This is the sixth in a series of articles where we’ll be covering the Top Fish Out of Water Comedies by decade. Fish Out of Water is a term used to describe a situation where a person is put in an unfamiliar or unique situation – often to great comedic or dramatic effect. Fish Out of Water films will also usually highlight the absurdity of societal or procedural customs or mannerisms, often with a very satirical tone.
Though most Fish Out of Water films are comedies, there are some films within the subgenre that fall under the drama, sci-fi and fantasy genres. Fish Out of Water comedy is also closely aligned and most often integrated with other subgenres including Action Adventure Films, Films About Spies & Espionage, Body Swap Films, Parodies, Satires, Films About Cops & the FBI, Films About Families, Contemporary & Urban Fantasy Films, Films About the Multiverse, Films About Time Travel, Sports Comedies and Western Comedies.
Fish Out of Water Comedy has been utilized in film since the early 1900’s but emerged as a growing comedy subgenre in the 1970’s, with an increase in popularity in the 1980’s and has been one of the most popular comedy subgenres since. Popular Fish Out of Water Comedies over the decades include The Jerk (1979), Stripes (1981), Trading Places (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), My Cousin Vinny (1992), Lost in Translation (2003), Idiocracy (2006), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Coming 2 America (2021).
This sixth article will cover the Top Fish Out of Water Comedies from 2020 – 2024 and you can check out additional articles by decade below. We are also going to include a Best Of subgenre article as a grand finale. There are so many great Fish Out of Water Comedies over the last 60 years that we felt it best to break down some of the subgenre’s forgotten and lesser-known gems by decade before we give you the Best Of list which will likely feature many films you’ve already heard of or have seen.
- Top Fish Out of Water Comedies You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s
- Top Fish Out of Water Comedies You Haven’t Seen – 1980’s
- Top Fish Out of Water Comedies You Haven’t Seen – 1990’s
- Top Fish Out of Water Comedies You Haven’t Seen – 2000’s
- Top Fish Out of Water Comedies You Haven’t Seen – 2010’s
- Best Recent Fish Out of Water Comedies
- Best Fish Out of Water Comedies
The early half of the 2020’s saw a continuation of one of the most popular Fish Out of Water themes with Time Travel, sequels and remakes of popular Fish Out of Water Comedy franchises, a return to sports-focused comedies with out of place underdogs and the growing trend of holiday-themed films incorporating Fish Out of Water elements into their narratives.
Though time travel has always been a popular theme of this subgenre, there was an interesting trend of World Cinema Sci-Fi films increasing their usage of Fish Out of Water themes. The Spanish film, Tomorrow is Today (2022), features a family traveling 30 years into the future and experiencing a modern-day Spain. Post-apocalyptic time travelers bring a father and daughter into the future in the very funny French comedy, The Visitor from the Future (2022). And the South Korean time travel sequel, Alienoid: Return to the Future (2024), incorporates additional Fish Out of Water themes both in the past and present. Two other notable Fish Out of Water Time Travel films from the early 2020’s include a teenager traveling back in time to the 1980’s to stop a slasher in Totally Killer (2023) and a time traveler experiencing unintended consequences due to his actions in Relax, I’m from the Future (2023).
Subgenre sequels and remakes also continued in the first half of this decade with some of the most popular Fish Out of Water comedies getting reboots. The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee (2020) was a parody of sorts of Paul Hogan’s role from the very popular subgenre film, Crocodile Dundee (1986). Eddie Murphy embraced a return to two of his classic subgenre comedy franchises with Coming 2 America (2021) and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024). And two notable films of the subgenre were remade with The Valet (2022) as a remake of the French film, The Valet (2006), and the French film, The New Toy (2022), which was a remake of Le Joulet (1976), which also served as the basis for Richard Pryor’s The Toy (1982).
Earlier decades had featured sports-themed films with Fish Out of Water themes such as Mr. Baseball (1992) and Cool Runnings (1993) and it wasn’t until this decade that there was a renewed focus on the mash-up of Fish Out of Water films and Sports Comedies. The Phantom of the Open (2022) told the true-life story of Maurice Flitcroft and his notorious round of golf in the British Open. The American Samoa soccer team and its team of misfits were the focus of Next Goal Wins (2023). And The Boxer and the Butterfly (2023) was a Romantic Drama with comedic scenes featuring an out-of-his-element boxer who has to learn how to dance.
Finally, the defining subgenre trend of the early part of this decade included the wealth of holiday and Christmas-themed films that began to feature Fish Out of Water themes. Notable films of the first half of this decade with these themes included Where Are You, Christmas (2023), Christmas as Usual (2023), How the Gringo Stole Christmas (2023), Rescuing Christmas (2023), Take Me Back for Christmas (2023) and There’s Something in the Barn (2023).
Our complete list of Fish Out of Water Comedies features over 188+ films from 1970 – 2024. This collection features almost every film featuring a person placed in an unfamiliar environment. As we’re always updating our collections and will be releasing additional articles of great Fish Out of Water Comedies, subscribe to our newsletter for our latest updates as we post them.
