Spanish cinema is in fashion, and the Spanish comedies that we present to you below are a clear example of the quality of its products. But these films drink from the classics , from the great comedies that made us laugh and that set the guidelines for one of the most well-received genres by the Spanish public.
- You can also read: The 20 best Spanish movies of 2018.
The best Spanish comedies of the 1970s
The 1970s saw the birth of one of the most spontaneous and fresh subgenres, the Madrid comedy, while traditional humor was maintained, giving way to new touches of science fiction that raised the level of Spanish comedy.
1. The Astronaut (1970)
Two Spaniards decide from the bar, while they attend the arrival of the man on the moon, that with a little money it doesn’t have to be so difficult, and they get down to it. With this crazy argument Javier Aguirre put Tony Le Blanc and Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez in a hilarious comedy that has the spark of Antonio Ozores and Jose Luis Coll.
There is no lack of ingredients to revisit one of the classics of the humorous genrein which the two villagers create their own space base, SANA, and manage to set up a rocket to send the first Spanish astronaut to the moon from Minglanillas.
Rarely have traditional humor and science fiction gone hand in hand to offer such a fresh and extravagant product.
2. Paper Tigers (1977)
The subgenre known as “comedy from Madrid” was born with this work of incredible self-confidence whose fresh interpretation of the actors, marked by improvisation, direct sound and everyday scenes would set the guidelines for this new style.
In Paper Tigers, the master of the genre, Fernando Colomo, dissects a problem as burning as marital separation in Spanish society that woke up to modernity in full transition. Through the comic filter it portrays the relationship of a separated marriage with a teenage son with the general elections as a backdrop.
3. The national shotgun (1978)
Spanish cinema discovers for the first time, thanks to Luis Garcia Berlanga, how much fun it is to laugh at one’s own miseries. La escopeta nacional is a film that marks a milestone in the history of Spanish cinema for the discovery of a new concept , but also for the masterful mastery of shots and narration.
Although it may be somewhat old for new generations, it is worth reviewing the origins of the genre from the hand of historical actors and actresses such as Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez, Joaquin Gonzalez and Barbara Rey .
The best Spanish comedies of the 1980s
Along with more ambitious works that offered the last gasps of the best cinema by Berlanga and Colomo, the Spanish public enthusiastically received the films by Andres Pajares and Fernando Esteso in the 1980s.
4. I made Roque III (1980)
It is curious how often the films that professional critics destroy are the public’s favorites, and that is what happens with the works of Mariano Ozores. I made Roque III is a most entertaining satireof the overwhelming success that the Rocky (Stallone’s) saga was harvesting at that time, led by an unforgettable couple: Andres Pajares and Fernando Esteso.
In search of excessive sophistication, critics revile high-level comedians who make the staff laugh precisely because of their absurdity. Pajares and Esteso, at the helm of a comedy about Roque Tercero’s preparation to fight the boxing champion, remind us that the genre is above all entertainment and relaxation .
5. La Vaquilla (1985)
Alfredo Landa, Guillermo Montesinos, Santiago Ramos and Jose Sacristan star in one of the best classic comedies set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Berlanga portrays the division between reds and blues with a funny anecdote: the republicans rob the nationals of a heifer that they were going to fight.
A magnificent story sustained on a magnificent script that lets the actors shine with their best performances. It also serves to cover with the simplicity of the anecdote the depth of the character of the Spanish in one of their most tragic moments. Highly recommended.
6. Bajarse al moro (1988)
Fernando Colomo, who had already established himself by then as the great master of Spanish comedy along with Berlanga, once again created a good movie, fun and original , at the end of the eighties with Bajarse al moro .
In this case, he put all his experience in the natural and spontaneous cinema of Madrid comedy at the service of a very mundane story : a trip to Morocco to bring hashish. Long before Hollywood mixed marijuana and youth comedy, Colomo already finds in the new fashion of Spanish society a pretext with which to laugh.
In addition, we can enjoy a luxury couple like Antonio Banderas and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon , as well as Veronica Forque and Juan Echanove. Very nostalgic…
7. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
At the end of the decade, Spanish cinema would see the irruption of one of its great talents, Pedro Almodovar, who would find like no one else a space for fusion between drama and comedy . The transvestite dresser of him,feminine tragedies and existential problems exploded with more force than ever in his first great work: Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Nominated for an Oscar and with five Goya awards, this film is a true life lesson encapsulated in the apartment of a dubbing actress who has broken up with her partner and who will see her house filled with colorful characters who tell her about madness and loneliness .
Puro Almodovar, who discovers the talent of Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Rossy de Palma, Maria Barranco and Julieta Serrano, among others.
8. It dawns that it is not little (1989)
Jose Luis Cuerda, a name engraved in gold letters in Spanish cinematography, dazzled with this comedy that discovers a new emerging talent in humorous acting, that of Antonio Resines, in a most surreal story .
Upon his return to Spain, an engineer receives a sidecar from his father as a compensation gift for having murdered his father. With him they make a trip to a town where elections are held for mayor, priest, teacher and whore. Jose Luis Cuerda reminds us in this film that the Spanish genius never has limits . You will laugh without knowing why.
