The best political comedy films of all time

The Marx Brothers’ 1933 slapstick political comedy “Duck Soup” was a box-office bomb. It received mixed reviews from critics, and a bitter and heated contract dispute led to the brothers and Paramount Pictures parting ways after filming was completed. Yet, after numerous re-evaluations, “Duck Soup” not only earned classic comedy status, but it has often been referred to as the Marx Brothers’ greatest film. It’s difficult to pinpoint why it was initially received so poorly, but the movie has since become well-known for iconic scenes like Groucho and Harpo mimicking each other through a non-existent mirror, an extended hat-switching scene and the grand finale, a battle sequence that’s as elaborate as it is side-splittingly hilarious. Woody Allen later said “Duck Soup” was a huge inspiration to him, and it eventually was selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry.

“Ninotchka” isn’t just notable for being Greta Garbo’s first and only pure comedy film, it was also the first film to criticize (and satirize) the Soviet Union, presenting it as dark, dreary and the antithesis of bright and sunny Paris. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch and co-written by Billy Wilder, “Ninotchka” earned Oscar nods for Best Picture, Actress (Garbo), Original Story and Screenplay, and it was selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry. It was later adapted into the 1955 musical and 1957 film “Silk Stockings,” while also inspiring the 1940 film “Comrade X” and 1956 film “The Iron Petticoat.”

After committing more than three dozen voter fraud offenses in a single election, a down-on-his-luck tramp (Brian Donlevy) gains the attention of a local political boss (Akim Tamiroff) and eventually begins to rise to power himself, albeit under dubious circumstances. The political satire “The Great McGinty” was the directorial debut of screenwriter Preston Sturges, who talked Paramount Pictures into allowing him to direct by selling the film’s screenplay for just $10. In addition to earning critical praise, that script went on to win a Best Original Screenplay Oscar by beating the very next film in this list.

For the 1940 political satire “The Great Dictator,” the great Charlie Chaplin took on the role of Adolf Hitler (renamed Adenoid Hynkel) — which wasn’t a huge stretch from a visual standpoint, as they both already wore the same signature toothbrush mustache. Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, scored and starred in the film, a thinly veiled condemnation of the dictator on the rise that ended with an impassioned plea for peace and unity. Although the film earned five Academy Award nods (including Best Picture, Actor and Screenplay), Chaplin later wrote in his autobiography that he regretted making the film, as he wouldn’t have made light of such a sensitive subject had he known of the impending horrors of the Holocaust.

When countries enter into war, their goal is obviously to win, but that isn’t the case in 1959’s “The Mouse That Roared,” based on the book of the same name by Leonard Wibberley. In the satirical comedy, the prime minister of the fictional European Duchy of Grand Fenwick (Peter Sellers) convinces the Grand Duchess Gloriana XII (also Sellers) to enter into a war with the United States under the leadership of game warden/field marshal Tully Bascombe (Sellers again) and intentionally lose in order to receive rebuilding funds and save the Duchy’s struggling economy. Clearly a recipe for both disaster and endless laughs, this offbeat plot helped “The Mouse That Roared” perform well at the box office, earn favorable reviews and led to a 1963 sequel, “The Mouse on the Moon.”

Actually titled “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” this 1964 satirical black comedy was written, produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. Like “The Mouse That Roared,” it also starred Peter Sellers in three roles, although Columbia Pictures actually wanted him to play four and actually made it a requirement of their financing. However, an injury limited Sellers to three. The iconic comedian improvised many of his lines and nailed his portrayal of the titular character, a nuclear scientist who has a hard time escaping his Nazi background. Slim Pickens and George C. Scott had supporting roles in this commentary on the Cold War, which was received as zany, witty and preposterously funny by critics and audiences alike. In fact, somewhat shockingly, it is actually Kubrick’s highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes, scoring a near-perfect 99 percent.

While trying to woo a social activist, the neurotic Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen) visits San Marcos, a fictitious banana republic, and inadvertently gets entangled in a revolution, learns how to be a rebel and eventually becomes the country’s president. Remembered for its hilarious opening scene depicting an assassination with commentary by Don Dunphy and Howard Cosell as well as the completely ludicrous and now-iconic courtroom sequence, “Bananas” is a classic Woody Allen comedy that received positive reviews from nearly every critic, publication and organization. Well, except for the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures, which handed the film a disapproving “C” grade for its “New Testament cigarettes” parody ad.

Although it’s clear the Democrats will be defeated in an upcoming election for the California Senate, election specialist Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) enlists a reluctant Bill McKay (Robert Redford), the charming and handsome son of a former governor, to represent the hopeless party. Although it initially appears McKay will be clobbered, he slowly gains the favor of voters in this honest and topical political comedy that still rings true today. The script was praised for perfectly capturing the absurdity of the campaign trail, and it subsequently earned an Oscar for Best Writing as well as a Best Sound nomination.

