60 Great Comedy Screenplays to Download and Study for Free
I've curated a tour through six decades of comedy to help in your screenwriting education whether you're new to the craft, an emerging voice, or firmly established in the biz
Back in June, I shared “40 Great Action Screenplays to Download and Study for Free” on 5AM StoryTalk. My friend, filmmaker Liz Garcia, suggested I do comedy next, so, because I like to keep my friends happy if I can, especially one I love as much as Liz, here you go. Except this time, I couldn’t stop myself - I kept adding titles to my list until there were sixty of them in total.
Below you will find links to these sixty comedy screenplays. My picks are an eclectic mix of scripts universally hailed as some of the finest ever written, contemporary hits that I think might stand the test of time, and personal favorites for personal reasons. I’ve also tried to vary the selections to reflect many different types of comedy films and a diverse range of voices. Most adhere to standard structural rules; others blow these rules up. Some play with genre or employ fantastical elements; others employ satire or make art out of the idiotic; others are rooted firmly in realism. This all said, the list unfortunately excludes pretty much all of classic cinema because those scripts aren’t readily available online - so no HIS GIRL FRIDAY and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, for example.
All these screenplays tend to vanish, as all things do on the Internet. Download ASAP for your educational purposes. If you want more resources like this one, be sure to check out these other articles:
“Read the 10 Feature Screenplays the WGA Thinks Are the Best of 2023”
“10 Screenplays by the Great Walter Hill to Download and Study”
“15 Iconic '90s Pilot Scripts to Download and Study”
“20 Christmas Movie Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
“30 Brilliant BBC Drama Scripts to Download and Study for Free”
“40 Great Action Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
“50 Essential 21st-Century One-Hour Pilot Scripts to Download and Study for Free”
“50 Great Screenplays by Women to Download and Study for Free”
“50 Great Screenplays by People of Color to Download and Study for Free”
“60 Screenplays About Love and Heartbreak to Download and Study for Free”
“100 Horror Screenplays to Download and Study for Free”
21 JUMP STREET (2012) by Michael Bacall; story by Bacall and Jonah Hill
Two absurd, but somehow believable central characters stuck in arrested development; pitch-perfect humor; endless meta jokes.
THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN (2005) by Judd Apatow and Steve Carell
ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (2004) by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay
Improv plays such a vital part in these Ferrell/McKay collaborations, I think it’s very much worth studying the foundation on which the resulting film was built.
AIRPLANE! (1980) by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker
ANNIE HALL (1977) by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
Yes, Allen is a deeply problematic filmmaker — I’m not choosing my words carefully here as much as not having that debate in this forum — but there’s no getting around the fact that this film revolutionized the romantic comedy in many ways.
BAD SANTA (2003) by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
So much of this script is brilliant, but the one-two of the “didn’t shit right for a week” joke is perfection.
BARBERSHOP (2002) by Mark Brown, Don D. Scott, Marshall Todd; story by Brown
BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984) by Daniel Petrie Jr.; story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie, Jr.
Comedy, action, written by my friend Dan Petrie.
BIG (1988) by Anne Spielberg and Gary Ross
THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) by Ethan and Joel Coen
THE BIG SICK (2017) by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
BLAZING SADDLES (1974) by Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, and Alan Uger
A classic piece of social and cinema satire. Take a moment to marvel at the fact that it was released in theaters in the same year as Brooks’s classic YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.
BOOKSMART (2019) by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman
BRIDESMAIDS (2011) by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo
BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY (2001) by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding
This script — and film — don’t get nearly enough credit, overshadowed, I suspect, by other similar films of the period such as NOTTING HILL and LOVE ACTUALLY (also from Richard Curtis). But it sings structurally and celebrates a most atypical female lead…at least for the period.
BROADCAST NEWS (1984) by James L. Brooks
A drama that’s hilarious? A comedy that’s deeply moving? A brilliant piece of media satire? All of the above?
CLUELESS (1995) by Amy Heckerling
“No, she’s a full-on Monet. It’s like a painting, see? From far away, it’s OK, but up close, it’s a big old mess.” This script is a tone poem to privileged teenaged life in LA in the nineties. I have never worked out how accurate it is, but it feels accurate and, even if it’s not, it helped reshape teen culture across America all the same.
CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2019) by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim
DEAR WHITE PEOPLE (2014) by Justin Simien
DR. STRANGELOVE: OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964) by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, and Peter George
What happens when Kubrick decides to be funny.
ED WOOD (1994) by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
“Let’s shoot this fucker.”
ELECTION (1999) by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (1984) by John Hughes
A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988) by John Cleese; story by Cleese and Charles Crichton
FOUR WEDDINGS & A FUNERAL (1994) by Richard Curtis
Pay attention to the simple structure employed here. It could feel episodic, but the character journey at its center drives the action forward and the uncomplicated plot allows more time for supporting characters to get their due.
