The 20 Best Cringe Comedy Movies We Can't Look Away From

Summary Cringe comedy movies are enjoyable when self-aware, making embarrassing moments relatable and humorous.

Best cringe movies use awkward real-life scenarios to show that cringe moments are part of life.

Classic and modern cringe comedies like The Office and Borat create humor from uncomfortably funny moments.

As long as cringe movies are self-aware of their cringe, as many comedies are, then they still remain plenty watchable, even if viewers have to watch them through shielded eyes. While cringe often seems to exist in the television realm, with shows like The Office, Parks and Recreations, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia frequently operating on the line between too hard to watch and too funny to look away from, plenty of comedy movies have dabbled in the art of cringe for decades, creating stories for audiences to laugh and flinch at.

The best cringe comedy movies aren't great because they're unintentionally cringy (though in retrospect there are more than a few moments in some that make audiences squirm for the wrong reasons); they're the best because the movie uses relatable and awkward moments from life that hit close to home and then show why those scenarios are so funny. They're a relief in that way. Instead of making the cringe unpleasant, cringy comedy movies show how embarrassing and awkward moments are not the end of the world and just a part of life.

Related 10 Horror Movies That Are Too Cringe To Be Scary An overzealous attempt to be scary can come off as goofy or simply trying too hard, but sometimes horror movies lean into their sillier side.

20 Death At A Funeral (2007)

An Awkward Family Reunion After A Death Makes For A Very Grim Comedy

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Death At A Funeral (2007) Director Frank Oz Release Date August 17, 2007 Cast Ewen Bremner , Peter Dinklage , Matthew Macfadyen , Kris Marshall , Alan Tudyk Runtime 90 Minutes

Death at a Funeral takes place over a funeral weekend where an estranged family comes together over their father's passing. As old grudges resurface and new ones are forged, the family eventually bonds over their grief. It's a consummate farce with some truly ridiculous physical comedy, including an awkwardly hilarious performance from Alan Tudyk. His attempts to shmooze his future father-in-law are ruined when he consumes the wrong medicine, resulting in every new significant other's worst nightmare scenario. As the funeral goes on, more funny but uncomfortable events unfold before the attendees.

Death at a Funeral (2007) is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.

19 I Love You, Man (2009)

Peter Is One Of The Cringier Characters In A Comedy Movie

I Love You, Man Where to Watch *Availability in US stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director John Hamburg Release Date March 20, 2009 Cast Paul Rudd , Rashida Jones , Sarah Burns , Greg Levine , Jaime Pressly , Jon Favreau Runtime 97 minutes

In I Love You, Man, Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) seems to have everything; a great job, an incredible fiancée, and a bright future ahead of him. What he doesn't have is a male friend, a problem that comes to the fore when he and Zooey (Rashida Jones) begin planning wedding parties.

Enter Sydney Fife (Jason Seagal), an investor who forms a bond with Peter in this delightful comedy about platonic male friends. Peter's inability to interact with men his own age is as cringy as it is funny, and Sydney never lets his new friend off the hook when Peter tries out new, weird slang. Fans may be saying "Later on the menjay", after, but that doesn't make the phrase any less cringy.

18 Beatriz At Dinner (2017)

An Uncomfortable Dinner Discussion Between The Haves And The Have-Not

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Miguel Arteta Release Date June 9, 2017 Cast Chloe Sevigny , Salma Hayek Pinault , Connie Britton , John Lithgow , Amy Landecker , Jay Duplass Runtime 83 minutes

Salma Hayek gives one of her best performances in Beatriz at Dinner, a film written by Mike White, the creator of The White Lotus, and his thoughts on the wealthy and how they interact with the working class are on full display in this 2017 film. Beatriz (Hayek) is a working-class immigrant and massage therapist for an affluent Orange County family and when her car breaks down, she is invited to stay for a dinner party with a group of coworkers who range from casually insulting to outright hostile towards Beatriz.

