Most of us have a preference for what genres we watch, one of the most popular genres being comedy. Many may think that making a comedy successfully only takes minimal effort when the opposite is true. Comedy involves timing, believability, character, and a strong narrative. In order for a comedy to be truly good, and valued, it must have a believable story with a bit of drama to drive the plot forward while still making the audience laugh.
Updated November 9th, 2022: If you love to laugh and enjoy a good comedy, you’ll be happy to know that this article has been updated with additional content and trilogies.
While many believe comedies to be a waste of time, or even just plain stupid, it’s the stupidity that is enjoyed in most comedies. We could all use a good laugh from time to time, and what better way to do that than to curl up with a good comedy. If you’re really in the mood to laugh over and over again, here are the best comedy movie trilogies of all time.
The Hangover Trilogy
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Hangover saw almost immediate success upon its release. When a group of friends departs for Las Vegas to celebrate Doug’s bachelor party two days before his wedding, they have a wild night, and, the next morning, find themselves surrounded by a mess, wild animals, a random baby, and a missing Doug. The groomsmen try to remember the events that occurred the night before to retrace their steps and see where Doug might be so that he can make it to his wedding. The series continues under similar circumstances, retracing their steps after a night they cannot remember.
Bill & Ted Trilogy
Orion Pictures
Bill and Ted are beloved by many as radical surfer-dudes who are given a magical phone-booth by a stranger in order to travel back in time to learn things that happened in history from the source without having the drag of studying it from a book. Bill and Ted are two lovable characters and what they lack in intelligence, they make up for in heart-warming naivety and overall dumbness. Beginning with Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, the film received a cult following, enough to warrant two sequels, the last of which, Bill and Ted Face the Music, was released in 2020.
Austin Powers Trilogy
New Line Cinema
International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers is a parody of James Bond, created by Mike Myers. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery saw immediate success upon its release. Not only praised as a parody, the Austin Powers franchise has created some of the best comedy villains, many of which are also played by Mike Myers himself including Fat Bastard, Goldmember, and the infamous Dr. Evil.
The series’ success can be attributed to successfully making sequels, maintaining the charm of the original while introducing new characters and content that improves upon the originals. For example; the relationship between Dr. Evil and Scott has always been strained, but eventually, in Goldmember, Scott has begun balding and is taking after his father.
Harold & Kumar Trilogy
When Harold and Kumar get stoned, they see an ad for White Castle sliders and become determined to get to White Castle to satisfy the craving; little did they know the crazy things they would face along the way, ranging from meeting a hilariously scummy Neil Patrick Harris to a horrifying Southern family. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle was followed by Harold and Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay and A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. All of these films have seen success as comedies for taking ordinary things, like a simple trip to White Castle and twisting them into crazy circumstances that while plausible, are so ridiculous, you have to laugh at them.
The Naked Gun Trilogy
Paramount Pictures
The dazzling Leslie Nielsen stars in crime-spoof comedies in The Naked Gun trilogy, in which the decorated actor appears as the determined yet clueless police detective Frank Drebin, who bumbles his way through various dangerous cases. In the first installment, the comedian takes on nefarious forces that want to use mind control to turn innocent people into lethal assassins.
The trilogy is jam-packed full of slapstick comedy, sight gags and funny puns, and served as a spinoff to the canceled-too-soon television series Police Squad!; the overwhelming success of the 1988 film led to two more sidesplitting flicks, with a fourth currently in the works by creator Seth MacFarlane, with Liam Neeson attached to star.
Back to The Future Trilogy
Universal Pictures
In Back to the Future, Marty goes back in time by accident and winds up finding himself in the middle of how his parents met, threatening his own existence. In order to save himself from disappearing, he must restore the relationship between his parents and make sure they end up together.
The series follows Marty, played by Michael J. Fox and his mentor Dr. Emmet Scott or “Doc”, played by Christopher Lloyd, as Doc struggles to perfect time travel and among his exploits, things go astray, leading Doc to eventually end up in the year 1885. Doc and Marty’s relationship is strange but iconic. The pair were seen as an inspiration for the grandfather-grandson duo in Rick & Morty.
Bad Boys Trilogy
Sony Pictures Releasing
With a duo like Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, it’s hard to go wrong. The Bad Boys franchise follows Miami detectives Mike and Marcus. The inseparable pair first came to the screen when they had 72 hours to find 100 million dollars worth of heroin before they got shut down by Internal Affairs. Needless to say, the stakes are high for Mike and Marcus. The most recent installment Bad Boys for Life was released in 2020, 15 years after the release of the first film, and it received even greater attention than the original itself at the time of release.
Meet the Parents Trilogy
Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro go head-to-head in this trilogy — that begins with Meet the Parents — in which Greg Focker meets his girlfriend’s parents for the first time. Little does Greg know that Pam’s father Jack used to be a government agent and has many gadgets, including a lie detector machine, to put Greg to the literal test. The situation is flipped when Pam and her family come to meet Greg’s family in Meet the Fockers which features Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand as Greg’s parents. The franchise helped popularize cringe comedy, where the situation makes the audience very uncomfortable.
Pitch Perfect Trilogy
Universal Pictures
When Beca joins a disgraced a cappella group at her university, The Barden Bellas, their skills are put to the test as they struggle to prove themselves worthy at the next competition. Featuring big names like Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, the Pitch Perfect franchise is considered to be one of the best comedy franchises with a mainly women focus. Women are often forgotten in comedy and Pitch Perfect is a wonderful portrayal of women in comedy. The original film became famous for “The Cup Song,” which later became a ‘challenge’ that most people were doing in which they hit a cup while singing.
Three Flavours Cornetto
Edgar Wright’s hilarious anthology series Three Flavours Cornetto stars the brilliant Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and consists of three uproarious comedies featuring the British funnymen: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. In the first installment of the trilogy, the duo find themselves caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and must fight against the undead. In Hot Fuzz, Pegg and Frost portray two police officers in pursuit of a dangerous killer in a small rural town. Finally, the series concludes with The World’s End, with the comedians appearing as life-long pals who reunite for a pub crawl, only to discover their hometown is under attack by aliens.
Though the trilogy does not share any themes or storylines, each installment is jam-packed full of bright satire, charming performances and a beautiful blend of humor and horror. Wright regarded each of the films as a “Trojan Horse,” describing that they are “genre films that have a relationship comedy smuggled inside a zombie movie, a cop movie and a sci-fi movie.” The series was a critical and commercial hit, and have developed a passionate fan-following since their release.
Rush Hour Trilogy
Roger Birnbaum Productions
Following detectives Lee and Carter, who have very different styles of work, the Rush Hour franchise wraps up many things within the films. It includes the buddy-cop genre, comedy, and even martial arts as Jackie Chan shows off his skills. The trilogy kicks off when the pair are assigned to rescue a Chinese diplomat’s abducted daughter. The duo meets with a variety of trials and tribulations from disagreeing on small things to fighting the main bad guys in a dangerous location, Rush Hour covers it all. That said, it should be mentioned that many old jokes were reused in the original Rush Hour from many of Chan’s old films, but were made to suit Western audiences.
Night at the Museum
20th Century Studios
Probably the most family-friendly trilogy on our list is Night at the Museum. The films follow Larry who gets a job as a night guard at the Natural History Museum in New York. Things change when Larry discovers that the museum comes to life at night, with the exhibits walking and talking as if they were alive. The full trilogy moves Larry around the world from New York to Washington D.C. to London’s British Museum. The Night at the Museum trilogy is one of the most original concepts for a film and the contrast between modern behavior and the behavior of the exhibits, some of which are from thousands of years beforehand, is a perfect comedic set-up.
