The 15 Best Comedy Sequels Ever Made, Ranked

It used to be an accepted altruism that all sequels stank, with only the rarest exceptions. We’re past that now, thanks in no small part to an entertainment industry that doubled-down on franchises and put all their time, effort, money and creativity into exploiting the same characters over and over again. After the last few decades there had damn well better be a lot more great movie sequels, because if not, what was the point?

But while a lot of people could name a bunch of classic action movie sequels, or classic horror sequels, there aren’t as many classic comedy sequels. Maybe that’s because comedy comes from revealing unexpected truths, and after the big reveal there’s not much left for the filmmakers to do. Or maybe it’s because most comedies are feel good stories and with stories that conclude happily and definitively. It’s hard to make another one without undoing the first.

And yet, some filmmakers have successfully cracked the code. These are The 15 Best Comedy Sequels Ever Made, and if you can think of any that we left off the list, well, that just proves that comedy sequels don’t inherently suck.

15. ‘A Very Brady Sequel’ (1996)

“The Brady Bunch Movie” is one of the best high-concept comedies ever made, not content to merely make a “Brady Bunch” movie in the 1990s, but dragging the dated, cartoonishly wholesome blended family decades into the future, completely unchanged. The rest of the world moved on and now stares at the Bradys like they’re a weird Andy Kaufman comedy act that never ends.

The sequel, aptly named “A Very Brady Sequel,” is very much more of the same. But the joke’s still funny, and new additions like a confusing, burning sexual desire between stepsiblings Marcia (Christine Taylor) and Greg (Christopher Daniel Barnes), are very wrong by any measure yet extra-hilarious because the wholesome Bradys have to deal with them. Tim Matheson shows up as Carol’s (Shelley Long) ex-husband, throwing the fate of the family into question, and of course it all turns out okay. Weird and hilarious, but okay. They’re still the Brady Bunch, after all.

14. ‘Wayne’s World 2’ (1993)

Wayne and Garth’s arrested adolescence was hilarious in Penelope Spheeris’ hit “Saturday Night Live” spin-off “Wayne’s World,” but the sequel finds aging metalheads Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) growing up a little bit. Garth gets a mature girlfriend, played by Kim Basinger, who wants him to murder her husband, and Wayne tries to organize his own music festival, and prove to his girlfriend — and himself — that there’s more to him than public access television.

“Wayne’s World 2” recycles some of the schtick from the original, but the funniest bits are when it goes bonkers, leading to unexpected musical numbers and — in what may be one of the funniest scenes ever filmed — recasting an actor mid-monologue, just because the movie’s not working. There’s a simple, effective story here, bolstered by good-natured silliness.

13. ‘The Muppets’ (2011)

There are lots of Muppet movies but most of them hit the reset button, and never actually follow-up on the events of the previous films. James Bobin’s “The Muppets” is an exception, and it’s one of the rare legacy sequels that works. Decades after the events of “The Muppet Movie,” the Muppets have separated and Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), an evil tycoon who’s incapable of laughter, wants to drill for oil beneath their beloved studio.

So it’s up to Muppet super fans Walter (Peter Linz), a very manly Muppet, and his brother Gary (Jason Segel), who’s a Muppet of a man, to reunite the gang and — what else? — put on a show. Naturally it takes another road trip to save the day, but what’s odd is that “The Muppets” actually explores the depth these felt little guys; not just what they mean to us, but what they mean to each other. While we’re all giggling at the chickens performing “F**k You!” we’re also getting weepy because Kermit and Miss Piggy are finally talking about their relationship baggage. Funny, sweet, and smart.

12. ‘Back to the Future Part III’ (1990)

The original “Back to the Future” was a time travel comedy-slash-deconstructed incestuous rom-com with high-tech visual effects, so the fact that it worked at all was a miracle. That it was a smash hit that spawned two excellent sequels is whatever you get when you somehow top a miracle.

“Back to the Future Part II” is a clever follow-up, sending Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) to the actual future — where LaserDiscs still reign supreme and 1980s nostalgia rules (eh, they got it half right) — and then back to the original film, as Marty helps save the day in the first movie all over again. But “Back to the Future Part III” is the better film, a complete and emotionally satisfying comedy western where Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) finally gets to take center stage with a romance of his own. Mary Steenburgen was no stranger to great time travel comedies (“Time After Time” is even better than this but it’s not a comedy sequel, so we’ll talk about it another day), and her love story with Doc is oddly real, considering how bizarre this whole series became by the third and, so far, final installment.

