The Funniest Movies About Family
Family can be a funny thing. The top comedy movies about families feature miscommunications, mishaps, and love that can survive even the worst vacation. This is a list of the funniest movies about family including everything from Parenthood to Mrs. Doubtfire to Home Alone.
What films will you find on this list of the best family comedies? In National Lampoon's Vacation, Clark Griswold revs up the family truckster for an unforgettable road trip to Walley World. Car troubles, thefts, and multiple deaths force Clark to the end of his rope in this 1983 comedy. Meet the Parents is a great comedy about in-laws. A Christmas Story is another hilarious movie about an American family that a lot of people saw as kids, and it is a one of the great funny movies to watch with family. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly generate lots of laughs as a pair of reluctant siblings by marriage in Step Brothers. Other films featured on this list include Meet the Parents, Jack and Jill, and We're the Millers. This list does come with some movies that are not necessarily family friendly comedy movies.
Do you have a favorite funny family film? Give the best movies a thumbs up to move them towards the number-one spot, and please add any good comedies that are missing.
- Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Chris Columbus
When bratty 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, his mother (Catherine O'Hara) makes him sleep in the attic. After the McCallisters ...more - Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Chris Columbus
Troubled that he has little access to his children, divorced Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) hatches an elaborate plan. With help from his creative brother Frank (Harvey Fierstein), he dresses as an ...more - Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Octavia Spencer
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Sean Anders
When Pete and Ellie decide to start a family, they stumble into the world of foster care adoption. They hope to take in one small child, but when they meet three siblings, including a rebellious ...more - Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini
- Released: 2015
- Directed by: Sean Anders
Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell) is a kindhearted radio executive who wants to be the best possible stepfather to his wife's (Linda Cardellini) two children. When her freewheeling ex-husband, Dusty (Mark ...more - Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Is this the best family vacation movie of all time?
As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is ...more - Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Dennis Dugan
The death of their childhood basketball coach leads to a reunion for some old friends (Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock), who gather at the site of a championship celebration years earlier. ...more - Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson
- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Nancy Meyers
In this update of a 1961 film, twins Annie and Hallie (Lindsay Lohan) are strangers until happenstance unites them. The preteen girls' divorced parents, Nick (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth (Natasha ...more - Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Will Poulter
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Small-time pot dealer David (Jason Sudeikis) learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished; trying to help some teens, he is jumped by thugs and loses his cash and stash. Now, David's in big ...more - Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: John Lasseter
Woody (Tom Hanks), a good-hearted cowboy doll who belongs to a young boy named Andy (John Morris), sees his position as Andy's favorite toy jeopardized when his parents buy him a Buzz Lightyear (Tim ...more - Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Blythe Danner
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Jay Roach
Everything that can possibly go wrong for groom-to-be Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) does. The problems begin with Greg's disastrous first meeting with his girlfriend's family -- most notably her ...more - Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Bob Clark
Based on the humorous writings of author Jean Shepherd, this beloved holiday movie follows the wintry exploits of youngster Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), who spends most of his time dodging a ...more - Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
When a man (Christopher Lloyd) claiming to be Fester, the missing brother of Gomez Addams (Raul Julia), arrives at the Addams' home, the family is thrilled. However, Morticia (Anjelica Huston) begins ...more - Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen
- Released: 1985
- Directed by: Richard Donner
When two brothers find out they might lose their house they are desperate to find a way to keep their home. They find a treasure map and bring some friends along to find it. They are all out looking ...more - Daveigh Chase, Christopher Sanders, Tia Carrere
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Dean DeBlois, Christopher Sanders
A tale of a young girl's close encounter with the galaxy's most wanted extraterrestrial. Lilo is a lonely Hawaiian girl who adopts a small ugly "dog," whom she names Stitch. Stitch would be the ...more - Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Shawn Levy
Tom (Steve Martin) and Kate Baker (Bonnie Hunt) have compromised their careers to raise 12 children. Tom coaches a high-school football team, while Kate has retired from journalism to raise the ...more - Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Jennifer Tilly
- Released: 1997
- Directed by: Tom Shadyac
Conniving attorney Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) is an ace in the courtroom, but his dishonesty and devotion to work ruin his relationships. His wife, Audrey (Maura Tierney), has left him for a more ...more - Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
Merida (Kelly Macdonald), the impetuous but courageous daughter of Scottish King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), is a skilled archer who wants to carve out her own path in ...more - Ice Cube, Nia Long, John C. McGinley
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Steve Carr
Nick (Ice Cube) and Suzanne (Nia Long) decide to move to the suburbs to create a better life for children Lindsey (Aleisha Allen) and Kevin (Philip Bolden). The contractor (John C. McGinley) they ...more - Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Christie Brinkley
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Harold Ramis
Accompanied by their children (Dana Barron, Anthony Michael Hall), Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As ...more - Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Mark Waters
Single mother Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her teenage daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan) couldn't be more different, and it is driving them both insane. After receiving cryptic fortunes at a ...more - Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neill
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Andrew Stanton
Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is a wide-eyed, blue tang fish who suffers from memory loss every 10 seconds or so. The one thing she can remember is that she somehow became separated from her parents as a ...more - Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Andrew Stanton
Marlin (Albert Brooks), a clown fish, is overly cautious with his son, Nemo (Alexander Gould), who has a foreshortened fin. When Nemo swims too close to the surface to prove himself, he is caught by ...more - Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Héctor Elizondo
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Garry Marshall
Shy San Francisco teenager Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is thrown for a loop when, from out of the blue, she learns the astonishing news that she's a real-life princess! As the heir apparent to ...more - Steve Martin, Eugene Levy, Bonnie Hunt
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Adam Shankman
Tom Baker (Steve Martin) and his wife, Kate (Bonnie Hunt), take their children for what they hope will be a relaxing summer at a lakeside resort. When the Bakers end up with the shoddiest unit ...more - Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Dennis Dugan
Lenny Feder (Adam Sandler) moves his family back to his hometown to be with his friends, but he finds -- what with old bullies, new bullies, party crashers and more -- that he hasn't left the crazy ...more