There’s nothing quite like a movie party. They’re always so big and extravagant and full of larger-than-life shenanigans. Whether it’s a college party, a house party when the parents are away, or a last hurrah among old friends, party movies are great fun to watch. Some of them are so good, they’ll have you wishing you had gotten an invite.
From classics like Animal House to newer releases like Neighbors and The Hangover, the party trope is a popular one used over and over again in movies. Most part movies and comedy-centric, but they can be scary like 2019’s Ma, or even more romantic like the classic The Great Gatsby. Whatever your party style, these are 12 of the best party movies to watch for a good time.
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12 21 & Over (2013)
Relativity Media
The excitement that comes before one’s 21st birthday is a universal feeling we’ve all experienced—or will eventually. Reaching the legal drinking age and being able to enter bars is a very celebration-worthy milestone for a lot of people and is often part of the recipe for a “party you’ll never forget,” or rather, won’t remember at all. 21 & Over is about just that.
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It’s about three friends (Miles Teller, Skylar Astin, Justin Chon) who go out drinking to celebrate one of their (Chon) 21st birthdays, despite having an important medical school interview the next morning. The movie was released in 2013, and to be completely honest, was a bit of a flop. However, if you can submit yourself to a dumb comedy for a little over an hour and a half, it’s really not bad. It’s funny, entertaining and even a bit predictable and cliché at times, but that’s exactly what 21 & Over set out to be, and if you take it for what it is, it’s a really fun watch.
11 Neighbors (2014)
Universal Pictures
2014’s Neighbors is a fun concept. It’s about a couple (Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne) who are enjoying their chill suburban life with their infant daughter, even if these new parental responsibilities prevent them from enjoying their old partying lifestyle. That is until a fraternity known for its insane parties led by Zac Efron and Dave Franco, moves into the house next door.
Next comes a back-and-forth battle between Rogen and Byrne and the frat bros as they try to find some kind of common ground between them. Neighbors certainly has a few laughs and funny moments, but it’s certainly not Rogen’s funniest flick. But, in terms of a party movie, it’s a unique approach that’s still fun to watch even if it’s not as funny as some of the others. After its release, a sequel titled Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising was announced and premiered in 2016, following a similar formula except the new neighbors are a sorority this time.
10 The Night Before (2015)
Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing
The Night Before is a holiday-centric comedy about three childhood friends (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie) who get together every Christmas Eve ever since one of their parents (Gordon-Levitt) died in a car accident around the holidays several years ago. The trio has gotten together every holiday since, but now that they have bigger adult responsibilities like families and careers, they decide to get together one last time before putting the tradition to bed.
The Night Before is really just about these three friends doing an array of drugs all on one evening to send their tradition out with a bang. While it’s funny in some spots, that trope can get a little tiresome after a while. However, this movie has more heart than a lot of other party movies do, making it a fun, non-traditional watch during the holiday season.
9 Project X (2012)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Found-footage movies are one of those types that you either love or hate. Project X is a found-footage comedy about three friends who want to gain popularity and plan to do so by throwing a party. But things get out of hand when one of the friends advertises the party throughout their entire school, and through the power of the grapevine, it gets out of hand fast.
Project X really isn’t any different from any other party movie about a group of friends throwing a house party when mom and dad are out of town; however, its found-footage approach is unique. But again, if found-footage movies aren’t your style, you might want to skip this one. Project X received mixed reviews from critics, mostly falling on the negative side. But even still, the movie had a massive cultural impact — though much of it was negative — leading to several Project X-inspired parties around the world.
8 The House Bunny
Sony Pictures
The House Bunny premiered in 2008 and tells the story of Shelley (Anna Faris), a former Playboy Bunny who signs up to be the house mother of an unpopular sorority after being kicked from the Playboy mansion. Alongside Faris, The House Bunny presented a strong cast including names like Kat Dennings, Colin Hanks, Katharine McPhee, Kiely Williams, Rumer Willis, Emma Stone and even a Hugh Hefner cameo.
Despite its simple nature, The House Bunny is actually a pretty good movie and offers a lot of funny moments from a well-cast group of characters. It’s a very light, silly movie that’s only purpose is to make you laugh or smile during its run. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all, and that’s a big part of what makes The House Bunny so entertaining to watch even all these years later. Despite its mixed reviews from critics, the movie went on to gain a cult following and is still well-loved today.
