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These days, it's hard to separate great movies into specific genres—as the best of them often mix lightness and darkness, humor and pathos. Some of the funniest movies in recent years have been the bleakest, but that doesn't mean Hollywood has completely given up on delivering LOLs to audiences. Though the year is not quite over, it's brought some pretty phenomenal comedies to the big screen—some that quietly amuse us, others that leave us doubled over in laughter. Here are the year's best.
10
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
Noah Baumbach's latest film harkens back to his early days, with a breezy, strikingly witty style reminiscent of his breakthrough film Kicking and Screaming. Instead of hapless college graduates, however, he turns his lens onto hapless New Yorkers. Dustin Hoffman stars as the patriarch of the Meyerowitz family; Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, and Elizabeth Marvel play his adult children who plan a retrospective of their artist father's career (despite his middling artistic success). With sharp, stinging dialogue and a hilarious supporting performance from Emma Thompson, The Meyerowitz Stories might be the movie that earns Sandler an Oscar nomination. Available to stream on Netflix.
9
The Incredible Jessica James
In this delightfully sharp romantic comedy, The Daily Show's Jessica Williams proves her leading lady status as a struggling New York playwright who, following a breakup, bounces back by dating a recently single older guy (played by Chris Dowd). But more than just your typical rom-com, The Incredible Jessica James depicts a young woman forming her identity on her own terms. Available to stream on Netflix.
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8
Landline
Director Gillian Robespierre reunites with her Obvious Child star Jenny Slate for this 1995-set film, in which the comedian plays a soon-to-be-married New Yorker who struggles with settling down with her fiancé (Jay Duplass). Meanwhile, her family is in crisis as she and her teenage sister (Abby Quinn) discover that their playwright father (John Turturro) is cheating on their mother (Edie Falco). Rent/buy on Amazon and iTunes.
7
Ingrid Goes West
In this Single White Female for the Instagram era, Aubrey Plaza plays the unhinged Ingrid who, after following a social media influencer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), moves to L.A. to make her fantasies come true—albeit layered through photo filters. But she soon learns that Taylor's curated lifestyle isn't as glossy as it seems IRL. Rent/buy on Amazon and iTunes.
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6
I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
Ruth (Melanie Lynskey) discovers that her home has been robbed, and it's the cherry on top of a long string of daily indignities that have pushed her over the edge. In retaliation, she teams up with her weirdo martial-arts-loving neighbor Tony (played by Elijah Wood) to exact revenge—and vengeance—upon all of the assholes who have ruined their lives. Director Macon Blair's wild and bloody dark comedy amps up the carnage and existentialism in equal measure, and the film won the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance. Available to stream on Netflix.
5
Thor: Ragnarok
One of the most woefully serious characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor was never primed to be a comedy star—that is until acclaimed director Taika Waititi breathed fresh life into the franchise, cutting the fat from the overwrought superhero genre and allowing Thor to flex some comedic muscles. Joined by the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Chris Hemsworth's hero finds himself imprisoned on a strange planet where he must fight against his fellow Avenger in a gladiatorial battle for the delight of Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster—all the while trying to escape this torment in order to save his home from the deadly Hela (Cate Blanchett). Pre-order on Amazon.
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4
The Big Sick
Kumail Nanjiani (who co-wrote the script with this wife, Emily V. Gordon) stars as a struggling Pakistani comedian in Chicago named Kumail Nanjiani who falls in love with a white woman, Emily (played by Zoe Kazan). After the romance turns sour because of his family's objections, things get more complicated when Emily is put into a medically induced coma—and Kumail must wait out her illness with her parents (played by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano). Rent/buy on Amazon and iTunes.
3
I, Tonya
Craig Gillespie's ode to Tonya Harding, perhaps the most infamous figure skater ever to compete in the sport, is a high-octane sports biopic, charting Harding's life from an athletic protege to a disgraced former Olympian. In between those bookends sees Margot Robbie deliver an acidic, yet sympathetic, performance as a woman reviled by many Americans and many of her peers, all of whom overlooked her incredible athletic talent in favor of her rough-around-the-edges demeanor. While I, Tonya paints with bold, comedic strokes, underneath the visual gags and the one-liners is the story of a woman who faced a lot of odds (poverty, domestic abuse), refused to play the victim, and refused to apologize. Pre-order on Amazon.
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2
Lady Bird
Greta Gerwig's directorial debut may be a highly autobiographical tale of her own misspent youth coming of age in Sacramento, California in the early aughts. But as the titular character, Saoirse Ronan is a tour de force all her own—enough to make you forget about Gerwig the actor and appreciate her impeccable talents as a writer-director. Laurie Metcalf delivers a phenomenal performance as Lady Bird's beleaguered mom, and Tracy Letts, Beanie Feldstein, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Stephen McKinley Henderson,& and Lois Smith round out a stellar ensemble in what is perhaps the most affecting and charming comedy of the year. Pre-order on Amazon.
1
Girls Trip
In this uproarious comedy, four lifelong friends reunite and descend upon New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival. Although the four women have drifted apart over the years, their reunion in the Big Easy proves they can get up to their old ways, and this boozy, raucous, sexy comedy brings out the comic genius in its stars Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Regina Hall—and delivers a breakthrough performance from the incessantly hilarious Tiffany Haddish. Rent/buy on Amazon and iTunes.