“Being There” is the fictional story of Chauncey Gardiner, America’s most popular and insightful political pundit, commentator and potential presidential candidate...or so it seems. In reality, Chauncey (Peter Sellers, yet again!) is actually a simple-minded gardener named Chance, whose naive musings end up finding favor with politicians and the American people alike. Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas and Jack Warden appear in supporting roles, but it was Sellers who stole the show, winning a Best Actor Golden Globe and earning a nomination in the same category at the Oscars. As a whole, “Being There” earned widespread acclaim, including perfect scores from both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.

This “fact” could be completely false, and we’re too lazy to look it up, but “Bob Roberts” might be the highest-rated film based on a “Saturday Night Live” sketch. Tim Robbins’ directorial debut holds an enviable 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and the general acclaim it received must have taken the sting out of only earning $4.5 million at the box office. This was an especially big relief to Robbins, who also wrote and starred in the film as the titular character, a conservative country musician running for a senate seat in Pennsylvania. Other notable members of the all-star cast include Gore Vidal, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Peter Gallagher, Giancarlo Esposito and Ray Wise.

When the President of the United States suffers a stroke, average citizen and presidential lookalike Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) is asked to stand in for him. However, Dave soon realizes the intentions of this ruse are much deeper and more sinister, and he starts fighting to remedy all the injustices caused by the administration. Directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Gary Ross, “Dave” also stars Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Frank Langella and Ving Rhames, as well as a number of politicians and members of the media in cameo roles. The comedy earned a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination, a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination (Kline) and general acclaim, including praise from then-President Bill Clinton, who sent Ross a signed copy of the script and a photo of himself holding a “Dave” mug.

More like a romantic dramedy with a political theme, “The American President” stars Michael Douglas as Andrew Shepherd, a widowed commander in chief seeking to pass a crime bill that is sure to earn him re-election, while also courting an environmental lobbyist played by Annette Bening. Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox and Richard Dreyfuss appear in supporting roles in this Rob Reiner-directed film, which earned nominations in all five of the major categories at the Golden Globes as well as an Oscar nod for its music/score. Even more significant, the script by Aaron Sorkin led to him later creating the NBC White House drama “The West Wing.”

I’m sure some film fans would argue that 1996’s “Black Sheep” isn’t really a “political comedy,” or a “satire,” or even a “good movie,” but the film does center on a gubernatorial election, so that counts. And sure, the second Chris Farley/David Spade buddy comedy didn’t live up to the hilarity of 1995’s “Tommy Boy” — Siskel and Ebert both hated it, it won no awards and it only managed a measly 33 percent on Rotten Tomatoes — but “Black Sheep” is nevertheless pure Farley gold, and to be honest, it’s also one of our favorite comedies of all time. So there.

After the President of the United States is caught in a scandal involving an underage girl just prior to election day, his team enlists a spin doctor (Robert De Niro) and a Hollywood producer (Dustin Hoffman) to create a fake war to distract the public. Although it sounds like it was inspired by true events, 1997’s “Wag the Dog” was actually released just prior to the Monica Lewinsky scandal and impeachment of Bill Clinton as well as the subsequent bombings in Sudan and Iraq. Barry Levinson directed the black comedy, which was written by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet and was loosely based on the book “American Hero” by Larry Beinhart. Although it failed to win either award, “Wag the Dog” earned Oscar nods for Best Actor (Hoffman) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Based on the novel “Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics” (which is loosely based on the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton), “Primary Colors” stars John Travolta as Arkansas Governor Jack Stanton and Emma Thompson as the first lady, as well as Billy Bob Thornton, Larry Hagman, Maura Tierney, Allison Janney, Rob Reiner and Tony Shalhoub. However, it’s Kathy Bates who steals the show as Libby Holden, a character based on both Betsey Wright (Clinton’s chief of staff) and Vince Foster (Clinton’s deputy White House counsel). In fact, Bates earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, while screenwriter Elaine May nabbed a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay in the Mike Nichols-directed political dramedy.

Warren Beatty wrote, directed, produced and starred in 1998’s “Bulworth,” the story of a distraught U.S. Senator about to lose his re-election bid, who hires an assassin to kill himself so he can leave a hefty life insurance payment to his daughter. Knowing the end is near, Senator Bulworth begins honestly and bluntly speaking his mind at campaign events (and even busting out some raps) — with an emphasis on the topics of racial, social and economic inequality — and subsequently receives a surge of support. As critically acclaimed as it is controversial, “Bulworth” earned an Oscar nod and three Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture, Actor and Screenplay nods for Beatty.

