The 25 best and funniest R-rated comedies of all time

The long-awaited big(ger) budget sequel to 1987's "Evil Dead 2," "Army of Darkness" was a coming-out party of sorts for both director Sam Raimi and star Bruce Campbell, even though neither were necessarily new to Hollywood, but this film, showing the exploits of a time-displaced Lothario and all-around moron (Campbell) facing off against an ancient evil, made the duo into genre gods. Credit to Raimi's intentionally schlocky "Spook-a-blast" brand of horror and Campbell's granite chin and rubbery everything else making him into a walking cartoon character, which both make this one a classic to remember. 

Director Paul Feig's "Bridesmaids" earns its place on our list not just for being extremely funny, which it is, but also because it allows women to get in on the fun of the sort of crass gross-out humor that for so long seemed to be primarily a domain for overgrown man-children (which it still is, to be fair). Kristen Wiig leads this ensemble cast of misfit ladies brought together for a wedding despite their own obvious hangups and general issues all for the benefit of our mutual viewing pleasure, and we're all the better for it.

Director duo Bobby and Peter Farrelly knock it far out of the park with this tale of a lovelorn loser (Ben Stiller), who is still pining for a high school crush (Cameron Diaz) and hires an even bigger loser private eye (Matt Dillon) to track her down, only to end up in competition with him for her affection. Add to that an insane cast of characters — and some of the funniest slapstick in modern comedy — and it all adds up to a hilarious comedy with genuine heart.

Riding a wave of popularity in the wake of his breakout performance in "Caddyshack," Rodney Dangerfield's first starring vehicle is a grossly underrated classic. "Easy Money" features Dangerfield as Monty Capuletti, a hard-drinking, hard-drugging family man tasked with giving up all his vices in exchange for a giant inheritance, so long as he can give it all up for one year. Joining him is Joe Pesci, who plays up his own stereotype of Italian macho maniac as Nicky, showing the sort of comedic chops he came up through the ranks as a stage performer long before his years as the sadist we're used to seeing in Scorsese films.

20th Century Fox didn't seem to have much faith in "Beavis & Butthead" creator Mike Judge at the time his directorial debut, "Office Space" hit theaters, because they absolutely buried it with almost zero publicity and a limited theatrical run. Despite that, the film, about cubicle life in an office (duh) and the desire to break free, became a cult classic and is remembered today far more than it was forgotten by the studio nearly two decades ago.

The first collaboration between director Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis and Bill Murray (the other being a little film called "Ghostbusters"), "Stripes" — about a pair of directionless pals who think joining the Army could be the key to changing their humdrum lives — was the first film of significance for a number of future stars, including John Larroquette, John Candy, Sean Young and Judge Reinhold. Fans showed up for the reliable antics of Murray, but they were won over by the affable charm of Ramis, who not only starred, but also wrote the film. 

The first in a string of films, the 1984 original remains the only R-rated entry in the franchise, and naturally the best. Starring Steve Guttenberg as a wiseacre recruit to a metropolitan police academy, where he is joined by a fellow class full of misfits and malcontents, the focus here is not on law enforcement, but rather on sex and bathroom humor as the cadets face off against the staff led by a good-hearted, but a little flighty commandant, who, by the end of the film, really, really loves standing behind a podium, very, very, very much.

Religion and satire generally make for strange and often offensive bedfellows, but British comedy troupe extraordinaire Monty Python were more than up to the task in "The Life of Brian" following the life and times of Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), born in a stable next door to Jesus Christ. We follow Brian's adventures and misadventures as his life runs parallel to that of Christ, but for wholly different reasons. While church groups were outraged, "The Life of Brian" was a hit and remains as one of the best-loved comedies both in Great Britain and America. 

