5 Underappreciated Comedy Films

How did we get to ten entries in this series? It started out as just a way to have fun and get into the swing of things here on Vocal; and it ended up becoming one of my biggest projects to date. I've had a lot of fun over the past nine entries and I wanted to return to that project with another fun entry.

So, what did I pick as the new entry's subject? Well, I felt like a good laugh so let's look at some underappreciated comedy films

5: 'Scary Movie' (2000)

Scary Movie is a satirical parody film and it took me a while to watch; I initially thought it was a horror movie and at the time I wasn't a huge horror hound.

The film mostly parodies the films Scream and I know What You Did Last Summer. It follows a group of teens as they try to avoid the killer Ghostface (from Scream) with some hilarious hijinks along the way... some of which are just cringe worthy.

Produced on a budget of just $19 million dollars, Scary Movie grossed a huge $278 million at the box office. The financial success aside, the film was met with a largely mixed reception with criticism being leveled at the crude humor.

It's not my favorite film on this list but it's certainly a good one that deserves a lot more attention.

4: 'Top Secret!' (1984)

This action comedy film follows an American rock star (Val Kilmer) as he travels to Germany to perform at a culture festival and ends up working to foil a Nazi plot...

Yes, apparently the film is set in Nazi Germany... I'm just going to let that sink in.

Top Secret made by the same people behind Airplane! and brought in $20.5 million at the box office upon its release in June of 1984; a little more than double the original $9 million budget. So, a financial success like this has to have had good numbers, right? Well, no, not really. The film was, as previously stated, a financial success but it was met with a largely negative reception. The plot is just barely coherent or as Roger Ebert put it:

"To describe the plot would be an exercise in futility."

Incidentally, Ebert gave the film a solid 3.5 out of 4 stars.

3: 'Airplane!' (1980)

You can't really discuss comedy without Airplane! popping up eventually. This film is, from what I understand, the gold standard when it comes to comedy.

The film follows a down and out former pilot with a fear of flying as he boards a flight for Chicago to try and mend a broken relationship with his girlfriend (a stewardess on the flight). Things go pear-shaped pretty quick though when the passengers and crew suddenly start coming down with food poisoning.

Airplane! was produced on a $3.5 million budget and was released in July of 1980. Upon its release, the film garnered a huge critical and commercial success bringing in $130 million. Sadly, not many people seem to talk about this one. It's seriously dated but it's a hoot to watch and well worth 90 minutes of your time.

2: 'Police Academy' (1984)

Here's one that almost nobody talks about. Police Academy was released in 1984 and follows a group of cadets at an unnamed Police Academy as they try to become police officers in the middle of crazy hi-jinks.

The humor is great and looking back on it now, there were definitely some jokes that didn't make much sense to me. Adult humor aside, the film is just great fun; the adult jokes are frequent but they're fairly well hidden so little kids can watch silly antics while their parents snicker at the actual jokes.

Considering that the film was made for a little over $4 million and subsequently grossed just under $150 million at the box office, I'd say it's a film that's worth checking out.

1: 'Blazing Saddles' (1974)

I'll bet you guys knew Mel Brooks would be here somewhere, didn't you?

Brooks is a comedy legend and I had a serious issue when it came to selecting one of his films for this list. There were, after all, so many good ones; Robin Hood: Men in Tights, for example. Then one came to mind that not a whole lot of people seem to know about: Blazing Saddles.

The town of Rock Ridge is being hassled by ruffians and they send word to the governor that they need a new sheriff. The governor isn't the brightest crayon in the box, however, so he's easily persuaded to appoint a black railroad worker named Bart to be the next sheriff. Unfortunately for the new sheriff, the residents of Rock Ridge are... less than friendly towards him.

Blazing Saddles was released in 1974 and generated a largely positive reception; grossing $119.6 million at the box office on a budget of just $2.6 million. The reason I picked this one was the subject matter. Blazing Saddles was released as a satire/parody of the western genre as a whole at the time.

It's a hard one to watch but it's worth it!