This is our ongoing series of the Top Teen & College Comedies You Haven’t Seen. You can access links to previous lists below. This article is about the Top Teen & College Comedies You Haven’t Seen – 2010 – 2013.
Listed below are the links to previous years and links of the Top Teen & College Comedies You Haven’t Seen lists:
- Teen & College Comedies – The 1970’s
- Teen & College Comedies – 1980 – 1984
- Teen & College Comedies – 1985 – 1989
- Teen & College Comedies – 1990 – 1994
- Teen & College Comedies – 1995 – 1999
- Teen & College Comedies – 2000 – 2004
- Teen & College Comedies – 2005 – 2009
- Teen & College Comedies – 2010 – 2013
- Teen & College Comedies – 2014 – 2017
- Teen & College Comedies – 2018 – 2022
From 2010 – 2013, Teen & College Comedies continued to embrace Raunchy Comedy & Sex Humor as a popular theme of the subgenre. Additional subgenre themes during this time period included Sci-Fi, Horror & Fantasy genre crossovers, Female-focused Coming-of-Age films and continued emergence of Quirky Comedy within the subgenre.
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Kaboom (2010), The Inbetweeners Movie (2011), Mardi Gras: Spring Break (2011), A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011), Project X (2012), American Reunion (2012) and Rapture-Palooza (2013) all utilized Raunchy Comedy & Sex Humor themes.
Genre crossovers in the subgenre became popular with Fantasy in Kick-Ass (2010), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), My Babysitter’s a Vampire (2010) and Kick-Ass 2 (2013). The Sci-Fi genre appeared in Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and Rapture-Palooza (2013). And Horror would start to again become a prominent genre crossover in this decade with Detention (2011).
Female-focused Coming-of-Age films also endured as a popular theme of the subgenre with Easy A (2010), Chalet Girl (2011), LOL (2012), Girl in Progress (2012), Pitch Perfect (2012) and Very Good Girls (2013).
Quirky Comedy continued its rise as a prominent theme in Teen & College Comedy films with The Trotsky (2010), Damsels in Distress (2012) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).
For our list of the Top Teen & College Comedies You Haven’t Seen – 2010 – 2013, we selected some lesser-known films from a variety of subgenre themes. We also tried to select films that were representative of early 2010’s culture and nostalgia.
Classic, must-see subgenre films from 2010 – 2013: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010), Kick-Ass (2010), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Take Me Home Tonight (2011), The Descendants (2011), 21 Jump Street (2012), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) and Pitch Perfect (2012).
Lesser-known subgenre films that didn’t make our list: Easy A (2010), The Art of Getting By (2011), The Inbetweeners Movie (2011), Mardi Gras: Spring Break (2011), Project X (2012) and The Spectacular Now (2013).
Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Here is our list of the Top Teen & College Comedies You Haven’t Seen – 2010 – 2013:
Plot: In 1970’s England, three blue-collard friends face life as young adults.
KBZ’s Take: A lesser-known film of the subgenre, Cemetery Junction mixes Coming-of-Age period drama with subtle comedy to great effect. Written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the film contains much of the same Quirky and Offbeat humor that Gervais is known for. Depending on how much you enjoy his style of humor will go a long way in determining if you’ll like this film. With that said, we’re not huge fans of Gervais’ comedy but still found this film an above average addition to the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3RmljeE
Plot: Two teens battle the Antichrist during a religious apocalypse.
KBZ’s Take: This film has some of the most divided reviews we have ever seen for a film. It’s almost split evenly between people who loved it or hated it. While we didn’t love the film, we still thought it had some hilarious moments in it especially with Craig Robinson as the Antichrist. With a cast of Robinson, Anna Kendrick, John Francis Daley, Rob Corddry and Ken Jeong, you likely know what type of low-brow humor you’ll be in store for with this film. Recommended for subgenre fans who also enjoyed similar humor found in Role Models (2008), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and This Is The End (2013).
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3HFQRZB
#8
Detention
Plot: A group of high school students band together to stop a killer named Cinderhella.
KBZ’s Take: Detention features a visual style that might be too jarring for some viewers – especially with older generations. It’s a visual style that’s chaotic yet ingenious – especially with the film’s opening credits. Featuring Time Travel, Body Swap Comedy, Splatter & Gore Horror and Dark & Black Comedy, it’s a film that blends various subgenres together for a very unique subgenre film. Recommended for fans of the subgenre and fans of Horror Comedies.