11. ‘Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey’ (1991)

A lot of comedy sequels do little more than rehash the original story, and some of them even get away with it, but “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey” went in a very different direction. The first film, a comedy about teen airheads who use a time machine to get an A+ in their history class, or else they’ll never start a band and fix the world with their music, was a clever “Doctor Who” riff. The sequel is a freaky supernatural sci-fi movie that breaks all the rules.

Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) get murdered by futuristic robot duplicates, get sent to Hell by their stepmom, beat the Grim Reaper at Twister and Battleship, and get God’s help to create their own robots. Say what you will, but “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey” isn’t formulaic. It’s absolutely ingenius. The leads are as daffy and charming as ever, the inventiveness is off the charts, and the finale is a clever and strangely-inspiring hoot.

10. ‘Monsters University’ (2013)

Does a prequel count as a sequel? We’ll allow it, since it follows the same characters as the original and it only exists because the first film made money. (Also? Good luck coming up with a “Best Comedy Prequels” list. The pickings are slim.) Besides, “Monsters University” is also one of the best prequels ever made.

Years before the events of “Monsters Inc.,” professional scarers Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) met in college, where they hated each other, but wound up in the same fraternity. Shenanigans ensue, and “Monsters University” is one of the best (and least problematic) college frat house comedies ever made, but by the end this impressively thoughtful film also explores what happens when your dreams don’t come true, and how to pick yourself up afterwards. Mike wants to be the scariest monster in the world, but he doesn’t have the aptitude for it, and he has to accept that his life will take another path. Heartbreaking, heartwarming stuff.

9. ’22 Jump Street’ (2014)

The long-running TV series “21 Jump Street” was a serious drama about young-looking cops who go undercover as kids, and that’s really messed up, so Phil Lord and Chris Miller reimagined the premise as a wacky comedy about two lovable losers who relive their high school embarrassments, but in reverse, so the nerd (Jonah Hill) becomes the popular kid and the jock (Channing Tatum) becomes the social outcast.

They caught the bad guys and the movie was a hit, so in “22 Jump Street” they’re literally told to do the same thing all over again, just because it worked the first time. The sequel is even funnier than the original, in part because the same gags still work, but also because there’s a thick layer of meta humor that elevates every scene. The police are having a budget crisis? So is the film, so the expensive parts of the car chase happen off-camera. And the ending, which ruins the whole franchise by speed running through every other sequel they could possibly make, is a feat of comedy genius.

8. ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ (1989)

The Griswold family went to Walley World, and then they went to Europe, but in their greatest adventure they get to stay at home. Well, maybe “greatest” is a stretch, since they’re absolutely miserable, but the funniest? Yup. That’s “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” for you.

Clark (Chevy Chase) just wants to have an old-fashioned Christmas with his family, a Reagan era American dream, but of course the Reagan era American fantasy was bulls–t and everything goes wrong. The extended family is an annoying disaster, the Christmas lights accidentally black out the whole city, and Clark’s plan to build his family a swimming pool gets ruined by his miserly boss. By the time he finally loses his cool Clark is officially every red-blooded American who didn’t get what this country promised, and his tirade is hilarious and liberating.

7. ‘Evil Dead II’ (1987)

Sam Raimi’s 1981 horror classic wasn’t a traditional comedy, per se, but the joke was on Bruce Campbell, who played a hapless boob who has to dismember his family and friends when they’re possessed by demons at a cabin in the woods. “Evil Dead 2” officially lets the audience in on the gag, briefly rehashing the original and then spending the rest of the film torturing the protagonist like one of the Three Stooges died and went to hell.

“Evil Dead II” is gory, but cartoonishly so. There are literal geysers of blood that punish the hero just for being alive. Eventually his own hand tries to murder him, leading to physical comedy gags that would have made Buster Keaton proud. “Evil Dead II” is one of the best horror movies ever made, one of the best horror comedies ever made, and Raimi’s follow-up “Army of Darkness” is almost as good (and even sillier).

6. ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch’ (1990)

Joe Dante’s original “Gremlins” was a vicious horror-comedy about an idyllic American town, right out of Frank Capra, besieged by anarchic little murder monsters. In the ambitious sequel Dante took aim at urban living, specifically a skyscraper owned by a Donald Trump stand-in, played by John Glover, as a charismatic fool who’s probably going to be president.