When a vindictive and overachieving high school student (Reese Witherspoon) appears to be a shoo-in for an upcoming student body president election, a well-liked teacher (Matthew Broderick) takes it upon himself to sabotage her chances. Based on the book of the same name by Alexander Payne, “Election” was a box-office failure but actually received near-universal acclaim for its witty humor and performances by both lead actors. In fact, not only does it hold a solid 92 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but President Barack Obama has even said it’s his favorite political film.

On the heels of America’s global war on terrorism and 2003 invasion of Iraq, “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone lampooned the country’s penchant for getting involved in foreign conflicts in the 2004 comedy “Team America: World Police.” Audiences looking for an intelligent commentary on international affairs got their wish, but they also got non-stop profanity, crude and immature humor, and even a scene of puppet-on-puppet love-making. (Oh yeah, did we mention the characters in “Team America” are all marionettes? Because that’s kind of important.) Based on the title, it seemed like the American Government would be the butt of all the film’s jokes, but Parker and Stone are equal-opportunity haters who also threw jabs at liberal celebrities and former leaders Kim Jong Il and Osama bin Laden, among others, which helped “Team America” earn a 77 percent freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, more than $50 million at the box office and a handful of award nominations.

The directorial debut of Jason Reitman (son of Ivan of the aforementioned “Dave”) was the 2006 satire “Thank You for Smoking,” which actually debuted at the previous year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where it received an overwhelmingly positive reception. The film, based on a novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley, follows Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a slick big tobacco spokesman and lobbyist who must defend a product that will almost certainly cause a premature and painful death, while also setting a good example for his young son. The star-packed cast includes Robert Duvall, Sam Elliott, William H. Macy, Katie Holmes, J.K. Simmons and Rob Lowe, which helped “Thank You for Smoking” earn generally warm reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Back in 2006, Mike Judge provided a pessimistic, tongue-in-cheek vision of what the future of humanity might bring with “Idiocracy,” a farce set in the year 2505. In Judge’s future, ads are everywhere, food portion sizes are huge, vocabularies are small, the intelligent have stopped reproducing and the dumbest citizens of the world reproduce like rabbits. And to be honest, even speaking in 2018, the writer/director/producer wasn’t too far off the mark. For instance, not only is the leader of the free world in 2505 a black man (which came true in 2008), but he’s also a loud, obnoxious blowhard who spouts patriotic sentiments as often as he threatens violence while bumbling his way through his term, which...well, draw your own conclusions. “Idiocracy” was a box-office bomb, but it has gained more acceptance in each year since its release — a fact that’s as entertaining as it is alarming.

During the Soviet-Afghan War, the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency covertly supplied Afghan Mujahideen forces with military equipment and personnel under both the Carter and Reagan administrations. U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-Tex) spearheaded the push for Congress to support this effort — dubbed Operation Cyclone — even though he spent most of his time throwing parties, chasing women, downing drinks and snorting cocaine. The unabashed politician was portrayed by Tom Hanks in 2007’s “Charlie Wilson’s War,” which earned positive reviews (outside of Russia, at least), $119 million at the box office, five Golden Globe nominations and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Philip Seymour Hoffman.

“In the Loop” only earned a paltry $8 million at the worldwide box office, but don’t judge it based on that fact. Inspired by the BBC show “The Thick Of It,” “In the Loop” is an endlessly funny and sharp look at the political relationship between the United States and United Kingdom around the time of the 2003 Iraq invasion. Thanks to its stellar cast (which included Tom Hollander, Steve Coogan and James Gandolfini) and a witty script, the satirical political comedy earned near-universal positive reviews and an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

“The Campaign” is rude, crude and immature, but what else would you expect from a movie starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis (and a story by Adam McKay)? The duo play two candidates from North Carolina vying for the same open congressional seat, and they spend most of the movie’s 90-minute runtime ruthlessly undermining and sabotaging one another all the way to election day. Although critics’ reviews were mixed, “The Campaign” was helped by the fact that it was released in an election year, and also because it co-starred John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott and John Goodman as well as more than a dozen other famous faces in cameos.

“The Death of Stalin” sounds more like a PBS Documentary than a political comedy, but the Armando Iannucci film actually received glowing reviews for its riotous humor, and it’s only inspired by actual events. Based on a French graphic novel of the same name that focuses on the power struggle following the death of the titular Soviet leader, “The Death of Stalin” is also notable for its star-studded cast that includes Steve Buscemi, Jason Isaacs, Michael Palin and Jeffrey Tambor.