The 25 Best British Comedy Movies of All Time

This summer has been a grim reminder of the sad state of affairs of U.S. comedies. Between banal dreck like Grown Ups 2, We’re the Millers, and The Hangover Part III, American humor at the movies seems to be dependent on juvenile gags revolving around bodily functions and foul language than creativity and sharp social commentary. The result has been a string of comedies with less laughs than a marathon of Canadian parliament. But, like a great beer, sometimes you need to shrug off the domestic product and head straight for the imports.

For decades, the most consistent comedies to reach our shores have been coming from the UK. TV shows like The Office and Monty Python have created a demand in the American mainstream over the years. With its blend of dry one-liners, absurd physical gags, and morbid subject matter, this twisted brand of comedy doesn’t go for the obvious jokes we see Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell deliver every year.

Today marks the release of director Edgar Wright’s The World’s End. This is the final part of Wright's thematic Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy that began in 2004 with Shaun of the Dead and continued in 2007 with Hot Fuzz. Wright and crew brought British humor back in vogue in the States after a few down years, and what's more, The World’s End makes this the rare trilogy that sticks the landing. So as we gear up for some imported laughs with The World’s End, check out our rundown of The 25 Best British Comedy Movies of All Time.

25. Bedazzled (1967)

Director: Stanley Donen
Stars: Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and Raquel Welch

Forget about the awful Brendan Fraser remake—better yet, forget every Brendan Fraser movie—because the original Bedazzled, with its quirky humor and undeniable sex appeal, is all you need to know. Stanley Moon, played by the brilliant Dudley Moore, is offered seven wishes in exchange for his soul by the devil (Peter Cook), and of course he goes in on the deal.

It’s a modern retelling of the Faust legend, where every one of Moon’s wishes is given a terribly ironic twist that frustrates any chance at happiness he may have. The movie isn't particularly highbrow or subtle, but it features great performance by Moore and Cook, who both wrote the movie, as well Raquel Welch, back when she was raising eyesbrows, pulses, and a handful of other things.

24. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

Director: Mike Newell
Stars: Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, and Simon Callow

Before the name Divine Brown ever entered the public's pop culture consciousness, Hugh Grant was one of the most respected and bankable stars of the ‘90s. With his boyish handsomeness and stuttering charm, he was the ringleader of the romantic comedy explosion we experienced in that decade. And his best film was undoubtedly 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Unlike many of the movies mentioned here, Four Weddings and a Funeral is a largely conventional comedy that could have been conjured up in any Hollywood think-tank. However, its quick-witted banter and genuine heart elevated the material into something special, the kind of feel-good movie that became a cultural event.

23. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, and Vinnie Jones

Dripping with vulgarity and violence, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a dark comedy masquerading as a crime drama. Directed by Guy Ritchie, this movie explores the seedy trappings of the London crime world, using a group of hapless friends who try and rob a local gang in order to pay off their debts as the entry point. The premise sounds as generic as can be, but Ritchie and his stacked cast bring a severe and cynical wit to every scene that brings energy and laughs to even the most brutal moments.

Many of the movies discussed here exemplify the dry, oddball line of British humor, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is the perfect example of the dirty, punk rock style that defined the British underground. Jason Flemyng, Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham, and the rest of the cast are all at their crassest as they deliver memorable lines and nasty gags, including a beatdown with a black rubber phallus.

22. Four Lions (2010)

Director: Chris Morris
Stars: Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, and Nigel Lindsay

Four Lions is so baldly politically incorrect that you may find yourself squirming a dent in your seat, but it’s so unapologetically hilarious you probably won’t mind. What's it about, you must be wondering? Well, it follows four inept jihadists who would love to commit acts of terror but are such miserable failures they can't get anything right. Yeah...

The group tries everything to become dignified religious warriors, from attempting to turn a crow into a flying bomb to dressing up as ostriches and Ninja Turtles in order to conceal their explosives. The movie is so absurd that allows director Chris Morris to get away with things no American studio would touch.

21. Trainspotting (1996)

Director: Danny Boyle
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, and Jonny Lee Miller

Trainspotting doesn't do typical slapstick humor or wild physical comedy—unless getting smacked in the face with human shit, or climbing into a toilet qualify as regular for you. But don't mistake this for Grown Ups 3—driven by the frantic style of director Danny Boyle, combined with a star-making performance from Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting is a delirious piece of dark misery set to the tempo of an EDM music video.

