming, “so bad it’s good” kind of way.
They suck because they’ve been neutered by studios, filtered through a PR machine, and drained of anything resembling actual edge. Remember when comedies used to punch you in the face with jokes that actually made you laugh out loud? When Will Ferrell could scream into the void in his underwear and somehow sell it? Now we get algorithm approved, focus grouped fluff that barely qualifies as humorous.
It’s not comedy… it’s content. And it’s boring as hell.
Studios got scared. Somewhere between Tropic Thunder and today’s bland, PG-13 snoozefests, execs decided jokes were too risky. They’d rather avoid Twitter outrage than make something funny. Heaven forbid someone gets offended by a punchline. So instead of comedians pushing the envelope, we get sanitized drivel with cutesy awkwardness and “quirky” characters who speak in hashtags and trauma dumps. Great! Now comedy’s just sad with a laugh track.
And let’s be real… comedy doesn’t even get the big screen anymore.
Back in the day, The Hangover made half a billion dollars. Now studios dump comedies straight onto streaming, where they’re buried under six layers of true crime and cooking shows. Because to Hollywood, if it doesn’t have a cape or a ghost in it, it’s not worth promoting. Comedy used to be an event. Now it’s an afterthought.
Worse still, the funniest stuff today isn’t in movies… it’s on TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, and late night stand up clips that actually dare to offend. That’s where comedy is thriving. Because it’s not shackled by execs trying to please international markets or appease every online thinkpiece.
It’s raw, unfiltered, and most importantly funny as hell.
Meanwhile, modern studio comedies have lost their teeth. They’ve traded punchlines for platitudes.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the lack of stars. We used to have comedic titans… Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray. Now? We get a revolving door of MCU side characters “trying comedy” in a Netflix ensemble. These people don’t have comedic chops. They have good agents. That’s it.
The truth is, modern comedy has gone soft. It’s too scared to be messy, too polite to be honest, and way too bland to leave a mark. If you're actually looking for real laughs in 2025, you're better off digging into the past because back then, comedy still had guts.
Start with the 1981 classic Stripes, a film that’s equal parts absurd and iconic. Or go with something more family friendly like the 1993 hit Mrs. Doubtfire… a masterclass in heart and humor. And if you want peak Jim Carrey, you’re spoiled for choice with The Mask, Ace Ventura, or Dumb and Dumber… all from his insane run in 1994. That’s not just funny, that’s feral level funny.
Prefer something a bit more "modern"? Look no further than the late '90s and early 2000s golden era, American Pie, Tropic Thunder, Dodgeball, Road Trip, Idiocracy… films that didn’t just push buttons, they slammed them with reckless joy. They weren’t worried about offending you, nope, they were too busy being funny.
And hey, if you’re after something a little more laid back, there’s still great stuff in the “charming comedy” aisle. Try What Women Want with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt or As Good as It Gets with Jack Nicholson doing Jack Nicholson things. Even those quieter comedies had more bite than half the sterile scripts we get today.
Bottom line? Today’s comedy is a whisper. Yesterday’s was a punchline. And honestly, we could use the knockout.
Just don’t watch any of these around your purple haired friends… 😉
