Blades of Glory (2007)Will Ferrell
Jon Heder
Will Arnett
Amy Poehler
Hear us out on this one. True, Will Ferrell isn’t everyone’s cup of tea… but god if this isn’t the best sports comedy about male pair figure skating ever. Oh… wait… it’s the only one about same sex figure skating? Hilarious turns by rival skaters Ferrell as flashy ice rockstar Chaz Michael Michaels and Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder as fussy skater Jimmy MacElroy. Real-life comedy couple Amy Poehler and Will Arnett round out the cast, making Blades of Glory one of the funniest flicks on ice.
Wildcats (1986)Goldie Hawn
Wesley Snipes
Woody Harrelson
Swoosie Kurtz
Nipsey Russell
“It’s the sport of kings, better than Diamond Rings. That’s why we’re here to sing, football.” C’mon… Wildcats gives us Goldie Hawn as the unlikely coach of a rough inner-city high school football team and Nipsey Russell as the school principal. Comedy gold? Or just a warm place in our hearts for this cheesy 80s comedy? Maybe a little of both, but you can’t dispute that the cheerleader’s cheer (“U-G-L-Y, you ain’t got no alibi, you ugly…”) goes down as one of the greatest cheers in sports comedy history.
. Hot Rod (2007)Andy Samberg
Isla Fisher
Jorma Taccone
Bill Hader
Danny McBride
Sissy Spacek
Ian McShane
Okay, this may be stretching the definition of “sports,” but we’ve gotta loosen the rules a bit for Hot Rod’s motorbike stunt man. Hot Rod brings the funny with star Andy Samberg and his crew of nitwits, played by Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader and Danny McBride. Samberg’s Rod Kimble trains for the big jump to save his ailing stepfather, played by Ian McShane, hoping to raise the money to get him back in good health so he can beat him up. This one wins us over for (among other things) Rod’s “punch dancing” shout out to Kevin Bacon’s angry dance in Footloose:
12. A League of Their Own (1992)
Geena Davis
Tom Hanks
Madonna
Lori Petty
Rosie O’Donnell
Sure, A League of Their Own is peppered with plenty of serious moments too, but the story of the first women’s baseball professional league boasts a cast of entertaining characters too. From Tom Hanks as drunky manager Jimmy Dugan, to Rosie O’Donnell’s tough Doris Murphy and Geena Davis as star player Dottie Hinson, there’s plenty to laugh at too. Hanks’ yelling at one of the players that “There’s no crying in baseball” as well as this “you’re gonna lose” moment is laugh-out-loud funny:
The Longest Yard (1974)Burt Reynolds
Eddie Albert
Ed Lauter
OK, Burt Reynolds is a total dick at the beginning of The Longest Yard – beating his girlfriend, stealing her car, a car chase… and yep, then he’s in the slammer. But somehow we end up rooting for the guy as he leads his fellow inmates in a football battle of prisoners versus prison guards. There’s definitely some love for the remake, but the original is still the best. A football movie classic.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)Will Ferrell
John C. Reilly
Sacha Baron Cohen
Michael Clarke Duncan
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby provides too many hilarious moments to count. Will Ferrell’s NASCAR driving airhead, Ricky Bobby (seriously… his kids are named Walker and Texas Ranger), his sparring with rival French driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his best buddy in equally dimwitted John C. Reilly’s Cal Naughton Jr. make this one of the best of the bunch.
Tin Cup (1996)Kevin Costner
Rene Russo
Don Johnson
Cheech Marin
Kevin Costner as a washed up pro golfer trying to rise from the depths to qualify for the U.S. Open? Check. Brilliant dialog? Check. Sexy foil in Renee Russo? Oh yeah. Costner’s Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy is an arrogant prick, while rival Don Johnson and sidekick caddy Cheech Marin offer up plenty of comedy moments.