The movie, an adaptation of Irvine Walsh's best-selling novel, explores the squalor and crime-ridden lifestyles of the drug addicts of Edinburgh, Scotland. Boyle's plastic style allows the film to regularly flips between socially conscious, slice of life humor and surreal visual gags, like in the aforementioned toilet bit. There's nothing like mean-spirited humor, and in Trainspotting, no one is safe from the twisted charms of Danny Boyle.

20. Alfie (1966)

Director: Lewis Gilbert
Stars: Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin, and Vivien Merchant

Most young movie fans think of Michael Caine as the old guy in all of Christopher Nolan''s movie, but the truth is that he was one of the most prominent British actors of the 1960s. His most famous role can be found in Alfie, where he plays the titular playboy who learns that his sexual conquests have big consequences.

Though it’s touching and somber at times, Alfie's wit and charm keeps the laughs coming.. Caine’s performance is the best of his career. He's playful when he's with his female co-stars, vulnerable when he’s alone, and hilarious when breaking the fourth wall to mug at the viewer. He's like the Drake of British playboys.

Alfie is a comedy with heart and soul, a definite precursor to Woody Allen’s style of romantic sex comedies.

19. Snatch (2000)

Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Benicio del Toro, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, and Brad Pitt

Snatch hit theaters with the blunt force of a sledgehammer and the style of a public toilet with garrish violence and wicked pacing. Guy Ritchie’s kinetic ensemble piece also brought plenty of laughs by uniting a neurotic cast of colorful characters. No one is going to forget Brad Pitt's mealy-mouthed Roma, Vinnie Jones Bullet-Tooth Tony, or Benici Del Toro's arm.

The genius of Snatch is that we shouldn’t be laughing at any of this. These are terrible people doing awful, violent things; however, it’s pulled off with such energy and sarcasm that you can’t help but chuckle at the misfortunes of others.

18. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Director: Nick Park and Steve Box
Stars: Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham Carter, and Ralph Fiennes

It’s hard to imagine that it took Nick Park's stop-motion characters Wallace and Gromit 16 years to make the jump from shorts to feature-length, but in the end it was all worth it. In 2005’s The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the iconic clay duo’s signature dry eccentricities geared up for a 90-minute adventure, and the result isn’t just one of the great Wallace & Gromit stories ever, but one of the great British comedies in general.

As usual, the movie focuses on the pair getting in over their heads as they attempt to save a small town from a mutant rabbit that's been eating all of the vegetation in the area. Of course Wallace attempts to solve the problem with an array of homemade inventions that always do more harm than good. Gromit, as expected, sits there silently judging.

No matter how old or sophisticated you may think you are, you’ll find plenty of jokes here that will reduce you to nothing but a mass of chuckling humanity.

17. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

Director: Charles Crichton
Stars: Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway

Though he was best known for his collaborations with legendary director David Lean on Dickens adaptations like Great Expectations and historical epics like Lawrence of Arabia, Alec Guinness gained some of the most positive recognition of his career in black British comedies like The Lavender Hill Mob. Here, he plays a meandering London bank clerk who devises a plan, along with his neighbor, to steal a shipment of gold bullion by melting it down into miniature Eiffel Tower statues and sneaking them out of the country.

The movie won a BAFTA for Best British Film and an Academy Award for Best Writing, while Guinness himself was nominated by the Academy for Best Leading Actor. This one lives up to the hype, thanks to the sharp writing and an all-time great performance by Guinness, who found a way to reinvent himself in every film he worked on.

16. The Trip (2010)

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Stars: Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon

The Trip is about two guys traversing the English countryside, sampling the food in various upscale restaurants, and gabbing on and on about random, seemingly inconsequential topics. You're probably thinking, “I'd rather watch paint dry,” yet director Michael Winterbottom's happily simplistic comedy is anything but mundane. On the contrary, it's an absolute blast, thanks to the consistently witty and amusing banter between the perfectly matched Steve Coogan (Tropic Thunder, The Other Guys) and Rob Brydon.

15. The Full Monty (1997)

Director: Peter Cattaneo
Stars: Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, and Tom Wilkinson

The Fully Monty was nothing short of a phenomenon when it hit theaters in 1997. Unlike most import comedies that wind up adored by critics more than audiences, the movie wound up earning a staggering $257 million worldwide. The film focuses on six unemployed friends who craft a male striptease act in order to pay off their debts and keep a roof over their heads.

Starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Tom Wilkinson, and a host of other actors you would never want to see naked, The Full Monty is a comedy with soul. It manages to juggle social commentary and delicate character moments with big physical humor and energetic performances from its cast.

The idea of a group of homely middle-aged British dudes wearing nothing but a smile might not seem appealing at first blush, but The Full Monty is that rare combination of humor and heart that so often gets botched in American comedies.

14. In Bruges (2008)

Director: Martin McDonagh
Stars: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes

In Bruges first hit the festival circuit in 2008 with very little hype surrounding it, but by the time the end credits rolled, it was evident that acclaimed playwright turned filmmaker Martin McDonagh had created a comedy destined to be a cult classic. In the film, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleason star as two Irish hitmen forced into hiding in the city of Bruges after Farrell’s character accidentally kills a young boy during a hit gone wrong.

From there, the two hired guns ruminate on the nature of life and guilt as they plunge into the eccentric underbelly of the quirky city. This thoughtful morality tale offers darkly comedic flourishes, including a drug-addicted dwarf who gets into a brawl with Farrell and a rabid performance by Ralph Fiennes, who plays the boss of our two heroes.

All of these elements coalesce by the end to form a wholly unique comedy and masterfully written piece of art.

13. Death at a Funeral (2007)

Director: Frank Oz
Stars: Matthew Macfayden, Rupert Grave, and Peter Dinklage

British humor is well known for blending the twisted dark elements of our own mortality with off-the-wall physical comedy, and one of the prime modern examples of this style is 2007’s Death at a Funeral. Boasting a cavalcade of talent including Matthew Macfayden, Rupert Grave, and Peter Dinklage, this movie is the quintessential English comedy and a great introduction for new fans.

The story revels in the exploits of an unusual family at the funeral of the patriarch, where the safest place to be is inside the coffin.

Whether you’re laughing at the numerous fistfights, a sub-plot featuring hallucinogenic drugs, or the smutty revelations revealed about the man about to be buried, there's no mistaking this for anything other than a modern comedy classic that would never work in the States (just watch the terrible Chris Rock remake).

12. Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983)

Director: Terry Jones
Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin

Monty Python’s final film, The Meaning of Life, returned to the troupe’s sketch-comedy roots, eschewing the feature length plots of Life of Brian and The Holy Grail. The result is a big-screen send-off that reminds viewers why the group became so iconic in the first place.

Starring Python regulars Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, the segments explore the different stages of life through the twisted lens of the Pythons. The group’s sardonic musical numbers have always been a tradition, but Meaning of Life put even more topspin on the twisted show tunes with classics like “Every Sperm is Sacred” and “The Galaxy Song.”

Other highlights include a sketch about death where a man is chased off a cliff by a gang of nude women, and a live sex-education demonstration by a smutty professor and his exhibitionist wife.

11. Hot Fuzz (2007)

Director: Edgar Wright
Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Jim Broadbent

Three years after Shaun of the Dead made Americans take notice of the British comedy in the 2000s, director Edgar Wright gave the world his follow-up, Hot Fuzz, proving that Wright’s off-kilter brand of deadpan humor doesn’t have an expiration date. Hot Fuzz focuses on a law enforcement duo—played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost—who have to solve a strange series of deaths in a small English town.

Whereas Shaun put the zombie genre in its crosshairs, Hot Fuzz is a send-up of police/action dramas, like Lethal Weapon and Dirty Harry—with a dash of British horror, a la The Wicker Man, thrown in for good measure. The brilliance of the movie is that Wright and crew play the whole thing with a straight face. Wright shoots the film like a serious action movie, but what you're actually experiencing is an outlandish farce, as seen during an epic two-second-long police chase that is shot with the flair of a Michael Bay movie.

Other highlights include an epic showdown between Pegg and Timothy Dalton inside a model village and a battle with the scariest swan you’ve ever seen. Many of the movie’s scenes are too bizarre to explain in words, but it works so brilliantly because everyone involved, from the cast to the composer, bought into what Wright's vision.

10. The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)

Director: Blake Edwards
Stars: Peter Sellers and Christopher Plummer

Despite starring legendary comic actor Peter Sellers, the original Pink Panther and its sequel, A Shot in the Dark, were both American productions; however, the revival of the franchise, The Return of the Pink Panther, was an out-and-out British picture. Though it was the fourth movie in the series, and the third to star Sellers, Return proved to be a huge hit with audiences and quickly became the series’ highpoint.