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Classic Fish Out of Water Comedies from 2020 – 2024: The Phantom of the Open (2022), The Visitor from the Future (2022), Totally Killer (2023), Old Dads (2023), There’s Something in the Barn (2023) and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024).
Fish Out of Water Comedies from 2020 – 2024 that didn’t make our list: The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee (2020), Down with the King (2021), The Valet (2022), Rip in Time (2022), Pretty Problems (2022), Tomorrow is Today (2022), The New Toy (2022), A Little White Lie (2023), The Cases of Mystery Lane (2023), Christmas As Usual (2023), How the Gringo Stole Christmas (2023), Rescuing Christmas (2023), Oh Belinda (2023), Take Me Back for Christmas (2023), Relax, I’m from the Future (2023), The Boxer and the Butterfly (2023), Alienoid: Return to the Future (2024) and An American in Austen (2024).
Here is our list of the Best Recent Fish Out of Water Comedies from 2020 – 2024:
#10
Mafia Mamma
Plot: A suburban American woman unexpectedly inherits her late grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy. Guided by the firm’s trusted consigliere, she hilariously defies everyone’s expectations as she finds herself stuck in the middle of a deadly mob war.
KBZ’s Take: If you’re a fan of Films About Gangsters, The Mafia & The Mob, Mafia Mamma is a film you’ll likely enjoy. Many of the scenes and situations in the film are parodies of some of the most popular mafia films.
Though some of the parody might be lost on casual filmgoers, the Fish Out of Water laughs are often very funny and executed brilliantly by the always amazing Toni Collette.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Addy wishes for a year without Christmas and she wakes up in a world of black and white. She must work together with the town mechanic to restore Christmas.
KBZ’s Take: Having seen just about every alternate life film, this one stuck with us due to its very unique premise and cinematography. The premise itself, about a woman stuck in a drab black and white world without color, is unique to the subgenre and focuses on themes kids can enjoy as Addy (Lyndsy Fonseca) tries to get back into the real (color) world.
The cinematography also is reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz (1939) as it alternates between black and white and color formats, and looks amazing once color (and the meaning of Christmas) starts transforming the world. This is another great film for the entire family that uses its visual style to communicate the themes and values of Christmas.
Additional Lists: Best Alternate Life Christmas Films #3
Where to Stream / Buy: HallmarkTV
Plot: In a devastated future, an apocalypse threatens Earth and the last hope lies with a man who is capable of time travel. He must return to the past to change the course of events, but a police force hunts him down in every era.
KBZ’s Take: This French film is one of the funnier films from our list of the Best Time Travel Comedies and isn’t that well known (outside of France). The film is based on the popular French TV series that ran from 2009 – 2014 and follows a time traveler who attempts to stop present disasters to save the future.
This film has it all from a Post-Apocalyptic future filled with Zombies to very funny themes of the Multiverse. The comedy in the film is very French (and reminiscent of other Luc Besson films such as The Fifth Element (1997)) so if you enjoy that specific brand of Euro-centric Quirky Comedy with some funny Fish Out of Water scenes, this is one of the best most recent subgenre films you shouldn’t miss.
Note: The Visitor from The Future isn’t yet available on U.S. streaming services (or to purchase on DVD), but we will update the link below when it’s available.
Additional Lists: Obscure Time Travel Films You Might Have Missed #5, Best Time Travel Comedies #17
Where to Stream / Buy: N/A
Plot: Prince Akeem Joffer is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street savvy Queens native named Lavelle. Honoring his royal father’s dying wish to groom this son as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi set off to America once again.
KBZ’s Take: We’ll have more on Eddie Murphy’s dominance as the King of Fish Out of Water Comedy later in this article, but Coming 2 America is an apt sequel to Prince Akeem’s adventures in Queens. As a standalone film, the laughs might have been funnier but since it’s a sequel to a subgenre classic, it can’t quite compare to the outrageous comedy and situations from the original.
With that said, it’s still a decent follow-up to the subgenre classic with all the Zamunda gang back together again.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: With the 2014 World Cup qualifiers approaching, down-on-his-luck coach Thomas Rongen tries to turn the American Samoa soccer team into winners.
KBZ’s Take: Next Goal Wins is your typical Sports Comedy and is quite predictable. From the film’s first act you can likely guess where the film is going and how it will end up. And while the film is funny overall, there are some moments that fall flat and seem out of place.
However, the reason we have the film higher on our list is because of the two great performances from Michael Fassbender and Kaimana. Fassbender adds dark and subtle comedy to his role as the angry and alcoholic Thomas Rongen (a role that seems clearly inspired by Walter Matthau’s Coach Buttermaker from The Bad News Bears (1976)). Rongen and Buttermaker are both circling the drain in life yet find inspiration and redemption from a team of misfits.
