Some comedy characters leave a lasting impression, which means their movies are worth watching over and over again. A great comedy character never gets old, and it’s often the case that a relatable and hilarious character is the key to establishing an entire comedy movie franchise.
The funniest movie characters are those that play to the strengths of the performer, whether they were originally written with them in mind or not. Of course, funny writing is also vital, but the intangible magic of watching a comedian in full flow is what makes certain characters stand out above others.
10
Happy Gilmore
Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore
With Happy Gilmore 2 coming soon, it’s a great time to rewatch Adam Sandler’s original golf comedy. Sandler excels at playing angry manchild characters. He gets a lot of success playing similar characters in movies like Big Daddy and Billy Madison, but Happy Gilmore is arguably his funniest character of all.
With Happy Gilmore 2 coming soon, it’s a great time to rewatch Adam Sandler’s original golf comedy.
Happy is the last person who anyone expects to become a golf champion. His only sporting experience comes from hockey, which he uses as an outlet for his violent rage more than anything else. Although Happy doesn’t fit in with the snooty world of professional golf, his earnest charms are easy to root for. He’s a great underdog, an outsider, and a true maverick.
9
Ron Burgundy
Will Ferrell – The Anchorman Franchise
Ron Burgundy is probably Will Ferrell’s funniest character, although he has an impressive catalog to choose from. The pompous newsreader enjoys the slightest sliver of fame in San Diego, but this is enough to inflate his ego to absurd levels, especially because the rest of his news team is stacked with dim-witted sycophants.
Christina Applegate’s savvy reporter character brings the best out of Ron Burgundy. Her steadfast, honest dedication to her work threatens Ron’s fragile masculinity, and his sense of self-worth starts to crack. This is the true Ron Burgundy, an insecure nitwit hiding behind a booming, jovial voice and a perfectly manicured mustache.
8
Elle Woods
Reese Witherspoon – The Legally Blonde Franchise
A Legally Blonde prequel series is currently in the works, which will finally bring Elle Woods back in some form, but concrete details about Legally Blonde 3 remain elusive. While the series is still clouded in mystery, it will be difficult to replace Reese Witherspoon as Elle.
Elle Woods has often been lauded as an icon for female empowerment, since she never compromises on who she is, despite entering into a hostile, male-centric world. Witherspoon plays Elle with a deceptive naivety that ultimately helps her break down the invisible barriers that hold other people back. Her straightforward enthusiasm and charisma also get a lot of laughs.
7
Frank Drebin
Leslie Nielsen – The Naked Gun Franchise
It’s hard to believe that Leslie Nielsen only started taking on comedy roles later in his career, because his performances in the Naked Gun movies set him apart as one of his generation’s funniest actors. Nielsen delivers a ᴅᴇᴀᴅpan masterclass as the incompetent and self-serious detective Frank Drebin.
Frank Drebin is so funny because Nielsen always plays him with a completely straight face. Drebin clearly thinks of himself as a Sam Spade or a Philip Marlowe, rather than the laughably inept buffoon everyone else understands him to be. Liam Neeson will be playing Drebin’s son in the new Naked Gun reboot.
6
Agent J
Will Smith – The Men In Black Franchise
During the 1990s and early 2000s, Will Smith was a box office juggernaut, and many of his biggest hits were comedies. Men in Black has aged wonderfully, thanks to the combination of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, who form an unlikely chemistry in a unique buddy cop setting.
Compared to Agent K’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpan cynicism, Agent J is a breath of fresh air. His brash, unrefined approach is what makes him stand out during the extensive application process, and it’s also what helps him stay on two feet when he’s thrown into a doomsday confrontation with a giant insectoid alien. His sense of humor never escapes him, which makes Men in Black great to watch multiple times. None of the sequels quite manage to recapture the magic.
5
Benoit Blanc
Daniel Craig – The Knives Out Franchise
The comedy genre has changed a lot in recent years, with one of the great casualties being the lack of iconic characters. Even the very best comedy movies of the last decade or so derive their humor more from situations and dialogue than from eccentric characters. This is what makes Benoit Blanc such a unique figure.
Although Knives Out and Glᴀss Onion aren’t pure comedies, focusing more on the whodunnit format, their funniest moments almost all come from Daniel Craig’s performance as Benoit Blanc. The detective has an overblown accent, a penchant for feigning ignorance and impeccable comic timing, which all make him a memorable comedic character. Blanc is set to return in Wake Up ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man: A Knives Out Mystery, with another fresh cast of suspects.
4
Bridget Jones
Renée Zellweger – The Bridget Jones Franchise
Starting with Bridget Jones’s Baby, Renée Zellweger has made the тιтle character a thoroughly lovable and hilarious comedic icon. Bridget starts out as a deeply flawed woman striving to better herself, although the road to self-improvement is never easy, especially when her turbulent love life is involved.
The Bridget Jones franchise has seen the protagonist evolve in many ways, but she still retains her awkward charms and unshakeable vice in the recently-released Mad About the Boy. In a franchise that has now stretched to over two decades, Zellweger’s performances are the constant guiding light which makes each movie worth watching.
3
Axel Foley
Eddie Murphy – The Beverly Hills Cop Franchise
Many of Eddie Murphy’s funniest movies came out in the 1980s, and Beverly Hills Cop also created his most famous character. After three sequels, Axel Foley has found his place in comedy movie history, but the original movie is probably still the funniest and most rewarding.
It’s easy to see a lot of Murphy himself in Axel Foley, which helps make the character easy to root for. The fast-talking, unconventional cop is usually at his funniest when he’s playing the voice of reason in a room filled with blustering higher-ups. Axel’s comedy is anti-authority, but mostly anti-nonsense. His ᴅᴇᴀᴅpan moments highlight the absurdity of modern society.
2
Marge Gunderson
Frances McDormand in Fargo (1996)
While it isn’t too common for an actor to win an Oscar for a comedy movie, this is exactly what Frances McDormand achieved with Fargo. Her performance as the lovable straight-shooting detective is designed to shake up a darkly comic crime tale from the Coen brothers.
Fargo is one of the best Coen brothers movies, and they flex their mastery of genres with the character of Marge Gunderson. She’s honest, secure and she does things by the book. Essentially, she ignores every convention of a big-screen detective, and her out-of-place earnestness is hilarious when she collides with a group of scheming criminals.
1
Austin Powers
Mike Myers – The Austin Powers Franchise
Mike Myers plays multiple characters in the Austin Powers movies, each of whom has their own unique quirks. Austin Powers is an overblown British stereotype plucked straight from a fashion magazine in London’s swingin’ ’60s, and his fish-out-of-water routine is consistently hilarious.
The real genius of the character is that he’s still funny even if the audience has no real knowledge of Bond.
As a parody of the camp excesses of the James Bond franchise, Austin Powers works extremely well. He doesn’t seem to fit in the real world, but he has enough self-confidence to make it work. The real genius of the character is that he’s still funny even if the audience has no real knowledge of Bond, thanks to his flamboyant dress sense, self-effacing charms and bottomless mojo.
