Sports have, and always will be, one of the most dominant parts of our modern-day culture. Whether it be America’s fascination with football or the rest of the world’s love of actual football, it’s impossible to find a person who isn’t at least somewhat entertained by sports. In the world of film, that means there’s plenty of dramatic sports movies set to give you thrills and satisfaction when you watch the underdog team finally win the big game, but most of those sports movies aren’t exactly lighthearted.
Where are the sports movies that aren’t afraid to poke fun at athleticism? Where are the movies that aren’t don’t hesitate to belittle all of the weird trappings and rules of sports? Sports comedies aren’t as common as you may think, but when they’re good, like Happy Gilmore, sports comedies have a way of standing the test of time and becoming essential viewing for any fan of the sport. If you’re going to watch any sports comedies, here are the ten best ones to watch.
10. Speed Racer (2008)
The definition of “sports comedy” may be stretched a little bit here, but Speed Racer fits the definition for both a sports movie and a comedy, and therefore deserves mentioning. The Wachowskis are nothing if not ambitious and attempting to turn a classic anime racing series into a live-action family-friendly sports comedy was always going to be a bit messy, but Speed Racer manages to hit more than it misses.
The film feels like a cartoon brought to life. It blends together the thrills of high-speed racing with the excitement of a Saturday morning cartoon, and that’s before we talk about the special effects still standing strong since its release in 2008. It’s an unconventional sports comedy to be sure, but if you want to see thrilling races and chuckle at some inoffensive and endearing comedy, give Speed Racer a shot.
9. Space Jam (1996)
For many children of the '90s, Space Jam was impossible to escape. Michael Jordan was the biggest name in sports at the time and having a movie where he starred alongside the Looney Tunes instantly made it a must-watch for children. Looking back, Space Jam holds up surprisingly well, with a lot of the comedy still getting a good laugh, and the cartoonish antics of Bugs Bunny and his friends as they go up against the titanic Monstars remain engaging, especially when you consider that the film integrates live-action actors with 2D cartoons.
The film also assembles a great cast of voice talent and comedians to help play the animated characters, including Billy West, Danny DeVito, and Dee Bradley Baker. Space Jam is a movie that could have only existed in the '90s, but even decades later, it holds up as a great sports comedy for kids.
8. Cool Runnings (1993)
You would think that a movie about a Jamaican bobsled team would be a completely fictional parody of the sport, but Cool Runnings is actually based on the real-life Jamaican bobsled team that made it to the Olympics in 1988. While it isn’t as in-your-face as other sports comedies, there’s a charm that pervades throughout the entire film as we watch this ragtag group of bobsledders try to compete on the world stage.
In a lot of ways, it’s a very typical sports film, but it is given some decent comedy chops thanks to John Candy, who serves as the mentor figure for the bobsled team as they train for the Olympics. It’s a wholesome movie and a great watch for the whole family.
7. BASEketball (1998)
Nowadays, you can trust that anything written by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, will probably be good. But back in 1998, despite starring Stone and Parker, they didn’t actually write BASEketball, which was the brainchild of David Zucker, the same man who made the comedy classics Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Because of that, BASEketball channels a lot of that wild, satirical humor, which is pretty obvious given that the film tries to mesh baseball and basketball together into one confusing sport.
Stone and Parker’s performance helps ease over some of the cracks, if only because of how much they commit to the bit, resulting in a vulgar comedy that isn’t afraid to be excessive in the best way possible.
6. Major League (1989)
In a lot of ways, Major League functions like a standard sports underdog story, following the Cleveland Indians as they try to stop their team from relocating to Miami despite the owner intentionally assembling one of the worst teams of all time. It’s a great ensemble movie, but the stand-out performance belongs to Charlie Sheen, who would go on to star in plenty of comedies in the ‘90s thanks to his role as Ricky here.
Major League never takes itself too seriously but still has all the feel-good excitement you would expect from a baseball movie and a sports movie in general, just with a touch of silly jokes.
5. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Some comedians are born to play clueless idiots, and no one does it better than Will Ferrell. While many may say that his best character is Buddy the Elf from Elf, others would argue Ricky Bobby is better. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby has Ferrell at his best playing Ricky Bobby, an egotistical moron whose rise and fall from grace is the stuff of legends.
At points, the film almost feels like a mockumentary, thanks to bizarre characters like Sacha Baron Cohen’s Jean Girard and Ricky’s even stupider, but well-meaning friend, Cal Naughton Jr., played by John C. Reilly. Like the best sports comedies, Talladega Nights balances a love of the sport it's parodying with a respect for it, leaving viewers with a movie about NASCAR that feels unhinged and removed from reality but also authentic and faithful to the sport.
4. Happy Gilmore (1996)
A cult classic by every definition of the word, Happy Gilmore was the movie that helped a young Adam Sandler cement himself as a Hollywood comedy icon. It’s a very different golf movie than Caddyshack, with Sandler playing Happy Gilmore like an aggressive hockey player who's prone to violence. Still, it carries a lot of the same DNA as Caddyshack, with Sandler using his rage-fueled exploits to help shake up the stoic and snobby world of golf featured in the film.
There’s a lot more punching, throwing people out windows, choking, cursing, and alligators. This is the kind of comedy that fans of slapstick and crude humor will love, thanks to Sandler and his excellent supporting cast.
3. The Sandlot (1993)
It honestly shouldn’t be all that surprising to hear that The Sandlot is a generation-spanning classic, but out of every sports movie on this list, there’s a good chance that this is the one your kids have probably watched at least once. The film is cute in the same way that a lot of childhood comedies are cute, with the kids featured in it all getting into random hijinks, most of which surround baseball or are baseball adjacent.
More so than other sports comedies, you can tell there’s a real palpable love for baseball in The Sandlot. While other sports comedies are okay with lambasting the rules and regulations of their sports, everyone involved in The Sandlot clearly loves the sport, and the ending showing of all the sports memorabilia proves that this is a movie not only for those feeling nostalgic for a bygone era of baseball, but also for the simpler days of childhood where a dog in a neighbor’s yard is the scariest thing in the world.
2. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
A staple of Comedy Central in the mid-2000s, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, is the kind of stupid comedy that you can’t help but get invested in. Watching the Average Joes compete against the Globo Gym Purple Cobras is hilarious, if only because of how much Ben Stiller commits to being the over-the-top and borderline insane White Goodman. His expressions sell every scene that he’s in, but seeing everyone slowly give in to the film’s insanity is just as funny.
Only in Dodgeball can one of the best character arcs revolve around a person realizing that he isn’t a pirate. Does it make a lot of sense? No, but when people are being hit hard with dodgeballs, you don’t need it to make sense. Just remember, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.”
1. Caddyshack (1980)
Caddyshack is the kind of comedy that’s rare because it is just as funny the second time around. The film assembles a who’s who of some of the best comedians of its time, ranging from relatively fresh talent like Chevy Chase and Billy Murray to stand-up legends like Rodney Dangerfield. It lampoons golf in all the right ways, putting in some physical comedy, plenty of sardonic wit, and one of the greatest running gags of all time involving Bill Murray’s increasingly maniacal mission to kill a gopher.
The best thing about Caddyshack is, for the most part, it plays everything perfectly straight, letting the cast’s jokes land all the harder. Many consider Caddyshack to be the best sports comedy of all time, and it’s hard to argue against them, marking a great directorial debut for the legendary Harold Ramis.
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