7 Comedy movies that managed to deliver a strong message to the audience

Comedy movies are one of the most powerful forms of engaging viewers. Under the garb of satire, dark humor, or purely hilarious moments, comedy films have the power of incorporating a strong message about society. While comedies are a great way of rejuvenating people, they have also been an important medium of making people aware of pertinent issues in society. Comedy appeals to viewers, and therefore, the heaviness of the social message is better absorbed by the audiences. Therefore, here are 7 comedy movies that left a strong message and provided a meaningful social commentary.

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Don't Look Up, Groundhog Day, and other comedy movies with a strong message

1. 9 to 5

Directed by Colin Higgins and starring Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, and Lily Tomlin, this comedy movie is a cult classic. With a story by Patricia Resnick, the movie offers a bold yet humorous take on the inequality and sexism that women workers face in the corporate world. The movie is about three working women, played by Fonda, Tomlin, and Parton, who are tired of their egotistical, sexist, lying, and hypocritical boss—the Vice President, Coleman. The three ladies have to routinely suffer insults, sarcastic remarks, and undue work and stress because of their senior. The boss is shown to be an embodiment of the corporate world, who only sees his workers as slaves and relishes in taking advantage of his female staff and humiliating them. Tired and angry at their boss, the three ladies decide to band together and kidnap him. The movie has loads of rib-tickling laughter and hilarious moments. However, it also delivers a strong message to the viewers, which is about workplace culture and the imbalance of scales against women. Even though the movie came out in the 1980s, it is still shockingly relevant. Many women face undue stress and income inequality even now. Its themes of gender inequality and sexual harassment are as important now as they were then. The movie ended up being turned into a TV show and a musical. It is one of those classic comedy movies that one must watch.

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2. The Truman Show

Starring Jim Carrey and Laura Linney, this psychological comedy-drama is directed by Peter Weir and is one of the most famous movies. The movie is about Truman Burbank (Carrey), who has lived his entire life inside a soundstage that has been filmed and broadcast as reality television since his birth. Truman is a humble insurance salesman, and as he grows older, he begins to yearn for a life outside his “town.” However, all the paid actors who act as his friends, family members, and colleagues maintain the illusion of the fake world. The movie has been noted for Carrey’s humorous yet poignant performance and its themes of existentialism, surveillance, and privacy. The movie is a comedy, but it also adopts elements of dystopian fiction, metafiction, and satire. While the film has plenty of laughs, it also has moments that will force the viewers to think about their own lives and agency. Under the garb of humor, the movie presents a dark reality where a person has no autonomy or privacy and is being constantly lied to. The ending moments of the movie, where Truman finally figures out that there is a whole world outside and decides to brave a literal storm and go to the other side, are heart-wrenching to watch.

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3. Don’t Look Up

Directed by Adam McKay and starring Leonardo Di Caprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, and others, this political satire and black comedy movie is also written and co-produced by McKay. The movie delivers a message about the present situation of human society, where people are so consumed by social media and the 24x7 news cycle that they have become desensitized and do not even have the time to look up from their phones or observe the world around them. The film tells the story of two astronomers. Kate (Lawrence) is an astronomy grad student, and along with her professor, Dr. Randal Mindy (DiCaprio), she has discovered a comet that is orbiting our solar system and is on a direct collision course with Earth. The two therefore decide to embark on a media tour and warn the humans about the impending catastrophe. However, the movie presents a strong message about apathy in the social media age, as neither the President, nor the news journalists are interested in the news. While the student and the professor only have six months to warn the people and come up with a plan to keep Earth safe, human society has reached a point where such news is nothing but an inconvenience for them. It is one of those comedy movies that has plenty of moments that abound with dark and absurd humor. However, the movie presents a telling picture of a social media-obsessed society. The film received mixed reviews but also gained acclaim and was nominated for multiple awards.

