---
question: "A comedy that is actually funny"
kind: "guide"
canonical: "https://film.one/guides/a-comedy-that-is-actually-funny"
answered: "2026-09-21T09:58:18.446666+00:00"
checked: "2026-09-21T09:58:18.446666+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# A comedy that is actually funny

*The Office* is the comedy that actually lands its jokes while watching the effort of being liked become unbearable for everyone nearby.

Ricky Gervais plays David Brent with a self-satisfaction that the mockumentary format refuses to protect, and the ensemble registers the cost through glances that make the viewer complicit. We laughed at Brent and then felt mean about it. [^1]

The Naked Gun works because it trusts Leslie Nielsen to keep believing in a job he cannot do, even as the nonsense around him grows broad. The film supplies enough opportunities for that conviction to pay off without demanding the jokes improve anyone’s manners. [^2]

Clerks finds its humour in conversations that carry more energy than the working day can absorb, and Kevin Smith lets the clerks treat pop-culture arguments with the urgency of real problems. The sketches sometimes run long, yet the irritation of serving customers keeps the talk grounded. [^3]

There’s Something About Mary depends on performers who know how to make an offensive idea funny rather than on the subject alone, so the cast earns the evening when good manners are off the table. [^4]

After these, avoid broad family comedies whose small supply of jokes becomes familiar too quickly.

## The picks

1. [*The Office*](https://film.one/tv/the-office.md) (2001) — Fi1m 89: effort of being liked turns unpleasant · streaming on BritBox, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, The Roku Channel in the US
2. [*The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!*](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad.md) (1988) — Fi1m 88: man persists at a job he cannot do · streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Paramount+, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel in the US
3. [*Clerks*](https://film.one/film/clerks.md) (1994) — Fi1m 82: idle talk treated with real urgency
4. [*There's Something About Mary*](https://film.one/film/theres-something-about-mary.md) (1998) — Fi1m 78: performers make offence work

[^1]: [*The Office*](https://film.one/tv/the-office.md) (2001), Fi1m 89: The Office (2001). *The Office* is an excellent comedy about the effort of being liked, and how unpleasant that effort can become for everyone nearby. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant give David Brent an audience he can neither win over nor leave alone. Their mockumentary lets 
[^2]: [*The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!*](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad.md) (1988), Fi1m 88: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988). As a police comedy, it understands how much humour there is in a man carrying on with a job he plainly cannot do. Zucker trusts the actors to preserve that belief even when the surrounding nonsense grows broad. We would happi
[^3]: [*Clerks*](https://film.one/film/clerks.md) (1994), Fi1m 82: Clerks (1994). Kevin Smith’s *Clerks* is a funny, observant comedy, though some of its sketches could do with finishing sooner. He writes and directs a day in the lives of convenience-store clerks, and finds enough irritation there to keep a film going for 92 minutes. Work suppli
[^4]: [*There's Something About Mary*](https://film.one/film/theres-something-about-mary.md) (1998), Fi1m 78: There's Something About Mary (1998). The Farrellys understand something that matters in gross-out comedy: an offensive idea still needs a performer who knows how to make it funny. Their strongest jokes depend on these particular people behaving badly, rather than on the forbidden

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---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/guides/a-comedy-that-is-actually-funny