And Kaimana’s role as Jaiyah Saelua adds an additional dimension to the film with the role of transgender athletes in sports. Regardless of how you feel about the issue, Kaimana gives an emotional performance that is the heart and soul of the film and makes it worth watching.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Bill moves his American wife Carol and children Nora and Lucas to Norway where he’s inherited a family estate. There, Lucas discovers a mischievous barn elf from ancient folklore living in the barn who elf plots to get rid of the American intruders.
KBZ’s Take: There’s Something in the Barn is a film very reminiscent of another Christmas horror classic – Gremlins (1984). While it’s nowhere near as good as that film, it does feature similar elements of home invasion by mythical creatures with some very fun horror comedy.
Like Gremlins, there is also some gore and violence in the film that isn’t suitable for younger children (even though most of it is on par with the PG-rated Gremlins while this film is rated R). And while Martin Starr (as Bill) shows he can lead a film, it’s Calle Hellevang-Larsen (as Tor Age) who steals every scene he’s in as the friendly, yet often inebriated, Norwegian.
Additional Lists: Best Recent Christmas Horror Films #3, Best Recent Folk Horror Films #7
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Thirty-five years after the shocking murders of three teens, an infamous killer returns on Halloween night to claim a fourth victim. When 17-year-old Jamie comes face-to-face with the masked maniac, she accidentally time-travels back to 1987. Forced to navigate the unfamiliar culture, Jamie teams up with her teenage mother to take down the psycho once and for all.
KBZ’s Take: Totally Killer combines Slasher Horror, Horror Comedy, Time Travel and Fish Out of Water Comedy for one wild and funny ride.
The film has been likened to Back to the Future (1985) meets Scream (1996) and we agree with that assessment. There are as many funny moments involving Jamie’s (Kiernan Shipka) awkward interactions with her teenage parents as there are gruesome kills. It’s a film that leverages its time travel concept in a unique way for one of the best horror films of 2023.
Additional Lists: The Best Horror Films of 2023 for Halloween #3, Best Time Travel Comedies #8
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#3
Old Dads
Plot: When a middle-aged father and his two best friends sell their company to a millennial, they soon find themselves out of step and behind the times as they struggle to navigate a changing world of culture, career and fatherhood.
KBZ’s Take: How much you will enjoy Old Dads depends on how funny you find comedian Bill Burr. Burr is both writer and director of this film and leverages many of the same concepts (and humor) from his standup routines – mainly a cranky and older Gen X adult making fun of younger generations and their paper straws, scooters and so on.
Though Boomers and Gen X viewers will likely find the comedy in the film funnier, there are enough laughs in the film to appeal to any generation. This is a very funny film, despite its somewhat weak third act, that has some of the funniest age-related Fish Out of Water humor of recent years and is a film we highly recommend for fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: Netflix
Plot: Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills after his daughter’s life is threatened, and works with old pals John Taggart and Billy Rosewood to uncover a conspiracy.
KBZ’s Take: We mentioned earlier that Eddie Murphy is the King of Fish Out of Water Comedy based on his 1980’s resume alone. Trading Places (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Coming to America (1988) are some of his biggest hits as well as classic films of this subgenre.
Beverly Hills Cop, in particular, is his most successful film franchise that featured a decent follow-up in Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), a sub-par third film in Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) and now the most recent entry with Axel F. And we’ll definitively say that this is the best Beverly Hills Cop film since the original.
Unlike other recent reboots of popular 1980’s films, Axel F does one thing that others fail to do – it seamlessly recaptures the nostalgic Action Comedy of the 80’s. This was a unique decade with an even more unique style that Axel F emulates from its opening heist sequence to its action-packed finale. And though the Fish Out of Water comedy is still present (though tampered down a bit), it’s one of the best recent films (from any subgenre) you won’t want to miss.
Where to Stream / Buy: Netflix
Plot: Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship qualifying in 1976 and subsequently shot the worst round in Open history, becoming a folk hero in the process.
KBZ’s Take: We really wanted to put Axel F as our #1 pick here but couldn’t in good conscious because The Phantom of the Open is a film that deserves a larger audience. Due to the number of films we have seen, we’re rarely amazed or surprised by a film – especially if its in the Sports subgenres. But The Phantom of the Open is one of those unique films that’s equally inspirational as it is funny.
The film, based on the real-life escapades of Maurice Flitcroft, is somewhat hard to believe. But the film is made more believable by the performance of Mark Rylance. Rylance is one of the best actors of his generation from his Academy Award-winning performance in Bridge of Spies (2015) to the recent The Outfit (2022). But his understated performance as Maurice might be his best. He gives his real-life character a dogged determination that’s relatable and inspirational to anybody that’s ever had a dream.
At its core, the film is an underdog story that’s flipped on its head where the dreams one might try to achieve in life might be eclipsed by events with even greater meaning and fulfillment. This is one of our favorite recent films and one we highly recommend for any fan of film.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
