Best Comedy Films of the 1990’s – a dozen

The decade of the 90’s had a rich assortment of fun comedy styles including; satire, spoofs, crime, romance and fantasy. Surprisingly two film biographies (Ed Wood and Man on the Moon) ranked with the best-in-class comedies. Since the best comedy-crime movies and comedy-romance films are covered in separate posts (Best of the Comedy-Crime Genre in the last 50 years, and Best Romantic Comedies That Even a Guy Will Enjoy), we will examine the others. Overall the comedy acting was on par with any decade. Two comic geniuses, John Goodman and Jim Carrey, delivered career best performances, and several actors famous for serious dramatic or action movies starred in comedy home runs (Bobby De Niro, William Shatner, Johnny Depp, Dustin Hoffman, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Christopher Walken). Some of the best light comedies were done in the Family style with young children in the cast and the humor presented in a softer, gentler fashion for a younger audience. For me, the 90’s were the peak years for watching Family style movies, as my kids were pre-teen and loved light comedies. Ladies and gents, here are a dozen 1990’s comedies with plenty of laughs, presented in order by release dates. 

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1.        Kindergarten Cop   1990

My kids loved this movie. I lost count how many times we watched it. This is a buddy cop flick with a combination of humor, lots of cute kids, romance, and a touch of violence. The star of the film, Arnold Schwarzenegger, shows a surprisingly good flair for comedy as a tough undercover detective who gets roped into teaching Kindergarten, and struggles to find his inner Mr. Rodgers. This might be Arnold's most likable role, and he had the best lines in an excellent script. Underrated actress Pam Reed is very good as Arnold’s cop partner.

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2.        Home Alone   1990

Macaulay Culkin, age 8, was crowned a child superstar after his portrayal of Kevin McAllister who is accidentally left at home by his parents when the family flies to Paris for Christmas holiday. Not only has he to contend with the holiday on his own, but the resourceful kid must also defend the family home from two burglars - Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. Great slapsticky hijinks ensue as the kid defends his castle. 

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