Bridesmaids (2011)

Bridesmaids is laugh-out-loud funny, down-in-the-(literal)-gutter raunchy and sweet as a wedding cake. It's quite the combination put together by co-writer/lead Kristen Wiig with tremendous help from Maya Rudolph (who is always always phenomenal), Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper and Jill Clayburgh (in her last film appearance). There's more depth here than one might guess from the trailer and it all works beautifully together.

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Idiocracy (2006)

Yes, Idiocracy is a screamingly funny movie about two people who wake up five hundred years into the future and find the U.S. of A. peopled (and run) by idiots but it's also prescient. Compare Joe Wilson's recent outburst in the hallowed halls of Congress to this film's House of Representin' or, compare Judge Judy and The Jerry Springer Show to this film's courtroom scene or, compare the health care reform fight to this film's takeover of the F.D.A., and you get a clear picture of where our country is headed. Writer/director Mike Judge pulled it off with great assistance from Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph, arguably the best thing about the movie.

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...Away We Go (2009)

Who knew Maya Rudolph had the chops? The Saturday Night Live veteran and John Krasinski (of The Office) shine in Away We Go, director Sam Mendes's bright and beautiful, sweet and funny tale of a pregnant couple on a road trip. A bunch of solid supporting performances and an excellently written script make this one a must see: an intelligent film that's both comedy and drama, but life.