Maybe it doesn’t seem that long ago but a lot of attitudes seem to have rapidly changed since the 2000s. Here are some comedy films from just a couple of decades ago yet would likely be problematic for anybody trying to make today.
- Idiocracy
A satire all about a future world where America has elected a celebrity to the highest public office, major corporations dominate environmental policy and the general public’s knowledge of history is shockingly bad. All of these things might just seem a little too on the nose for modern audiences. “Idiocracy” no longer seems just like it shows the possibility of a dumber tomorrow, it mirrors a dumber today.
- White Chicks
The Wayans brothers (“Scary Movie”) play black F.B.I. agents disguised as white women using prosthetics. Considering how race relations have become more politically significant in recent years, a film that so openly mocks people for their racial differences would probably not be given the greenlight today.
- You Don’t Mess With The Zohan
While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has never been without controversy, I imagine studios would be even less willing to make a comedy about it nowadays. This light-hearted comedy has Adam Sandler (“Happy Gilmore”) starring as an elite Israeli soldier, who just wants to be a New York hairdresser. However, things go horribly wrong when he learns his Muslim terrorist rival runs a nearby fast-food restaurant.
- Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Rob Schneider (“The Animal”) mocks Europeans, Asians, the disabled and many others in the second “Deuce Bigalow” movie. We also have to see a woman with male genitalia for a nose accidentally penetrate a female tracheotomy patient.
- Team America: World Police
“Team America: World Police” was a spoof of old puppet shows such as “Thunderbirds” with some biting political satire from the guys behind “South Park”. One of the film’s many targets is North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il. Just a decade later, “The Interview” took aim at his son, Kim Jong-Un. That led to a massive cyberattack against Sony so it’s unlikely any studio would want another movie mocking the leadership of North Korea.
Honourable mentions:
Tropic Thunder and Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead