Comedy is a hard thing to nail down. Certain topics and punchlines can be funny for some people while they just as easily be boring or even offensive to others.
Even so, you can’t help but want something fun to laugh along with sometimes and comedy movies are right there for you. But what if you’ve already watched a lot of Hollywood, triple-A comedies? Canadian comedy movies are also hilarious even if they don’t have the same budget as Hollywood does. Some people might not even realize some of these movies are Canadian!
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21 FUBAR
Busted Tranny
FUBAR is a movie about friendship, but not in the same vein as a company like Disney might have you believe.
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It starts off incredibly goofy, almost to the point of being painful, as we follow the shenanigans of the main characters Terry and Dean. However, as the plot progresses, the two men are shaken to their core when one of them is diagnosed with a serious health issue. As grim as this sounds, the story is brilliantly executed in such a way that things stay relatively lighthearted. Shotgun a beer with the boys and enjoy a good laugh while you keep watching.
20 Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day
SwearNet
With many of the same characters and settings as the TV show Trailer Park Boys, this is actually the third movie in the series but is set two years after the events of the TV episode Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys and not after the second movie.
In Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day, the main characters Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles, after being released from prison, all try to turn around their lives - some in more ridiculous ways than others. This movie is full of crude humor and dark comedy that may not agree with many people, but it is a good laugh for those who can stomach it. The mockumentary style like that of The Office works well for this storytelling albeit somewhat chaotic at times.
19 Goon
Alliance Communications
Few things are more stereotypical Canadian than ice hockey and being overly polite. Those two things don’t really go together when you think about the violent fights during some ice hockey games and that’s exactly why Goon is so funny.
The movie is actually an adaptation of Doug Smith’s (the main character) autobiography. Although it is dramatized, some comical incidents like how Doug scored a goal with his rear happened in real life. Relatable, well-rounded characters with a lot of heart are the star of the show. If you like sports and a good laugh, Goon might just be the ticket to your funny bone.
18 The Delicate Art of Parking
Anagram Pictures
Have you ever run back to your car just in time to see an officer writing you a ticket for letting your meter run out of time? Many people can hold a grudge against those people who are just doing their job and parking enforcer Grant Parker has had his fair share of abuse in The Delicate Art of Parking.
It’s easy to see why this movie was well-received when you get a glimpse of the cast’s chemistry. The realistic reactions of angry drivers as Grant refuses to allow even a second of leeway when it comes to parking are all too relatable. You could even say that this movie is what launched actors Fred Ewanuick and Nancy Robertson onto greater heights of comedy with their popular sitcom Corner Gas.
17 A Dog’s Breakfast
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Patrick has never been good at much of anything in his life in A Dog’s Breakfast. Though he really has no say in the matter, he disapproves of his sister’s relationship and engagement with TV star, Ryan. The next thing Patrick knows, tragedy strikes and Ryan meets a fatal accident. To keep his sister from heartbreak and his own name clear of any crimes, Patrick tries and fails to dispose of the body much to the audience’s enjoyment.
If you enjoy the goofy sound design that often accompanied comedy movies in the 90s and 00s, this could be the throwback you missed since it wasn’t widely released in theaters.
16 Tusk
A24
Tusk is a bit of a weird one, straddling the line between comedy and horror. Podcaster Wallace Bryton thinks that he is “that guy” with the minor amount of fame he has gathered going straight to his head. Wallace’s overreaching ambitions take him to Canada to interview someone and ends up taking a bizarre turn when he encounters a man named Howard. The movie’s absurd premise is equally hilarious and shocking in different parts so be forewarned.
The weirdest part, however, might be the cast. High-profile actors like Johnny Depp and Michael Parks are thrown in with some internet personalities like Harley Morenstein of Epic Meal Time on YouTube and more.
15 Corner Gas: The Movie
Prairie Pants Distribution Inc.
You might be surprised to see Corner Gas: The Movie on this list considering we just discussed it being a TV show and not a movie, but it was popular enough to earn its own standalone film.
