‘The Change-Up’ and More R-Rated Comedies We Love That Everyone Else Hates

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while a comedy will come along that you think is the funniest darn thing since Monty Python met King Arthur … and everyone else thinks your crazy. Now that ‘The Change-Up’ has finally hit theaters and the general consensus has been tallied together by the fine folks over at Rotten Tomatoes, it looks we’ve landed in the proud minority of people who think it was hilarious. And that’s okay, everyone’s entitled to their opinions and sometimes that’s just how it goes. But by the same token, this isn’t the first time we’ve found ourselves raising an eyebrow at what the masses consider “unfunny.”

So we decided to do some research and check out what the Tomatometer had to say about some of our favorite comedies. For the most part, they were dead on, but here’s to hoping that we find ourselves vindicated when ‘The Change-Up’ some day finds itself joining the ranks of these other wildly under-appreciated, R-rated comedy gems.

Tomatometer score: 47%

What the others say: “A film that poses a philosophical question fundamental to our inquiry here, namely: ‘Why does this exist?'” – A.O. Scott, The New York Times

What we say: Yes, it’s as stupid as they come and it’s totally ridiculous to boot, but when we saw this in theaters, we almost lost our lunch from laughing so hard. From MacGruber’s romantic run-in at a cemetery to his psychotic obsession with license plate numbers, we still think this is the funniest SNL movie since ‘Wayne’s World’ in ’93.

Tomatometer score: 54%

What the others say: “A movie of unrelenting idiocy featuring boorish behaviour, unrealistic character development and ludicrous plotting.” – Bruce Demara, Toronto Star

What we say: The first half-hour of this movie almost made us wet our pants from laughing so hard. After that, it’s not exactly the most consistent comedy we’ve ever seen, but who are we kidding? All we really need is three words to sum up why we think ‘Step Brothers’ is hilarious: Catalina Wine Mixer.

Tomatometer score: 29%

What the others say: “Half-Baked wants to be a classic moronic movie, but it’s just too stupid to achieve that goal.” – David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

What we say: Yes, it is stupid, but if Dave Chappelle is involved in any way shape or form, then we’re right there laughing along. While it’s no ‘Up in Smoke’ as far as stoner comedies are concerned, it’s still up there alright and it’s great every time.

Tomatometer score: 17%

What the others say: “A movie that makes even Don Rickles unfunny.” – Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com

What we say: A bit on the offensive side, a lot on the juvenile side, but this was a minor comedic revelation when we first discovered it back in ’99 and we still don’t really get all the hate. Folks, Norm MacDonald is one of the funniest people alive, Artie Lange is awesome too, and even though this didn’t exactly do much to boost their careers in any way, shape or form, we still think they made themselves one hell of a comedy.

Tomatometer score: 35%

What they say: “The movie is about as humorous as watching your favorite pet get buried alive.” – Jason Clark, Matinee Magazine

What we say: Granted, it took us a couple viewings to truly get how funny this movie is, but now that we’re on the level, we think ‘Super Troopers’ is a riot. Much like their alcoholic follow-up, ‘Beerfest,’ (which also has a criminally low Tomatometer score of 39%) the Broken Lizard crew doesn’t have the most accessible sense of humor out there, or the most family-friendly, but we’ve watched both of these movies more times than we can count. No idea why Kevin Heffernan isn’t a household name yet.

Tomatometer score: 46%

What they say: “Inane and tasteless comedy of obesity and incompetence.” – Film4

What we say: Alright, it’s not rated R, but if there’s any underrated comedy on Rotten Tomatoes that we could get away with calling a “classic,” it’s ‘Tommy Boy.’ Whenever he hear someone say that Chris Farley was only funny because of his weight, it’s amazing how quickly their tunes tend to change after watching this movie. So quotable, so funny, and we will always stand by Farley.

Tomatometer score: 46%

What they say: “As one character tells Billy in the finale: ‘Everyone in this room is dumber for having listened to you.'” – Rita Kempley, Washington Post

What we say: Also PG-13, but had to throw it in there. It’s outrageously immature, it’s overloaded with scenes of Adam Sandler talking gibberish, but it also may very well be the funniest movie Sandler’s ever made next to ‘Happy Gilmore’ (which has a Tomatometer score of a measly 59%). No matter how old we get, we will always have a soft spot for ‘Billy Madison,’ and at the very least, it’s a bittersweet reminder of how funny he used to be.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures.

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