If you're reading this far on the list, you're probably wondering: "WHERE IS 'THIS IS SPINAL TAP???'" Well, we made room on this list for one mockumentary, and when comparing the classic "Spinal Tap" with Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat," there simply was no comparison. Cohen takes his willfully ignorant Kazakh journalist out on the road to expose actual, real ignorance in America, and that is where the film shines brightest. Some have accused Cohen of taking advantage of unwitting participants, but by using absurdist humor to expose actual ills in society, and still have us laugh at it, well... that's an achievement unto itself, and, can we say... very nice!

The second paring of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly after the breakout success of 2006's "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," "Step Brothers" features the tale of a pair of man-children in their 40s who are either too stupid or too lazy to let their parents have a life that exists outside of them and their selfish needs. Which, of course, is good for us, because we get to see these morons defile each other's property, try to bury one another alive, and make what is probably the best music video of the last 40 years. Oh, and there's a wine mixer, in Catalina; one that is so good and so epic, that one can only refer to it with profanity.

Director Terry Zwigoff, fresh off his success with "Ghost World" puts together a holiday comedy classic in the worst (best) possible way with "Bad Santa," starring Billy Bob Thornton as a degenerate alcoholic thief who is forced to find the meaning of Christmas all while planning the biggest heist of his whiskey-soaked career. Featuring the last screen performance of John Ritter as an easily offended but overly careful store manager, the film manages to find a level of poignancy in the midst of absolute and enjoyable filth. 

Based (loosely) in part on real events, "Slap Shot" is a low-brow and surprising star vehicle for old Hollywood leading man Paul Newman, who has no trouble getting rough and raunchy with the rest of his cast in this film about a dead-end minor league hockey team who learns the team is being sold from under their skates, so in a last-ditch attempt to save the team, they band together to put together a championship run with as little "Old Time Hockey" violence as possible. The results are mixed, but the laughs are always on goal.

Possibly the most controversial pick on our list, "Revenge of the Nerds" would likely never see the light of day as a modern release in theaters, largely due to the copious amounts of racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and sexual assault, and most of that comes from the film's heroes. Despite the insanely toxic nature of the film, it is an absolute riot, and hard not to love, so long as you look at it through the prism of a much simpler, and probably dumber time.

After a whirlwind career selling out concert halls with nothing but a banjo and an arrow through his head, Steve Martin peaked pretty early with his star turn writing and starring in Carl Reiner's "The Jerk." It's a comedic height that Martin would never hit again, at least with the same level of abandon and comedic freedom that we see in his performance as Navin Johnson, an orphan raised by a family of black sharecroppers who goes to make his way in the world, with varying levels of success. Despite regressing into a slew of awful, underwhelming films (with a couple gems here and there), Martin pulls off a comedic role that has yet to be matched by any one performer today.

The original "Saturday Night Live" film, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd took their act from Studio 8H to the big screen as a pair of con artists who go on a "mission from God" to save their old orphanage. The film features a number of iconic musicians, from Aretha Franklin to Ray Charles to James Brown, in addition to cameos from Carrie Fisher and Steven Spielberg. The end result is a hilarious mishmash of blues and car crashes that is over the top and yet full of enough heart and charm to make it a bona fide classic.

Ice Cube and Chris Tucker team for this instant urban stoner classic about an affable guy who gets fired on his day off as he goes through a day in the life with his scheming best friend (Chris Tucker) and a cast of characters who all find it important to tell a woman named Felicia (Angela Means) goodbye, creating a meme that the kids use to this day. For Cube, who was previously known only for his hip-hop career, "Friday" opened him up to new opportunities while making Tucker a bonafide (if not short-lived) megastar. 

As far as '80s teen sex comedies go, all roads lead from Amy Heckerling and Cameron Crowe's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Featuring a number of future stars (and Oscar winners) like Sean Penn, Phoebe Cates, Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Forrest Whitaker and Nicolas Cage in some of their earliest roles, "Fast Times" is a spyglass back not only into the day-glo '80s, but also into our own high-school hi-jinks, full of all of the best and worst moments, making it a can't miss, have-to-see-multiple-times, classic.