Until then, however, the title monsters wreak havoc in the mall, the TV studio and beyond, this time assisted by genetic modifications that turn them into gargoyles, spiders, bolts of lighting and — thanks to the brilliant vocal stylings of Tony Randall — bespectacled super geniuses who give press interviews. “Gremlins 2: The New Batch” is pure creativity, untethered by common sense, and a hilarious takedown of the corporate culture that would eventually take over the world. (If only there were gremlins in the white house…)

5. ‘Mon Oncle’ (1958)

Jacques Tati isn’t a household name in America, but he should be. The French filmmaker is a cinematic and comedy genius, whose films about Monsieur Hulot (played by Tati himself), are delightful homages to silent cinema, whose stories are told as much through their fascinating production design as their actual plotting.

His second film, “Mon Oncle,” finds M. Hulot forming a close bond with his nephew, whose parents have become obliviously bourgeois, more concerned with their fancy newfangled products — most of which don’t work, like an automatic garage door that immediately traps them inside — than the simple needs of their son. That’s what M. Hulot is for, and in this innocent and observant comedy classic, he’s a total delight.

4. ‘Addams Family Values’ (1993)

Barry Sonnenfeld’s first “Addams Family” movie assembled the perfect cast and captured the perfect comedic tone, but there was something missing, and that was a proper target. The Addams Family is a blissfully happy family of wealthy monsters who revel in pain and torture, and eschew anything even remotely resembling conservative America.

In the sequel, Fester (Christopher Lloyd) gets seduced by a murderous gold digger (Joan Cusack) who seduces him into a pastel suburban nightmare, while young Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) get shuffled off to a brainwashing summer camp where they’re forced to be… perky. (Ew.) Naturally they kill and, apparently, eat their oppressors, while skewering the condescending American fantasy of Thanksgiving. Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston are still comedic perfection, as is the rest of the cast, but “Addams Family Values” is the film that knows exactly what to do with them, and what their story actually means.

3. ‘Toy Story 3’ (2010)

There are four feature-length “Toy Story” movies (so far). The original is a classic, and the second is hilarious, but the third is one of the best animated movies ever made. The idyllic life of a childhood toy gets upended, as it must, when the child grows up, so now Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and all their friends are donated to a local daycare. To toys it’s like an old folks home, but they’re abused by the kids and the other toys, and ultimately accept the sweet embrace of death.

And yes, it’s a comedy. “Toy Story 3” takes the “story” part seriously but there’s still wonderful fun to be had the new toys, including an ingenious take on Barbie’s Ken (Michael Keaton), and the inherent absurdity of all these characters’ lives. If you’re not crying sad tears at the end of the second act, you should get your tear ducts checked. If you’re not crying tears of complex yet nostalgic joy at the very end, you should contact your cardiologist, because “Toy Story 3” has more heart than most other movies.

2. ‘Paddington 2’ (2017)

We live in a very harsh world but there are little bits of wonder wherever you look. That’s the message of “Paddington 2” but it’s the story of the film itself, a comedy sequel about a CGI bear that’s also one of the most acclaimed motion pictures ever made. Right up there with “Seven Samurai” and “Citizen Kane.” Sometimes all it takes is a good heart and a lot of marmalade.

The plot of “Paddington 2” finds the title bear (Paddington, not the number “2”) framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and filling the previously miserable prison with joy. Meanwhile, his family tries to capture the real thief, a charmingly evil actor played by Hugh Grant, who wants to use a pop-up book to find hidden treasure. It’s all so very pleasant, all so very endearing, and all so very funny. If you don’t love it you should watch out, because your friends might give you some very hard stares.

1. ‘A Shot in the Dark’ (1964)

There are a lot of great comedy sequels. Not as many as there should be, but more than most people realize. But “A Shot in the Dark” stands alone. The original “Pink Panther” was a hit-and-miss heist movie starring David Niven as a handsome burglar, with Peter Sellers in a supporting role as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. The sequel wisely concedes that Sellers should have been the star all along, and builds an entire film around his absolute confidence and shocking ineptitude.

“A Shot in the Dark” is an old-fashioned whodunnit, or at least it would be if it wasn’t incredibly obvious that the maid did it. She’s played by Elke Sommer, and Clouseau refuses to believe the mountain of evidence and keeps investigating, eventually stumbling into a solution nobody in their right mind would ever have considered and driving his boss mad in the process.

Sellers was in top form as Clouseau, and proves himself an absolute master of subtle character work, outlandish physical humor and wry dialogue. Several of the other sequels are almost as perfect as “A Shot in the Dark,” but this one is still the best of the lot, and one of the very, very best comedies ever filmed.

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