Additional Lists: The Best Films of the Body Swap Film Subgenre #9, The Best Time Travel Films You Haven’t Seen 2010 – 2016 #3
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ucFLnr
Plot: Four college co-eds run a depression therapy group for fellow students.
KBZ’s Take: Like other Whit Stillman films – Barcelona (1994) and The Last Days of Disco (1998) – the humor in Damsels in Distress is subtle and quirky. Also, like Stillman’s other films dialogue drives the narrative between the main characters. This film won’t be for everybody, but with a cast including Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, Lio Tipton, Carrie MacLemore and Megalyn Echikunwoke, it’s recommended for fans of Stillman and fans of Quirky and Offbeat comedy subgenre films.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3DpJEdq
Plot: Three teenagers leave their homes and attempt to survive in the woods.
KBZ’s Take: We’re listing this film more for the nostalgic appeal of the film. For older generations that grew up in Wooded or Forested areas, you’ll likely reminisce about the adolescent days filled with adventure in the woods before PlayStation, iPhone and other electronics. Recommended for fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Drpccc
#5
Adult World
Plot: Naïve college graduate pursues a mentorship with a reclusive writer.
KBZ’s Take: This film straddles the line between Satire and Black & Dark Comedy, but it’s main draw is the interactions between Amy (Emma Roberts) and Rat (John Cusack). Cusack’s role especially is one of his best performances of all his roles within the subgenre. Here he plays the older and reclusive poet who initially wants nothing to do with the young and eager dreamer. It’s a film worth seeing for the dynamic between Roberts and Cusack alone.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3kPwvUF
Plot: Two high school seniors take a freshman student under their wings and help him discover the joys of friendship and love.
KBZ’s Take: This is one of the best Coming-of-Age films of the entire subgenre. Based on the novel of the same name by Stephen Chbosky, the film blends comedic subgenre themes with some very dark coming-of-age drama. It’s a film about coming to terms with your past to focus on building your future. It’s a highly recommended film for fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/40hucKa
Plot: Recent MIT graduate gets invited to a party by his high school crush.
KBZ’s Take: Though this film was a box office flop, it’s one of the best retro comedies of the subgenre. The writers of this film, Jackie Filgo and Jeff Filgo, were also writers on the popular TV series, That 70’s Show, and this film features much of the same type of retro comedy. Though the film mainly appeals to an older demographic (who recognize many of the 1980’s era jokes riddled throughout the film), it still has enough Slapstick humor and Coming-of-Age comedy for younger audiences. It also has an amazing cast with Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer and Chris Pratt. Highly recommended for fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3RgwRjn
#2
The Trotsky
Plot: A Montreal teenager believes he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky and leads a labor revolution at his high school.
KBZ’s Take: If you enjoyed Rushmore (1998), you will love this film. Though it’s not a classic subgenre film like Rushmore, it’s the next tier below it. Led by one of the funniest performances of Jay Baruchel’s career, his role as Leon and delivery of his dialogue is some of the best we have ever seen. The film’s more comedic moments revolve around nerdy Leon’s pursuit of Alexandra (Emily Hampshire) and his interaction with school leadership – Principal Berkhoff (Colm Feore) and Denise Archambault (Geneviève Bujold). Highly recommended for fans of the subgenre and Quirky Comedy films.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3WKx27P
Plot: 11-year-old tries to survive Middle School and his family.
KBZ’s Take: Though the lead character of Greg Heffley isn’t technically in his teens yet (in this first film), we had to include this film and its sequels as some of the best of the entire subgenre. Followed by films, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012), this film trilogy perfectly captures the angst of a boy entering his teenage years as a middle child. Between his adversarial relationship with his older teenage brother and the family attention thrust on his younger brother, anybody who grew up in a family with siblings will relate to many of the hilarious situations found throughout all the films. Based on the novel of the same name by Jeff Kinney, it’s the cast of this film that brings Kinney’s novel to life. Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Steve Zahn, Devon Bostick and Rachel Harris are all anchors of the 3 films and the base the coming-of-age comedy plays off of. Highly recommended film and film series of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Y0YU8G
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