Five years after the events of the series finale, the movie continues to follow the lives of the small-town residents of Dog River after the mayor irresponsibly bankrupts the town. Through a series of comical mishaps, the residents attempt to save their home by appealing to the rest of Canada as the “Quaintest Town in Canada” in a nationwide competition. Fans of the original series will definitely enjoy the movie as many noted it feels very similar to the show, but you may not get all the humor if you haven’t caught up on every episode.
14 Dr. Cabbie
Eros International
The first romantic comedy on this list, Dr. Cabbie is an over-the-top movie about an Indian doctor who cannot practice medicine after emigrating to Canada. Instead of returning home, he becomes a cabbie and illegally practices medicine with his passengers after delivering a baby in his cab.There is some star-crossed romance in a rom-com and this one is especially wacky considering the mother of the baby he delivers falls inexplicably in love with the main character.
There are some cheap laughs and clichéd gags for sure, but as long as you don’t take this movie too seriously you can laugh your socks off at this unique take on life.
13 A Simple Favor
Lionsgate
If you like a little mystery interspersed with your laughs, A Simple Favor might come in clutch. Great performances from both Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively bring this movie to life.
Stephanie Smothers, played by Anna Kendrick, is a single mom who befriends a high society mom, Emily, whose son goes to the same school as her kid. Not long after, Emily disappears and Stephanie determines to search for clues. Even though there are some thriller elements that go along with the story, it is not nearly as dark as others on this list. Is the intrigue on the same level as something like Knives Out? No, but it is good, simple fun.
12 Take This Waltz
Mongrel Media
Take This Waltz is a movie that realizes the fantasy that many people have toyed with once or twice in their lives. In a chance encounter on an airplane back to Toronto, Margot meets a handsome and curious stranger, Daniel. In an even greater coincidence, the two share a cab back to the same street and discover that they are neighbors.
This kind of plot seems to have been time and again, but people credit the director, Sarah Polley, with taking a fresh approach to an otherwise tired cliché. You might want to mentally prepare yourself, though, as there is some full-frontal nudity and some other raunchy parts that break up some of the more wholesome interactions.
11 Waydowntown
The Criterion Collection
Yet another take on some dark comedy or gallows humor, Waydowntown is a satirical look at corporate culture in Calgary, Alberta. A small group of office workers bets a month’s worth of salary on who can go the longest without leaving to go outside. This is only possible thanks to the increasingly connected system of covered walkways to and from buildings in the downtown area.
Luckily, the movie starts on the 24th day of the bet, so you don’t have to slog through the boring start of the bet. Just shy of an hour and a half in runtime, this movie is a pretty quick watch.
10 Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It
Another movie in the series, Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It revolves around the usual residents of the Sunnyvale trailer park and their ridiculous adventures. Crime is still the name of the game in this movie, but none of our protagonists seem to have mastered their craft yet. Perhaps the funniest premise in this movie is the struggle these criminals face between wanting to enjoy recreational marijuana legally (thanks to an upcoming bill in the Canadian government) and having a lucrative, albeit illegal, business dealing the drug.
At this point in the list, you probably know if this kind of humor is for you or not, but there is something to be said about following the crazy lives of these delinquents.
9 Strange Brew
Although he is best known for his roles in other films like Spaceballs, Ghostbusters, or Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, Strange Brew is Rick Moranis’ first movie as an actor. He is also a co-writer and co-director on top of that!
Brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie struggle with unemployment and just want to drink beer but end up getting hired by a brewing company called Elsinore. The daft brothers stumble upon the mystery surrounding the late owner’s, John Elsinore’s, death and a plot to rule the world through a mind-controlling drug added to shipments of beer. This movie is a good laugh for all ages, rated at PG since the whole thing practically revolves around consuming beer.
8 Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Bon Cop, Bad Cop is truly a Canadian action-comedy, and never saw a general release to theaters outside of Canada despite being nominated for and winning several categories at the 27th Genie Awards.
