Comedy is subjective. There’s that famous Mel Brooks quote: “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.” Funny cannot be explained or intellectualized. It is forever and always in the eye of the beholder.
Even so, the eyes doing that beholding can change over time. What seemed hilarious to our parents or our grandparents can look tacky or offensive to modern tastes. In fact, some of the most popular comedies of previous eras look so tacky or offensive there’s a very good chance they not only wouldn’t be hits today, they might never get made at all. That’s in spite of the fact that all of these films turned profits; a few were massive blockbusters. The list below collects 20 such examples.
You might see a film mentioned below that you loved as kid; you might even find a title you still enjoy watching to this day. We’re not telling you to stop. Watch what you want. Comedy is subjective, after all, and it is important to consider the context of every work of art, not just gross-out comedies. Still, it sort of shocking what big mainstream movies could get away with 30, 20, or even 15 years ago. Some of these titles are not that old!
Here are 20 popular comedies of the past that look very different to contemporary audiences.
Popular Movie Comedies That Could Never Get Made Today
These comedies were big hits in theaters — but they probably would not even get made today.
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The Worst Comedies Ever Made
Cinema has brought laughter to generations of moviegoers. In these cases, though, the laughs were on the paying customers.