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It’s fair to say that in real life, crime and comedy don’t often mix. There may be rare exceptions, but the idea of a crime implies some kind of harm to a victim, and if it’s not someone who brought it on themselves in some way, it’s unlikely that most people will find humor in it.
But crime and comedy combining into one, when it comes to movies? That’s a whole other story. When a film successfully balances comedic elements in with a story about crime, the results can be darkly amusing, exciting, and unpredictable. With a new Fletch movie starring Jon Hamm – which blends those two genres – being released, now’s as good a time as any to cover 10 other films that qualify as satisfying, highly engaging crime-comedies.
‘Fletch’ (1985)
A no-brainer when it comes to discussing movies similar to the recent Confess, Fletch, the original film version of Fletch was released in 1985 and based on a novel series of the same name. It’s one of Chevy Chase’s most famous roles, playing a reporter who gets wrapped up in a strange, complex, and ultimately hilarious criminal conspiracy.
Fletch homages the film noir genre through its shady characters and sense of mystery, but it’s far more comedic than most examples of film noir (or neo-noir). Chase may be a notoriously difficult actor who’s had his fair share of controversies in recent years, but he’s undoubtedly very funny here, carrying the film with his unique comedic timing and being perfectly cast as a guy who’s consistently out of his depths, getting into more and more of a mess through his actions.
‘Knives Out’ (2019)
A comedic homage of sorts to the classic works of fiction within the whodunit genre, Knives Out impressively balances its comedy with its mystery-heavy storyline in a way that doesn’t make the film feel like a parody.
It’s mostly light-hearted, despite being about a detective (played by Daniel Craig) investigating the death of a wealthy family’s patriarch, but isn’t without some more serious moments, and characters you either genuinely come to care for or genuinely dislike. Its unique tone and skillful writing meant it felt like a fresh take on a well-worn, usually formulaic genre, and its success ensured its sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, is one of 2022’s most anticipated films.
‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ (2013)
The Wolf of Wall Street is far from Martin Scorsese’s first crime movie. The director is one of the best when it comes to films about gangsters and the mafia, yet while a film like Goodfellas contains a fair amount of comedy, The Wolf of Wall Street is probably Scorsese’s first crime film that emphasizes the humor as much as its crime-related storyline.
The film depicts the Wall Street exploits of Jordan Belfort in a way that’s often funny, yet in an extremely dark way. There is fun to be hard with seeing how Belfort became so wealthy through such immoral tactics, but the film also doesn’t shy away from the damage caused, and is unafraid to lay bare the intrinsic corruption that allowed so much havoc and deception to occur.
‘Logan Lucky’ (2017)
Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky never seemed to find an audience the same way his Ocean’s Eleven movies did, which is a real shame. Logan Lucky is also a heist movie, and arguably has more charisma (and plenty more humor) than any of the Ocean’s movies he did (which, admittedly, still hold up as solid, easy-to-watch crime-thrillers).
In injecting humor into the story, thanks to the deadpan nature of Adam Driver’s character, or the gleefully over-the-top character played by Daniel Craig, Logan Lucky becomes far more than “just” a heist movie that’s set in the U.S south. It stands as one of the most underrated crime-comedies of the 2010s, and is a must-watch for fans of heist movies.
‘Clue’ (1985)
Clue is without a doubt one of the definitive examples of a comedic crime/mystery film. It loosely adapts the board game of the same name, taking the characters from the game and placing them in a strange house where they find the host is dead, forcing they have to figure out who among them might be the murderer.
It’s revered as a cult classic today, but reception to it at the time of its release wasn’t nearly as positive. Perhaps critics wanted something a little more substantial or just a tad more serious, as it’s an exceptionally silly movie, being more of a comedy than a true mystery film. Still, the wacky characters are all entertaining to watch, and the fact it has three different endings (one of which was randomly picked at each screening, when it was in theaters) is a fun gimmick.
‘The Ladykillers’ (1955)
The Ladykillers is a classic British film with a simple but incredibly engaging premise. The main characters are a group of bank robbers who rent a room from an old lady to plan their next heist, but are all so incompetent that they end up being accidentally thwarted by their landlord, all whilst continuing to bump each other off.
There’s a great deal of fun to be had in watching criminals who think they’re smart essentially be their own undoing, and much of the humor still resonates, despite the film’s age. It’s also worth watching to see Alec Guinness in one of his best-known roles outside of playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, as well as a young Peter Sellers a few years before the first Pink Panther film made him a star.
‘Hot Fuzz’ (2007)
The second film in Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy, Hot Fuzz follows Nicholas Angel, a hyper-competent London cop who’s reassigned to work in a small, seemingly quaint village. Horrendously bored at first, Angel soon realizes something about the town is off, and sets out to uncover a strange, unsettling conspiracy hidden beneath the village’s cheery exterior.
Wright uses Hot Fuzz to simultaneously homage and parody crime/action movies, and puts his own unique spin on the buddy comedy genre in the process. It’s an extremely funny film, but the mystery at its center is also surprisingly engaging, meaning Hot Fuzz can be enjoyed as a solid police procedural that also happens to be a great comedy.
‘Murder by Death’ (1976)
In a way, Murder by Death almost (sort of) adapted the Clue board game to the big screen almost a decade before Clue (1985) did. The premise is certainly similar: Murder by Death finds a group of detectives summoned to an isolated house, wherein they have to solve a murder, and look out for a possible murderer among them.
For anyone who finds Clue a little too over-the-top, Murder by Death may be a good alternative. It’s a little more subtle, but overall still outwardly comedic. There may be a good deal of mystery in its story, but the comedy is ultimately emphasized.
‘The Nice Guys’ (2016)
One of the best comedies of the 2010s (and also one of the most underrated), The Nice Guys is surely among the best buddy cop movies in recent memory. Shane Black wrote and directed it, after all, and he’s someone who made a name for himself after writing the first Lethal Weapon.
Black’s expertise shines through in The Nice Guys, as it’s possibly the funniest and most compelling film he’s written in his long, stellar career. Russel Crowe and Ryan Gosling work off each other perfectly, the action is surprisingly good, and the 1970s aesthetics are also great.
‘In Bruges’ (2008)
As long as you’re ready for things to get surprisingly grim by the final act, In Bruges stands as an excellent crime-comedy. It involves two hitmen who find themselves in Bruges, a small, idyllic town in Belgium, waiting for an update on what their next assignment will be.
It’s packed with dark comedy and hilarious banter until the truths about their next task (and their backstories) are revealed, at which point, In Bruges gets surprisingly emotional. It’s a film with a wide range of emotions, but it’s a blisteringly engaging ride for anyone who’s a fan of offbeat crime-related dramedies.
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