The Best ’90s Comedies for Nostalgia-Fueled Laughs
You don’t have to be a ’90s kid to enjoy these classics.
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Some might argue that the ’90s weren’t as flashy as the glitzy and glamorous the ’80s. But there’s a lot to love about the decade: the grunge scene, the claw clips, Destiny’s Child, and—of course—the comedies.
The decade’s best funny flicks are wide-ranging, so there’s a fit for whatever speaks to your sense of humor. From teen movies to sci-fi films, and from raunchy to family friendly, here are the must-watch comedies of the ’90s.
Clueless (1995)
After playing matchmaker for her teacher, a shallow teenage girl (Alicia Silverstone) turns her attention to a new project: making the school’s new student popular. The high school comedy is loosely based on Jane Austen’s novel Emma and is often considered a contemporary classic. Silverstone’s character is among the high school movie greats, alongside Regina George, John Bender, and Heather Duke.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
10 Things I Hate About You takes William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and gives it a ’90s update, complete with chokers, baby tees, and a cameo from the rock band Letters to Cleo. The teen comedy follows high school student Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who schemes to set up snarky Kat (Julia Stiles) with the school outcast (Heath Ledger) in order to date Kat’s little sister (Larisa Oleynik).
The Big Lebowski (1998)
In perhaps his most iconic role, Jeff Bridges is Jeff Lebowski, a.k.a. “The Dude.” When he is mistaken for a millionaire with the same name, it sets in motion a series of misadventures also starring John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Julianne Moore.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
The first installment in the Austin Powers trilogy, International Man of Mystery is a zany and outrageous James Bond parody. Mike Myers is the titular British spy, who’s cryogenically frozen in the Swinging Sixties and thawed out in 1997 to fight his nemesis, Dr. Evil (also played by Myers).
Sister Act (1992)
Deloris (Whoopi Goldberg) is a singer who witnesses a mob crime. Forced to enter witness protection, she’s placed in a convent and lives, reluctantly, under a new identity as a nun under the protection of the Reverend Mother (Maggie Smith).
Office Space (1999)
Take everything that’s a pain about office work—the daily commute, the irritating management, the corporate politics—and hyperbolize it. That’s Office Space, a comedy about unmotivated workers at a tech company. If you’ve ever had a 9-to-5 that you didn’t exactly love, this satire will resonate with you.
The Parent Trap (1998)
After being separated at birth, identical twins Annie and Hallie meet at summer camp and scheme to switch places so they can rekindle their parents’ love. Lindsay Lohan pulls double duty as both twins in this heartwarming Nancy Meyers comedy that also features Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson.
The Truman Show (1998)
Truman (Jim Carrey) lives an ordinary life. He’s a salesman, a husband, and a suburbanite. But things aren’t as shiny and straightforward as they seem, and Truman begins unraveling the secrets of his existence: He is the unknowing star of a popular hidden-camera TV show, all aspects of his life are broadcasted, and everyone he knows is an actor.
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Before The Substance, there was Death Becomes Her, in which Meryl Streep stars as Madeline, an aging celebrity desperately clinging to youth. But when Madeline undergoes a treatment that promises eternal life—and eternal youth—nothing goes according to plan. This body-horror black comedy also features Bruce Willis as Madeline’s husband and Goldie Hawn as her longtime rival.
Tommy Boy (1995)
Chris Farley is Tommy, the enthusiastic yet immature son of a successful businessman. David Spade is Richard, a straight-laced employee working for Tommy’s father. When Tommy’s dad unexpectedly dies, the unlikely duo go on a cross-country road trip to save the company in this buddy comedy produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels.
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
After Daniel (Robin Williams) loses custody of his three children, he takes an unconventional approach to spending more time with them. Donning prosthetic makeup, a gray wig, and panty hose, Daniel disguises himself as “Mrs. Doubtfire,” an elderly housekeeper hired to work in his former home.
The Addams Family Values (1993)
Since they first appeared as comic panels in 1938, the Addams family has been the subject of numerous TV shows and movies over the near-century. 1993’s The Addams Family Values is just one of the notable installments, and it features one of the greatest comedic villains of the franchise: Joan Cusak’s Debby, a serial killer with her eyes set on Uncle Fester.
Wayne’s World (1992)
A Saturday Night Live sketch turned feature film, Wayne’s World is the story of two rock and roll superfans, Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey), who run a public access TV show out of their basement. When a bigshot businessman invests in their program, Wayne and Garth see it as their big break…until they start butting heads with their new producers.
What About Bob? (1991)
Leo Marvin is a therapist whose family vacation is crashed by his neediest patient: a fearful, anxious man named Bob (Bill Murray). As Bob grows closer with Leo’s family, his unconventional habits build friction between doctor and patient—with hilarious (and outlandish) results.
The Waterboy (1998)
There’s not a lot of hope for the Mud Dogs college football team…until they discover their awkward waterboy has a natural talent for the game. There’s just one problem: His overprotective mother won’t let him play. This ’90s comedy stars Adam Sandler, Henry Winkler, and Kathy Bates.
So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
Charlie (Mike Myers) is a poet with commitment issues who finally finds himself falling for the perfect woman. That is, until he starts wondering if she’s actually an axe-wielding serial killer. Is he onto her crimes, or is his fear of commitment getting in the way of another relationship?
Groundhog Day (1993)
A curmudgeonly newscaster (Bill Murray) is assigned to cover the Groundhog Day ceremony in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where he becomes trapped in a time loop. Doomed to relive the day again and again, he starts to think he’ll never see February 3 in this comedy that also stars Andie MacDowell.
Superstar (1999)
Another SNL-sketch-to-big-screen comedy, Superstar features Molly Shannon as Mary Katherine Gallagher, an awkward girl with two dreams: to be a celebrity, and to kiss the most popular guy in school (Will Ferrell). Those dreams become closer to reality when her Catholic high school hosts a talent show.
Men in Black (1997)
Men in Black follows two agents (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones) in a top-secret government organization. Their job? Keeping the peace between humankind and the extraterrestrial beings that walk among us. And while most of the alien lifeforms they encounter aren’t malicious, the agents uncover a major plot by a criminal alien that puts the galaxy’s future in peril.
Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)
Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo are Vida, Noxeema, and Chi-Chi, three drag queens on a cross-country road trip to a drag competition show. But when their car breaks down in the middle of rural America, they’re stranded in a small town and have to keep their identities a secret.
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