Best Spanish comedies of the 90s
The nineties mark a very pronounced break in Spanish comedy. The cliches of Spanish humor are abandoned to advance in more sophisticated, deeper and, in some cases, more extravagant and daring products.
9. Belle epoque (1992)
Once again, the Spanish civil war serves as the backdrop for a comedy, this time with romantic overtones, which highlights one of the best emerging talents of the moment: Fernando Trueba. Belle epoque gives fun moments and unforgettable scenes full of sensuality and naturalness .
In addition to being applauded by the public and critics, it won the Oscar for best foreign-language film.. Everyone seems to conspire to offer a clear and close product: a good story, a good script and excellent performances by an overwhelming Fernando Fernan Gomez, along with Jorge Sanz, Penelope Cruz, Maribel Verdu, Ariadna Gil and many more.
10. Why do they call it love when they mean sex
(1993)
It doesn’t get the brilliance of other comedies but it’s a typical 90’s Spanish comedy movie with really funny scenes . Here, a magnificent Veronica Forque plays an erotic actress who is left without her usual partner in shows, and has to change him for a young boy played by Jorge Sanz.
The director finds in the differences that separate the new couple an amusing vein through which to undress a story that ends up halfway between comedy and farce , but very suitable for having a good time.
11. The Day of the Beast (1995)
The undoubtedly eclectic and particular talent of Alex de la Iglesia reached its peak with the success of The Day of the Beast, which five years later was signed in La Comunidad. It is a motley but well resolved plot that combines comedy, horror and fantasy in worlds that sometimes seem dreamlike and others close.
Alex Angulo and Santiago Segura led the interpretation of this film with a satanic background in which a priest believes he has discovered the date and place of the Apocalypse according to Saint John: December 25, 1995, in Madrid. To prevent it from happening, he enlists the help of a young heavy metal fan. For many, a strange cult movie .
12. Airbag (1997)
Juanma Bajo Ulloa directs this film for which she is also a screenwriter together with Karra Elejalde and Fernando Guillen Cuervo. Airbag is so irreverent, absurd and stupid that it becomes an object of desire for lovers of surreal and crazy cinema .
The bachelor party in which a very innocent rich man loses his engagement ring is the starting point of a vertiginous adventure in which they come across gangsters and a world of drugs, corruption and delirium that results in a product only suitable for lovers. of the sordid Some scenes are never to be forgotten , and it beats the average for many serious comedies.
13. Torrente, the foolish arm of the law (1998)
In 1998 began the most profitable saga in the history of Spanish cinema that has culminated in five successful films that repeat the formula of the first installment. Torrente, the foolish arm of the law discovered the pragmatism of a neighborhood humor that presents familiar faces of Spanish artists playing the most picturesque characters.
Among them, the director himself stands out, Santiago Segura, playing Jose Luis Torrente, a dirty, vicious, fat, womanizing and cocaine addict who faces the most dangerous missions.
Perhaps his success lies in the acceptance of his excesses and in putting the miseries of the average Spaniard before the mirror.
The best current Spanish comedies
Actors like Dani Rovira, Carmen Machi and Javier Camara, and emerging directors who have found the way for a new type of humor adapted to new generations, have revitalized Spanish comedy and multiplied its success.
14. The other side of the bed (2002)
Paz Vega, Ernesto Alterio, Willy Toledo and Natalia Verbeke lead a luxury cast for a film thatHe endowed the Spanish comedy genre with intelligence and sophistication . Emilio Martinez-Lazaro, who would not take long to achieve the overwhelming success of Eight Basque surnames, found in this sexual comedy the profound meaning of comedy.
Because this plot of love affairs between four friends tries to convey, between witty jokes and funny situations, the deepest feelings of everyday couples. It also offers fresh and fun musical moments. It was the highest grossing film of the year 2002.
15. El oro de Moscu (2003)
Although critics destroyed it, the first adventure as a director of the well-known actor Jesus Bonilla ended in a hilarious comedy that at the time made the Spanish public fall in love. It’s about thetypical film of rivers and entanglements that had the wisdom to return to monsters of Spanish cinema such as Antonio Resines, Concha Velasco and Alfredo Landa their usual characters.
The weight of the film falls, however, on Jesus Bonilla and Santiago Segura , who play two “pingaos” in search of money from the Bank of Spain that was transferred to Moscow during the Spanish civil war and that now seems to have given clues of where is it located.
As a curiosity, it should be noted that Jesus Bonilla revealed that he had developed this argument from a dream .
16. Eight Basque surnames (2004)
There is a broad consensus in considering Eight Basque surnames the best Spanish comedy of recent years and one of the best in history, due to its originality and the well-resolved audacity of its script . At a time when national impulses in Spain shake its foundations, the sophisticated humor of this film reveals itself as therapeutic.
The public fell in love with the original idea of Emilio Martinez-Lazaro who dared to laugh at the Spanish regional stereotypes by putting two antagonisms at stake, one from the south and one from the north, with four brutal performances: Carmen Machi and Karra Elejalde, and Dani Rovira and Clara Lago. The sequel Eight Catalan surnames failed to repeat the success.