FRIDAY by Ice Cube and DJ Pooh
GALAXY QUEST (1999) by David Howard and Robert Gordon; story by Howard
GALAXY QUEST and GHOSTBUSTERS marry comedy and science-fiction/fantasy better than almost every other film that’s attempted it.
GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis
See GALAXY QUEST note.
GIRLS TRIP (2017) by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver; story by Erica Rivinoja, Barris, and Tracy Oliver
GROUNDHOG DAY (1993) by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis; story by Rubin
Everything about this script and film deserves your intense study. One day I’ll write a treatise on its existential genius.
THE HANGOVER (2009) by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore
HAROLD & MAUDE (1971) by Colin Higgins
Please read this script now.
THE HOLIDAY (2006) by Nancy Meyers
THE HOUSE BUNNY (2009) by Karen McCullah and Kiwi Smith
McCullah and Smith have written many films, including LEGALLY BLONDE (which is on this list), but THE HOUSE BUNNY is my favorite.
IN THE LOOP (2009) by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche
Do you like talky scripts? Scripts that use language the way other screenwriters use action or plot to keep their films interesting? Well, look no further.
THE JERK (1979) by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias; story by Martin and Gottlieb
JUNO (2007) by Diablo Cody
If you wonder what reps mean when they say they’re looking for “voicy” writers, refer to JUNO’s script.
KNOCKED UP (2007) by Judd Apatow
LEGALLY BLONDE (2001) by Karen McCullah and Kiwi Smith
M*A*S*H (1970) by Ring Lardner, Jr.
I talk often on here about how much I bristle at Hollywood’s obsession with structure and rules and reductive storytelling. Director Robert Altman spent much of the seventies — and his career — giving the finger to this kind of filmmaking. M'*A*S*H* is my favorite example of this.
MEAN GIRLS (2004) by Tina Fey
MIDNIGHT RUN (1988) by George Gallo
MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979) by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin
The “Judean People’s Front” scene is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in a film.
MOONSTRUCK (2007) by John Patrick Shanley
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE (1979) by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, and Chris Miller
NOTTING HILL (1999) by Richard Curtis
Even William Goldman thought NOTTING HILL’s screenplay was perfect. As you read, consider it’s about a British-American romance while the film’s tone, execution, and casting constantly demonstrate the same tension between the two countries’ cinematic sensibilities.
OFFICE SPACE (1999) by Mike Judge
Peter Gibbons: So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life.
Dr. Swanson: What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Dr. Swanson: Wow, that's messed up.
Still the greatest indictment of America’s working culture I’ve ever seen. It was soon trumped by Judge’s IDIOCRACY, which is one of the greatest indictment of America’s entire culture ever put on film.
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (1987) by John Hughes
Twist endings aren’t just for thrillers written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The one at the end of PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES is every bit as well-executed as the one in THE SIXTH SENSE.
POLICE ACADEMY (1984) by Neal Israel, Pat Proft, and Hugh Wilson; story by Israel and Proft
RAISING ARIZONA (1987) by Ethan and Joel Coen
RUSHMORE (1998) by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
SCROOGED (1988) by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue
Wondering how to update a tired piece of public domain pop-culture such as, say, A CHRISTMAS CAROL? Look no further than the roadmap provided by SCROOGED.
SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright
Zombies had been passé for years until 2002 when 28 DAYS LATER came along. Then in 2004, we got DAWN OF THE DEAD’s remake and SHAUN OF THE DEAD. Interestingly, two of these films were from the U.K. — and one of them, SHAUN, somehow managed to be hilarious and poignant while also being spectacularly bloody.
SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
One of the greatest comedies ever made. Almost everything you laugh at today owes a debt to this film.
SORRY TO BOTHER YOU (2018) by Boots Riley
I am such a fan of how Riley translates his politics into magical realism.
SUPERBAD (2007) by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (2004) by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady
“America, fuck yeah!”
TOOTSIE (1982) by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal; Story by Don McGuire and Gelbart
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY… (1989) by Nora Ephron
I’ve written many times about this film because I think its screenplay is a thing of cinematic grace. For example, read this: “On Screenwriting: The Elegant Economy of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY’s First Act”.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974) by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks
The other Brooks classic from 1974. Compare and contrast and then wonder what kind of drugs he was doing that year because we all need to get on them.
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Very useful! And I couldn’t agree more!
Can’t believe that I’ve actually seen half of these and recognized so many more. One minor and one major additional, both car chases
Blues Brothers, because no one on the set had any idea of what Belusi would do next.
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. A 3-hour chase movie with almost every comedian known to the 1963 public. (Even Jack Benny in a cameo.) Directed by Stanley Kramer, his first comedy. (Judgment at Nuremberg was more his metier before.) His autobiography was titled “A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World! A Life in Hollywood.”