The film has all the whip-smart humor White is known for, but the scenes of Beatriz arguing with her "friend's" boss are agonizingly cringy. Beatriz is out of her element with these people and the awkwardness between her seemingly inappropriate commentary and the others' ignorance is painful to watch and reminiscent of the worst kind of dinner party.

17 The King Of Comedy (1982)

A Darkly Comic And Uncomfortably Cringe Performance By Robert De Niro As Rupert Pupkin

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The King of Comedy is one of Martin Scorsese's few comedy movies and, naturally, it's a very dark one. Robert De Niro stars as Rupert Pupkin, an aspiring standup comedian who becomes obsessed with famous late-night host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) and abducts him to blackmail the TV network into giving him a spot on the show. Despite the grim plot, it's a funny movie and De Niro's preening and inability to take no from a man he ostensibly idolizes is uncomfortable but so absurd as to be laugh-worthy.

16 Waiting For Guffman (1999)

A Specific Kind Of Cringe That Some Viewers Will Know All Too Well

The Christopher Guest mockumentary movie Waiting for Guffman depicts the lead-up to a small-town community theater production of the history of their town in Red, White and Blaine. Most of the film's dialogue was improvised and makes for a realistic and ridiculous portrait of how creative types can sometimes take their endeavors just a bit too seriously. Anyone who has ever worked in local theater or had an overzealous high school theater director will cringe at the hilarious but much too familiar dialogue and actions of the cast and crew in the play.

Waiting for Guffman is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.

15 Bottoms (2023)

The Most Embarrassing And Cringy Moments Of High School With An LGBTQ+ Spin

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Emma Seligman Release Date August 25, 2023 Cast Rachel Sennott , Ayo Edebiri , Havana Rose Liu , Kaia Gerber , Nicholas Galitzine , Dagmara Dominczyk , Marshawn Lynch Runtime 92 Minutes

Bottoms is an LGBTQ+ high school raunch comedy with some down-to-earth cringe-worthy moments that straight and LGBTQ+ viewers alike will relate to, as well as some off-the-wall bonkersness that makes Bottoms a much more intense and ridiculous film than similar titles. In the film, lesbian friends PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) start a girls-only fight club to hook up with the teens at the school. There are some painfully funny moments of cases of mistaken sexuality, and anyone who has had trouble dating in high school will certainly be cringing.

14 Force Majeure (2014)

A Cringy Look At What Happens When A Husband Lets His Wife Down

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Ruben Östlund Release Date August 15, 2014 Cast Johannes Kuhnke , Lisa Loven Kongsli , Clara Wettergren , Vincent Wettergren , Brady Corbet , Jakob Granqvist Runtime 118 minutes

The Swedish film — remade in English as Downhill in 2020 with Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus — Force Majeure is a black comedy with relatable situations cranked up to an almost unbearably cringe level. After Tomas (Johannes Bah Kuhnke) abandons his family on a skiing trip when an avalanche strikes, his wife is furious when it turns out the disaster was nothing more than some snow flurries. The conversations between Tomas and Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli) and a couple they meet are funny but also incredibly awkward as Ebba's anger at Tomas grows.

13 Drop Dead Fred (1991)

An Imaginary Friend Nearly Ruins Elizabeth's Life With His Antics

drop dead fred

In Drop Dead Fred, a meek court reporter named Elizabeth (Phoebe Cates) is reunited with her childhood imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred (Rik Mayall). Fred, seeing the sad adult Elizabeth has grown into, commits himself to making her happy, causing chaos along the way. It's an odd, fantastical film with some strange, goofball imagery. Fred's efforts to help Elizabeth often go awry and Elizabeth is left dealing with the fallout in an embarrassing fashion, unable to explain an imaginary friend and making the film feel like one of those bad dreams where one's in trouble for something they never did.

Drop Dead Fred is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.

12 Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)

Steve Coogan Is The Vain And Clumsy Alan Partridge

Alan Partridge is a comedy character portrayed by actor Steve Coogan. He's a rude, blustering, and awkward TV broadcaster who has appeared in over 20 different TV shows and specials. In 2013, he had his feature film debut, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, where a disgraced DJ from Partridge's station takes the employees hostage and Partridge is enlisted to negotiate. Partridge's ability to put himself and others into an awkward situation is unsurpassed, and even when he's a hero like in this film, he turns every scene he's in into an absolute cringefest.

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11 Bridesmaids (2011)

Kristen Wiig Is The Embarrassing Bridesmaid

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Paul Feig Release Date May 13, 2011 Cast Kristen Wiig , Rose Byrne , Maya Rudolph Melissa McCarthy , Ellie Kemper , Wendi McLendon-Covey Runtime 125 minutes

Bridesmaids is one of the funniest comedies of the 21st century and combines the mega talents of producer Judd Apatow, director Paul Feig, and star Kristen Wiig. The film tells the all too relatable story of when one group of friends is introduced to another, and jealous feelings immediately arise. The scenes of Annie (Wiig) embarrassing herself in front of her friends and are extremely cringy. When the audience isn't crying laughing, they're covering their eyes, begging Wiig to return to her seat in economy.

10 Meet The Parents (2000)

Ben Stiller Is An Awkward And Embarrassing Boyfriend

Ben Stiller may be the best American cringe comedy actor, with his helpless yet earnest comedic persona. He's someone who's going to try as hard as they can but inevitably fail and in Meet the Parents, Gaylord Focker (Stiller) goes to meet his girlfriend's family. Her father, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), is ex-CIA and immediately takes a dislike to his daughter's boyfriend. It's about as awkward a first meeting can go and Gaylord's constant public failings in front of the Byrnes family are as funny as they are hard to watch.

9 American Pie (1999)

The Cringy Teen Raunch Comedy That Does Not Pull Any Embarrassing Punches

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Paul Weitz , Chris Weitz Release Date July 9, 1999 Cast Jason Biggs , Chris Klein , Thomas Ian Nicholas , Alyson Hannigan , Shannon Elizabeth , Tara Reid Runtime 95 minutes

American Pie is a classic of high school sex comedies, and its success spawned a massive cinematic franchise. A lot has aged poorly about American Pie, with male characters filming women without consent when they're not hounding them for sex. However, the cringy '90s comedy of the movie still holds up for its reliability when it comes to the desire to have sex for the first time. As badly as the characters behave in the film, they still receive plenty of humiliation in the form of awkward sexual encounters and an eye-averting scene with a pie and Eugene Levy.

8 The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

An Awkward And Embarrassing Look At Dating Later In Life

Judd Apatow's feature directorial debut, The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a star-studded R-rated comedy and a major blockbuster hit. The title says it all. Steve Carell plays Andy Stitzer, a 40-year-old man who has never consummated a relationship. His efforts to pick up women are hilarious but incredibly difficult to watch, particularly when he actually finds someone he likes. The mockery and sympathy he receives is hilarious and cringy but it never feels mean-spirited.

7 Bean (1997)

Mr. Bean Is One Of The Most Cringeworthy Comic Creations Ever

Rowan Atkinson brought his character Mr. Bean to the big screen in 1997's Bean. Mr. Bean is a British everyman if the everyman were more alien than human. Bean has little idea of how the world works, and his self-absorption leads to misfortune for those who run into him. In Bean, his antics make the entire film almost unbearable to watch, that is, if it weren't so silly. Bean is hired as a security guard for the National Gallery in Los Angeles and his klutzy attempts to do his job inevitably lead to a film's worth of cringeworthy mishaps.

Bean is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.

6 Eighth Grade (2018)

Kayla Is Every Adolescent Cringe Moment Wrapped In One Middle Schooler

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Bo Burnham Release Date July 13, 2018 Cast Emily Robinson , Nora Mullins , Fred Hechinger , Greg Crowe , Josh Hamilton , Catherine Oliviere , Daniel Zolghadri , Shacha Temirov , Elsie Fisher , Luke Prael , Jake Ryan , Missy Yager , Imani Lewis , Thomas J O'Reilly Runtime 93minutes

Eighth Grade is comedian Bo Burnham's feature film directorial debut and stars Elsie Fisher as Kayla, a teenager attending middle school and dealing with anxiety and alienation from her peers. It's an extremely relatable film that will give viewers flashbacks to their own awkward middle school years. Combined with Burnham's unique style of comedy, Eighth Grade is a painfully recognizable movie that isn't light on jokes in favor of drama.

5 Shiva Baby (2020)

A Claustrophobic And Cringe Filled Wake

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Emma Seligman Release Date April 2, 2021 Cast Rachel Sennott , Fred Melamed , Polly Draper , Molly Gordon

If the tone of Shiva Baby was turned just a little bit more, it could probably have been a dramatic thriller or even a pseudo-horror film. Instead, Shiva Baby is a delightful comedy and one of the best movies of 2021. Starring Rachel Sennott as Danielle, Shiva Baby follows Rachel as she goes to a shiva with her family after a relative passes away. There, she sees her sugar daddy and his family, and the walls begin closing in on her in this one-house chamber comedy drama.

Every moment a door opens, there's the uncomfortable threat of the person behind it talking to Danielle and inadvertently revealing her secret. Anxiety-inducing and claustrophobic, when Danielle turns her eyes away in embarrassment, the audience does as well, cringing for her.

4 There's Something About Mary (1998)

This Ben Stiller Comedy Is Filled With Cringe Moments From Start To Finish

Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz star as Ted and Mary in There's Something About Mary. Mary is the girl next door whom Ted struck out with in high school, and now he's back to try and win her over. It's a bummer that a central plot point of There's Something About Mary concerns stalking the title character, but it's still a highly memorable and laugh-out-loud film. Almost every scene, from Ted being mistaken for a serial killer to Mary finding a new kind of hair gel, will make viewers want to bury their faces in their hands with sheer cringe.

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3 Jackass 3D (2010)

Johnny Knoxville And His Crew Perform Stunts That Are Too Painful To Watch

Jackass 3D Director Jeff Tremaine Release Date October 15, 2010 Cast Johnny Knoxville Runtime 100minutes

Jackass 3D is a literal cringe comedy with stunts that have viewers flinching and recoiling at the pain on display. Whether Johnny Knoxville is getting run over by a buffalo herd or Steve-O is being launched into the air in a porta potty, Jackass 3D makes viewers cry laughing even as they empathetically shut their eyes. There's also plenty of classic cringe when the cast embarrasses themselves in public for a stunt. It's the best of all the Jackass films with the most creative stunts and every member of the Jackass crew operating at peak performance.

Jackass 3D is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.

2 The Lobster (2015)

A Cringe-Inducing Look At What Happens When People Fail To Connect

Before Yorgos Lanthimos became a household name with Poor Things, he was working hard on a filmography of his characteristic thought-provoking and weirdly humorous movies. His 2015 outing, The Lobster, is an absurdist, black comedy about a society that forces single people to move into a hotel where they are obliged to find a partner in 45 days or be turned into an animal.

There's a grand statement on loneliness and sexual dysfunction in the film, but it's wrapped in bleak but dangerously funny comedy and fantastically cringe sequences such as David (Colin Farrell) kicking the shins of a little girl and people having a normal conversation as a woman loudly dies next to them.

1 Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

An Uncomfortable And Uproarious Real Look At America

The title character, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, leaves Kazakhstan for America early in Borat and the comic creation has a meeting with a real-life panel of feminists that goes so awry, it's almost unbearable. That's only the first cringeworthy scene of the mockumentary phenomenon Borat and each successive vignette gets harder and harder to watch but also more and more deliriously funny.

This cringe and humor comes from the fact only Cohen and a few others are aware that Borat is not a real character. With little understanding of American customs, Borat makes a complete fool of himself in front of a disbelieving driving instructor, dinner guests, and an entire rodeo. It's too absurdly hilarious not to watch and at times such a painfully cringe movie, that many viewers may involuntarily reach for the remote's power button.