Christmas Gift Guide 2019: Comedy Movies

It's a travesty that Booksmart is only available on DVD and not Blu-ray – Olivia Wilde's coming-of-ager is among the very best comedies of 2019. Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever are the lovable swots who have aced their way into prestige colleges – before realising their classmates did too, while also partying and making memories. Cue one big blow-out night to prove they too can have fun. Gorgeously shot, with filthy gags and raucous performances.Amazon.co.uk

Jonathan Levine's rom-com tilts towards the gross-out end of the scale, while still remaining sweet and romantic. Charlize Theron is the politician who finally has a shot at the presidency, with Seth Rogen as her former childhood neighbour, now a principled writer who she hires to write her speeches. Big laughs, with plenty of heart to match.Amazon.co.uk

Wes Anderson's mannered humour and gorgeous pastel hues are at their warmest in Moonrise Kingdom – now given the Criterion treatment. There are moments of darkness on the fringes of the frame, but for the most part this is free from the melancholy undercurrent coursing through Anderson's other work. A sweet, sun-kissed treat.Amazon.co.uk

Richard Curtis returns to rom-com territory in a Danny Boyle-directed ode to the greatest band of all time, The Beatles. The just-go-with-it set-up sees struggling singer-songwriter Jack wake up in a world that no longer remembers the Fab Four – so he decides to pass off the songs as his own. If you can handle Curtis schmaltz there are plenty of laughs – often courtesy of a cameoing Ed Sheeran, at his own expense.Amazon.co.uk

It doesn't sound that funny, but this Blumhouse slasher sequel is less of a horror than a comedy-sci-fi movie, dialling up the madcap laughs as it spins further into time-looping overdrive. Proof that Jessica Rothe has a bright future ahead of her as a comedian as well as a scream queen. Best viewed in a double-bill with the Groundhog Day-aping original.Amazon.co.uk

Richard Linklater's '70s throwback is a non-stop good time – partying, rock-and-roll, teenage drinking, acts of rebellion, with bongs and bellbottoms to boot. Set across the last day of school in a Texan town, with the promise of summer stretching ahead, it's one of the most entertaining films ever made, in which barely anything actually happens. A blast.Amazon.co.uk

Ostensibly a wrestling origin story, based on the story of British WWE superstar Paige, Fighting With My Family has a significant vein of comedy courtesy of writer-director Stephen Merchant – whose wry humour perfectly complements the Rocky-esque sports movie trappings.Amazon.co.uk

The DCEU's latest is basically Big meets Superman – with cocky teen Billy Batson gifted the ability to turn into an adult superhero at will. The comic potential of a kid in a powered-up grown man's body is fulfilled in a hilarious turn from Zachary Levi, goofing it up a storm until a real-life supervillain pops up.Amazon.co.uk

The first major live-action Pokémon movie is a strange but entertaining brew – based on the Detective Pikachu game, it's a kid-noir movie that also serves as another canvas for Ryan Reynolds' motor-mouthed riffing. Lean into the weirdness, and it's good fun – few can riff like Deadpool himself.Amazon.co.uk

Tina Fey's sharp, ultra-quotable script is a huge reason why Mean Girls has reached iconic teen-movie status – so it's a major selling point that it comes included in this special edition, alongside a bunch of art cards, production notes, and Burn Book packaging. So fetch!Amazon.co.uk

Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson team up for a comedy-drama set in the world of US late night talk shows – with a pointed screenplay by Kaling herself. She's the 'token diversity hire' among the all-white writing staff of Thompson's declining show, who goes on to prove she's far more than that.Amazon.co.uk

Or, Superbad: The Early Years. This Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg-produced comedy goes all-in on its concept of cute kids – including Room's Jacob Tremblay – swearing up a storm and misusing sexual terminology. If that hits your humour sweet-spot, it's consistently funny – and always manages to remain good-hearted.Amazon.co.uk

Martin McDonagh's pitch-black comic masterpiece about hitmen hiding out in the picturesque Belgian town after a job gone wrong has a coarse, unapologetic script – and you can read every searing word of it in this Limited Edition from Second Sight. Packed with extras that fans will love, including deleted scenes and McDonagh's short film Sharp Shooter.Amazon.co.uk

Jim Jarmusch assembles a killer cast for a none-more-Jim-Jarmusch zombie movie – with all the gentle meandering and indie-movie quirks that implies. For fans of the American auteur, it's a welcome addition to his filmography – boasting Bill Murray, Adam Driver saying 'ghouls' rather spectacularly, and Tilda Swinton wielding a samurai sword and an even-sharper Scottish accent.Amazon.co.uk

Freed from the efforts the first film made to connect in some way to the original mobile game, this bright, colourful sequel has an astonishing comedy cast – Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad and Maya Rudolph rubbing shoulders (note: do birds have shoulders?) with Bill Hader, Tiffany Haddish, Danny McBride, Rachel Bloom, and Leslie Jones. Worth it for the scene with the giant bird suit alone.Amazon.co.uk

An all-out Ealing classic gets a lovingly-remastered re-issue – proving the sharp laughs haven't dulled at all with age.Amazon.co.uk