Bull Durham (1988)Kevin Costner
Susan Sarandon
Tim Robbins
Robert Wuhl
Bull Durham makes the list because it’s not just straight up baseball funny… baseball is also a great backdrop for the well-written relationships. Susan Sarandon plays the old (mature?) minor league baseball groupie hot for clueless pitcher Calvin ‘Nuke’ LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) but ultimately smitten by veteran ball player Kevin Costner’s Crash Davis. A great mix of baseball, clever and funny dialog and sexual tension makes Bull Durham a certified sports comedy hit.
Kingpin (1996)Woody Harrelson
Randy Quaid
Vanessa Angel
Bill Murray
Bowling is an inherently funny sport (think about bowling in the Cohen Brothers great, The Big Lebowski, and try not to giggle). Here, we get a whole comedy dedicated to the sport, courtesy of the Farrelly brothers, with characters of the absurd in Woody Harrelson’s has-been Roy Munson (he’s got a hook for a hand after a tragic ball-return incident), and Amish dude Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid), who Munson takes under his wing in an attempt to win $1 million tournament in Reno.
The Bad News Bears (1976)Walter Matthau
Tatum O’Neal
Chris Barnes
Jackie Earle Haley
The Bad News Bears set the stage for a hundred other kiddie sports flicks that followed – the ragtag team of little league baseball kids and the degenerate drunken coach team up to beat the odds and prove that they’re not as hopeless as they initially seem. (Well, the team does get a little boost from a couple of ringers, so that doesn’t hurt). Kids say the darndest, most foul things in this film… and a better match can’t be found with grumpy ole Walter Matthau.
Vince Vaughn
Christine Taylor
Ben Stiller
Rip Torn
Justin Long
There just aren’t enough movies about the underappreciated sport of dodgeball, are there? Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story has assembled perhaps one of the most pathetic group of underdogs, including down-on-his-luck gym owner Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn). Bonus points for their gritty and unorthodox coach played to perfection by Rip Torn, who trains them by, among other tactics, throwing wrenches at them (”If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.”). And of course, we get rival Globo Gym owner White Goodman, played by Ben Stiller, who thinks he’s the coolest guy in the room, but in fact is a complete moron.
Major League (1989)Tom Berenger
Charlie Sheen
Wesley Snipes
Bob Uecker
Major League is definitely one of the funniest movies about our national pastime. With a gamut of misfit ball players that includes Tom Berenger’s aging veteran Jake Taylor, young hot shot Charlie Sheen’s Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn, egotistical Willie Mays Hayes (Wesley Snipes) and Bob Eucker as the announcer, you’ve got comedy gold in this laugh-a-minute 80s movie.
Slap Shot (1977)Paul Newman
Strother Martin
Michael Ontkean
Slap Shot also makes our list of best 70s comedies, and with good reason… this shit is funny. Paul Newman is the king of this hockey satire, but it’s hard to top those Hanson brothers and the raunchy locker room humor. Kick ass, violent and crass, Slap Shot is firmly in the top 3 of funniest sports comedies.
Happy Gilmore (1996)Adam Sandler
Carl Weathers
Julie Bowen
Allen Covert
Christopher McDonald
Adam Sandler comedies can be hits or misses, but we think Happy Gilmore has a solid place on the hits list. A rowdy hockey player who turns to golf to raise money to buy his grandma’s house, Happy Gilmore is just the kind of character we think the stuffy golf circuit could use. With a memorable fist fight with Price is Right host Bob Barker (Happy: “The price is WRONG, bitch!”), and gems like “You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?” (video below)… everything about Happy Gilmore is right.
Caddyshack (1980)Chevy Chase
Rodney Dangerfield
Ted Knight
Michael O’Keefe
Bill Murray
There can be no other movie at the top of a greatest sports comedies list than Caddyshack. With perfect casting and jokes that hit all the right notes, Caddyshack is an institution among funny sports flicks. Caddyshack is probably the most quote worthy film in the bunch – whether your favorite character is Chevy Chase’s Ty Webb, Rodney Dangerfield as Al Czervik, Ted Knight’s Judge Smails, Michael O’Keefe as Danny or Bill Murray in one of his most memorable film roles as groundskeeper Carl… there’s something for everyone. Seriously, a more perfect sports comedy doesn’t exist.
It’s in the hole! A clip of Bill Murray’s “Cinderella Story:
