18 Underrated Movies Of Classic Comedians

Back to School stars Rodney Dangerfield as wealthy businessman Thornton Melon. He's rich, obnoxious, and always ready for a good time. When his son Jason (Keith Gordon) threatens to drop out of college, Thornton enrolls in the same school to set a positive example. The hard-partying dad quickly becomes a college sensation, winning over the student body, infuriating the professors, and repeatedly upstaging his kid. He even becomes a star of the school diving team.

The movie is quintessentially ‘80s, but it holds up exceptionally well because of how effectively it nails its particular aesthetic. Back to School has Sam Kinison as a venomous prof, a cameo from Kurt Vonnegut, and a frat party with Oingo Boingo as the house band. At the center of it all is Dangerfield, tossing out hilarious wisecracks left and right. The fun he’s obviously having is infectious. 

Steve Martin tossed aside the “wild and crazy guy” image he was known for in the ‘70s and ’80s for Roxanne. The movie is a comic take on Cyrano de Bergerac, with the comedian playing C.D. Bales, a small-town fire chief with an unusually long nose. He falls in love with Roxanne Kowalski (Daryl Hannah), but she puts him in the friend zone. Instead, Roxanne finds herself attracted to fireman Chris McConnell (Rick Rossovich), a guy with a normal-sized nose but little intelligence. C.D. reluctantly agrees to help Chris, giving him the words to court the woman they both love.

Despite a reputation for wacky comedy, Martin has always had an intellectual side. That comes out in Roxanne. It's got all the laughs you would expect from one of the actor's movies, yet they're in service of a sweet, thoughtful, emotionally astute story. The film also has an all-timer of a scene in which C.D. humiliates a bully by insulting his own nose far more brutally than the bully can. 

Before Caddyshack, Stripes, and Ghostbusters, there was Meatballs. This 1979 comedy marked Bill Murray's debut as a lead actor. He's Tripper Harrison, a wisecracking counselor at Camp North Star. During one wild summer, he romances another counselor, pulls pranks on the camp director, and helps a shy kid named Rudy Gerner (Chris Makepeace) come out of his shell.

Director Ivan Reitman was smart enough to let Murray do his thing. Unsurprisingly, the comedian ad-libs and riffs like his life depends on it. The result is magic, especially during a climactic scene in which Tripper gives a motivational speech - which Murray improvised - to the assembled campers. The phrase “It just doesn't matter!” will become lodged in your head afterward. Meatballs is one of the best summer camp comedies ever made because it has a little heart to temper its outrageousness. 

In terms of movies, Richard Pryor is best known for his stand-up comedy films and his collaborations with Gene Wilder, like Silver Streak and Stir Crazy. His 1981 comedy Bustin' Loose is much less familiar to general audiences. He plays Joe Braxton, an ex-convict asked to drive a busload of special needs children cross-country. Along the way, he falls for their teacher, Vivian (Cicely Tyson). 

The idea of putting foul-mouthed, wisecracking Pryor on a bus with special needs kids admittedly sounds politically incorrect these days. Bustin' Loose has a sweet undercurrent, though. The star gets laughs with his patented style of off-color comedy, but he also shows how Joe develops fondness for the kids. The story is on the predictable side, but Pryor is so funny that it's easy to overlook that and simply enjoy the ride. 

John Candy had a chance to be a romantic leading man in 1991's Only the Lonely. He nailed it. The actor plays Danny Muldoon, a Chicago cop who lives with his controlling mother Rose (Maureen O'Hara). That becomes problematic when he starts dating funeral home worker Theresa Luna (Ally Sheedy). Danny wants to get married and have kids. Rose doesn't want to be abandoned by him. The movie explores the funny way this dilemma plays out.

Only the Lonely is a delightful rom-com. It's also much better written than many of them. Candy proves himself a winning romantic lead, showing vulnerability and decency while still getting plenty of laughs. He and Sheedy make a couple you root for. The film additionally benefits from the unrestrained performance of screen veteran O'Hara as the endlessly demanding mom. 

Only one person could credibly play Joe Friday in a movie remake of the TV series Dragnet, and that person is Dan Aykroyd. He has the ability to do the same kind of rapid-fire dialogue that Jack Webb made famous on the show, albeit in a comedic way. The film finds Friday and partner Pep Streebek (Tom Hanks) investigating a series of thefts. The trail leads to a mysterious pagan cult looking to sacrifice a virgin. 

Much of the humor in Dragnet comes from the way Aykroyd spoofs Friday's dead-serious personality and strict adherence to the police code. Hanks provides a goofier edge to balance that out. Paring these two legends together leads to serious fun. As an added bonus, the actors collaborate on a rap song called “City of Crime” that plays over the end credits.