Comedy is supposed to make audiences laugh with lovable characters and lighthearted themes. But sometimes filmmakers include surprisingly heavy content which takes over the fun feel. Some of these films were meant to be goofy adventures or silly comedies, only for audiences to come face to face with loneliness, regret, grief, or dread. Here are some comedies that ended up being much sadder than audiences expected.
1. Click (2006)
Synopsis:
Adam Sandler’s Click follows a workaholic architect who discovers a magical remote control that lets him fast-forward through unpleasant parts of his life. What begins as a goofy comedy about skipping chores and awkward social moments slowly turns into a story about erased family memories and the danger of taking time, whether pleasant or not, for granted.
What Was Depressing:
The movie’s final scenes are unexpectedly emotional when the remote starts controlling Adam’s life instead of the other way around. Watching him realize he missed years of important moments with his wife and children is heartbreaking. It’s way heavier material than the silly premise promised. Many expected a typical Sandler comedy and instead got a painful reminder that time is fleeting.
2. The Truman Show (1998)
Synopsis:
The Truman Show follows Truman Burbank, a seemingly average man who discovers that his entire life is actually faked for a widely watched television production. While the film contains plenty of funny moments in the cookie cutter world, and Jim Carrey does his high-energy thing, it is ultimately a story about disconnection and the urge for a life lived genuinely over a facade of perfection.
What Was Depressing:
The most unsettling part of the movie is not that Truman has been duped into thinking his made up life was real, but when he realizes that he has spent decades surrounded by people who were pretending to love him. The Truman Show is a deeply lonely story about a man who was never allowed to make his own choices or form his own relationships. At its core, it is heartbreaking.
3. 50 First Dates (2004)
Synopsis:
This romantic comedy follows Henry, a man who falls in love with Lucy, a woman who cannot form new memories due to an accident. Henry spends every day trying to make her fall in love with him all over again.
What Was Depressing:
The movie’s laid back Hawaiian setting and goofy scenarios gloss over a tragic situation. Lucy doesn’t have the ability to remember years of her own life, meaning every morning she wakes up thinking she is still living in the past. Anything new that happens to her is essentially erased, as though it never happened. Henry constantly loses someone he loves, an idea that is darker than the movie’s playful premise suggests.
4. The Cable Guy (1996)
Synopsis:
Jim Carrey stars as Chip Douglas, a lonely cable installer. Douglas grows obsessed with a new customer after mistaking their brief interaction for a real connection. With Jim Carey at the height of his comedic prime, the movie was sold as a comedy but became something stranger.
What Was Depressing:
The humor is bizarre, laugh-out-loud, and iconic. But it hides a story about a very lonely person who has no idea how to form healthy relationships. Chip’s extreme behavior creates lots of funny situations, but they all stem from desperation for a connection he has never had. On paper, it’s a zany comedy starring Jim Carrey, but it is ultimately about someone who has been emotionally abandoned.
5. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Synopsis:
Robin Williams plays Daniel Hillard, a struggling voice actor who is desperate to be back in his children’s lives after a sudden divorce. He disguises himself as an elderly British housekeeper to spend time with his kids. The movie gives us plenty of comedy as Hilliard tries to balance his real life and his fake life. Chaos ensues.
What Was Depressing:
Underneath the laughs is a story all too familiar to modern day audiences: a family falling apart. Daniel’s over the top transformation and the things he is forced to do to keep the farce going gets more and more funny, but the reason he does it is heartbreaking. He is a man terrified of losing his children. The film really captures the pain of divorce and the desperation of a parent who feels like they are being pushed out of their own family.
6. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Synopsis:
This indie comedy is a unique story of a dysfunctional family. Despite financial setbacks, they are firmly committed to traveling across the country so young Olive can fulfill her dream of competing in a beauty pageant. Along the way, the family faces one disaster after another.
What Was Depressing:
The humor comes from the group dynamics of several struggling family members. However, the broken individuals are very realistic. Different members of the family are dealing with separate struggles, including a failed career, deep depression, grief, and feelings of worthlessness. The movie is ultimately uplifting, and has many dark comedy moments, but it depicts multiple lost characters fighting to get through life.
7. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Synopsis:
Wes Anderson’s quirky comedy focuses on one specific family: the eccentric Tenenbaums. Though the kids were once child prodigies, their adult lives have fallen apart. The film is filled with colorful characters, quotable dialogue, strange situations, and odd relationships.
What Was Depressing:
Anderson’s whimsical style masks a sad story about regret, failure, and emotional heartbreak. Pretty much every character is mourning the life they thought they would have. The characters’ quirks are funny, but it’s still a sad tale of a family that, despite wealth and high intelligence, never figured out how to be happy.
8. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Synopsis:
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit was marketed as a satirical comedy. It follows a young German boy during World War II whose imaginary friend is a ridiculous version of Adolf Hitler. The film turns an odd premise into a story filled with humor, which it uses to explore a child’s confused understanding of the world.
What Was Depressing:
The comedy managed to create lots of humor, but it slowly dissolves into a dark story about a real and awful time in history. It is about war, propaganda, and the destruction of childhood innocence. Jojo is eventually forced to confront the truth and hate behind the beliefs he was raised with. The movie expertly brings laughter to an entirely heartbreaking historical narrative.