In 1988, Robert DeNiro was far from a comedy star, so when he was paired with sardonic funnyman Charles Grodin in Martin Brest's "Midnight Run" the result was an instant classic laden with all the F-bombs you might be used to in one of DeNiro's Scorsese films. What works so well here is the chemistry between Grodin, who plays the earnest straight man foil, and DeNiro, who plays up his tough guy act to an 11, in this cross-country road movie whose laughs still hold up 30 years later.

"Animal House" is the film that still shows up in every dorm room and every frathouse in America, even though doing anything resembling the things that take place in the film would lead to actual expulsion, if not arrest. All that said, the film stands as a genuine comedy classic, featuring a cast of legends, with John Belushi at the top as wonderful ogre John "Bluto" Blutarski. This is the film for all of us who did time on double secret probation just for having a little fun.

When Harold Ramis collaborates with "Saturday Night Live" alumni, the result is almost always absolute gold, which is the case with "Vacation," the film that made Chevy Chase's decision to bolt from SNL after only one season to go and be a movie star make actual sense. Chase does leading funnyman effortlessly here, as a slightly manic father who is hell-bent on getting his family from Chicago to California for a vacation at the mythical Wally World, all while making stops along the way that they probably shouldn't have. "Vacation" stands as the ultimate road-trip comedy, and will likely never be equaled (although some would argue "Christmas Vacation" is every bit an equal in the franchise).

The first of SNL prodigy Eddie Murphy's successful collaborations with director John Landis, "Trading Places" features Murphy as a fast talking hustler who becomes the target of a pair of wealthy stockbrokers (Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy), who use him as part of a wager where his lifestyle is switched with that of one of their current employees (Dan Aykroyd). Throw in the standard hooker with a heart of gold (Jamie Lee Curtis), and the result is a comic classic that shows the promise of Murphy and the chops of Curtis and Aykroyd, who is always better as part of an ensemble.

Eddie Murphy's second collaboration with John Landis stands as his funniest and most successful to date. "Coming to America" is a collection of a number of highlights, including Murphy's ability to take on multiple characters, and his interaction with friend and castmate Arsenio Hall. The film exists as a unique effort that features a genius at the height of his power along with a glimpse into a version of New York that only exists in old movies. Much like Steve Martin and "The Jerk," Murphy has never hit a comedic height this high since.

What happens when you take a standard detective tale and blow lighthearted cynicism and weed smoke all over it? Well, you get the Dude, man. "The Big Lebowski" may not be the Coen Brothers' best film, but it is, by far, their most endearing. Mixing laugh out loud jokes with a certain worn charm, the film feels less like a movie and more like your favorite sweater, the one you should've thrown out years ago, but is a fantastic idea that you didn't. These aren't characters on screen, they're your friends and neighbors, and no matter what condition your condition is in, "The Big Lebowski" is sure to lift your spirits.

In 1974, it was unheard of to have films produced by white people drop a satire bomb on the institution of racism quite in the way Mel Brooks did, and he did it using one of the sharpest talents in comedy in the form of Richard Pryor. Originally, Brooks planned to have Pryor play the role of the black sheriff famously portrayed by Cleavon Little, but Pryor's personal issues got in the way. Regardless, Pryor comes through crystal clear in the script, and the film stands not only as an apt skewering of the Western genre, but on how people of color were portrayed in film in front of mainstream audiences. Oh and it's also one of the funniest films ever made.

Think of every comedy cliche one can come up with and "Caddyshack" tops each and every one of them, all while actually committing many of them. Jumping from writer to also directing, Harold Ramis paints what could best be described as a Rembrandt of zaniness as the film focuses on Bushwood Country Club and its cast of characters, including MVP Ted Knight as Judge Elihu Smails and Rodney Dangerfield as his freewheeling nemesis Al Czervik. Real life rivals Bill Murray and Chevy Chase share the only screen time of their careers together in a scene that literally has nothing to do with the rest of the film, yet feels right at home within it. "Caddyshack" is like a greatest hits album where all the songs happened to appear for the first time. It has no equal.