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4. Barbie

Starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and others, this fantasy comedy movie is directed by Greta Gerwig and is based on the popular dolls by Mattel. The movie is also written by Gerwig and is the first live-action movie about Barbie. Released in 2023, the movie garnered intense and immense craze as it hit the theaters alongside Oppenheimer and ultimately gained critical and commercial acclaim. Even though the movie is about the plastic world of dolls that have often been at the center of criticism for their lack of diversity and unattainable beauty standards, the movie turns the table under Gerwig’s direction. The director and writer infuse the movie with loads of hilarious moments and a candy-pink world but also include surprising themes of feminism, identity, mortality, and the power of female bonding and mother-daughter relationships. While most people had decided to watch a movie that brought nostalgia of their favorite childhood toy, they did not expect that the movie had so much meaning and message within it. There are several important scenes that highlight the deep tones of the film. When the Barbies decide to use the power of female friendship to take their world back from the Kens or the moment when Barbie (Robbie) realizes the strength of her own individual identity in the world of humans. It is one of those comedy movies that is an ode to the various mothers and daughters of the world who have been bound by patriarchal views of image and are finally claiming their power back. Therefore, Greta delivers a movie that is an ode to all the women of the world.

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5. Legally Blonde

Directed by Robert Luketic and based on the novel by Amanda Brown, this comedy movie features Reese Witherspoon in the lead role. The movie was a critical and commercial hit, and over the years, it has been appreciated even more for its feminist themes and message of women's empowerment under the garb of a chick flick. While the movie is lighthearted and Witherspoon gives a stellar performance as the lead, Elle Woods, the movie also tackles the various stereotypes about women and particularly women with beauty and blonde-colored hair. As a movie of the early aughts, the film does a groundbreaking job of tackling a one-sided view of women and destroys such limiting stereotypes of how women should be. The movie is about a sorority girl, Elle, who has always been associated with the flimsy and frivolous world of all things pink and girly. However, when her ex-boyfriend dumps her because he wants to attend Harvard Law School, Elle decides to win him over and become a lawyer herself. Even though Elle starts her journey because of her ex-boyfriend, she finds her own path and identity and realizes that she can win in the gritty world of law without sacrificing her femininity. Elle might be bubbly, but she is clever and savvy as well. She takes on the masculine world without changing her personality. It is one of those comedy movies that therefore offers viewers both hilarious moments that are now a part of pop culture and a female protagonist that is both feminine and fierce.

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6. Groundhog Day

Starring Billy Murray, Andie MacDowell, and others, this fantasy romantic comedy movie is directed by Harold Ramis and is considered one of the most powerful comedy movies to have been made. The movie is about a cynical television weatherman, Phil (Murray), who arrives in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day event that predicts the weather. Phil does his job robotically and does not care about morals and principles. However, his life turns upside down when he gets caught in a time loop that forces him to relive February 2 repeatedly. Over the course of the movie, Phil discovers that he needs to shed his smug attitude and treat the women he loves with care and humbleness. The movie has many comedic moments that highlight the bewilderment and confusion of Phil as he tries to understand the time loop. However, it is only when he lets go and learns the true meaning of life that lies in being noble and giving love a chance that he is able to break out of the time loop. The movie therefore uses the allegory of a time loop to touch upon certain philosophical elements and drives home the point that true enlightenment can only be attained when people make a positive change in their lives. Otherwise, like Phil, people will unknowingly keep reliving the same life again and again. The movie received various nominations and over the years has been considered highly influential. The film has even been read in religious terms, with good people escaping the drudgery of daily life.

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7. Liar Liar

Directed by Tom Shadyac, this fantasy comedy movie features Jim Carrey and was a critical and commercial success. The film is about a successful defense lawyer, Fletcher Reede (Carrey), who is divorced and regularly forgets to spend time with his son, Max. He therefore uses lies to cover up the breaking of his promises and even employs falsehood in his legal cases. However, when Fletcher forgets Max’s birthday, Max makes a wish that his father is unable to lie for one day. This leads to a day full of chaos and hilarious moments as Fletcher is confused about why he can only speak the truth. The movie has many moments of physical comedy and slapstick humor, and Carrey is at his best. However, the movie also has an important message. Firstly, the movie is about the pitfalls of lying and how adopting the truth is the correct way of living life. Further, the movie is a lesson about spending time with one’s family and not using lies as a way of covering up one’s faults. By the end of the day, Fletcher realizes his mistakes and grows closer to his son, whom he has been ignoring. It is one of those comedy movies that has the perfect balance of rib-tickling moments of laughter and thoughtful moments about the futility of lies and the importance of family.