‘There’s Something About Mary’ Turns 20: A Look Back At The Best ’90s Comedies

By Michele Yeo. 13 Jul 2018 3:31 PM

There’s something about anniversaries and as we celebrate the classic comedy “There’s Something About Mary” turning 20 (that’s right, it’s been 20 years since audiences let out a collective “ewwww” at that ‘hair gel’ scene and cringed when Ben Stiller got his ‘franks and beans’ caught in his zipper) we’re looking back at other comedies that defined the ’90s – the top 20 comedies according to popularity on the Internet Movie Database, IMDb.

Universal Pictures

19. Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

Miramax

Paramount Pictures

20th Century Fox

Warner Bros. Entertainment

Focus Features

Columbia Pictures

Universal Pictures

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Warner Bros. Entertainment

Universal Pictures

Warner Bros.

SNL Studios

Sony Pictures

Universal Pictures

Lionsgate

21st Century Fox

Paramount Pictures

Warner Bros. Entertainment

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20. Life
Universal Pictures
Comedy powerhouses Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence come together in this 1999 comedy about two friends wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. The comics had previously worked together on Boomerang and "Life" boasts the distinction of being shock comic Murphy's final R-rated film before venturing into more family friendly fare.
19. Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Miramax
Nobody does parody quite like the Wayans brothers do parody and in 1996 they took on the south central LA gangster genre, spoofing films like "Boyz n the Hood," "Menace II Society," and "Juice" with their comedy, "Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood."
18. Private Parts
Paramount Pictures
When plans to turn his weirdo superhero character Fartman into a feature film fell through (we can't say we're devastated about that one) filmmakers instead brought Howard Stern's 1993 biography of the same name to life, chronicling his ascent to radio shock jock superstar with Stern and many of his sidekicks playing themselves in this 1997 comedy.
17. There's Something About Mary
20th Century Fox
There's just something about "There's Something About Mary", or Cameron Diaz as Mary that is. This 1998 Farrelly Brothers ode to unrequited love is equal part sweet, gross, hilarious, and dark - our favourite combination. We'll never think of hair gel the same way again thanks to Ben Stiller. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing but it was definitely memorable! "There's Something About Mary" placed 27th in the American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies, a list of the 100 funniest movies of the 20th century.
16. Friday
Warner Bros. Entertainment
"Friday" belongs in the annals of history if only because the Ice Cube/Chris Tucker 1995 comedy gifted us with the iconic phrase, "Bye Felicia" the ultimate way to dismiss someone that continues, and rightfully so, to be used today.
15. Mallrats
Focus Features
Classic Kevin Smith. This followup to "Clerks" has friends trying to mend their broken hearts at the mall, there's a dating game show, an Easter Bunny, Shannen Doherty, and a Magic Eye (remember those?)
14. Groundhog Day
Columbia Pictures
This 1993 comedy classic stars Bill Murray as a weatherman doomed to repeat the same day, day after day.

