Entertainment

The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked  

Ranker Film
1.7k votes 352 voters 26.3k views 54 items

List Rules Vote up your favorite comedy movies released by indie film studios.

This list contains information on the best indie comedy movies, ranked from best to worst by user votes. The best indie comedy films come in many forms. Some indie comedy movies find the hilarity in relationships while other good indie comedy films are coming of age comedies. A few of the best indie comedies even jumpstarted the careers of now-beloved filmmakers.

What films will you find on this top independent comedy movies list? Clerks has to be at the top. This 1994 movie introduced fans to writer-director Kevin Smith and his unique brand of slacker comedy. Fun Fact: Clerks was actually shot at the convenience and video store where Smith worked his day job. Juno is another hilarious indie comedy thanks in part to the snappy dialogue.

Movie-goers get to experience the day-to-day lives of vampires in Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's mockumentary, What We Do in the Shadows. Other funny indie comedies featured on this list include Napoleon Dynamite, Rushmore, and The Squid and the Whale.

Which indie comedy do you think is the funniest? Give your favorites a thumbs up and get in on the conversation in the comments section.

list ordered by
1
What We Do in the Shadows is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Jemaine Clement, Rhys Darby, Taika Waititi
What We Do in the Shadows is a 2014 New Zealand mockumentary comedy horror film about a group of vampires who live together in Wellington. Directed and written by Taika Waititi and Jemaine ...more
2
The Big Lebowski is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges, Tara Reid
The Big Lebowski is a 1998 stoner comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles ...more
3
Little Miss Sunshine is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Toni Collette
Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American comedy-drama road film and the directorial film debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by ...more
4
Napoleon Dynamite is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Haylie Duff, Jon Heder, Diedrich Bader
Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 American independent art-house comedy film written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the title character, for ...more
5
Rushmore is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Bill Murray, Alexis Bledel, Brian Cox
Rushmore is a 1998 comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson about an eccentric teenager named Max Fischer, his friendship with rich industrialist Herman Blume, and their mutual love for ...more
6
Being John Malkovich is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Charlie Sheen
Being John Malkovich is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. It stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich ...more
7
The Royal Tenenbaums is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
ChloeFletcher added Gwyneth Paltrow, Alec Baldwin, Bill Murray
The Royal Tenenbaums is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. The film stars Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, ...more
8
Juno is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Jennifer Garner, Ellen Page, Jason Bateman
Juno is a 2007 Canadian-American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an ...more
9
Clerks is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Scott Mosier
Clerks is a 1994 American black-and-white comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also appears in the film as Silent Bob. Starring Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson ...more
10
Moonrise Kingdom is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
ChloeFletcher added Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton
Moonrise Kingdom is a 2012 American film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola. Described as an "eccentric pubescent love story", it features newcomers Jared ...more
11
Dazed and Confused is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Matthew McConaughey
Dazed and Confused is a 1993 coming of age comedy film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film features a large ensemble cast of actors who would later become stars, including ...more
12
Raising Arizona is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Nicolas Cage, John Goodman, Holly Hunter
Raising Arizona is a 1987 American comedy film directed, written, and produced by the Coen brothers, and starring Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, William Forsythe, John Goodman, Frances McDormand, ...more
13
Mean Girls is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried
Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy film. Mark Waters directed, and Tina Fey wrote the screenplay, which is based in part on Rosalind Wiseman's non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes, ...more
14
Heathers is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Winona Ryder, Shannen Doherty, Christian Slater
Heathers is a 1988 comedy, drama film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann.
15
Sideways is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Sandra Oh, Virginia Madsen, Thomas Haden Church
Sideways is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written by Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne and directed by Payne. A film adaptation from Rex Pickett's novel of the same name, Sideways follows two ...more
16
(500) Days of Summer is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Zooey Deschanel, Minka Kelly, Chloë Grace Moretz
(500) Days of Summer is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film by first time director Marc Webb. On January 8, Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), his ...more
17
Safety Not Guaranteed is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Kristen Bell, Aubrey Plaza, Jeff Garlin
Safety Not Guaranteed is a 2012 American comedy film directed by Colin Trevorrow and inspired by a 1997 Backwoods Home Magazine classified ad—itself written as a joke filler by Backwoods ...more
18
Adventureland is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Kristen Wiig
Adventureland is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart and co-starring Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, Martin Starr, and ...more
19
Lars and the Real Girl is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson
Lars and the Real Girl is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Craig Gillespie. A sweet but socially awkward young man (Ryan Gosling) develops a romantic yet platonic relationship with a doll.
20
Ghost World is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Teri Garr
Ghost World is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Terry Zwigoff, based on the comic book of the same name by Daniel Clowes, with a screenplay cowritten by Daniel Clowes and Terry ...more
21
Annie Hall is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
ChloeFletcher added Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Sigourney Weaver
Annie Hall is a 1977 American romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen. Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer (Allen) falls in love with the ditzy Annie Hall (Diane Keaton).
22
Give Me Liberty is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Anna Maltova, Arkady Basin, Chris Galust
Give Me Liberty is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky. A medical transport driver, Vic (Chris Galust) risks losing his job by driving a group of seniors and a Russian ...more
23
The Peanut Butter Falcon is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, Zack Gottasgen
The Peanut Butter Falcon is a 2019 American adventure film directed and written by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. A young boy with Down syndrome runs away from his care home to fulfill his ...more
24
The Art of Self-Defense is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots
The Art of Self-Defense is a 2019 American dark comedy film, written and directed by Riley Stearns. A young man, Casey Davies (Jesse Eisenberg), who after a rough encounter on the street, ...more
25
Mister America is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Indie Comedy Movies, Ranked
Tim Heidecker, Gregg Turkington, Curtis Webster
Mister America is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Eric Notarnicola, based on the video series On Cinema at the Cinema. Tim Heidecker plays a fictionalized version of himself as he sets ...more