Comedy is not universal, so we need a variety of comedy genres to ensure that everyone’s funny bone gets tickled. When movies were first evolving, most comedy was slapstick because it still translates well without sound, and nearly everyone in the world laughs at a pie to the face. While today’s comedies are more sophisticated, they still incorporate some of that old-fashioned innocent fun.

For a brief period, it seemed like all funny movies were either gross-outs or chick flicks, but the possibilities have expanded to once again include the old favorites. Modern comedies fall into the following broad genres, although there’s usually some crossover.

Romantic Comedies – Romantic comedies are the “chick flicks” of spring and fall that pull women into the theaters, but don’t cost as much to make. They have the same general plot: boy meets girl, boy and girl have some sort of misunderstanding/deception/hatred for each other, boy and girl realize they love each other, the truth comes out, they overcome the conflict and get to happily ever after. 2011 had several rom-coms, including No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits. Take your pick, they both have the same plotline. A more genuine romantic comedy is Wanderlust, which will be released in 2012.

Spoof- Spoof films take two forms – mockery of a single genre, like Airplane! and Scream or mockery of multiple movies and TV shows at once, like Meet the Spartans. The humor tends to run to the juvenile in the current crop of spoof films, but there’s also a fair amount of slapstick and the occasional sharp skewer of satire.

Satire – Satire is a smarter form of spoof comedy. It also usually holds up a mirror to our own society. Wag the Dog is a classic satire.

Teen – Teen comedies usually feature pop music idols or teen sitcom stars in some sort of romantic comedy. When featuring male stars, there will usually be several gross-out scenes. Unless the star is known for portraying innocent characters, the sexual innuendo is usually pretty high. These movies are beyond most adults, but teenagers happily line up at the theaters, which makes them box office sensations. 

Buddy – Most buddy comedies feature men, but Baby Mama is a rare female buddy comedy. This year’s crop of buddy films includes Take Me Home Tonight, starring Topher Grace. Also there was Paul, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, of Shaun of the Dead fame.

Musical – Musical comedies are rare these days. We no longer get to experience the joy of Singin’ in the Rain on a regular basis.

Black/Dark – Dark comedies are often more satirical than laugh-out loud funny, but they do get some good laughs in there. John Cusack’s Grosse Point Blank is a perfect example of a black comedy. If you like that sort of movie, check out 50/50 starring Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Two types of comedies are no longer made on their own, but they do appear in some form in more modern genres.

Screwball – These would more properly be called romantic comedies today, but there was something more innocent about the screwball comedies of the Fifties.

Slapstick – The buddy comedies of today couldn’t exist without slapstick-type physical comedy. You’ll also find it in spoof films, but movies aren’t made for the pure joy of pratfalls anymore. You have to watch America’s Funniest Videos if you want to slapstick in its purest form. The Hangover Part II and Bridesmaids were two of the best comedies of 2011 and fall into this category.