Dark Comedies That You Don't Want To Laugh At, But Always Do

If you're like me, you have a dark streak in your sense of humor. There is really nothing too twisted that can't be laughed at if it's presented in the right way. It's really hard for movies to get this right, but when they do, it's nothing short of brilliant.

It might be cynical, but laughing at the worst things we deal with is a better way to deal with those things. Pretending they don't exist is even worse. So here is my list of just how much dark humor can make us laugh when it's done well

Fargo

The Coen Brothers are masters of the darker arts of comedy, and there is no movie in their filmography that highlights this more than Fargo. It's a movie that is about a brutal kidnapping and murder, yet audiences howl with laughter at so much of it. Even the wood chipper joke at the end, with one leg sticking out. Masterful.

The Cable Guy

Jim Carrey's character in The Cable Guy is exceptionally funny, but equally dark and depressing. There are times when you don't know whether to laugh or cry at the character; that's where the brilliance lies. It showed Carrey could be so much more than just a clown, as he had been for most of his career before it. It wasn't a movie that everyone loved at first, but today, it's thought of as one of Jim Carrey's best performances.

Thank You For Smoking

Any movie making a joke out of the seriousness of cancer and how smoking is linked to it has to be dark. Thank You For Smoking is just that. It's bright and light, but the subject is just so dark. It's a brilliant contrast.

The Royal Tenenbaums

Director Wes Anderson has never been as cynical as he was in his early movies. The Royal Tenenbaums is pretty much the zenith of his dark humor. The family is so awful to each other and to themselves that it's hard to believe the money could be as funny as it is. It's one of those movies that might not be funny the first time you see it, but watch it enough, and it doesn't take long to find the humor, and love it.

Better Off Dead

John Cusack in the 1980s and '90s was a master of dark humor, and one of his first movies, Better Off Dead, is one of his darkest. Look at it on the surface, he's playing a character so depressed he's trying to off himself throughout most of the movie. Yet, he's charming and funny at the same time. That's a hard combo to pull off, and Cusack seems to do it with ease.

The Banshees of Inisherin

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell have teamed up for a couple of dark comedies. The Banshees of Inisherin is really dark, as Gleeson's character is threatening the worst if Farrell's character doesn't leave him alone. It's disturbing and hilarious.

Saltburn

Saltburn is one of those movies that is impossible to pin down in one genre. It's a steamy thriller, wrapped in a horror movie, wrapped in a really funny and biting commentary on class. It's a brilliant movie that isn't really "laugh out loud funny," it's just brilliant satire.

Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), as it's fully known, is mostly known for the one-shot style. It was a little ahead of its time in that respect. It's one of the few comedies on this list that won the Best Picture Oscar. In fact, if you're writing a comedy and want to win a Best Picture, you'd better get pretty dark.

Heathers

For Generation X, their humor was defined by comedies like Heathers. The "heroes" of the movie are, essentially, serial killers. It has a bubblegum-like lightness to its aesthetic, but boy, is the humor dark. It's a biting satire, and a horrifying commentary on high school, cliques, and the disillusionment of '80s and '90s teenagers. It's disturbing, but it made its point well.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

There is nothing funnier than nuclear war, right? What if it were during the height of the Cold War when people genuinely thought a nuclear holocaust was just around the corner? Scared yet? Well, learn how to stop worrying and love "The Bomb" with Stanley Kubrick's comedic masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove. Peter Sellers really could make anything hilarious.

American Psycho

It's fun to make fun of the 1980s. It's not easy to make a movie, or write a story, as dark yet as funny as American Psycho is. Christian Bale is brilliant in the role of Patrick Bateman, and it really doesn't matter whether you think the whole thing was in his head or not, as is implied by its ending, the satire works on every level. Laughing at a psychotic serial killer is weird, but not laughing with this movie is even weirder.

The Death Of Stalin

Joseph Stalin was one of the worst monsters to ever live in history. His death should be celebrated and made fun of. Laughing at monsters is as powerful as calling them out seriously. The Death of Stalin not only mocks the dictator's death, but it mocks all the jokers who thought they could fill the void in power in the USSR, and it's a riot, in every way.

Anora

Comedies don't often win the Oscar for Best Picture, and Anora was a little bit of a surprise to many. It's a brilliant movie, and some of the scenes are just downright hilarious. When Anora is screaming at the top of her lungs when her boyfriend's goons are trying to control her is both disturbing and funny, and that's the kind of thing that makes dark comedies great.

Office Space

Imagine if Office Space wasn't funny. It would be the most depressing movie ever made. No one wants to live a life as listless as Peter's life. The subject and Peter's feelings are what make it dark; the jokes and the characters are what make it so funny. Neither side works without the other.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Guy Richie's early movies about crime and moronic criminals are some of the funniest movies of the last 30 years. His first, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, puts the characters in a very bad place, and yet somehow they emerge more or less unscathed. It's lucky, and it's sure funny.