In the movie, Inspector Clouseau must match (dim) wits with his longtime nemesis, The Phantom (Christopher Plummer). As always, Sellers’ performance is the roaring engine of the madcap movie. Every line is delivered with perfection, and his every momevent optimized for hilarity.

9. Withnail & I (1987)

Director: Bruce Robinson
Stars: Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann

Withnail and I dwells on the misadventures of its titular pair of actors as they travel out of the city for an idyllic countryside vacation. After all, it's tiresome, you know, being unemployed-but-brainy drunks. Left to their own devices, the bedraggled duo soon realize that a quaint country town is no place for a couple of hopeless thespians who can’t take care of themselves.

This dreary black comedy rests solely on the shoulders of the two leads: Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann. With their booze-soaked clothing and appetite for lighter fluid, they make Sid and Nancy look like Mike and Carol Brady. Withnail & I is one of the more twisted movies on this list—just wait until you meet Uncle Monty—but its vile and repulsive humor has solidified its stature as one of Britain’s great cult films.

8. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Director: Robert Hamer
Stars: Alec Guinness, Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, and Valerie Hobson

Kind Hearts and Coronets transcends labels. In a Top 5 Dead or Alive performance, Alec Guinness (our list's MVP) flexies every comedic muscle playing eight members of the D'Ascoyne family. This bold move is most notable for his portrayal of Lady Helena, which sees Obi-Wan dressed in drag.

This satirical black comedy skewers the austere class system of the time with sardonic wit and plenty subversive action, including a glammed-up Guinness smashing store windows for the sake of women’s suffrage. Without a doubt, this herculean performance by Guinness is the backbone of the film, but Kind Hearts and Coronets also boasts a biting script and energetic direction from Robert Hamer.

More than 60 years later, this movie has aged as gracefully as you'd expect from one of the greatest British comedies. After seeing these brilliant performances, you can totally understand why Guinness was so miffed that he was best known for Star Wars near the end of his career. The man was a true chameleon.

7. In the Loop (2009)

Director: Armando Iannucci
Stars: Tom Hollander, Mimi Kennedy, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Peter Capaldi, and Anna Chlumsky

In the Loop takes aim at the disorganized politics of the early 21st century—the invasion of Iraq, specifically—and sprays that shit something reckless. After the British Secretary of State for International Development makes an off-the-cuff remark on television both denying and then later claiming that a war in the Middle East is inevitable, he finds himself caught in a power struggle between pro-war and anti-war advocates in both the U.S. and the U.K.

Much like another comedy classic, Dr. Strangelove, In the Loop takes the most pessimistic view of the humans we put in charge of our national security. With a cast that includes Tom Hollander, Mimi Kennedy, James Gandolfini, and Chris Addison, In the Loop manages to shed light on the absolutely horrifying nature of the political maneuverings that led us to war in the first place. If it wasn’t so damn funny, this would be the most frightening movie of the decade.

6. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Director: Edgar Wright
Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, and Lucy Davis

Before the zombie genre became the ubiquitous (and toothless) monstrosity that we deal with on a daily basis, director Edgar Wright put a darkly funny spin on the world of the undead with Shaun of the Dead. Now a bona fide cult classic, Shaun deftly combines horror, gross-out humor, and desert-dry jokes for a wholly unique experience.

The brilliance of Wright is that he mimics the shuffling zombie invasion with a tone that's just as dead(pan). Of course, Shaun also shows off some broad physical humor and memorable set pieces throughout that the cast—including Simon Pegg and Nick Frost—pulls off to perfection.

Left in the hands of an American director, Shaun of the Dead probably would have had the subtlety of a chainsaw to the sternum, but under the guidance of Wright, the movie stuffs every frame with so many small, comedic touches, it's impossible to catch them all with just one viewing. This is one rare geek favorite that lives up to its billing.

5. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Director: Charles Crichton
Stars: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin

A Fish Called Wanda came out in 1988 to rave reviews from critics across the globe, and for very good reason: it's one of the great underrated comedies of the past 25 years. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Maria Aitken, and the legendary John Cleese, the movie revolves around a team of crooks who pull off a major jewel heist, only to have everything fall apart when they all attempt to double-cross each other immediately after.