7 Animal House (1978)
For some, Animal House is the ultimate party movie. Premiering in 1978, the movie is about a troublesome fraternity that lives to challenge the authority of their college dean. Starring big names like John Belushi, Kevin Bacon, Time Matheson, and Peter Riegert, Animal House is recognized as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant by the Library of Congress and was added to the National Film Registry in 2001.
Animal House is also recognized as being one of the movies that sparked the start of the gross-out movie genre. It’s one of those movies that is often imitated, but it’s hard to achieve what Animal House did in the ’70s today. Even all these years later, Animal House has truly withstood the test of time and is still just as funny and likable today as it was when it hit theaters years ago. It’s a true classic, or rather the grandfather of the frat party movie trope.
6 Booksmart (2019)
United Artists Releasing
Booksmart is one of the newest releases on this list. It’s about two academically-driven girls (Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever) on the eve of their high school graduation who realize they missed out on all the fun of high school and decide to cram four years of fun and partying into one night for the last hurrah before college. Booksmart was Olivia Wilde’s feature directorial debut and also starred Jason Sudeikis, Jessica Williams, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte and Billie Lourd.
Booksmart was very well-received and even earned Feldstein a nomination for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes. It’s a funny coming-of-age story that’s especially unique as it focuses on two girls rather than a frat or group of guy friends that are most commonly featured in movies like this.
5 Dazed and Confused (1993)
Gramercy Pictures/Universal Pictures
Dazed and Confused is another classic entry into the party movie genre. It follows a few different groups of high school-age teenagers in Texas on the last day of school in 1976. Full of partying and standard teen movie hijinks, Dazed and Confused is a cult classic that ranks on several best high school movies lists. One of the best parts of Dazed and Confused is its ensemble cast. It features several names that later went on to have successful careers like Matthew McConaughey, Rory Cochrane, Anthony Rapp, Ben Affleck, and Renée Zellweger among others. With its star-studded cast and funny, entertaining plot, Dazed and Confused is a top-notch coming-of-age movie.
4 Good Boys (2019)
Good Boys is another coming-of-age comedy that centers on a trio of guy friends, except instead of being grown men, or high school or college students, the friends in question are a trio of sixth-grade boys. Starring Jacob Tremblay, Brady Noon and Keith Williams, Good Boys follows the three friends as they try to attend a party hosted by some of their popular classmates.
Good Boys is hilarious. There’s something about the juxtaposition of three misfit sixth-graders trying to attend a house party and the misadventures that ensue that makes this movie such fun to watch. It’s also consistently funny from start to finish, which is often hard to achieve. But while its main focus is to make you laugh, Good Boys also has heart, and it manages to perfectly balance that with humor, creating a well-rounded storyline.
3 The Hangover (2009)
The Hangover premiered in 2009 and tells the story of four friends (Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis Ed Helms, Justin Bartha) who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. But when the guys wake up the next day with no memory of the previous night and notice the groom (Bartha) is missing, they set out on an adventure to put the pieces of the night together and find the groom before his wedding day. The Hangover is a funny movie about friendship and partying that takes the “what happens in Vegas” concept to a whole new level. It was so well-received that it spawned a trilogy, with two more movies premiering in 2011 and 2013. Though the sequels were decently successful, neither was as well-received nor as good as the original.
2 This Is the End (2013)
Sony Pictures Releasing
There really isn’t another movie out there like This Is the End. Premiering in 2013, This Is the End features an ensemble cast playing exaggerated versions of themselves as they try to survive a global biblical apocalypse that starts in the middle of a housewarming party in Los Angeles. This Is the End is the epitome of ensemble casting including a range of celebrities like Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Rihanna, Channing Tatum and even the Backstreet Boys.
This Is the End was a massive success, both critically and at the box office, and is arguably one of the most unique — and best — party movies of all time. It’s hilarious from beginning to end, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and really stands out among the massive catalog of party movies. It’s worth a watch if you haven’t seen it and are looking for something to really make you laugh, and it’s so good that you can watch it several times and still enjoy it as much as the first.
1 Superbad (2007)
Superbad is another classic coming-of-age tale of a trio of friends who want to throw a massive party to boost their popularity — and ego — before graduating high school. Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Superbad premiered in 2007 and starred Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the leads. It also featured a cast of other funny people like Rogen, Bill Hader, Emma Stone, and Dave Franco.
Superbad is one of the big standout movies from the 2000s and has been credited with having a significant impact on the millennial generation it targeted at the time of its release. From the hilarious dialogue to the chemistry between Cera and Hill and the iconic moments and one-liners like the McLovin scene, Superbad hails as one of the greatest party movies to date.