Murray is best known for the role of Phil Connors and unlike his character, we never get tired of watching this movie over and over and over again.
13. BASEketball
Universal Pictures
We love a good portmanteau, or in this case, sportmanteau.
"South Park" masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone play childhood friends who are professional athletes playing BASEketball, a hybrid of basketball and baseball. We're just sad that we're 20 years out from this movie and this fictional sport hasn't yet become a reality. I mean frolf (frisbee golf) is a thing, when are we getting BASEketball?
12. The Waterboy
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Few actors represent and own '90s-era comedy quite like Adam Sandler. This oddball comedy about 31-year-old socially awkward water boy Bobby Boucher was not only a hit when it was released in 1998, it's enjoyed continued relevance, strangely enough, through being referenced in rap songs like Kanye Wests's "New Slaves" and DJ Khaled's "Wild Thoughts".
11. The Mask
Warner Bros. Entertainment
Soooooomebody stop us! This 1994 comedy cemented Jim Carrey as one of the most bankable comics (and most elastic faces) of the '90s and introduced audiences to Cameron Diaz. Take us back to Coco Bongo right now, it was Smokin! Also, let's all just collectively forget that the followup, 2005's "Son of the Mask" ever happened, shall we?
10. Half Baked
Universal Pictures
This 1998 stoner comedy starring Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer tells the story of a group of friends who band together to bail out a friend sent to the slammer after accidentally killing a diabetic police horse by feeding it junk food. Fun fact: the movie was co-written by Chappelle and Neal Brennan who later went on to co-create "Chappelle's Show" in 2003.
9. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Warner Bros.
The sequel to the massively successful "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." You could say this second instalment, which finds Ace deep in the jungles of Africa, fits into Jim Carrey's filmography, 'liiiiike a glove."
8. A Night at the Roxbury
SNL Studios
What is love? Baby don't hurt me no more.... the most annoying club-goers (from "Saturday Night Live") bobbing their heads to the side in unison had everyone in stitches in the '90s. It almost (not quite) has us bobbing our heads to the side just thinking about it.
7. So I Married An Axe Murderer
Sony Pictures
Who among us has not married someone we fear may hack us to death given the chance? After bringing his SNL character Wayne Campbell to the big screen twice in 1992 and 1993, Mike Myers went the dark comedy route in 1994. Mike also played his character's Scottish father in the movie which gave us a slight preview of the character of Fat Bastard from 1999's "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me."
6. Happy Gilmore
Universal Pictures
From the rinks to the links. This 1996 classic has Adam Sandler playing a failed hockey player who realizes he has a knack for golf and pursues it to help pay off his grandmother's house. Hijinks ensue when Happy's predisposition for throwing down fisticuffs doesn't exactly translate from the ice to the greens.
We'll never look at Bob Barker the same way after seeing him lay the smack down. Whether the price is right or wrong, we're in.
5. Dogma
Lionsgate
We'll convert for any film that casts Alanis Morissette as God. This Kevin Smith comedy, the second of his movies to make the list, boasts a truly '90s cast featuring his usual suspects like Jason Mewes, and Jason Lee along with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as fallen angels trying to make their way back to Heaven.
4. Office Space
21st Century Fox
We're gonna need you to go ahead and recognize that "Office Space" is pure brilliance. A biting examination of the often mind-numbing doldrum that is office life complete with arguments over staplers, frustration with PC Load Letter and the most satisfying montage of people destroying a printer set to gangster rap you will ever see on film. Just make sure you're wearing the requisite pieces of flair while watching.
3. Tommy Boy
Paramount Pictures
We'll never see "a fat guy in a little coat" without immediately thinking of this 1995 comedy starring SNL buddies Chris Farley and David Spade. No one played a loveable idiot quite like Chris Farley and the paring of him and David Spade always brought the laughs. We're still not over losing Farley so we are going to console ourselves by saying "Luke, I am Your Father" over and over again into a fan.
2. Dumb and Dumber
Warner Bros. Entertainment
So you're telling me there's a chance Jim Carrey made the list again? No roundup of '90s comedies would be complete without recognizing the absolute ridiculousness of "Dumb and "Dumber" Jim and Jeff Daniels killed it as bumbling idiot besties Lloyd and Harry, so much so that we wanna drive a giant dog car and break out in song to pay tribute. "Mock Yeah! Ing Yeah! Bird Yeah!

We'll stop now.
1. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Warner Bros.
Alllllllllllrighty, then. Jim Carrey was officially the comedy God of the '90s with "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" coming out on top of IMDb's Top 20 most popular comedies of the '90s. There is no denying the box office appeal on of Canada's funniest sons had during this decade, specifically on 1994 as that's when "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" "The Mask" and "Dumb and Dumber" were released.

‘There’s Something About Mary’ Turns 20: A Look Back At The Best ’90s Comedies

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