Completely divorced from reality, A Fish Called Wanda is full of the cartoonish antics that would be right at home in a Monty Python skit. Kevin Kline, in particular, gives a classic performance as Otto, an American criminal whose brashness and overall oafishness fuels the insanity of the picture around him. Seriously, there is a sex scene between his character and Jamie Lee Curtis's Wanda that's funnier than this summer’s entire slate of comedies.

A Fish Called Wanda makes its mark by playing on the differences between the English and Americans, and director Charles Crichton and writer John Cleese make sure that both sides get their fair share of lumps along the way.

4. The Ladykillers (1955)

Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Stars: Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner, and Katie Johnson

More than five decades after its release, director Alexander Mackendrick’s 1955 film, The Ladykillers, stands as one of the preeminent comedies to be imported from across the pond. The story revolves around a group of criminals (including Alex Guinness, Cecil Parker, and Peter Sellers) who rent a room from a kindly old woman as they plan a bank robbery. Under the guise of rehearsing musicians, the crooks try to plan their heist while hiding their true motives from their octogenarian caretaker.

The oddball physical comedy of the film is pulled off with the graceful choreography of a ballet; but there's also an element of controlled chaos that keeps every scene brimming with frenzied energy. For hardcore cinephiles, watching a young Peter Sellers hone his craft alongside Alec Guinness in his prime should be reason enough to check out The Ladykillers. For the more casual audience, the movie is an ideal gateway into the world of the dark, dry, and peculiar humor perfected in the UK.

3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Director: Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam
Stars: Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Eric Idle, and Michael Palin

Although Monty Python and the Holy Grail is technically the second film from the comedy troupe, it was the first feature comprised of all-new material, as opposed to the recycled TV segments used in And Now for Something Completely Different. This masterpiece follows the exploits of King Arthur and a group of knights as they search for the Holy Grail in a most low-budget fashion.

Starring Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Eric Idle, and Michael Palin, the movie brought the zany slapstick humor of the Pythons to our shores, and, in the process, helped show the American mainstream what they were missing out on. Holy Grail is a delirious tour de force through the twisted mind of comedies greatest nutjobs, and features more quotables than anything Judd Apatow can claim.

Complete with incompetent knights, witches, and the most viscious rabbit you've ever seen, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a lowbrow, high-concept comedy that takes pleasure in breaking all the rules of form, taste, whatever. Coconuts.

2. Brazil (1985)

Director: Terry Gilliam
Stars: Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Bob Hoskins, Katherine Helmond, and Ian Holm

Striking a perfect balance between Orwellian social commentary and Monty Python-esque humor, director Terry Gilliam’s Brazil is a landmark not only in terms of special effects, but humor as well. A lowly bureaucrat named Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is our gateway into Gilliam's fantastical world, where a precious few dream of overthrowing the ridiculous totalitarian government that's mucked everything up.

Out of one man’s misery comes jokes as we watch Lowry try to chase happiness, only to be beaten down by the man ad nauseum. Along the way he meets a sordid cast of misfits including Bob Hoskins as a disgruntled city maintenance employee and Robert De Niro as a non-union repairman who causes havoc throughout the city as political protest.

The humor ranges from dry to deliriously off the wall, but through sheer force of will (and special effects) Gilliam makes it work. Brazil is the result of a jaded madman behind camera and a committed cast in front of it. In short, we’ll likely never see anything quite like it again.

1. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)

Director: Terry Jones
Stars: Ben Chapman, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, and Terry Jones

There is no movie that typifies British comedy quite like Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Packed with biting satire, ludicrous sight gags, and memorable quotes, Life of Brian elicits more laughs in 90 minutes than some comedians get across their entire careers. The plot follows a young Jewish man named Brian Cohen (Ben Chapman), who is born in the stable next door to Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. Cohen spends his entire life being mistaken for the Messiah, but instead of glory and adulation, he winds up as a fugitive on the run.

Leave your dogma at the door because no matter what, you will be offended. The movie furiously skewers every religious and political institution you could hold dear, but it’s so smart it’s impossible not to laugh along with Brian and his hapless followers.

With Python regulars like Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, and Terry Jones all playing supporting roles, Life of Brian is required viewing for anyone with a true passion for comedy. Your faith may be destroyed by the end, but as the song goes, you always have to look on the bright side of life.