The 1990s was an excellent decade for comedy movies, producing some of the most hilarious flicks to date. Think Wayne’s World, The Big Lebowski, Friday, Clueless, and Office Space. In retrospectives about the decade’s funniest films, these classics usually overshadow the many others made that, upon revisiting, stand the test of time.
Listed below are 10 comedy films featuring famous actors and directors that never achieved mainstream appeal or that, for whatever reason, were sent out to sea during the subsequent decades. Ranging in tone from dark to slapstick to witty, these humdingers should be brought back to shore and appreciated for their innovative contributions to an often stagnant genre.
Slacker (1991)
The second feature film from Oscar winner Richard Linklater, Slacker portrays life for a group of misfits and bohemians in Austin, Texas. It had its national debut in 1991, the movie has a low-key, conversational style Linklater would perfect in later films like Dazed and Confused or Before Sunrise.
Not sticking with any character too long, Slacker travels with taxi cabs, sits down with an old anarchist and his attempted robber, digs into the mind of a JFK conspiracy theorist, and follows a girl trying to sell a Madonna pap smear. Mellow and restrained, the comedic brilliance of this film reaches the viewer slowly. Once its over, the film’s circumstances will be impossible to forget.
CB4 (1993)
CB4 is for the rap world what This is Spinal Tap is for the rock world. Written by and starring Chris Rock, this 1993 mockumentary tells the story of a struggling group of rappers who decide to reinvent themselves as gangstas in order to become famous.
Full of references to early 1990s ganga rap groups like N.W.A., this undervalued and glossed over gem is worthy of a reexamination. The movie also stars Chris Elliott and the late Phil Hartman. It’s filled with celebrity cameos, from Ice Cube to Halle Berry to Tommy Davidson.
Nothing But Trouble (1991)
A misunderstood masterpiece, Nothing But Trouble was written and directed by Dan Aykroyd. Aykroyd stars alongside Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, and John Candy as a 106-year-old judge in a bankrupt town called Valkenvania. This small town is a speed trap, and the characters played by Chase and Moore get caught up in the judge’s bizarre scheme.
Featuring grotesque and macabre scenes, Nothing But Trouble borders on horror. Full of entertaining twists and turns, this nutty 1991 classic even features an outlandish appearance from none other than Tupac Shakur.
Wag The Dog (1997)
How could a Barry Levison film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro fall into obscurity? Somehow, that happened with 1997’s political satire Wag the Dog. Filmed in only 29 days, Wag the Dog is the story of a political consultant hired by the Oval Office to take media pressure away from the president after a scandal erupts with an underage girl.
The consultant, played by DeNiro, brings in a Hollywood producer played by Hoffman to generate a patriotic campaign focused around a war in, of all places, Albania. The results are hilarious, as well as the witty dialogue that foreshadows comedies like Veep.
Class Act (1992)
Even though it wasn’t popular with critics when it was released, this 1992 role-reversal, slapstick comedy deserves another watch. Popular 1990s rap group Kid ‘N Play star in this as a pair of high school students who suddenly switch identities. The laughs come in because one of them is a straight-A, uptight wiz kid, while the other is ne’er-do-well troublemaker.
A sort of odd couple film turned in on itself, Class Act deserves a spot on this list because of how well it portrays 1990s culture and style. It’s also a hilarious examination of what it means to be a young black man in America.
The Cable Guy (1996)
Ben Stiller was at the helm of this 1996 black comedy starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. Carrey plays Chip Douglas, an unstable stalker with a daytime job as a cable installation guy, who becomes fixated on Broderick’s character Steven.
Extremely dark in tone and full of many uncomfortable scenes, The Cable Guy did not do as well as Carrey’s other comedies in the 1990s, which is a total shame. With a supporting cast like Jack Black and Leslie Mann, the film delves in the weird world of white male bonding and includes a pretty groovy karaoke cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love.”
The Doom Generation (1995)
Queer cinema icon Gregg Araki blew away comedic and gender norms with this 1995 dark comedy. Equal parts sexy and caustic, The Doom Generation proves to be a teen movie satire. Following a trio of misfits played by Rose McGowan, James Duval, and Johnathan Schaech, the film involves absurd scenarios that exist between the style of John Waters and Mel Brooks.
While it was never a major success, The Doom Generation is a cult classic, and it should be hailed as a humorous, illogical testament to youth culture.
Mystery Men (1999)
Long before The Avengers or The Guardians of the Galaxy, there was the Mystery Men. Based on the comic book by Bob Burden, this ensemble comedy stars Ben Stiller, Claire Forlani, Hank Azaria, Jeanine Garofalo, William H. Macy, Greg Kinnear, Kel Mitchell, and Paul Reubens as a group of doltish superheroes who are tasked with defending Champion City from the evil Casanova Frankenstein.
Essentially a superhero spoof, Mystery Men only earned back $33 million of its $68 million budget. Perhaps the movie was before its time.
Waiting For Guffman (1996)
Christopher Guest of This is Spinal Tap fame directed this 1996 mockumentary about the fictional town of Blaine, Missouri as it prepares for its 150th anniversary. Guest also stars at Corky St. Clair, a local theatre director at the helm of the play that will be the centerpiece of Blaine’s celebration.
Guest went on to make Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration in the style he defined in this movie: improvised dialogue, egomaniacal characters, and subtle - yet effective - jokes. In all of these films, Guest acts and writes alongside the likes of Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Parkey Posey, and Bob Balaban - all comedic legends.
Welcome To The Dollhouse (1995)
Todd Solondz highlights the dark side of 1990s suburbia in this sardonic comedy starring Heather Matarazzo as an unpopular and nerdy 12-year-old named Dawn who comes to understand just how disturbing and misogynistic the world around her as the men around her act out in disturbing ways.
Dawn is unliked by everyone around her because she has her own unique style and interests. From her family to her peers, no one seems to get her, and no one wants to, making Welcome to the Dollhouse a film for anyone who never quite fit in.