When a body is found on the border between English-speaking Ontario and French-speaking Quebec, a joint investigation is launched. David Bouchard is a wildcard of a detective who is constantly bending the rules as part of the Quebec police service and is joined by the uptight detective, Martin Ward, from the Ontario police. This movie may follow the classic “straight man, funny man” trope closely but what makes it unique is its ability to gently poke fun at both sides of Canada in a bilingual format.
7 Starbuck
Caramel Film
Some people have to grow up and live responsibly by the time they reach their 40s. Not David Wozniak. He lives a relatively carefree and laid-back life until everything starts happening to him all at once. His girlfriend, Valerie, tells him she is pregnant with his child when suddenly a lawyer appears, reminding him of his past when he sold sperm to make a quick buck. As the biological father of over 500 children, over 100 have joined a class action lawsuit to have his identity revealed.
Interestingly enough, Patrick Huard plays the main character in both Starbuck and the previous movie, Bon Cop, Bad Cop.
6 Canadian Bacon
Gramercy Pictures
Canadian Bacon sets the scene for what a cold war between the United States of America and Canada would look like. As the US economy takes a downturn and the opinion polls of the current president take a dip, suddenly anti-Canada propaganda pops up seemingly overnight and new jobs are generated at factories producing weaponry.
Unlike most of the other movies on this list, Canadian Bacon has a bit of a reputation for being so bad that it is good. Even though it is supposed to be a comedy, it is funny for reasons other than those that were planned. Don’t think too hard about it because, in the wise words of the character, Boomer, “There’s a time to think, and a time to act. And this, gentlemen, is no time to think.”
5 What If
Originally titled The F Word (presumably for “friend”), What If is a romantic comedy following the lives of Wallace and Chantry as they contemplate their friendship despite an immediate unspoken attraction to each other and seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Though the movie doesn’t attempt to avoid common rom-com tropes, it does them in a way that some find fresh. That was certainly the case when the movie was praised as “one of the hottest films” at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards. Daniel Radcliffe plays the role of Wallace spectacularly and What If was a great showcase of how he can play roles other than Harry Potter.
4 Outrageous!
Cinema 5 Distributing
Based on the short story, Making It, from Margaret Gibson’s collection The Butterfly Ward, Outrageous! is a rather dramatic comedy movie about a female impersonator and his schizophrenic roommate. Despite having gay themes, the movie was widely released in theaters back in 1977 and received several awards. Perhaps it was Craig Russell’s ability to replicate both the look and sound of so many iconic female figures of the time period as his character Robin Turner.
The movie is lively and upbeat for the most part and is a wonderful insight into the drag culture of the 1970s. If you’re interested in anything LGBTQ+, this movie is definitely worth giving a go.
3 Seducing Dr. Lewis
Alliance Atlantis
Seducing Dr. Lewis is not nearly as fancy-sounding as the original French title, La grande seduction, but it gets the point across. Set in the fishing village of Ste-Marie-la-Mauderne off the north coast of Quebec, the local residents are forced to live almost entirely off of welfare and some even decide to move to the mainland in search of jobs. However, a plastic container company enters a verbal contract with the residents and will open a new factory there to revitalize the area if certain conditions are met. One of those conditions is to have a doctor reside in the village.
Enter Dr. Christopher Lewis and the sidesplitting antics of the rest of the movie as the villagers desperately try to convince the doctor to stay with various tricks and ruses.
2 Trailer Park Boys
Not to be confused with the TV show by the same name nor the film Trailer Park Boys: The Movie, Trailer Park Boys is the true start to the series, first being shown in 1999. This movie is often considered the best of all the movies in the series and sets a high standard for the show as well. Having had his future and death predicted by a psychic over the phone, Julian documents his criminal life in a trailer park, presumably to leave behind a legacy.
Despite being filmed in black and white, and being a low-budget film overall, Trailer Park Boys is the kind of slapstick comedy that many appreciate over the painful secondhand embarrassment that can come from watching other mockumentaries like The Office or Parks and Recreation.
