The Grand Budapest Hotel & 9 Other Comedies About Oddballs

If you love movies that embrace humanity’s wonderfully weird side, like Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel or Rushmore, check out these recs.

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There are many different ways to approach humor in a comedy movie. Sometimes, the humor arises from the situations the characters find themselves in. Some movies just cram jokes into every line of dialogue. Some movies use their actual storytelling to create laughs, with ironic plot turns and dovetailing storylines. Character is essential to comedy. Unusual people are inherently comedic, so naturally, filmmakers have gotten a lot of mileage out of exploring humanity’s weird side on the big screen.

Wes Anderson has brought some of cinema’s most celebrated oddballs to the screen. M. Gustave, the foul-mouthed concierge played by Ralph Fiennes in the director’s 2014 masterwork The Grand Budapest Hotel, is a prime example.

10 The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

The plot of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel is framed by an aging former lobby boy recounting the life of his mentor M. Gustave to a famous writer in the now-dilapidated titular establishment. Ralph Fiennes’ portrayal of Gustave is one of the funniest performances ever captured on film — and he brought plenty of pathos to the role, too.

With different aspect ratios representing different eras in the story’s timeline, The Grand Budapest Hotel is Anderson’s most visually ambitious work to date.

9 Hot Rod (2007)

The Lonely Island first brought their uniquely absurdist brand of comedy to the big screen in Hot Rod, a movie that initially bombed with critics and audiences, but has since been venerated as a cult classic.

Andy Samberg stars as Rod, a wannabe Evel Knievel stuntman who raises money for his stepdad’s life-saving surgery so he can beat him up.

8 Beetlejuice (1988)

Tim Burton’s horror-comedy gem Beetlejuice revolves around Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin as a couple who die long before their time. When their dream house is sold to new owners, they hire a freelance poltergeist named Betelgeuse to scare them out of there.

Michael Keaton’s delightfully eccentric performance in the role of Betelgeuse is one of his all-time greatest, alongside Batman and Birdman.

7 Step Brothers (2008)

The joke at the heart of Adam McKay’s Step Brothers is simple but effective. It’s about a man and woman who fall in love and get married, and their sons from previous marriages struggle to live together. The twist is that their sons are approaching 40.

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s hysterical on-screen chemistry goes a long way toward making Step Brothers a modern comedy classic.

6 Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)

Although Charlie Bucket is the primary focus of Roald Dahl’s source novel, Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka stole the spotlight (and the title) from Charlie with his wonderfully zany portrayal of the chocolate magnate in the surreal 1971 classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

From “(I’ve Got a) Golden Ticket” to “Pure Imagination,” this movie has plenty of unforgettable musical numbers — not to mention the mind-boggling production design in the eponymous factory.

5 The Big Lebowski (1998)

Jeff Bridges’ iconic lead character in the Coens’ stoner noir classic The Big Lebowski spends his days bowling with his buddies, smoking pot, and drinking White Russians. Due to a case of mistaken identity, he’s uprooted from his tranquil existence and swept up in a Chandleresque mystery plot involving a kidnapping and a briefcase full of ransom money.

He’s surrounded by a gun-toting hothead who fought in Vietnam, an abstract artist who paints naked while strapped into a harness, a trio of violent nihilists, and a hairnet-wearing creep named Jesus. This movie has its fair share of oddballs.

4 Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Jon Heder’s title character in Napoleon Dynamite is quite possibly the quirkiest movie protagonist ever. He’s obsessed with ligers, he constantly clashes with his family’s pet llama, and he’s obnoxious to everyone he meets with little provocation — his characterization is pretty out there.

Above all, Napoleon is always unapologetically himself. He may not be 100% likable, but audiences across the world love him because he doesn’t try to mask his unique personality.

3 The King Of Comedy (1982)

One of Martin Scorsese’s most underrated movies, The King of Comedy stars Robert De Niro as Rupert Pupkin, an aspiring standup comedian whose delusions reach dangerous new heights after a chance encounter with late-night host Jerry Langford, played by the great Jerry Lewis.

Rife with pitch-black humor, The King of Comedy is a sharp critique of the emptiness of fame —something both Scorsese and De Niro were feeling after 1980’s Raging Bull had catapulted them to new levels of stardom.

2 The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The mother of all cult classics, The Rocky Horror Picture Show incorporates influences from all kinds of schlocky B-movies, from the black-and-white classics of the ‘30s to the gonzo Roger Corman productions of the ‘60s.

Tim Curry’s career-defining performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter brought the character to life as one of the most memorable icons in movie history.

1 Rushmore (1998)

The Grand Budapest Hotel isn’t Wes Anderson’s only movie about oddballs. All of his movies have oddball characters, from oceanographer Steve Zissou to Khaki Scout Sam Shakusky.

The director’s second feature-length effort, coming-of-age comedy Rushmore, stars Jason Schwartzman as Max Fischer, a 15-year-old student at a prestigious private school who befriends a wealthy industrialist, falls in love with a widowed first-grade teacher, and stages elaborate plays instead of studying.

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