The Lobster

No one makes movies like Yorgos Lanthimos. No one looks at the world like the celebrated director. All of his movies make the audience uncomfortable, but they also never fail to make you laugh. Or, at least, they make you think about laughing until you realize it might make you uncomfortable to do so. A sure sign of brilliant dark humor. The Lobster is the pinnacle of this for Lanthimos. At least so far, who knows what the future holds for the brilliant director?

Don't Look Up

Making a movie about the end of the world funny is hard to do, especially if it's grounded in reality, like Don't Look Up is. Sure, it's a satire that takes shots at the news media, the political elites, and even the naivety of the public, but there is something very real about it. That makes it both funny and scary. A great combination.

Happiness

Happiness is probably the darkest movie on this list. It's so dark that it's really hard to find the humor in it, and if you aren't disturbed by it on some level, seek help. You have to get really dark to see the humor, but it's there. It's definitely there. I think.

The Ref

Who says you can't make a dark comedy Christmas movie? In fact, it's only natural that a holiday that makes so many people nuts, when they have to deal with their crazy families, makes for a perfect dark comedy. There are a few dark Christmas comedies, but this one is maybe the best. It's a cult classic for good reason.

Grosse Pointe Blank

Any movie that makes the life of a hit man hilarious has to be a brilliant bit of dark humor. Grosse Point Blank takes John Cusack back to high school for his reunion after spending the previous decade as a contract killer. It's a really funny movie, but there is still violence and death, and another killer looking to unionize the killers. Yeah, that's dark.

Serial Mom

Serial killers, it turns out, are fertile ground for comedy. Serial Mom isn't the most popular movie on this list, but that's likely because, for whatever reason, not enough people have seen the hilarious John Waters-directed comedy. Waters is a master of the genre.

Scrooged

Christmas is a tough time of year for a lot of people. Notably, in Scrooged, Bill Murray's character really struggles. He's as cynical as they come, and he gets called out on it. It ends on a high note, but it's pretty dark before it gets there.

In Bruges

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are idiotic criminals in In Bruges, and it makes this one of the funniest movies of the 2000s. It's not as dark as their next dark comedy, The Banshees of Inisherin, but it's certainly not light-hearted.

American Beauty

It's hard to call American Beauty a true comedy, but it's meant to be, and there are a lot of uncomfortably funny moments. Kevin Spacey's character is a terrible person, but the character is impossible not to laugh at and with. It's another rare example of a comedy winning Best Picture, so the trend of dark comedies winning big awards is intact.

The War of the Roses

After successfully collaborating on Romancing The Stone and Jewel of the Nile, two decided not dark movies, Danny DeVito, Kathleen Turner, and Michael Douglas took their next movie in a very different direction. It's still hilarious, but man, oh man, is it dark. It's a wonderful follow-up to the rom-com vibes of their biggest hits of the '80s.

Throw Mama From The Train

Turning the classic Hitchcock film Strangers on a Train into a comedy has to get pretty dark, right? That's what director and star Danny DeVito did with Throw Mama From The Train. The story of the Hitchcock thriller is the same: two men agree to "trade" murders. Somehow, DeVito and co-stars Billy Crystal and Anne Ramsey make it a laugh riot.

Being John Malkovich

Once again, John Cusack showed just how well he could lead a dark comedy with 1999's Being John Malkovich. His character couldn't be more depressing to watch, and yet, the humor is there the whole time. When Malkovich himself enters the movie, it gets even funnier. Spike Jonze hit this one out of the park.

Election

Election wasn't an instant hit, but over the last 25 years, it has become a beloved cult classic. Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick both give outstanding performances as a student and her teacher, respectively. It starts fairly innocent and just gets darker and darker as it goes.

Do the Right Thing

There are so many buckets that Do the Right Thing can fit in. It's a brilliant social commentary, it's a biting satire, it's a cultural revolution, and it's a heck of a start to Spike Lee's career (just his second movie). It's also really funny in a way that makes really uncomfortable when you laugh at the jokes.

The Truman Show

It turns out that Jim Carrey really knows how to express a dark pathos in his humorous characters, and nowhere is it on display better than in The Truman Show. A man trapped in a TV show without his knowledge from the time he was born is disturbing, and yet the movie is just so funny, mostly on the back of Carrey's wonderful performance.

Idiocracy

Mike Judge's Idiocracy gets darker and darker the more and more it seems like the whole prediction could come true. It won't, or at least we hope it won't, but still, the more we race towards the future, the darker and funnier the jokes get in this movie.

Ruthless People

Hapless kidnappers and an uncaring husband of the kidnapped woman are the perfect combination for some really dark humor. Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, and Judge Reinhold have perfect performances, making this movie as charming as it is dark, like all the best movies on this list.