17. Let the Ugly Ones Die (2010)
Javier Camara and Carmen Machi alone sustain this comedy that, with its weaknesses and errors, marked the path of a new vein to be exploited: the rural costumbrista comedy adapted to the new times , the landism of the seventies in the skin of the new millennium .
At times it accommodates itself too much to the cliches of the genre, but in general it offers an original and different story that makes it fresh and entertaining , very light for an afternoon of laughter. Nacho G. Velilla directs this story in which Eliseo, ugly and lame, and Nati, separated and missing a breast, meet after twenty years in the hope of finding love.
18. Cousins (2011)
After his promising cinematographic baptism with AzulOscuroCasiNegro and Gordos,Daniel Sanchez Arevalo tried his luck for the first time in the field of comedy and the result was one of the best Spanish comedies of recent years: Cousins.
In addition to having a first-class artistic cast that includes Raul Arevalo, Quim Gutierrez, Inma Cuesta, Antonio de la Torre, Adrian Lastra and Clara Lago, the proposal is daring and ends in an eccentric madness that will not stop laughing . In this movie you will find the return of some cousins to their hometown to recover the old love of one of them.
19. Carmine or bust (2012)
The Leon family is vindicated in this film as one of the most talented and profitable of Spanish comedy. The film is directed by Paco Leon, an actor who rose to fame for his role as Luisma in the series Aida, and presents a family portrait that combines humor with irony about the stereotypes of the middle and lower classes with their daily problems.
In addition to being well received by critics and the public, Paco Leon discovers the acting talent of his mother, Carmina Barrios, and his sister, Maria Leon, and marks a precedent for Spanish cinema by being released simultaneously in theaters, in Internet and on DVD .
20. Three too many weddings (2013)
Inma Cuesta, Martino Rivas, Quim Gutierrez, Berto Romero, Rossy de Palma, Silvia Abril and Maria Botto make up a star cast for a very dynamic comedy with an entertaining, fast and constant rhythm that catches the viewer from start to finish.
With an original script and a firm direction, Javier Ruiz Caldera presents the story of a failed love, played by Inma Cuesta, who is invited to three weddings of her three ex-partners in just one month. These experiences are a challenge for her, facing her past and her luck in love. The performances and gags are the most fun .
21. Lord, give me patience (2017)
The possible slips of this film to the use of comedies that are sprouting like mushrooms in recent years is corrected by the absorbing role of Jordi Sanchez , already widely known by the humor-loving Spanish public.
Sir, give me patience has a simple but engaging plot: by express wish of his wife who has just died, a grumpy, very conservative banker has to spend a weekend with his children and their partners: a Catalan from Barca, a black Basque and gay, and a hippy. The games of contrasts are effective to seal a correct and practical film.
22. The Call (2017)
One of the most refreshing and suggestive films of recent years that mixes humor with religionin a spontaneous and natural way. This comedy-musical directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo is irreverent and full of light.
An insanely mystical experience with an original story: the experience of two teenagers who love reggaeton and electronics who see their coexistence in a summer camp altered by the appearance of God. The cast is headed by emerging actresses such as Macarena Garcia and Anna Castillo.
The best Spanish comedies to watch on Netflix
In the Netflix distributor you can find the funniest Spanish movies, among which are some of the best Spanish comedies like the ones we present below.
23. Kiki, love is made (2015)
The success of Paco Leon’s premiere with Carmina o resenta led him to make a sequel to it. Outside of that product, his second attempt in this genre was Kiki, love is made, a romantic comedy with a very careful aesthetic that you can find on Netflix.
It was well received by critics and the public, and the truth is that without too many frills it is effective and well executed. Leon plunges into the fiery soul of youth through various stories that explore sexual diversity. An invitation to break prejudices and face certain taboos in the best way, laughing.
24. We need to talk (2016)
David Serrano directs this light comedy starring Michelle Jenner and Hugo Silva, a couple with a great chemistry that has gotten into the pocket of the young public, and whose best virtue is that of not being pretentious at all . We have to say that it is not the best comedy, nor does it shine for its intelligence, but it is not tricky or deceitful.
You will spend a very entertaining time with the messes of a former couple in love who meet again with their grudges and their lies. Sometimes predictable, in an inexplicable way it ends up being entertaining and very funny.
25. Faith of ETA (2017)
It is the first film that dares to make humor of one of the greatest tragedies in the history of Spain, that of the terrorist group ETA that ended the lives of 800 people. Courageous and resolute, Borja Cobeaga shows us that we can laugh at everything, because in the end humor can have a powerful therapeutic effect .
Beyond the controversy unleashed by the film about the limits of humor, the product is well finished and is a kind of container of the main elements of modern Spanish comedy with grace and without too much shrillness.
The intelligence and the combination of rationality and emotion executed by Javier Camara and Julian Lopez, among others, portrays the amusing story of a curious Basque terrorist commandowho awaits the order to act locked in a safe house while around him Spain celebrates the victory of the World Cup.
- It may interest you: The 12 best Spanish series of all time.
All the news and news about cinema and series of the moment, you will find them in this link.
All the news and news about cinema and series of the moment, you will find them in this link.